an overview and performance guide to the 10 etudes for guitar …/67531/metadc1505178/... ·...

APPROVED:

Thomas Johnson, Committee Chair Paul Leenhouts, Committee Member Bradley Bennight, Committee Member John Holt, Chair of the Division of Instrumental

Studies Felix Olschofka, Interim Director of Graduate

Studies in the College of Music John Richmond, Dean of the College of Music Victor Prybutok, Dean of the Toulouse

Graduate School

AN OVERVIEW AND PERFORMANCE GUIDE TO THE 10 ETUDES FOR GUITAR BY GIULIO REGONDI

Stephen Arthur Lochbaum, B.M., M.M.

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS

May 2019

Lochbaum, Stephen Arthur. An Overview and Performance Guide to the 10 Etudes for

Guitar by Giulio Regondi. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), May 2019, 63 pp., 2 figures, 54

musical examples, bibliography, 28 titles.

The 10 Etudes for Guitar by Giulio Regondi represent the pinnacle of technical

achievement for nineteenth century guitar performance. Dense textures, large stretches, fast

scales and arpeggios, and obscure modulations are used in combinations that were unrivalled

among his contemporaries. The etudes were not published until the late twentieth century and

have not had generations of guitarists solving their challenges and teaching them to younger

generations of students. Right-hand fingerings are virtually non-existent in published versions,

but a thorough study of period sources yields several strategies; examples from each etude are

provided. Modern right-hand scale philosophy, such as playing scales with “a,” “m,” and “i” in

the right-hand are addressed and further example provided to give players several solutions to

choose from. Right-hand fingering implies articulation and several interpretations are analyzed

for each etude where they exist. Left-hand fingerings are sporadically present in modern

editions but are often lacking in the most difficult passages. Stretching techniques from other

string instruments can be applied to the guitar and one technique in particular can be applied

to the most difficult stretches in Regondi in numerous instances. For some of the most

challenging textures several solutions are given. The etudes of Regondi can prepare the

guitarist for challenges found in playing music that is not written for the guitar or even by

guitarists which consists of a substantial portion of the modern concert guitarist’s repertoire.

His music pushes what is possible on the guitar and borderlines what many would call

idiomatic. This paper establishes a small number of techniques that will allow players to solve

any challenge presented in the etudes from multiple technical viewpoints.

ii

Copyright2019

By

StephenArthurLochbaum

iii

TABLEOFCONTENTS

Page

PARTI:INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................1

BiographyofGiulioRegondi...............................................................................................2

HistoryoftheEtudesandavailablesources......................................................................5

PARTII:PERFORMANCEMETHODS................................................................................................7

Lefthandandfixed-pinkyfingerstretching.......................................................................8

Modernversusperiodright-handfingerings...................................................................13

Useofthepinkyfingerintherighthand..........................................................................20

Guidelinestoapproachtheetudes..................................................................................23

PARTIII:THE10ETUDES..............................................................................................................24

Etude1.............................................................................................................................25

Etude2.............................................................................................................................29

Etude3.............................................................................................................................33

Etude4.............................................................................................................................38

Etude5.............................................................................................................................41

Etude6.............................................................................................................................44

Etude7.............................................................................................................................47

Etude8.............................................................................................................................49

Etude9.............................................................................................................................53

Etude10...........................................................................................................................55

BIBLIOGRAPHY..............................................................................................................................61

1

PART1

INTRODUCTION

2

BiographyofGiulioRegondi

MostbiographiesplaceRegondi’sbirthinLyonc.1822butwithoutabirthcertificatewe

mayneverknowforcertain.1HisGermanmotherpassedawayduringchildbirthandhewas

lefttoamysteriousItalianfigurewhoassumedtheroleofhisfather.2Itiswidelyspeculated

thatthemanwasnotthebiologicalfatherandthatheintentionallyexploitedtheyoungchild’s

talentsforfinancialgain.3Theyoungchildwassupposedlylockedinhisroomandmadeto

practiceatleastfivehoursaday.TheelderRegondiwouldevenenlistneighborstowatchon

thechildandensurehekeptbusy.Thechildbeganperformingaroundtheageofsixandby

1831hadsettledinEnglandandwasalreadyanestablishedvirtuoso.4Paganini,whohadbeen

inLondonforthe1831season,witnessedtheboy’sincredibleabilitiesandexpressedhis

“unqualifiedastonishmentanddelight”onhearinghim.5

BythetimeRegondiwasfifteenhehadperformedinvirtuallyeverysinglecourtand

palaceinEurope.6FromJune1834throughJune1835theheandhisfatherengagedina

concerttouracrossIrelandthatcomprisedatleastfiftyengagementsanditwassoonafterthis

timethathisfatherfledwiththeirentireearningsvaluedover2000pounds.7Manyyearslater

1StewartButton,TheGuitarinEngland,1800-1924(NewYork,London:GarlandPublishingInc.,1989.),100.2Button,101.3GiulioRegondi,CompleteConcertWorksforGuitar,infacsimilesoftheoriginaleditionswithacommentaryandbiographicalessayonthecomposerbySimonWynberg(Heidelberg,ChanterelleVerlag,1990);AlessandroBorisAmissich,“PerUnaRivalutazionediGiulioRegondi(1822-1872),CompositoreeConcertista”(Ph.D.dissertation,UniversitàdegliStudidiPadova,1981-1982);GiulioRegondi,TenStudiesforGuitar,editedbyJohnHolmquist,witheditionsbyMatanyaOphee(Columbus,Ohio:June,1990andStephenChambers,Dublin,July,1990Columbus,O.H.,4322:EditionsOrphée,P.O.Box21291,1990).4Button,103.5Button,102.6PhilipBone,GuitarandMandolin(London:Schott,1972),291.7ThomasLawrence,“TheGuitarinIreland1760-1866”(PhDdiss.,UniversityCollegeDublin,1999),3.

3

theseniorRegondiwrotetohissonpleadingforhelpwhotookthemaninandemployeda

physiciantocareforhim.8

FromhisbaseinLondon,Regondiearnedhislivingasaperformingguitaristandlateras

aconcertinistalloverEurope.In1841hetouredGermanyandAustriawithcellistJosephLidel

andnotablyperformed,atClaraSchumann’srequest,inaconcertthatincludedthepremiereof

RobertSchumann’s1stSymphonyinBbaswellasperformancesbyMendelssohnandseveral

otherwell-knownmusiciansofthetime.9RegondiisalsoknowntohavemetFernandoSor,who

dedicatedapiecetohim,10andborrowedorcomposedverysimilarpassagesfromSor’sand

othercomposers’etudes.In1846Regondibegantobepraisedbothforhisconcertinaand

guitarabilities.PerhapshisEuropeantourwithpianistMadameDulkenthatsameyearwas

intendedtoshowcasehisabilitiesonhisnewinstrument.11

Despitetheguitar’swaningpopularityinthelatterhalfofthenineteenthcentury,

Regondisurvivedasaconcertartist.12Fortherestofhiscareer,untilillnessstruckhiminhis

finalyears,Regondiwouldlivealoneandmoveoften.Therearegapslastingyearswherehedid

notperformontheguitaroratall,andhislastknownconcertin1868wasentirelyonthe

concertina.13DuringthelatterhalfofhislifeRegondiauthoredtwoseparatemethodsand

composedandarrangedprolificallyfortheconcertina.Thereareunconfirmablesourcesthat

indicateRegondiintendedonleavingthestageandgavehisguitarmusic(orguitar)toaRussian

8Button,101.9AprilLainePrince,“Deranmutreichen,unschuldsvollenHerrin:ClaraSchumann’sPublicPersonas”(PhDdiss.,UniversityofTexasatAustin,2009),318.10Souvenird'amitiéop.46.11Button,111.12Button,126.13Button,127

4

guitaristin1864.14Thedecisionnottopublishtheetudesmayhavebeenfrompublicor

personallackofinterestintheguitarduringthelatterhalfofthecentury,orperhapsother

unknownreasons.Itisalreadythroughastrokeofluckthattheyevenexisttodayaswillbe

discussed.

