The “long-short” is a musical device that allows for continuity and flow in your playing. \u00a0It may seem a bit nit-picky at first, but in fact is an incredibly powerful tool to connect more with listeners. \u00a0On the classical guitar, every note starts dying as soon as we play it. \u00a0The long-short creates the illusion of a sustained sound and cohesive melody line. \u00a0This keeps listeners more engaged<\/a> and interested in the music, which is really what we are after!<\/p>\n The gist of this technique is that when you have a long note, followed by 3 or more shorter notes of equal duration, the volume<\/a> of the first short note is determined by the decay of the preceding long note. \u00a0This “completes” the long note. \u00a0The following short notes phrase forward to the next downbeat or long note.<\/p>\n It often takes some patience and time to really develop this as a default way of playing phrases, but is well worth the time and effort.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
So what is it?<\/h2>\n