ETUDE
December 1940
volume LVIII
number 12
page 854-855

Scale Practice for Guitarists

By George C. Krick

A CLEAN CUT PERFORMANCE of a musical composition by an artist is always hailed with delight by an appreciative audience and should be the goal of every serious minded student of the guitar. The first requisite of a public performer is a flawless technic; and this can result only from many hours of careful conscientious preparation, beginning with the practice of scales in all major and minor keys. This scale practice is necessary to train the ear to hear every sound produced on the instrument, and to develop gradually a facility of execution by training the fingers of both hands properly to perform their task.

For the guitar student this is of special importance, as it is more difficult to develop an even scale; due to the difference in the thickness of strings and the material of which they are made. The lowest, or sixth string, is made of silk wound with wire, as are also the fifth and fourth The sixth, being heavier than the others, requires more pressure of the left hand fingers and more power from the fingers of the right hand; passing on to the fifth string just a little less pressure is required, and this pressure of both hands should be lessened somewhat in passing over the higher strings When playing a descending scale beginning on the first string, the action of the fingers is necessarily reversed, the second string requiring a little more pressure than the first. This increase in pressure should be employed in the same ratio as the lower strings are relatively heavier and offer more resistance.

One must keep in mind, however, that this difference in pressure is very slight, and a great deal of experimenting and practice are required until the action of the fingers becomes automatic; also, we must remember that a fairly firm pressure of the left hand fingers on all strings is necessary to obtain a clear ringing tone. The first, second and third strings, being made of gut, the tone color of the sounds produced on these strings is somewhat different from those on the three silk wound strings; and it is up to the student to try to cut down this difference to a minimum, especially when passing from the D, or fourth string, to the G, or third string all of which again requires careful practice.

Now let us take up the playing of the scale in G major which requires the use of all six strings of the guitar, keeping in mind that our first object is to develop a beautiful round tone and the next to obtain facility of execution and speed; also let us remember what has been said regarding the pressure of left hand fingers. Play slowly, counting two for each note; begin by striking the G on the third fret of the low E string with the first finger of the right hand, then A open with the second finger, and keep on alternating the first and second fingers until you arrive at G on the first string. Now play the same scale descending in a similar manner, always listening carefully to every sound produced and continue with this ascending and descending scale until the ear is able to detect a gradual improvement in tone quality.

Now we will proceed to play the same scale in groups of eighth notes, repeating each note with alternating first and second fingers and then again with second and first.

The next step is to play as indicated in Example 3, maintaining the same tempo as in Example 2. When the fingering of this scale has been mastered, the student is ready to practice all the principal major and minor scales in two octaves, using these examples as a pattern.

To gain more facility and speed, it is suggested to begin again with the scale of G, but to play it in groups of sixteenth notes as in Example 4 and follow with Example 5.

From now on the use of a metronome will be found very helpful in developing facility of execution and speed.

Players of the plectrum guitar will find the above suggestions helpful by using down strokes of the plectrum in scales such as Example 1 and substituting the alternating downup stroke for the first and second fingers of right hand in the remaining examples. The proper plectrum strokes for the scale of G in eighth or sixteenth notes are to be found in Example 6.

So far we have spoken of scales in two octaves but a guitarist should have command of the entire finger board of his instrument, and for that purpose all scales should be extended to three octaves. With all this accomplished the real work for the student now begins by taking up the study of scales in thirds, sixths, octaves and tenths, and this in the words of the Spanish guitar virtuoso and composer Ferdinand Sor, “is the secret of all good guitar playing.”

Now just a few more hints on how to practice. have a definite object in view and concentrate on every movement of your fingers in order to obtain the results you seek, be it a better tone or more speed. Listen carefully to every sound produced and try it again and again until you are satisfied. Do not hurry; in the beginning especially, best results will come from slow, deliberate movements continued until they become automatic. Set yourself a high standard and keep this before you always. Others have done it, why not you?

Questions regarding Fretted Instruments should be addressed to George C. Krick care of the Etude, 1712 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.