Giuliani 120+ by Christopher Davis www.classicalguitarblog.net www.christopherguitar.net TABLE OF CONTENTS About This Book.......................................................................................................3 Arpeggio Technique..................................................................................................5 Practice Strategies .....................................................................................................8 Taking Giuliani Further...........................................................................................12 Practice Schedules...................................................................................................13 The Studies..............................................................................................................14 Level I ...........................................................................................................14 Level II..........................................................................................................16 Level III.........................................................................................................18 Level IVa.......................................................................................................20 Level IVb ......................................................................................................21 Level Va........................................................................................................22 Level Vb - Group 1.......................................................................................24 Level Vb - Group 2.......................................................................................26 Level VIa.......................................................................................................28 Level VIb - Group 1......................................................................................30 Level VIb - Group 2......................................................................................33 Level VII.......................................................................................................35 www.classicalguitarblog.net 2! ABOUT THIS BOOK Why the 120 Studies? Classical guitarists spend a lot of time playing right hand arpeggios. Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) knew this, and his own music made extensive use of arpeggios. Its no wonder is very first opus number includes the 120 right hand studies. Today these studies are still an essential part of any classical guitarist's curriculum. As an undergraduate guitar major, I worked extensively with the 120 studies. It's my pleasure to present this book, an expansion of Giuliani's work with additional arpeggio exercises and text. In this book you'll find all of the 120 studies in standard notation, additional studies, practice suggestions, and a few ways to take Giuliani further. The studies are grouped into Levels. All studies in this book are listed with their original numbers next to them. Additional studies are presented at the end of levels one, two, and three where necessary. About the Levels The groups of this book are based on two things: difficulty and purpose. The first groups are all what I call simple repeated patterns. The first covers three finger arpeggios (p i m, p m i, p i a, etc.). The second group covers three finger arpeggios with a repeated finger (p i m i, p a i a, etc.). The third group covers four finger arpeggios (p i m a, p a m i, etc.). From there it gets a bit more complicated. Levels 4-6 are divided into two halves. The halves labeled "a" involve only one finger at a time; the halves labeled "b" involve combinations of fingers such as playing p and i together. Level seven contains the final, most virtuosic studies. The original study numbers are retained only for your reference; because of the reordering they do not have much significance in this book. www.classicalguitarblog.net 3 About the Notation The notation of the studies found in this book is largely a product of my own personal preferences. Right hand fingerings are located above the staff whenever possible. If there are multiple notes being played at once, the right fingerings are stacked and correspond to the order of the notes below them. For the most part I've avoided putting in left hand fingerings. However, some of the more complex studies required them. The major reason for this is because the left hand is not extremely important. In fact, if you're having trouble with a particular study, I suggest you drop the left hand completely; keep all the right hand fingerings the same (same strings, etc.) but just drop the left hand. Another option for the left hand is to change the chords, or just keep the same chord throughout. Any open chords will work just fine. Be sure to keep the right hand the same for each study. Beginners will probably have an easier time use chords such as E7 and Am (below). About the Author Christopher Davis began his musical education in fifth grade with clarinet. At fourteen, inspired by Black Sabbath and Metallica, Chris picked up the guitar. Chris holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Guitar Performance and Music Business from Drake University, and is currently pursuing graduate studies in guitar performance. His primary instructors have included Scott Dalziel, Phil DeLong, and Stanley Yates. Chris has performed in masterclass for world-renowned artists such as the Assad brothers and Christopher Parkening. www.classicalguitarblog.net 4 ARPEGGIO TECHNIQUE What We Can Learn from Anatomy Any guitarist that has been playing for a while knows that using m and a is not easy. The two fingers seem to be fighting each other. This is due to the way our hands are built. The tendons in the hand work in essentially three units: the thumb, the index finger, and the rest. This can be viewed as a limitation or advantage. I choose to see it as an advantage. In the text below you'll find an explanation of developing arpeggio technique from the beginning to more advanced stages. Using m and a - The Compound Stroke The studies in this book include brackets over some combination of m and a in succession. This is meant to indicate a compound stroke. A compound stroke is the movement of two fingers as one. Try this: play m and a together; simply snap off any two strings with a free stroke. Easy, huh? Now put a bit of tension on a so it lags behind m. It should feel just like rolling a chord with two fingers. This is a compound stroke. We can use this to our advantage and it can be practiced and developed so it's just as in control as any other two fingers in succession. The compound stroke is most useful at moderate to high tempos; at slow tempos it is not very useful. There are two stages of the compound stroke. The first, as I'll explain below, is where m and a both prepare on their respective strings at the same time. This first stage works exactly as described above: by putting a bit of extra tension of the trailing finger (m or a). The second stage is a bit different. The trailing finger (m or a) does not prepare on the string. Instead, m and a extend together and the trailing finger hovers above the strings, and as the leading finger plays through the string it pulls the trailing finger onto its string, then the second finger plays. Another way to look at it is below. www.classicalguitarblog.net 5 Stage 1: m a plant............................................ m plays....................a plays bit of tension on a Stage 2: m plants.............................................. m plays....................a plays a extends beyond its motion of m pulls string a onto its string The various stages are incorporated into the development of arpeggio technique below. The compound stroke can be used at any stage of arpeggio development. For events such as m a m or a m a the first of the two should be played as a compound stroke, followed by a return of the first finger. A bracket over the right hand fingering indicates each instance of a compound stroke in this book. Developing Arpeggio Technique The eventual goal of developing arpeggio technique is to get to a fully sequential system of playing. This creates a much more legato and pleasant sound. But why do we prepare or plant a finger on the string in the first place? The biggest reason is accuracy: it is very hard to miss a string if the finger is already on it. The next big reason is tone. A well-developed arpeggio technique will prepare the finger on the string at a precise contact point and give a great tone. There are several different stages that guitarists go through to develop a fully sequential technique. The studies in this book can be practiced with any sort of technique. Block Planting Prepare all the fingers for the arpeggio at once. So for the arpeggio p i m: p plays.............................i plays .............................m plays ..........................a plays p i m and a plant a bit of tension on a on their respective strings (compound stroke) www.classicalguitarblog.net 6 Planting in Two Units In this version of technique requires the hand to work in two units: p and ima. As p plays, ima extend and plant. So for p i m a again: p plays.............................i plays .............................m plays ..........................a plays i a and m extend & plant a bit of tension on a Planting in Three Units Now we plant in three units. It's important to note that from here on out ima will always extend together. However, now we break down the planting in three units: p, i, and ma. For p i m a again: p plays.............................i plays .............................m plays ..........................a plays i m and a extend m a plant a bit of tension on a i plants Full Sequential The final stage of arpeggio technique combines the above planting in three units with a stage two compound stroke. For p i m a again. p plays.............................i plays .............................m plays ..........................a plays i m and a extend m plants a is pulled onto the string i plants a extends beyond by the movement of m its string Certain arpeggios in the 120 studies are more suited for full sequential planting. A good starting point, if you're not comfortable with the methods listed above, is to block plant all ascending arpeggio sections and sequentially plant all descending. From there work towards full sequential planting. www.classicalguitarblog.net 7 PRACTICE STRATEGIES There's many ways to practice. I don't think practicing with a metronome and notching it up is the most effective way to increase speed and ability. Some metronome use is unavoidable, but it should be a portion of your practice. A metronome is not the center of all practicing. Presented here are some more practice suggestions. It's up to the player to decide which is most effective and which strategies should be incorporated into regular practice. These strategies are described in relation to the arpeggio studies present here, however, the strategies are equally effective for any piece or study. Slow/Fast There's a reason this is the first practice strategy presented: it works. Simply, play the study slow, and then play it fast (about twice as fast as the slow version). To develop this strategy, work the ration of slow to fast down to 1:1. Start with 3 or 4 slow for each fast version, then 2:1 and finally 1:1. After 1:1 is reached add in more fast versions. Something 1 slow then 2 fast. Isolate Almost every study in the 120 consists of a repeating pattern. Find it and isolate it. Practice only the pattern independent of any left hand things (just use open strings). There's several ways to develop an isolated arpeggio pattern: 1. Move the thumb to different strings. 2. Move the entire pattern across strings. 3. Start with a different finger: p i m becomes i m p then m p i. 4. Accent a different finger, play the other fingers quietly. For p i m: play p loud, and i and m soft. Play p soft, i loud, and m soft. Play p and i soft, and m loud. 5. Play fingers on the same string. For p i m: p and i play on the same string, m plays on a different string. p on a different string, i and m on the same. 6. Use slow/fast or any of the other practice strategies listed. www.classicalguitarblog.net 8 Rhythmic Alteration One of the biggest challenges in playing anything is rhythmic precision. Altering the rhythm of a given pattern or study can help even out rhythms. In addition, altering rhythm can create small bursts of speed, which is great for developing overall arpeggio ability and speed. The simplest rhythmic alteration is to swing the rhythm. That is, alternating long and short rhythmic values. Long - short - long - short - long, etc. Or short - long - short - long - short, etc. In notation it might look like a dotted eight, followed by a sixteenth (for the long-short) or sixteenth followed by a dotted eighth (for short- long). There are no limits to rhythmic alterations. Try anything; keep what works. There are some suggests below. The first is for three note groups (ala triplets), and the second is for four note groups (like 16ths). Dynamics Playing loud feels different than playing normally; playing soft feels different as well. Practicing a study ff, or as loud as possible, is a great way to practice any of the 120 studies. In the same way, practicing pp, or as quiet as possible, is great too. The next step is to practice with graduated dynamics. Start quiet and crescendo through a study. Or start loud and decrescendo through it. Then combine both: crescendo to the halfway point, then decrescendo. Or start loud and decrescendo to the halfway point then crescendo. www.classicalguitarblog.net 9 Thunk Practice Hold your left hand lightly over all the strings, and play the study as normal (no left hand fingers, obviously). This gives a nice, thunk sound. This way of practicing is a great way to hear rhythmic inaccuracies. Another version is to finger the study as normal, but don't press down the fingers, just lightly rest them on the strings at the correct frets. Let open strings ring normally, and play the study. This is a great way to nail a relaxed feeling in the left hand. Awareness Practice Sometimes the easiest and most effective thing to do is to just pay attention. Listen carefully to what's going on. Many times technique practice turns into zone-out time. Focus carefully on the right hand and it might fix more problems then any of the other practice strategies combined. Another option is to zoom in focus on just one finger of the right hand. Pay close attention to what that finger does. The same can be done for the left hand if necessary. Which Practice Strategy Should I Use? I don't know. I know that, for me, slow/fast is the most effective arpeggio practice technique. I know that I also like thunk practice a lot. It's up to you to experiment and find out what works. Don't try to use every practice strategy every on a single study. And don't fix what isn't broken. If a study is not giving you trouble, then practice strategies might not even be needed. How Do I Get Fast? Playing fast is more of a feeling than a technique. When you play fast your technique goes into overdrive. One common misconception is that whatever works slow will work fast. It might work, but there's a good chance it will not. www.classicalguitarblog.net 10