14GiulioRegondi,TenStudiesforGuitar,editedbyJohnHolmquist,witheditionsbyMatanyaOphee(Columbus,Ohio:June,1990andStephenChambers,Dublin,July,1990Columbus,O.H.,4322:EditionsOrphée,P.O.Box21291,1990),iii-iv.

5

HistoryoftheEtudesandavailablesources

OneofthelargestfactorscontributingtothelackofstudyoftheRegondiEtudes,orany

ofhisguitarmusic,isthattheyhavenotbeenwidelyavailabletothepublicuntiltheendofthe

twentiethcentury.AlthoughAndresSegoviaobtainedacopyoftheEtudesin1926,15available

evidencesuggestshedidnotperform,record,publish,orshareanyofthem.Assuchthese

piecesdonotenjoyalonghistoryofperformanceanddiscussionlikemostoftheother

repertoirepopularizedbytheSpanishvirtuoso.

Oneetudefromthesetof10andfiveconcertworkswerepublishedbySymonWynberg

in1981intheirfacsimileform.16Thisisthefirsttimethatguitaristsofthetwentiethcentury

hadaccesstoanyofRegondi’smusicandseveralbiographicalandspeculativearticleswere

publishedintheyearsfollowing.17

The10EtudesdidnotbecomepubliclyavailableasafullsetuntilMatanyaOphee

discoveredtheminaprivatecollectioninRussiain1989andpublishedthemoneyearlater

withfingeringsgivenbyJohnHolmquist.18Thefirsteditionwasbasedonphotocopiesandwas

revisedafterOpheesecuredaccesstothemanuscripts.Severalaccidentals,rests,stems,and

fingeringsthatwerenotreadableinthephotocopieswereamendedandtheauthorofthecopy

15GiulioRegondi,TenEtudesforguitar:RevisedandEditedbyMatanyaOphee(Columbus,OH:EditionsOrphée,2008).16SimonWynberg,CompleteConcertWorksforGuitarinfacsimilesoftheoriginaleditionswithcommentaryandbiographicalessayonthecomposerbySimonWynberg(Heidelberg:ChantarelleVerlag,1990).17SimonWynberg,“GiulioRegondi,cennibiografici,”IlFronimo,n.42(1983).AlessandroBorisAmisich,“GiulioRegondi,unbambinoprodigio?,”IlFronimo,n.45(1983).AlessandroBorisAmisich,“GiulioRegondi,Lacarrierconcertisticaneglianni’40,”IlFronimo,n.58(1987).AlessandroBorisAmisich,“Compositoreeconcertista,”IlFronimo,n.62(1988).AlessandroBorisAmisich,“GiulioRegondi:diecistudiedunafoto,”IlFronimo,n.76(1991).AlessandroBorisAmisich,“Insertomonografico:GiulioRegondi,”Guitart,n.8(1997).ThomasLawrence,“GiulioRegondiinIreland,”PaGes,n.6(1999).18GiulioRegondi,TenEtudesforguitar:RevisedandEditedbyMatanyaOphee(Columbus,OH:EditionsOrphée,2008).

6

wasalsoabletobedetermined.TheprefacefeaturesasegmentwrittenbyMatanyaOphee

detailingthediscoveryoftheetudesaswellasvariousspeculationsontheauthorshipofthe

copiesandoftheetudesthemselves.Theeditionpreservesallslursandexpressionmarkings

fromtheoriginalswhilemodernizingthenotationtoclarifythecounterpoint.Left-hand

fingeringsareaddedinconsistentlythroughouttheeditionandtendtooffersuggestionsfor

moredifficultpassageswithseveralnotableexceptions.Right-handfingeringsarenotaddedor

discussedatall.

In2007anothercollectionofmusicwasdiscoveredwithtwomorelargeconcertworks

byRegondiaswellasearlierversionsoftheetudes.19Withcontinuedstudyandinterestinhis

musiconecanonlyhopeformoresuchdiscoveries.

Regondididpublishamethodfortheconcertinaaswellasaseriesofprogressive

etudeswhileinLondon.20TheCompleteSeriesofElementaryandProgressiveExercisesforthe

Concertinacontainsmanyexamplesofchromaticlinesharmonizedinavarietyoftexturesand

althoughnotdirectlyapplicabletotheguitarprovideonewithadeeperunderstandingof

Regondi’sharmoniclanguage.Bothbooksprovidedetailedexplanationsonthetechnical

challengesoftheinstrumentandofferaplethoraofexerciseswithawidespectrumoftextures

andharmonies.BothbooksindicatethatRegondiwasadedicatedteacherandleavesone

wishinghehadwrittenaguitarmethodaswell.

19FantasieüberMozartsDonGiovanniandAirvariédel’operadeBelliniICapuletieiMontecchiwerefoundinKarlScheit’scollectionbyMatanyaOpheeandpublishedthesameyear.20GiulioRegondi,NewMethodfortheConcertina(Dublin:JosephScates,1857).GiulioRegondi,ACompleteSeriesofElementaryandProgressiveExercisefortheConcertina(London:JosephScates,1844).

7

PART2

PERFORMANCEMETHODS

8

Lefthandandfixedpinkyfingerstretching

OneofthemostcommonreasonscitedbyperformersforavoidingRegondiistheleft-

handstretchingrequiredthroughouthismusic.Thisissuecanbeaddressedspecificallyusing

stringtechniqueasaresource.

Thebackwardextension,orloweredform,commonincellotechniquehasnumerous

applicationswhenappliedtotheguitar.Thetechnique,exactlyasdescribedforcelloplayers,

worksjustaswellontheguitar.

Theextendedpositionofthelefthandinvolvesastretchbetweenthefirstandsecondfingersfromtheusualhalf-steptoawholestep…Itisextremelyimportant,however,thatthisexpansionorstretchonlyinvolvethefirstandsecondfingers.Therestofthehandandfingerscontinueinthesamerelativeposition.21

TheimageshowninEx.2.1accompaniestheabovedescriptionandthesamehand

shapeiseasilyachievableontheguitar.Therearenumerouscommonscaleshapesthat

guitaristsfromalldisciplinesusethatcanbenefitfromthistechnique.Anymajorscale(ormode

thatrisesbyawhole-steptwice)thatbeginswiththefirstfingerandplaysthefirst3noteson

thesamestringcanbeexecutedwiththistechniquewithoutrequiringabduction.

21LouisPotter,Jr.,TheArtofCelloPlaying(Evanston,Illinois:Summy-BirchardCompany,1964),70.

9

Ex.2.1,Backwardextension:

Theforwardextensionusestheindexfingerlikeananchorwhiletheotherthreefingers

effectivelyshifttoahigherposition.22Itisimportanttonotethatthethumbwillfollowthe

second,third,andfourthfingersandthehandshapeissimilarinlookandfeeltothebackward

extensioneventhoughtheapproachisdifferent.

22Potter,77.

10

Ex.2.2,Forwardextension:

Oneofthemostfamoustechniquebooksforguitar,PumpingNylonbyScottTennant,

featuresanexercisecalled“horizontalcharacterbuilders”whicharedesignedtoincrease

strength,stamina,andworknotoftenusedmuscles.23Inthisexercisetheguitaristisaskedto

fixtheirfirstfingerandstretchuptoaminorthirdwiththesecondfinger.

23ScottTennant,PumpingNylon:CompleteEdition(VanNuys,California:AlfredMusicPublishingCompany,n.d.)22.

11

Ex.2.3,HorizontalcharacterbuilderfromPumpingNylon:24

Becausethereisnodescriptionofwhattodowiththeleft-handthumbormiddlefinger,

theimplicationistheplayerwillkeeptheirindexfingerrigidandstretchoutwardswiththe

middlefingerusingabduction.AsaplayerandateacherformanyyearsIhaveseenthis

exercisecausediscomfortalmostinstantlyinthemajorityofplayersincludingmyselfwhen

tryingtoperformtheexercisesolelythroughabduction.Iftheplayerisnotcareful,theusageof

abductioncanbeappliedtoallstretchesinthelefthandandconsiderablyincreasetheriskof

fatigueandinjury.Ifoneexecutesthisexercisebystartinginabackwardextension,usingthe

thumbandthemiddlefingerasfixedunits,theywillachievethesameintervalsbyusingthe

naturalflexibilityofthehandandwillnotrequireexcessiveabduction.Itcanalsobeexecuted

withatechniquelikeaforwardextensionwheretheindexfingerwouldactlikeananchorwhile

thethumbandmiddlefingershifttohigherpositions.Perhapstheintentoftheauthorwasfor

eachplayertodiscoverextensionsandwhichoneworksbestforthem.

