The Alien Technique: Tremolo
Tremolo is the one technique that is least suited to fingerpicking…
Why and when was tremolo invented?
I can speculate. It was probably invented by classical guitarists. The classical tremolo is basically one bass note (P) followed by three melodic treble notes: (a - m - i). When played in a loop, the thumb plays an arpeggio while the fingers pick three notes in rapid succession in-between the single notes of the bass arpeggio sequence.
The flamenco tremolo is different. It has one more note on the melody line. It is P - i - a - m - i. Therefore you divide one beat into 5 compartments, which is mathematically impossible. That's why when I tab a tremolo sequence on tabledit it sounds gallopy and wrong. However, since our fingers are not bound by abstract mathematical rules, it is actually possible to even out the 5 notes.
Which one is better, classical or flamenco tremolo? To be honest I never really learned classical tremolo. But if I have to comment on the difference: since classical tremolo divides the beat into 4 parts and uses each finger once, it is easier to play really fast passages with uniformity. Flamenco tremolo has the advantage of one extra note that slows down the melody line. Therefore it is possible to play slower passages with more expression.
Let's get back to our subject: tremolo as an alien technique.
Guitar is not a sustained instrument. In plain English, the note dies out very quickly once it comes out. Piano is the same. Then there are sustained instruments such as violin or flute. These instruments can truly play long notes as written on the scores. But a guitar cannot create a sustained note (unless you have an electric guitar with a pedal). So, probably a smart player at some point thought he or she could use the fingers repeatedly to create a mandolin-like effect while plucking accompaniment notes with the thumb.
Therefore, tremolo is an attempt to mimic a sustained instrument or a singer using a guitar.
Does it really work?
Segovia never liked tremolo. He called it a mere "gimmick." We don't have to believe everything Segovia says. (He also spoke condescendingly about Barrios!) But he has a point here. If I were to make a list of guitar techniques starting from the most suitable to the least, I'd put arpeggio at the top of the list and tremolo would hit the bottom.
The real problem is that moment when the thumb is plays a single bass note as the fingers do nothing. That is where the supposed continuity of the melody is interrupted. Some players such as Manolo Sanlucar and Jose Luis Rodriguez overcome this snag by playing a-m-i repeatedly as many times as the melody allows. Sounds great but I am not sure if this can be applied to every piece and it is extremely difficult, at least for me.
What do we do then?
MISTAKE:
Treating tremolo like a "twitch" where you swing your fingers to play a very fast a-m-i sequence right after the bass note. Once I had this student who played super fast tremolo. I was quite impressed at first. But then when he needed to slow down he wasn't able to. His fingers kept playing the a-m-i sequences as fast as ever but there were now gaps in-between the quadruplets. The tremolo sounded gallopy. Also, he was unable to achieve the same speed on the second string. When he tried anywhere other than the first string his tremolo would be reduced to stutters.
Do this self-diagnosis: if you are having trouble playing tremolo on the second string, then you are not using the proper method.
For someone with a good tremolo technique there is absolutely no difference between the first, second or third strings. They are all exactly the same.
WHAT IS THE PROPER METHOD?
Do NOT treat tremolo as an alien technique.
Embrace it as arpeggio done on a single string.
Practise slowly paying attention to every single note.
Tremolo is the one technique that is least suited to fingerpicking…
Why and when was tremolo invented?
I can speculate. It was probably invented by classical guitarists. The classical tremolo is basically one bass note (P) followed by three melodic treble notes: (a - m - i). When played in a loop, the thumb plays an arpeggio while the fingers pick three notes in rapid succession in-between the single notes of the bass arpeggio sequence.
The flamenco tremolo is different. It has one more note on the melody line. It is P - i - a - m - i. Therefore you divide one beat into 5 compartments, which is mathematically impossible. That's why when I tab a tremolo sequence on tabledit it sounds gallopy and wrong. However, since our fingers are not bound by abstract mathematical rules, it is actually possible to even out the 5 notes.
Which one is better, classical or flamenco tremolo? To be honest I never really learned classical tremolo. But if I have to comment on the difference: since classical tremolo divides the beat into 4 parts and uses each finger once, it is easier to play really fast passages with uniformity. Flamenco tremolo has the advantage of one extra note that slows down the melody line. Therefore it is possible to play slower passages with more expression.
Let's get back to our subject: tremolo as an alien technique.
Guitar is not a sustained instrument. In plain English, the note dies out very quickly once it comes out. Piano is the same. Then there are sustained instruments such as violin or flute. These instruments can truly play long notes as written on the scores. But a guitar cannot create a sustained note (unless you have an electric guitar with a pedal). So, probably a smart player at some point thought he or she could use the fingers repeatedly to create a mandolin-like effect while plucking accompaniment notes with the thumb.
Therefore, tremolo is an attempt to mimic a sustained instrument or a singer using a guitar.
Does it really work?
Segovia never liked tremolo. He called it a mere "gimmick." We don't have to believe everything Segovia says. (He also spoke condescendingly about Barrios!) But he has a point here. If I were to make a list of guitar techniques starting from the most suitable to the least, I'd put arpeggio at the top of the list and tremolo would hit the bottom.
The real problem is that moment when the thumb is plays a single bass note as the fingers do nothing. That is where the supposed continuity of the melody is interrupted. Some players such as Manolo Sanlucar and Jose Luis Rodriguez overcome this snag by playing a-m-i repeatedly as many times as the melody allows. Sounds great but I am not sure if this can be applied to every piece and it is extremely difficult, at least for me.
What do we do then?
MISTAKE:
Treating tremolo like a "twitch" where you swing your fingers to play a very fast a-m-i sequence right after the bass note. Once I had this student who played super fast tremolo. I was quite impressed at first. But then when he needed to slow down he wasn't able to. His fingers kept playing the a-m-i sequences as fast as ever but there were now gaps in-between the quadruplets. The tremolo sounded gallopy. Also, he was unable to achieve the same speed on the second string. When he tried anywhere other than the first string his tremolo would be reduced to stutters.
Do this self-diagnosis: if you are having trouble playing tremolo on the second string, then you are not using the proper method.
For someone with a good tremolo technique there is absolutely no difference between the first, second or third strings. They are all exactly the same.
WHAT IS THE PROPER METHOD?
Do NOT treat tremolo as an alien technique.
Embrace it as arpeggio done on a single string.
Practise slowly paying attention to every single note.
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