El dominio de Recuerdos de La Alhambra y algunos secretos sobre la tecnica del tremolo

Unos extractos del libro

Recuerdos de La Alhambra - Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909)

VI. Secretos para dominar Recuerdos de La Alhambra

El primer secreto para dominar Recuerdos no es el dominio de la tecnica del tremolo, sino el planear una digitacion eficiente para la mano izquierda. El sentido de esta prioridad es facilitar la ejecucion de la pieza, asi como permitir mantener una suave transicion de una forma (o digitacion) a otra. Esto va a garantizar una linea melodica coherente y un control del fraseo. Puede ser que te des cuenta, en la medida en que te familiarizas con la pieza, de la necesidad de variar la digitacion, por esto es muy importante definir, tan pronto como sea posible, una que resulte acertada. Toca la pieza compas por compas con el metronomo, con la mano izquierda solamente, para probar como moverla con suavidad de una forma (o digitacion) a la siguiente.
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Suggestions for Learning Recuerdos de la Alhambra

One suggestion we highly advocate in our publication is to learn the left hand fingerings to the point where they are second nature. A great way to do this is to go through and play Recuerdos with the thumb and index finger (just play one note of the tremolo). Doing so is so easy that you can concentrate on your left hand fingerings. Once you get those down then add the tremolo.

Progress report on Recuerdos and the tremolo technique for classical guitar

I am a student of Karl Wohlwend and helped out in the publication of “Secrets to Mastering Recuerdos and the Tremolo Technique.” I thought it would be a great idea to relearn Recuerdos de la Alhambra. I first worked on Recuerdos de la Alhambra three years ago and performed the piece. Since that time, I have not reviewed the piece and wanted to spend some time relearning it. Now that I have Karl’s ideas on paper, I’m using them as well as other ideas concerning learning the tremolo technique from other classical guitar resources and taking my own journey to Recuerdos.

I started my original blog at this address and continued it here. My journey began on December 29, 2006 and it was originally intended to be a 60 day trip. Since then, I’ve realized that my journey may be 2 to 3 times longer. That’s fine because I’m really in no hurry. I figured keeping a blog would motivate me on my journey and see it through completion and that it would help others who are attempting to learn the tremolo technique, the piece - Recuerdos de la Alhambra, or both. By the end of this, I hope to have evaluated the numerous tremolo drills and suggestions offered by my instructor as well as suggestions that I have found elsewhere.

In my first 40 or so days with the piece and the technique, I have the following to offer:

1 - An even, steady, rhythmically straight tremolo is what you should strive for. See my February 6 post for a great drill to determine if your tremolo is even and, if not, what part needs work.

2 - Don’t get caught up in constantly increasing your speed. Make sure your tremolo is even at a particular tempo before clocking up the metronome.

3 - Your metronome is your best friend when it comes to learning the tremolo technique. Use it religiously.

4 - Begin by working on the right hand technique separately from the left hand technique.

5 - Learn to listen to yourself objectively. If you can’t do that then record yourself and listen to your playing.

6 - The majority of your tremolo practice should not be done on the first string. Move it to the second or third string.

My progress - I feel much more comfortable on the second, third and fourth strings with my tremolo technique. I also am hearing a steady, even tremolo and am vigilant as to maintaining that. As I said before, I feel my journey is going to be closer to 180 days than 60.

Secrets to Mastering Recuerdos de la Alhambra and the Tremolo Technique

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Secrets to Mastering Recuerdos de la Alhambra and the Tremolo Technique by Karl Wohlwend List Price: $11.95 Your Price: $5.98 You will receive download link via email ISBN number - 0978899628

Learning the tremolo for classical guitar through Recuerdos de la Alhambra

Please feel free to leave your comments/questions about your own experiences with learning the tremolo technique and/or Recuerdos de la Alhambra. I look forward to participation from others and am interested in your participation. Check back on a regular basis as I add new material almost every day.

Obtain our complete guide to mastering the tremolo technique and Recuerdos

Practicing the tremolo technique when you don’t have much time

For those new to this blog, this is a continuation of my first blog on mastering Recuerdos de la Alhambra and the tremolo technique (located at http://recuerdosdelaalhambra.blogspot.com). In it, I am tracking my progress on Recuerdos and the tremolo technique. So far, I’ve been at it about a month now and wanted to continue my notations on my daily progress here.

I generally like to practice the tremolo technique for about 20 minutes a day and then spend another 20 minutes on Aaron Shearer’s “Reminiscence” (a simpler tremolo piece that I’m using as a stepping stone to Recuerdos). Today, I didn’t have as much time so I spent 10 minutes working on the tremolo technique. I spent all my practice time on the 2nd string. I set the metronome to 125 and had it beat on the p and m strokes. I used my thumb on the 6th string to create the largest distance between my thumb and fingers. At first, I concentrated on evenness of my tremolo by accenting the m finger in my p-a-m-i progression. I then switched it up and did a p-i-m-a progression. I then finished with some speed bursts (all still on the 2nd string - see my January 9 posting on the old blog for discussion of speed bursts) and paid particular attention to the regularity/evenness of my tremolo. If you don’t have much time, I recommend doing something on a daily basis even if only for 10 minutes.