Theexamplesshowncanbevariedandcombinedtogivetheguitaristamethodto

approachdifficultstretchesthroughouttherepertoire.

24Tennant,18.

12

OnevariantprovesveryusefulinthemusicofRegondiandwillbereferredtoasafixed-

pinkybackwardsextension.Ifthepinkyisplacedfirstitcanbeusedlikeananchorwhilethe

otherthreefingersandthethumbofthelefthandallmovetoalowerposition.Whenan

extremestretchisrequiredbetweenjustthefourthandfirstfinger,thistechniquecanbe

furtherenhancedifonestraightenstheindexfingerasinanormalbackwardextension.

Thistechniqueanditsusageonguitarhasyettobefoundasasuggestioninguitar

methodscurrentlypublishedbutthisisnottosaymanyplayersarenotalreadyawareofit.

VirtuallyallofRegondi’setudesandconcertworksrequiretheknowledgeofthistechniqueto

besuccessfullyexecuted,especiallywhenoneconsidersthatmodernguitarsarebuiltwitha

longerscalelengththanthatofperiodinstrumentsandrequireanevengreaterlevelof

flexibility.25Usingandexploitingthistechniquehasasignificantimpactonfingeringdecisions

andwhenusedcorrectlyhasthepotentialtoreduceinjuriescausedbyabductionoveruseon

topofmakingmorepiecesaccessibletoperformers.Thesecondetudeparticularlybenefits

greatlyfromthistechniqueandprovidesonethegroundworktoapproachthenumerous

difficultpassages.

25Thescalelengthofperiodinstrumentsis~63cmwhilemoderninstrumentsarebuiltat65cm.AfactorinSegoviaavoidingthisrepertoiremaybethatevenlargerguitarsof67cmwerecommonintheearlytomid-20thcenturyandthismusicisbeyonddifficultwithaninstrumentthatlarge.

13

Modernversusperiodright-handfingerings

AnarticlebyLorenzoMichelicomparestheteachingmethodsofCarcassi,Sor,Guiliani,

Aguado,andCarullianddrawsseveralconclusionsbasedonthedifferencesinplayingstyleand

executionofeachpersonality.26Thearticlerelateswell-knownperiodsourcesanddispelsmany

misconceptionsaboutfingeringandinterpretationduringthenineteenthcentury.One

importantfactoristheusageandfrequencyofleft-handslurs.Withsmallexceptionsinthefifth

andtenthetudes,Regonditendstofavorunequalplacementofhisslursandtheusageinthe

firstmeasuresofhisfirstetudeisthegeneralstandardacrosshismusic.

Ex.2.4,Measures1-2,GiulioRegondiEtude1:

ThestudiesofGiulianifeatureasimilarusageorslurs,butwithgreaterfrequency.Itis

interestingtonotethesimilarityinkeysignature,tempodesignation,andharmonicoutline.

Ex.2.5,Measures1-3,MauroGiulianiEtude4,Op.48:

InEx.2.5onecanseethatGiulianiwouldpluckthefirstnoteoneachstringandslurthe

restuntilhehadtomovetoanadjacentstringandrepeattheprocess.Theresultisa

26LorenzoMicheli,“MauroGiuliani’sGuitarTechniqueandEarlyNineteenth-CenturyPedagogy,”trans.JonathanLeathwood,GuitarForumn.2,(EGTAUK,2004),45-69.

14

surprisinglyrichandvariedarticulationoveranotherwisesimpleline.Asuccessfulperformance

willmimicaspectsofhumanspeech,wherewordsofvaryingsyllablelengthfollowoneanother

inaregularrhythm.Strongconsonantsoundscanberelatedtopluckednotesandvowelsor

softconsonancescanberelatedtoslurrednotes.

UnequalorasymmetricalarticulationisalsodiscussedinLeopoldMozart’sfamousviolin

treatise.27ThistypeoftreatmentisdescribedinmosttreatisesfromtheBaroquethroughthe

Classicalerasandwascarriedbyguitaristswellintothemid-nineteenthcentury.28

Ex.2.6,ExamplesfromLeopoldMozart’swork,page121:

Ex.2.6showsonlyfiveoutofoverthirtyexamplesprovidedbyMozartinthissectionof

histreatise.Asfortheperformanceofsuchfigures,Mozartrecommendsthattheplayer

27LeopoldMozart,ATreatiseontheFundamentalPrinciplesofviolinplaying,trans.EdithKnocker(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1948),114-124.28Quantz,Couperin,Mozart,Turk,Mathesonandmanyotherswillindicatethistypeofarticulationthroughdirectorindirectmeans.

15

emphasizetheirregularitybystatingthat“itisnotenoughtoplaysuchfiguresjustasthey

stand,accordingtothebowingindicated;theymustalsobesoperformedthatthevariation

strikestheearatonce.”29Theentirechapterthatthismaterialisdrawnfromisfullofvariations

onhowtoplaypassagesconsistingofequalandunequaldivisionsintime.Formanyexamples

Mozartgaveseveralsolutionsallowingtheplayertochooseaccordingtotheirowntaste.This

paperwillfollowasimilarmodelwhileavoidingpersonalbias.

ThisstudybyGiulianifrompartthreeofhisMethodOp.1showsavariedand

asymmetricalapproachtoright-handfingeringingeneral.

Ex.2.7,StudyNo.1fromOp.1,MauroGiuliani

29Mozart,123.

16

ItappearsGiulianiisusingthesamefingerintherighthandrepeatedlyformusical

reasonsandnotalwaystechnicalones;therearenumerousspotswherealternatingfingers

wouldaccommodateastringcrossingorfacilitateafasterperformance,butGiulianidoesnot

alwaysfollowsuchguidelines.Repeatingfingeringsintherighthandwillcreateslight

differencesinarticulationandifonefollowsGiuliani’sfingeringinthisetude,itsoundsvery

differentthenamodernapproachof“alwaysalternate.”Modernplayerswilloftenchoosean

awkwardleft-handfingeringorstrugglewithright-handfingeringstoavoidrepeatingthesame

right-handfingerwhenvirtuosilikeGiulianididnotseemtomindatall.Giulianiwouldalsouse

left-handfingeringsthatwouldbefrowneduponbyteacherstodayinhisOp.128.Ex2.8aand

2.8bfromMicheli’sarticleshowGiulianiusingthesecondandfourthfingerstoplaymultiple

stopsatthesametime,knowntoguitaristsasbarchordsbutusuallydoneonlywiththefirst

finger.30

Ex.2.8a,Measure41fromOp.128,MauroGiuliani:

30TranscriptionsofEx2.8aandEx.2.8bfromMicheli,64.

17

Ex.2.8b,Measure58fromOp.128,MauroGiuliani:

Ex.2.8ashowsasurprisingwaytoplayafirstinversionAminorchord.Toexecutethis

fingeringonemustcollapsethetipjointtofrettwostringssimultaneously,somethingclassical

guitaristsaretaughtnevertodo.ThepinkyfingerwillhavetocollapseaswellinEx.2.8b.

CollapsingthejointsiscommonincellotechniqueandsinceGiulianiwasanaccomplished

cellistitislogicalthatheadaptedittotheguitar.31Thistechniqueisbeneficialthroughoutthe

musicofRegondiandtheentireguitarcanon.

Newerconceptssuchasplayingfastscalesbyalternatingthreefingersintherighthand

insteadoftwo32willbeappliedtorelevantpassages,allowingplayerstochoosefromavariety

ofworkingsolutionsthatwillcatertotheirowntechnicalambitions.Theguidelinesprovidedin

MattPalmer’sbookwillbeexploitedasitiswidelyavailableandwell-known.33

Toexecutesocalled“three-fingerscales”onemustendeavortoconsistentlyplacethree

notesoneveryconsecutivestring.Withthreenotesperstringtheguitaristcanthenplaythem

31GiulianiplayedcellointhepremierperformanceofBeethoven’s7thSymphony.32NarciscoYepeswasoneofthefirstproponentsofthistechnique.ThecurrentsuccessofMattPalmerandMatteoMela(amongothers)havegreatlyincreasedthepopularityofthistechniqueinrecentyears.33MattPalmer,TheVirtuosoGuitarist:MethodforGuitar,Volume1:ANewApproachtoFastScales(MattPalmerMusic,2011).

