Tremolo

High Degree Of Difficulty On Classical Guitar - Great Reward!

"Tremolo - a tremulous or vibrating effect produced on certain instruments...as to express emotion..."

It must be said that this technique is probably one of the hardest things to master on guitar. But having said that it is no reason to avoid doing it as it brings with it great reward when mastered. Who amongst us hasn't at sometime imagined themselves playing to an enraptured audience (even if it is only family!) the beautiful strains of Recuerdos del Alhambra by Tarrega? Our well controlled tremolo punching out the famous melody to the sighs and admiration of everyone.

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Well, to reach that lofty peak you've just "gotta do the work" as they say. Really, there's no getting around tremolo, you must be prepared. But heck! It's worth it! I remember many years ago watching my teacher play Recuerdos in a concert he gave and being amazed at the control and beautiful sound he conjured up. I felt literally transported to another dimension such was the effect it had on my mind and emotions. I must say, even though I must have heard it a thousand times since I never tire of its magical and majestic beauty.

Here is what the first bar of Tarrega's Recuerdos (perhaps my favourite tremolo of all time) looks like...

Check out this great little video on YouTube of Sharon isbin playing Tarrega's Recuerdos del Alhambra...

O.K. 'Nuff said. Let's get on with the technique itself. Just how do you master such a difficult technique? I've stuck to the tried and true methods over the years and that seems to have got me "over the hump" so to speak. Those methods, as mentioned in the books of Fred Noad and Scott Tennant, are simple, straight forward and basically common sense.

The first thing you need to do is practice SLOWLY at first. I cannot stress this more strongly. Your subconscious mind will basically do and accomplish anything you tell it to do but you must give it the CORRECT instructions or you're basically headed for problems. I always tell my students that speed is always the last ingredient to their playing. The actual technique is first learnt, absorbed and mastered before they can move on.

With that being said, you must make your thumb and fingers work as one "unit" to make your tremolo sound smooth and continuous. You are, in fact, trying to "trick" the ears of your listeners as the guitar is not capable of sustaining notes for a very long period of time like a violin, cello or other bowed instruments.

Another good way to accomplish mastery of this technique is use staccato in your practice routine as it seems to help with the articulation of the notes when you return to free stroke and speed up the tempo. You can also use a metronome to allow you to master tremolo in an incremental way.

If you seem to have the technique under control you can "up the ante" a little. You must remember, however, that if you seem to lose control of your tremolo at the higher speed you must bring it back down to a slower tempo again. Practiced this way, it will become secure and well articulated, just as it should be.

It's also a good idea to see what others have to say on the subject as technical concepts on guitar are often multi-faceted.

Good luck!

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