{"id":112427,"date":"2020-06-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=112427"},"modified":"2024-07-02T03:26:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T10:26:49","slug":"double-movement-play-prepare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/","title":{"rendered":"The Play-Prepare Double-Movement: The Two Actions of Every Note"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Most of us want to play cleanly and smoothly at high speeds.&nbsp; We want our music to flow out of the guitar sounding effortless. &nbsp;<br><br>But as we get faster, we often tense our muscles.&nbsp; We feel out of control.&nbsp; And we feel the music seems to be &#8220;getting away from us&#8221;.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how can we be sure we always get to the next note on time? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/memorize-music-classical-guitar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How can we avoid memory-slips<\/a> and unnecessary fumbles?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"centerc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pvsPshWudCs?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0&amp;autohide=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-action-1-play-the-note\">Action #1: Play the Note<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This part of playing is rather obvious. This action is where we flex our right-hand finger through the string. At the same time, a left-hand finger presses a fret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can use good <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/how-to-learn-classical-guitar-arpeggios-right-hand-technique\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">guitar technique<\/a> for this. And moving our fingers well is an ongoing study. We can continue to refine and improve our movements and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/classical-guitar-tone\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tone quality<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-action-2-prepare-for-the-next-note\">Action #2: Prepare for the Next Note<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The second part of playing any note is to prepare for the next note. This means that before we play the current note, we need to know where the note will be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the right hand, this means that when one finger goes in, another comes out. The finger that comes out prepares on or over the next string to be played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the left hand, this means that we hover over the next note to be played. This isn\u2019t always possible, but we can at least know what the next note will be, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/consistent-fingerings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have a plan to get there<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-these-happen-at-the-same-time\">These Happen at the Same Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important that these happen at the same time. We can think of this as a compound movement. Play and prepare. Finger in and finger out, simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On very slow music, this matters less. But as we accelerate to even a moderate speed, the benefits arise. We enjoy more precision and control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And because we think ahead, we avoid many problems we may have otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note: This method of movement also makes for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/alternation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">faster guitar scales<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-use-quick-discreet-movements-snap-to-it\">Use Quick, Discreet Movements (Snap to It!)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In practice, it helps to form the habit of deliberate movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we first learn a piece of music, we tend to play slowly. But if the piece will be faster, it pays to use discreet movements, from the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To play \u201cquick, discreet movements\u201d, we can move the fingers in a short burst of action, then freeze. We give space between the notes, but the actions themselves happen as almost a twitch. (\u201cHurry up and wait.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the right hand, this is sometimes called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/quick-prepping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">quick-prepping<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later, we can remove the spaces between the notes. We\u2019ve already practiced preparing each note, so we gain higher speeds more easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-exaggerate-preparation-for-memory-practice\">Exaggerate Preparation for Memory Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/exaggeration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">exaggerate<\/a> the preparation of each next note as a memory tool. We can firmly plant each finger on the coming note and pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To do this well, we must wait to play any given note until we also know the next one. Doing this slowly removes any \u201c<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/musical-memory\/\" target=\"_blank\">muscle-memory<\/a>\u201d. Instead we rely on our knowledge of the piece. We <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/classical-guitar-visualization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visualize<\/a> the music and our fingers to know the next note.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most of us want to play cleanly and smoothly at high speeds.&nbsp; We want our music to flow out of the guitar sounding effortless. &nbsp; But as we get faster, we often tense our muscles.&nbsp; We feel out of control.&nbsp; And we feel the music seems to be &#8220;getting away from us&#8221;.&nbsp;&nbsp; So how can we be sure we always &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,434],"tags":[124,362,348,359,135,365],"class_list":["post-112427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technique","category-main-content-parent","tag-arpeggios","tag-left-hand-technique","tag-memory","tag-right-hand-technique","tag-scales","tag-speed"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Perfect Stroke on Classical Guitar - Prepare for Speed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here&#039;s how to play classical guitar with precision, accuracy, and speed. Plus, you have better memory, and make fewer mistakes. Prepare for mastery.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Play-Prepare Double-Movement: The Two Actions of Every Note\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here&#039;s how to play classical guitar with precision, accuracy, and speed. Plus, you have better memory, and make fewer mistakes. 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Prepare for mastery.","og_url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/","og_site_name":"Classical Guitar Shed","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClassicalGuitarShed\/","article_published_time":"2020-06-05T13:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-07-02T10:26:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/double-movement-play-prepare-640.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Allen","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CLguitarshed","twitter_site":"@CLguitarshed","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Allen","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/"},"author":{"name":"Allen","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#\/schema\/person\/85d09303adb38d43cdedd2033f6b016e"},"headline":"The Play-Prepare Double-Movement: The Two Actions of Every Note","datePublished":"2020-06-05T13:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-02T10:26:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/"},"wordCount":535,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/double-movement-play-prepare-640.jpg","keywords":["Arpeggios","left hand technique","memory","right hand technique","scales","speed"],"articleSection":["Guitar Technique","Main Content Parent"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/","url":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/","name":"Perfect Stroke on Classical Guitar - Prepare for Speed","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/double-movement-play-prepare\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/double-movement-play-prepare-640.jpg","datePublished":"2020-06-05T13:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-02T10:26:49+00:00","description":"Here's how to play classical guitar with precision, accuracy, and speed. 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