18

usingthecyclicalsequenceof“a”“m”and“i”oneverystring.Thesimplicityofthesystem

allowsonetocomeupwithfingeringsolutionsquicklyandpracticetheminanefficient

manner.Occasionallysmallvariationsarenecessary,butthismethodworksbestwhenitis

unaltered.Themajordownfalltothesystemiswhenyoumustplayoneormorepartswiththe

scale.Havingtoplayaccompanyingvoiceswithscalesseverelylimitsone’sleft-handfingering

optionsandcanpreventtheplayerfrombeingabletosetthreenotesperstringconsistently.

Inthesecases,a“two-finger”approach(onealternating“i”and“m”)isrecommendedwhile

stillusingtheringfingertohelpwithstringcrossingsandsoforth.

Beingabletoplaywiththesameright-handfingerinrapidsuccessionisimplied

throughouttheetudesofRegondi.Whilethisisoftenforbiddeninmodernmethods,itwasa

commonpracticeamongnineteenthcenturyguitarists.The120right-handstudiesbyGiuliani

containnumerousexamplesrequiringguitariststorepeatright-handfingersrapidly.34The

methodbyAguadoalsocontainsmanysamplesrequiringrepeatedright-handfingers,with

Estudio23beingastrikingexample.

Ex.2.9,Measures1-3Estudio23,DionisioAguado:

34Seenumbers40-65.

19

Playing3-notechordswithanotherrapidlymovingvoiceisacommontexturein

Regondi,andverysimilarfingeringstothisAguadoetudecanbeusedtogreateffect:

Ex.2.10,Measure4Etude1,GiulioRegondi:

20

Useofthepinkyfingerintherighthand

Duringthenineteenthcenturytherewasmuchdebateconcerningtheusageofthe

right-handpinkyfinger.Oftenitisassumedthatallplayersofthiserarestedthepinkyonthe

topoftheinstrumentexactlylikeluteplayers.In1830,FernandoSorclarifiedhisuseofthis

practice:“Thelittlefingerisusefultomesometimesbypressingitperpendicularlyonthe

soundboardbelowstring1,butIamcarefultoraiseitassoonasitisnotnecessary.”35Already

bythispointintimeitisnolongerstandardtorestthepinkyonthetopoftheinstrumentand

by1843DionisioAguadoinsistedthat“Innowaywillonerestthelittlefingeronthetable,or

anyotherfinger,becausethehandmustremainfreeandnimble”.36Instarkcontrasttowhat

mostplayersdoeventoday,Aguadostated“Allthefingersoftherighthandwillbeusedfor

pluckingthestrings,includingthelittlefingeronrareoccasions”.37Therearenumerous

passagesintheRegondietudes,nottomentiontheconcertworks,thatwouldbenefitfromthe

useoftheright-handpinkyfingerinmeasures23-24ofEtude6.

Ex.2.11,Measures23-24Etude6,GiulioRegondi:

35FernandoSor,MethodfortheSpanishGuitar,trans.AlfredMerrick,ed.BrianJeffery(London:TeclaEditions,1995),56.36DionisioAguado,NewGuitarMethod,trans.LouiseBigwood,ed.BrianJeffery(London:TeclaEditions,1995),3.37Ibid.,5.

21

Onthethirdeighthnoteofthesecondbeat,theplayerisrequiredtoplayonthefirst

fourstringsandthesixthstringwhileomittingthefifthstring.Typically,whenoneneedstoplay

chordsofmorethanfournotes,theright-handthumbisusedto“sweep”overtwoormore

bassstringswhiletheindex,middle,andringfingersplucktheremainingtones,oronefingeris

simplyusedtostrumtherequiredstrings.38Inthiscaseneitherwouldbepossibleasthefifth

stringwouldsound.Theotheroptionwouldbetoarpeggiatethechordquicklybyre-usingat

leastonefingerintherighthand,butthemetricplacementofthechordisnotonthebeatand

arolledchordwouldcreateanaccentinanundesirablelocation.Thephraseinthiscontextis

clearlymovingtowardstheappoggiaturaonthehighF#seenonthedownbeatinmeasure24.

Althoughwecan’tprovethatRegondiusedhispinkyfingertopluckontheguitar,hedid

liberateitsuseontheconcertinaashedescribesinhismethod:“Chordsofeightnotesareeasy

becausebyreleasingthelittlefingersfromtheirholders(oppositethethumbs)theplayerthen

haseightfingersathisdisposal…”39Thisisaninterestingparalleltothedevelopmentofguitar

techniqueanditsliberationofthefingersasdiscussedabove.Basedonhisconcertinamethod

andthepracticeofcontemporaryguitarists,itispossibletosuggestthatRegondiusedhisright-

handpinkyfingerwhenplayingtheguitar.LikeGiuliani,perhapsRegondiborroweda

proficiencygainedonanotherinstrumentandappliedittotheguitar.Playingwiththepinky

fingercanbequiteusefulifnotnecessaryinmuchofthetwentiethcenturyrepertoire.40

38MatteoCarcassi,ClassicalGuitarMethod,trans.CarlFisher(NewYork:CarlFischer,1946),12.39GiulioRegondi,NewMethodfortheConcertina(Dublin:JosephScates,1857),1.40Takemitsu,Villa-Lobos,Henze,Maw,Lindberg,andmanyothershavetexturesthatbenefitfrombeingabletousetheright-handpinky.

22

Playersofjazzguitarareexpectedtobeproficientinpluckingwiththeright-handpinkywhile

holdingapick.

23

GuidelinesforapproachingtheEtudes

Whileitispossibletoinventaninfinitenumberofsolutionstothe10Etudes,

establishingguidelinescanreducetimespentexperimentingwithdifficultfingeringsand

provideplayerswithanapproachthatcanwork,withsomemodifications,formosttonal

repertoireintheguitarcanon.

TheetudesofRegondipresentonewithinnumerablestretchesinthelefthand.In

virtuallyeverycaseitispossibletoplacethepinkyfingeranduseitasananchorwhile

positioningtheotherfingers.Passagesleadinguptostretcheswilltakethisintoconsideration

andensurethattheplayerisabletosetthepinkyfromanidiomaticplayingpositionbefore

havingtoextendotherfingers.Usingbackwardextensionswiththeindexfingerwillalsoprove

valuableinscalesandothertextures.Theeaseatwhichplayerscanachievelargestretchesor

playmanybarchordswillvarygreatlybetweenindividualplayers.

Nooneright-handapproachwillworkwiththemusicofRegondi,oranycomposerfrom

thenineteenthcenturyforthatmatter,sotheplayermustbepreparedtouseavarietyof

solutions.Fromthispointforward,scalesexecutedbyalternating“i”and“m”intherighthand

willbereferredtoastwo-fingeredandscalesexecutedwith“a,”“m,”and“i”asthree-fingered.

Mostguitaristsandtrainedmusiciansfromthenineteenthcenturyseemedtoprefer

endlessvarietyinarticulationwhenfingeringscalesinbothhandssosearchingforasingle

methodtoapplytoalltheetudesisdiscouraged.Thewealthofmusicalideasandvariationin

texturecallsforanequallyabundantvarietyininterpretations.

24

PART3

THEETUDES

25

Etude1

Therearethreetypesoftexturesusedinthispiece:scales,arpeggios,andsyncopated

passagesbeforecadences.Thefirsttwocanuseavarietyofsolutionstobediscussedwhilethe

thirdpresentsindividualdifficulties.

