What Makes A Good Trill?

Classical Guitar Trill Techniques

"Trill - The rapid alternation of two tones
either a whole or a half tone apart..."

There are several elements that assist good technique for this type of movement on classical guitar, or any style of guitar for that matter.

Because it is made up of smaller movements we should first examine what those movements are.

The complete trilling technique on guitar consists of ligado or "slur" movements both up and down. If you are an electric guitar player these movements would simply be known as hammer-on and pull-off so don’t be bothered by the term.

Firstly we’ll start with the upper ligado or hammer-on. This just means the slur is being played from a lower pitched note to a higher pitched one. Here is an example of how slurs are written from "F" to "G" on the 1st or "E" string of the guitar…

trill

The way you play it is to hold "F" with your 1st finger and play it as normal with your right hand. Then snap your 3rd finger down quite firmly on the "G" note without striking the string again with your right hand.

You should use the very tip of your 3rd finger to execute this movement as using the "pads" can often lead to unwanted muting or string noises.

The lower ligado or pull-off starts with your 3rd finger on the "G" note and as you play the note you pull your 3rd finger in a downwards movement towards the floor dragging the string with it (slightly, don’t overdo it). Then the "F" is sounded. This has the effect of making the ligado tone very crisp and snappy, which is what you’re aiming for. It’s the reverse of the upper ligado...

Trill

Once you have mastered these movements (very slowly of course!) you can join them up to complete the trilling technique.

It is nothing more than these two movements joined together in a continuous movement for however long it is indicated. It is often quite faster than a normal ligado. In music notation it is indicated as "tr" (and a squiggly line) and looks like this…

Trill

Here's a short video to highlight a trill in action...

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When you perform the ligado don’t forget that the only note that is struck with the right hand is the first one, unless the music indicates otherwise.

The sounding of the succeeding notes are all from the left hand or trilling motion. You can see that there must be a firm technique involved otherwise it will sound shallow and weak and trail off. You’ll need to build strength in your hands and fingers over time.

It all comes with practice and patience so don’t be put off. Practice slowly and regularly and you too will get it perfect.

Good luck!

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