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13 5 THE FUNDA MENTALS OF BATTUTO (STRUMMING) TECHNIQUE There is no real equivalent to battuto (Italian: battente or battuto; Spanish: rasgueado ) for the modern classical guitar. Most players today equate the Spanish term for it, rasgueado, with flamenco guitar technique, but the two are very different, mainly because the high-tension stringing of the modern instrument demands a somewhat aggressive right-hand fingering style, while the much lower tension stringing of the baroque instrument encourages a more delicate approach. Battuto technique involves both simple strokes and rhythmic ornamentation. SIMPLE STROK ES Down strokes are played with the backs of the nails of the third, second, and first fingers and up strokes with at least the index finger. The strumming motion should come from the right-hand wrist alone and should not involve the forearm. The wrist should be bent outward (not level with the forearm), and the strokes should be executed using a twisting motion of the wrist. Some present-day guitarists play down strokes with just the flesh of the thumb for a gentler sound; however, this was not the original intention. A strum with the flesh of the thumb was indeed employed in the Baroque era, but it was considered a special effect and there was a specific sign in the notation to indicate when it was to be employed. An extended passage of strummed chords should be played with the right hand over the fingerboard, not the soundboard. This position is specifically mentioned in some of the music sources, and guitarists are frequently depicted with their right hands thus in paintings and drawings of the period. The notes in a down strum should be played as close together as possible; although, if the passage is exceptionally long, some chords can be spread for the sake of variety. Unless otherwise indicated in the music, on a down stroke all five courses should be struck. On an up stroke, however, using the index finger alone, it’s only necessary to strike three or four. THE BASICS 14 The chords can be strummed loudly and vigorously, very softly, or anything in between , depending, of course, on the musical context. full control of the right-hand wrist is essential to achieve these nuances of sound. Strummed chords are an integral part of baroque guitar technique and must be practiced diligently so that, when interspersed with lute-style passages, they sound neither tentative nor obtrusive. R HY THMIC OR NA MENTATION The simple strumming technique described above should be augmented with rhythmic ornamentation; however, when precisely to do so seems to have been left up to the player. The two main forms of rhythmic ornamentation are (in Italian) the trillo and the repicco . The trillo, described in different ways by seventeenth-century guitarists, is basically a series of rapid down and up strokes played either with the index finger of the right hand or with various combinations of the index and thumb. It is used to augment the sound or fill in the texture of chord passages. The guitarist foscarini advocates playing two strokes for each printed one, and he leaves it to the player to decide when to use it. Other guitarists suggest three or four strokes for each printed one. Example 5.1 illustrates how the player might add trilli to the harmonic pattern known as the Bergamasca. The repicco is similar to the trillo, but is often more intricate and rhythmically charged. It involves four strokes: a controlled use of the full down stroke, followed by a down and an up stroke using just the thumb, and ending with an up stroke using just the index finger. Occasionally, repicci are found in the music fully written out. for the transcription in example 5.2, I’ve used modern designations for the right-hand fingers (p = thumb and i = index finger). The player should articulate the four strokes of the repicco with care, so that each is heard uniformly and distinctly. Practice them slowly at first and then bring them up to the speed of approximately quarter note = 160 while still retaining a relaxed and fluent right-hand wrist movement. Don’t forget to hold your hand over the fingerboard, not the soundboard. After mastery of the basic pattern, nearly any chord shown as a single stroke in the music can be played in the rhythmic pattern shown in example 5.2, or in other patterns, such as the two illustrated in example 5.3. [18.117.196.184...

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