Thescalescanbetackledusingtworight-handfingeringstrategies.Thefirstinvolvesa

two-fingeredapproachwhiletryingtoavoidawkwardstringcrossings.Thealternationof

fingersintherighthandhasbeenkeptstricttoallowplayerstoexecuteatafastertempoif

desired.Theexamplesprovidedshowabasicapproachwhichcanbemodifiedtosuitdiffering

interpretations.Fingeringsindifferentpositionsamongotherthingswillofferdifferentcolors

andtheplayercanexperimentwithfurtheroptionsusingthismethod.

Ex.3.1,Measures1-2:

Ex.3.2,Measures9-10:

26


Itispossibletofingerthispiecewiththree-fingeredscalesaswell.Itsometimes

removesfingerdoublingsandcanfacilitateafastertempo.Thelasttwoscalesworkperfectlyin

theopenpositionwithsimpleleft-handfingeringsasseeninEx3.8.

Ex.3.4a,Measures1-2:

Ex.3.4b,Measures1-2:

27




Thearpeggiofiguresinmeasures3,7,and11havetwoviablesolutionswhichboth

involverepeatingaright-handfinger.Thefirstdoublesthe“a”fingerwhiletheseconddoubles

“p”.Whenplayingtwoconsecutivenoteswithonefinger,thefirstnotewilloftenbearticulated

ordetachedwhilethesecondnotewillusuallybeaccented,especiallyatfastertempi,because

thefingerishavingtomovequicklytopluckagain.Inthefollowingtwoexamplestheaccents

arenotsuggestionsbutmerelyshowingthedifferentaccentsproducedbyeachfingering.Both

createdifferentsoundingrealizationsandplayerscouldevenusebothinaperformancesince

28

thispassageisrepeatedseveraltimes.Doubling“p”inmeasure3emphasizesthechromatic

lineonthethirdstring.Itiswisetopracticebothstylesasthistexturecomeupfrequentlyin

Regondi’smusicandthesecondsolutionprovidedhereispossiblysuggestedbythecomposer

inEtude8.

Ex.3.9a,Measure3:

Ex.3.9b,Measure3:

Thispiecehassyncopatedanddifficultpassagesthataredistinctintexture:measures

14,21,32,and44.Thepassagesdonotpresentfingeringchallenges,buttheplayershouldnote

thatRegondiplacesthesepassagespriortocadencesinthisandmanysubsequentetudes.Itis

recommendedthattheplayeremphasizethesesyncopationstocreatetensionbefore

cadences.

29

Etude2

Thesecondetudemaintainsa4-parttexturefortheentirepieceandlastsatleastfive

minuteswithoutanyrests.Itmodulatestodistantkeys,frequentlyrequireslargestretchesand

shiftswiththelefthand,modulatestodifficultkeys,andhassubtlechangesinrepetitionsof

thematicmaterial;thesefactorsmakethisoneofthemostdifficultetudesintheset.

Theright-handpatternisalmostthesamethroughoutthepiece.Twoapproachescan

beemployedbutbecauseofthedensetexturetherearefewoptionswithonlyfourfingersto

use.Thefirstapproachdesignatesthe“a”fingertoplayeverynoteinthemelody.Thesecond

approachwouldinvolvealternatingthe“m”and“a”fingerswhenthemelodymovesin

sixteenthnotes.Bothapproacheswillrequireagooddealofright-handfingerrepetition.

Theleft-handstrategycanalsobesplitintotwobasicapproaches.Inthefirststrategy

onedesignatesthefourthfingertoplaythemelodyasoftenaspossible,evenifitmeansan

extrashift.Becausethefourthfingerremainsonthetopstringmostofthetime,itcanbeused

asaguidefingerforeveryshift.Withthisapproachthefourthfingerisatriskoffatigueifnot

treatedcarefully.Whenpracticingslowlyoneneedstoreleasetensionintheleft-handthumb

andpinkyfingerwhileshiftingtodifferentposition.

Thesecondapproachtriestominimizeshiftingandwillnotalwayshavethepinkyonthe

firststring.Thisstrategycanyieldfewershiftswiththelefthandbutwillrequiremorebar-

chordusage.Playershaveasmallchoiceinthedifficultytheyendurebutthemainissuewith

bothismanagingtensioninthelefthand.

30

Forthelargestretchesrequiredinmeasures14,4116,33,41,49,53,55,58,60,61,and

65thepinky-anchorstretchingtechniquecanbeemployedincombinationwithrapidpinky-

fingershiftinginthelefthand.Measure55isthemostdifficultandasolutionisshowninEx.

3.10.

Ex.3.10,Measure55:

OnthehighG#,setthefourthfingerasifitweretheonlyfingeryouweregoingtouse;

keepthefingercurledandthewriststraight.Thenusethefourthfingerasananchorandusea

backwardextension.Itfeelslikeyouareshiftingyourentirehandalowerpositiononthe

fretboardwhileyourfourthfingerstaysinahigherposition.

Thepassageatmeasure33isparticularlydifficultandanalternatefingeringtothe

publishededitionsisprovided.Itrequiresabarthatneedstobesetupinmeasure32.Although

thefingeringprovidedheredoesrequireastretch,itisveryaccessibleifweagainusethe

pinky-anchortechnique:

41SomeversionshavethehighEdesignatedasanaturalharmonicinmeasure14,inthiscasethestretchisnotafactor.

31

Ex.3.11,Measure32:

Measure71isanotherparticularlychallengingspot.Iwillprovidetwoalternate

solutionstopublishedversions.Thefirstrequiresbothalargestretchandabarwiththemiddle

fingerinthelefthand.Thosewithlargeorflexiblehandswillfindthisamusicallyrewarding

solution.Manywillnotbeabletopullitoffandcanusethesecond,avariantofpublished

editionsthatusesanextensionwiththeindexfingerindicatedintheexample:

Ex.3.12a,Measure71:

Ex.3.12b,Measure71:

32

Thesefingeringsandclosevariantscanbeusedforallstretchesinthispiece.Utilizing

thesameorsimilarfingeringswillreducepracticetimeandsimplifymemorization.

Controllingtensioninthispieceisanever-presentchallenge;withnorestsandan

averagetempoof60BPMaperformancerunsoverfiveminutes.Thekeyistorelaxtheleft

hand,focusingonthethumb,forbriefintervalswhenshiftingandwhenplayingopenstrings.If

youdonothavetoshiftforoneormorebeats,youcanalsoquicklyrelaxandre-tensethe

thumbbeforeeverydownbeatprovidingshortbutneededbreaks.Duringpracticeofthelarge

stretchesplayersneedtotakeshortbreaksbetweeneveryrepetitionandmaywantto

alternatewithpassagesnotinvolvingstretches.Learningtopracticeandperformdifficult

passageswithoutcreatingexcesstensioninthehandsisessentialtoahealthyperformance.

ThesecondetudeofRegondicaninjureanunpreparedplayerandmaybethemostdifficult

etudeofthewholeset.

33

Etude3

Thethirdetudealsorequirestheplayertoaddresstensioninthelefthandinthesame

wayasinthepreviousetude.Therearenorestsinthesteadystreamofsixteenthnotesbutat

leastthereisaquarternoteinmeasure52thatofferstheperformeraslightbreak.

Likethefirstetude,theplayerisleftwithtwoobviouschoicesforright-handfingering

forthesecondmeasureandmostotherrepetitionsofthistexture.Thefirstisobviousand

simplyusesthefouravailablefingersontherighthand.Thesecondinvolvesjumpingthethumb

toplaytwonotesinarowquickly:

Ex.3.13a,Measure2:

Ex.3.13b,Measure2:

Thesecondfingeringcanaddalightaccenttothesecondsixteenthnoteofeachbeat

creatingasyncopatedeffect.Dependingontheplayerthismaybedesirableornot.Ineither

case,measures29-30andlikepassagesmaybedifficulttoemployadoublethumbfingeringas

34

thethumbwouldhavetojumpfromthesixthtothethirdstringandmaynotbeasaccurateor

efficient.Ontheotherhand,measures119-120haveathickertexturethatwillrequireadouble

thumbintherighthand.42Tosomedegreetheplayerwilllikelyemploybothstylesoffingering

andcanvarythemonrepetitionsofmusicalmaterialastheyeachproducedifferent

interpretations.

