Micro Study 35 – right hand scale prep 3

Micro study 35 – right hand scale preparation 3 is part of the – #6stringinspiration – series of short and sweet studies that target very specific ideas. These are for those who have very little time and want huge gains from tight focused practice ideas.

Micro Study 35 – Right Hand Scale Preparation 3

This is a right hand only exercise, which will help prepare for practicing scales. Its main goals are to practice the stroke -rest or free – mechanism and control as well as beginning to consider string crossing, which is the biggest hurdle to achieving speed in scale runs.

String Order:

1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1

Finger Order:

i m   m a   i a

KEY Strategy

Shorter burst across the strings. This exercise is heading towards the toughest action you can do when playing scales: string crossing. So practice the two notes carefully and with relaxed precision.

Planting: make sure you are sequential planting the fingers as you play this exercise. The notes should have a staccato beat to them, you can hear that in the video above. This exercise is played in two ways: free stroke (like the video) and rest stroke. Aim for an even tone between the two. The fingers can also be reversed: m i, m a,  a i

Other Info

Note: This study uses the right hand only so that maximum concentration can be given to this exercise, which not only improves finger control but also has a bearing on tone production. Practice mindfully.

Secret

Thumb Tracking

The right hand thumb is tracked with the fingers as they move up and down the strings. This does get some getting used to if you haven’t already practiced this already. Watch the video to see the thumb track 2 strings (spacing) behind the fingers. If this was a rest stroke it would track 3 strings behind.

And Remember: move the stroke from the big knuckles, not the joints.

Want More?

Click the link below if you want to go back to the beginning of the series.

Beginning of #6stringinspiration series link

Want the Dots?

No music for this example, use the video above to walk through the exercise. However they will be forthcoming in a new classical guitar technique manual. If you want to be informed to when this will be published, join the CGRocks community below.