In our quest to play classical guitar as beautifully as possible, we encounter all sorts of tricks, tendencies, classical guitar phrasing rules, and best practices. \u00a0If we can learn to recognize them, and take advantage of them consistently, amazing things happen.<\/p>\n
This article explores one such opportunity that you can find in almost every piece of music you play. \u00a0It’s one of the many brilliant lessons I have learned from my musical coach, Mark Westcott<\/a>\u00a0(who explains these things much better than I do).<\/p>\n Heads up: \u00a0This lesson, while not really “advanced”, goes a little deeper than some players may have delved. \u00a0It assumes you are willing to look closely at how<\/strong> you are playing each note. \u00a0If this is new to you, congratulations! \u00a0You have found the way forward.<\/p>\n In everyday life there are situations that happen all the time.\u00a0 And as we grow up and learn how to function, we figure out the best way to navigate these situations.\u00a0 These are things like:<\/p>\n We learn over time the best way to handle these different situations. And do it pretty much the same way every time. We know what works, and we know what doesn’t work. For instance, we typically don’t hug the store clerk, nor do we pat the backsides of strangers in the street (if you do these things, you may want to explore counseling options…..)<\/p>\n In music, we also encounter situations that occur frequently. If we can begin to recognize these situations, and find ways to use them to our advantage, everything that we play will sound more structured, more organized, easier to understand, and generally more beautiful.\u00a0 Some things just sound \u201cright\u201d, and if we learn what they are, we are on the right track.<\/p>\n The situation I’d like to discuss here is that of pairs of notes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Pairs of notes happen\u00a0all over the place. There are several examples to come.<\/p>\n Before talking about how to handle them, let’s first review our overriding goal\u00a0which should inform all of our musical decisions.<\/p>\n The main goal for our music is to create an emotionally satisfying experience for our listener. Everything else we do is in service to this main goal (or should be).<\/p>\n To create an emotional experience that lasts through and is developed by the entire piece of music, we have to create what some call the “long line<\/a>“.<\/p>\nCultural Patterns and Behaviors\u00a0of Everyday Life<\/h2>\n
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Likewise, Patterns and Behaviors in Music<\/h2>\n
Remembering the Goal of Music<\/h2>\n
(Soapbox Warning!: \u00a0Some people like to talk about playing with \u201cpassion\u201d and \u201cfeeling\u201d.\u00a0 While this is a very romantic notion, in reality, we need to know what we are actually doing.\u00a0 Otherwise, we have no real plan and\u00a0we are just emoting and\u00a0hoping for the best. \u00a0This often comes across in the same way that does bad acting. \u00a0At any rate, passion and feeling are for the listener, not necessarily for the player.\u00a0 It\u2019s the player\u2019s job to make the listener feel something.\u00a0 If we feel things, great! But it\u00a0shouldn\u2019t be a prerequisite of good playing.\u00a0 What if you have bad clams before a performance?\u00a0 What then? \u00a0Eh? \u00a0Stanislavski<\/a> can\u2019t teach you to dance. \u00a0There is simply no substitute for craft.\u00a0 End soapbox.)<\/h5>\n
The Long Line<\/h2>\n