Theconsistentthicktextureonthesecondsixteenthnoteofeachbeatstartstocreate

anaccentnomatterwhatfingeringonechooses.Thisextendedsyncopationandoccasional

blurringofthedownbeatcanbeseenintheviolinCapricesofPaganiniandtoagreaterdegree

inthemusicofRobertSchumann.Regondiwassaidtobeabletoplayhischromaticscalesin

themannerofPaganini43andperformedinthesameconcertwithSchumannsohehadplenty

ofopportunitiestobeexposedtothemusicofboth.ThebookbyDr.HaraldKrebsprovidesan

analyticalmodelwithperformanceguidelinetoapproachingmusicwithmetricaldissonancein

mind.44Analyzingtheetudesthoroughlywiththismethodisbeyondthescopeofthispaperbut

willyieldfurtherperformanceoptionsandhelpguidedecisionsforplayersofRegondi’smusic.

Measures12-13canbedifficultandpublishededitionsprovideafingeringwithalarge

andunnecessarystretch.Thisstretchismadedifficultbyhavingtoplacetheindexfingerfirst

andusingabductiontostretchthethirdandfourthfingersout,whichistheoppositeofthe

approachusedtostretchingthusfar.Asolutionwithoutthisstretchisprovidedhere:

42Itispossibletousetheright-handpinkyfingertoavoiddoublingthethumb.43Lawrence,7.44HaraldKrebs,FantasyPieces:MetricalDissonanceintheMusicofRobertSchumann(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1999).

35

Ex.3.14,Measure12:

Formeasure21IwillofferafingeringIhavefoundusefulandcanbeappliedto

measures69-74.Thisfingeringrequirestheindexfingertoplayonthesamefretasthesecond

fingerwhileonahigherstring.Iftheplayerrelaxesthearmandallowstheleftelbowtobe

closertothebodythisfingeringiseasytoachieve:

Ex.3.15,Measure12:

Inmeasures24and119theshifttothefifthpositioncanbedonewhileplayingthe

opensecondstring:

36

Ex.3.16,Measure24

Thepassageatmeasure31isdifficultandwecanlooktoCarcassiforasolution.Inthe

firstmeasureofhisEtude25,op.60hehasanAmajorchordinopenpositionwithanF#onthe

firststring.

Ex.3.17,Measure1Etude25Op.60,MatteoCarcassi:

Thismeanwemustholdfournotesonthesamefretonadjacentstringswhichcanbe

hardtofitallthefingersonthefretboard.AsseenintheaboveexampleCarcassiusesthefirst

fingertobarthethirdandfourthstringsforthesameAmajorchordvoicing.Thistypeof

fingeringcanbeseenthroughouthismusic.

Thesecondbeatofmeasure31alsocontainsaslurfromanopenstringtoalowerstring

onthelasttwosixteenthnotes.Thesecanbeplayedwitha“Vibrationslur”whichtoexecute

Carcassirecommendsthatonemust“playthehighernote,whichinthiscaseisalmostalways

open,thenstrikehardwith[the]fingerofthelefthandthenotewhichistobeslurred,and

37

whichwillbesoundedbythemereimpulseofthefinger.”45Thefollowingexampleshowsa

solutionusingtechniquesfromCarcassi.

Ex.3.18,Measure31:

Themiddlesectionbeginningatmeasure53isfullofleft-handchallenges.Aunique

solutionisofferedformeasures53-60.Therearenumerousvariationspossibleforthe

fingeringsshowninEx.3.19,soexperimentationisencouraged.


45Matteo Carcassi, Classical Guitar Method, trans. Carl Fisher (New York: Carl Fischer, 1946), 38.

38

Etude4

ThetwosectionsofthisABApieceofferverydifferentchallengesbutfollowthesame

conceptofexploringthicktexturesontheguitar.TheAsectionmaintainsa4-parttexturewith

themelodyinthetopvoiceaccompaniedbyblockchords.TheBsectionmaintainsa5to6-part

texturewiththemelodyinthetopvoiceaccompaniedbyarpeggios.Despiteitsdensitythis

etudeisnotaschallengingasitlooksandmostofthepublishedfingeringsworkwell.

Forright-handfingeringintheBsectiononeispresentedwithtwopossibleapproaches.

Thefirstiswhethertoplaythemelodywitharepeated“a”finger,orbyalternating“m”and

“a”.Repeatingthe“a”fingercanfreeup“m”forusageintheaccompanimentandprovide

morefingeringoptions.Alternating“a”and“m”willrequiretheplayertousetheirright-hand

thumbonthetreblestringsfrequently,atechniquewithwhichsomeplayingstylesstruggle.

Whilethefingeringscanbelefttotheplayertodetermine,itisimportantthattheybe

determinedasearlyaspossibleandpracticedconsistently.Ifplayersarenotcarefultopractice

thesamefingeringeachtime,thentheywillstruggletodevelopaccuracyinthissection.

Therearethreeshortpassageswheretheleft-handfingeringcanbeachallenge.Iwill

provideasolutionformeasure14usingabackwardsextensiontoplaytheFx:

Ex.3.20,Measure14:

39

Measure32canbeplayedmanywaysaccordingtopersonaltaste.Theplayerwith

largerormoreflexiblehandscanholdthefirstfingeronthelowEanduseitasananchorto

reachthehighBwiththepinky,andthenusingthepinkyasananchorwhilethefirstfinger

stretches.

Ex.3.21a,Measure32:

Thesecondsolutionremovesthelargestretchbutaddstwosmallshifts.

Ex.3.21b,Measure32:

Measure46canbeplayedbybarringeitherthethirdorthesecondfingerintheleft

hand,oracombinationofthetwo.Playersshouldexperimentandusewhatfeelsthemost

comfortable.

40

Ex.3.22,Measure46:

Thesectionfrom46-57requiresagooddealofbarringinthelefthandanditisworth

remindingtheplayertoreleasetensionintheleft-handthumbasoftenaspossible.

41

Etude5

Thisetudeemploysfastun-slurredscalesswitchingtoa4-parttextureandcontainsa

verydifficultsequentialpassagefrommeasures56-66.

Thescalesshouldbeplayedwithatwo-fingeredalternationasopposedtothree-

fingeredinthisetude.Becausethereisanactivebasslineandrapidlyswitchingtextures,one

runsintomanyproblemstryingtoemploythree-fingeredscales,whichrequirethree

consecutivenotestobeplayedononestring.Whenplayingabasslineinadditiontoscalesone

isnotatlibertytofingerthescaleswherevertheyneedtoonthefingerboard.Havingtoholda

bassnotegreatlyhindersone’sleft-handfingeringoptionstothepointwhereitisanextreme

challengetosetthreenotesperstring.Whileathree-fingeredscalecanworkincertainspotsin

thisetude,itcannotbeappliedwithconsistency.

Therearemanyexamplesofscaleswithoutslursandofteninthesecasestheyare

fingeredwithastrictalternationof“i”and“m”.ThefirststudyofCarcassi’sfamousOp.60

showsthisalternationandcontainsastaccatodesignationtoensureplayersdonotaddslursto

thispiece.

Playersmaydecidetoalwaysplace“i”or“m”onstrongbeatsortouseacombination

basedonfavorablestringcrossings.Itmustalsobedecidedwhatfingertoplaceontheverylast

noteofthescale.Whenlookingatmeasure2wemustplayina4-parttexturewhichusually

requiresfourseparatefingersontherighthand.Ifwehavebeenusing“i”and“m”strictlyfor

scales,thenwewouldplaythehighGonthedownbeatwithoneofthosetwofingers.This

meansthatwewouldthenhavetousethatfingeragaintoplaytheblockchordontheoff-beat.

Theotheroptionistousethe“a”fingerforthelastnoteofscalerunsthatleadinto4-part

42

texturesasinmeasures2,6,10,12,andsoforth.Thiseliminatestheneedtousethesame

fingertwicebutcancomplicateanotherwisesimpleandprolificscalepattern.Yetanother

solutionwouldbetoplaythescalesalternating“i”and“a”.Thiswouldconsistentlyplacethe

“a”fingeronthelastsixteenthnoteofeachmeasureandwouldallowtheotherthreefingersto

playthe3-notechordonthedownbeat.Althoughlesscommontherearemanyplayersthat

preferthisfingeringfortheirscales.

Withmanyoptionscontainingsubtledifferencesitisimportantfortheplayertochoose

theirsolutionasearlyaspossibleandtopracticeconsistently.

Thepublishedleft-handfingeringsformeasures33-37allworkbutIwillprovideanother

solutionshowninEx3.23.Theright-handfingeringshouldalternate“i”and“m”beginningwith

the“i”finger.Thiswillfacilitatethelargestringcrossingovereachmeasureandinformsthe

left-handfingeringaswell.


ThemainchallengeofEtude5isthepassagefrom56-66.Thepublishedleft-hand

fingeringsworkforthispassage.Iwillprovidethreesolutionsfortherighthandinthissection

frommeasures57-60astheycanbetricky.Thefirstwillavoidfingerrepetitionswhilethe

43

secondtwowillexploitthem.Whicheversolutiontheplayerdecidesoninthispassagecanbe

usedinthesecondvariationofCapricho18byMarioCastelnuovo-Tedesco.46



Ex.3.24c,Measures57-60:

46Themostpopularfromhis24CaprichosdeGoyaandoftenusedasasetpieceinInternationalcompetitions.

44

Etude6

ThetextureandformareverysimilartoEtude4:anABAstructurewithamelodyinthe

upperpartsupportedbyadensetexture.ThemelodyintheBsectionisaccompaniedbyabass

lineandabusymiddlevoicemovinginscalesandarpeggios.Thissectionisoneofthemost

difficultintheetudesandalthoughmultiplefingeringsolutionsexist,theyarealldifficult.

Differingtechniquesandphysiologieswillfindsuccesswithdifferentfingeringsandonemust

trythemallandchoose.

Measure23givesa5-noteblockchordthatcanbenefitfromtheuseoftheright-hand

pinkyfinger.Onthethirdeighthnoteofthesecondbeat,theplayerisrequiredtoplayonthe

firstfourstringsandthesixthstringwhileomittingthefifthstring.Typically,whenoneneedsto

playchordsofmorethanfournotes,theright-handthumbisusedto“sweep”overtwoor

morebassstringswhilethe“i,”“m,”and“a”fingersplucktheremainingtones,oronefingeris

simplyusedtostrumtherequiredstrings.47Inthiscaseneitherwouldbepossibleasthefifth

stringwouldsound.Theotheroptionwouldbetoarpeggiatethechordquicklybyre-usingat

leastonefingerintherighthand,butthemetricplacementofthechordisnotonthebeatand

arolledchordwouldcreateanaccentinanundesirablelocation.Thephraseinthiscontextis

clearlymovingtowardstheappoggiaturaonthehighF#seenonthedownbeatinmeasure24.

47MatteoCarcassi,ClassicalGuitarMethod,trans.CarlFisher(NewYork:CarlFischer,1946),12.

45


TheBsectionyieldsseveraldifficultpassagesrightfromitsonset.Measures35-37have

twosolutionstodecidefrom.Thefirstallowstheplayertofullysustaintheimpliedbasslineby

usinglargestretches.Thesecondinvolveslessstretchingbuthasaninconsistentlyarticulated

bassline;sometimesthebassnoteisplayedonitsownstring,sometimestheinnervoiceison

thesamestringasthebassnotewhichthereforegetscutoff.Theplayercandampenthebass

withtheright-handthumbtokeepaconsistentlyshortbassnoteorretainthevariationin

articulation.



46

Measure45isthehighestpassageoftheetudesandisquitechallenging.Inthe

publishededitionsfingeringsarenonexistentorincomplete.Iwillprovideafullyfingered

versionwithleft-handslursaddedwhichareconsistentwithfigurationsthroughoutthis

section.Measure44canalsohaveasmoothleft-handfingeringwithasluradded.Everyslurin

thefollowingexampleisaddedbyme:


ThefinalfourmeasuresoftheBsectionarealsoverydifficultandnotfullyfingeredin

publishededitions.One-fretglissandionthethirdbeatinmeasures49and51areusedto

realizeslursandpreparethelefthandinEx.2.28.Thevariationstoleft-handfingeringinthis

passagearenumerousandexperimentationisrecommended.


47

Etude7

TheshapeofthemelodiclineisverysimilartoEtude3,butthispiecemaintainsasteady

eighth-notebaselineundertherunningsixteenthnotes.Thereareseveralpassageswherethe

basslinemovesasfastastheupperpart,suggestingaslowertempoforthispiecethanEtude3

despitethembothhavingAllegrettodesignations.

Boththepublishedsolutionsandexperiencewillallowtheplayertofindappropriate

fingeringsformostofthispiecewithease.Withanactivebasslinetherewillbemanypassages

wheretheplayermaybetemptedtoturntheleftwrist,butthemotionmustbeminimized.

Thisshouldbetheguidingprinciplefortheentirestudyandwillhelpdevelopgoodhabitsfor

theplethoraofcontrapuntalpiecestheguitarhasinitsrepertoire.

Etude7isnotwithoutitsdifficultiesinleft-handfingering.Thepassageinmeasures3-4

usescounterpointincontrarymotionwithchromaticpassingtonesinbothvoices.Iftheplayer

keepstheleftelbowclosetothebody,thenEx.3.29willworkwell.


TheABAformdoesnotexploredistantkeysbutthecounterpointexperimentswith

somechromaticismanddissonance.Theaboveisafineexampleofthesepointsandsinceitis

repeatedfourtimesitcanallowtheplayertoexperimentwithmultipleinterpretations.This

willgivetheperformancevarietywhileexploringone’screativity.Simplebuteffective

variationsoneachrepetitionincludestaccatovslegato,pianovsforteandsoforth.Something

48

morecomplexwouldinvolvetheplayerperforminganaccelerandoinmeasure3witha

decelerandotocounteritinmeasure4andreversingthetwoontherepeat.

Measures41-43alsoprovidesomedifficultyandarelackingclearfingeringsinpublished

versions.

Ex3.30,Measures41-43:

49

Etude8

OneofthemostcharmingandtechnicallyaccessibleetudesofthesetusesRegondi’s

favoredformofABA-Coda.ThetextureintheAsectionismostlyconsistentwitheachbeat

alternatingbetweenscalesandarpeggios.Thescalesarefreelyandasymmetricallyslurredand

thearpeggiosareplacedidiomaticallyontheguitar,sonoadditionalfingeringguidanceis

needed.Althoughthebeamingissimplifiedforeasierreading,thereisaconsistent4-part

texturethroughoutthispieceandthisknowledgecanhelptheguitaristdetermineleft-hand

fingerings.

Oneoddfeaturetothisetudeisthattherearetwopianoindicationsinthefirst

measure,oneinthesecond,oneinthenineteenth,andnoneanywhereelseinthepiece.Every

publishedversionpresentstheseasdynamicindications,althoughtheirplacementseems

inconsistent,illogical,andredundantbothinthecontextofthispieceandamongalltheetudes.

Thespecificplacementinthemeasureleadsonetospeculateonwhethertheseareright-hand

fingeringsandnotexpressivemarkings.


Thefirstdynamicmarkingclearlyisreferringtoexpressionbutthesecondtwoare

suspect.Itispossiblethattheseareright-handindicationsspecifyingtheuseofthethumbon

thesecondnoteinarisingarpeggio.ThistypeoffingeringwasgivenasanoptioninEtude1

andEtude3inthispaperandiftheseareindeedfingeringsandnotexpressivemarkingsthan

50

thisisevidencethatRegondimayhavepreferredtosometimesusethethumbtwiceinarowin

arpeggiofiguresevenwhenitisnotnecessary.Thisdifferentfingeringwouldcreateadifferent

articulationandisworthconsideration.

Manyguitaristswouldusethefollowingfingeringorsomethingverysimilarasitisthe

logicalchoiceandavoidsusingthesameright-handfingertwiceinarow.


Iftheindicationinmeasure19isafingering,thenitwouldshowthatRegondididnot

mindjumpinghisthumbfromthefifthtothethirdstringinthistextureorthearticulationit

wouldcreate.Likeinotheretudeswhereitispossible,playersshouldexperimentwiththis

fingeringtodiscoverinterpretivevariants.

OnepassageIliketovaryonthereturnoftheAsectionismeasure13.Inthefirst

exampleIprefertostayintheopenposition,ontherepeatIuseaglissandoandkeepthe

melodyonthesecondstringgivingemphasistothecadenceandreturnofthethemein

measure19.

Measures20-21canprovidetroubleandhavealmostnofingeringsinpublished

editions.Theindexfingerisusedasaguidetoshifttothesecondbeatanmustquicklybere-

usedinthesamebeat.AbackwardextensionwillallowtheguitaristtoreachtheAatthevery

endofmeasure20inEx.3.34.

51


Measure33containsapublishedfingeringthatisincompleteandconfusing.On

thesecondbeatfingeringsaregivenforbothnotesbutnothingfollows.Attheposition

indicateditisnotpossibletoplaythisbeatwithoutshiftinginthemiddleorhavingtorapidly

re-usethesameleft-handfinger.Iwillprovide2solutionsthatbothrequireastretchthatis

abletobeexecutedusingapinky-fingeranchor.

Ex.3.35a,Measure20:

Ex.3.35b,Measure20:

52

Thechordprogressioninmeasure29usesthesamevoicingandtexturefoundin

FernandoSor’sstudyNo.20,Op.31.ToanyonewhohasplayedtheSoretudeitisimpossibleto

notberemindedofitwhileplayingthissectionofEtude8.

53

Etude9

ThisslowandtexturallystrictpieceonceagainfollowsanABA-Codastructure.Thebass

isnotplayedonadownbeatuntilmeasures28-29.Theoffbeatbasshasbeenhappeningforso

longthatanoteonthebeatsoundsstrikinginthispassage.Thisisyetanotheretudewhose

interpretationcanbeenhancedbyapplyingDr.Krebs’method.

Theright-handfingeringisself-explanatoryandwillonlyoccasionallyrequirethethumb

tojumpfromabassnotetoachordwhenthetexturethickens,asinmeasure4.Players

comfortablepluckingwiththeright-handpinkymayalsochoosetouseitwhenthetexture

movesto5parts.

Themodulatingsequencefrommeasures12-14repeatseverymeasureonewholetone

higherthanthelast.Oneeditionprovidesanincompletefingeringwhiletheotheris

inconsistentfromkeytokey.Itisrecommendedtousethesamefingeringforeachnewkey

exploredandminimizepracticetimeforthissection.

Ex.3.36,Measure12:

ThelastchordofEx.3.36canbeplayedeffectivelywiththreedifferentfingerings.The

examplesinEx.3.37offerfurtheroptionstoexplore.Thephysiologyandpriorexperienceof

theplayerwillhelpdeterminewhichfingeringtouse.

54

Ex.3.37a,Measure12:

Ex.3.37a,Measure12:

TheverylastchordinEtude9requiresadifficultstretchbutcanbeachievedby

placingthepinkyfirstandusingabackwardextension,orbyplacingthefirst,second,andthird

fingersandusingaforwardextension.Anotherpossibilityistoplacethesecondandthird

fingersfirstandthenextendboththeindexandpinkyoutwards.Differentplayerswilltypically

findonemethodmoresuccessfulthantheotherormayfindanotherapplicationofextensions

toexecutethislargestretch.Theguitaristcanalsoexperimentwithsubtlechangesinposition

intheleft-handthumbtoachieveahigherlevelofcomfort.


55

Etude10

Thefinalpieceinthesetdoesnotdisappointonanyfront.Itutilizesthelargestarrayof

techniquesthusfarandinadditiontothemelodicallydrivenscales,arpeggios,andblockchords

Regondialsoexploresglissandoandtremolo.HeusesalargerABCABC-Codaformtopresent

contrastingtexturesandtechniques.

Thedifficultiesbegininmeasure3.Oneeditionprovidesnofingeringandtheother

indicatesalargeshiftfromthesecondtothefirststringonlytoplaythesamenote.Iwill

provideanoptionthatmaintainsbothglissandianddoesnotinvolvealargeshift.Thesecond

glissandowillnotstayonthesamestringtocovertheentireintervalbutwillsoundfineata

fastertempo.

Ex.3.39,Measure3:

Thenextchallengeliesinmeasures10-11wherebotheditionsprovideincompleteor

unnecessarilydifficultfingerings.Usingaforwardextensionwiththeindexfingeralreadyfixed

onthesecondstringwillfacilitatethestretchrequiredinmeasure10andallowthemelodyto

besustained.Playersmayalsouseglissandiinsteadofpull-offsasinmeasure11ofthe

followingexample:

56


Oneeditionshowsright-handfingeringsinmeasures13-15and17.Itshowsthethumb

playingonthesecondandthirdstringusingafingeringliketheissuediscussedinEtude8.

Ex.3.41,Measures13-14:48

Theusageofthethumbinthisexampleisnotonerequiredbytechnicaldemandsand

willcreateaccentsifused.Thisandotherpassageslikeitwillgainasyncopatedfeel,andif

thesemarkingsareindeedfromtheauthorthentheyareworthhearing.Imaginewhat

Rodrigo’sfamousZapateadowouldsoundlikewithoutitssyncopatedaccents.

TherapidarpeggiosintheBsectionfrommeasures21-32mustberealizedwith

differentfingeringsforeachharmony,muchlikeEtudeNo.2forguitarbyHeitorVilla-Lobos.A

shortscaleisusedtoapproachthehighnoteandusingthe“a”fingercanbehelpfulhere.

Becausetherearenobassnotesduringtheserapidsections,usingthree-fingerscalescanbe

effective.Iwillprovidetwooptionsformeasures23-24whichcanbeappliedsimilarly

throughoutthissection.

48Regondi,10EtudesforGuitar,26.

57



Eventhoughtheright-handfingeringlooksthesameforbothmeasures,thestring

crossingslieindifferentplaces.

Frommeasures34-41Regondideliversoneofthemostdifficultanduniquesounding

passagesintheguitarrepertoire.Thelefthandmustshift,stretch,andslideconstantlythrough

amodulatingsequence.Iwillprovidetwooptionsformeasures34-35thatcanthenbeapplied

totherestofthepassage.Theleft-handfingeringswillonlybepresentwherevariationsare

possiblewhilethefocuswillbetoprovideconsistentright-handfingerings.Keepingtheright-

handfingeringthesamethrougheachrepeatedfigurewillsimplifypracticeandhastenfluency.

Thefirstfingeringwillavoidthe“a”fingerwhilethesecondwillexploitit.

58



TheCsectionfrommeasures42-54featuresamelodyinthetopvoiceaccompaniedby

blockchordsmostlyplayedonthehighestfourstrings.Duetothisandthetexturaldensity

therearefewandnegligiblefingeringvariationsandbothpublicationssupplyfew.The

importantnotehereistocontroltensioninthelefthand.Aquickreleaseintheleft-hand

thumbandallthefingerscanmakeasubstantialdifferenceinpreventingtension.Priortoeach

bassnoteisasuspensionorappoggiaturathathasbeenresolvedsoitneednotbesustainedto

thenextnote.

Thescalesinmeasures80-81canbeexecutedwiththesamefingeringrepeatedacross

multiplestrings.Leadingwith“i”intherighthandensuresfavorablestringcrossings.The

slurringseemstoinsistonsymmetricalarticulationandthatcanbeassistedbyafingering

followingthesameguideline:

59


Thetrillinmeasures98,100,and104canbeplayedonthethirdstringinsteadofthe

first,eliminatingtwoshifts.

Ex.3.43,Measure98:

Thesecondbeatofmeasure101canberealizedwithtwoeasyshiftsthatwillleaveone

well-preparedformeasure102.

Ex.3.44,Measure101:

Thetremolopatternseeninmeasures107-108canberealizedwiththemodern

fingeringof“p,”“a,”“m,”“i”orwith“p,”“i,”“m,”“i”.ThesecondfingeringisusedbyCarcassi

60

instudyNo.7,Op.60,andinthiscase,itcanallowtheplayertogetmorevolumeinthis

virtuosicpassage.Althoughitisrare,somerenownedperformersuseCarcassi’sfingeringforall

theirtremolopieces.

61

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