In this lesson
Tremolo: Making your guitar sing
It is no secret that a note begins to die away the moment you pluck it on the classical guitar. And this can make not only legato but also singing melodies difficult to achieve on guitar. Tremolo is one way to address this problem. Played evenly and rapidly enough, the repeated notes of tremolo can almost sound like a single, sustained melodic line.
The classic pattern is p a m i (thumb, ring, middle, index). Each melody note is played three times, and the thumb fills in the harmony between them. The effect is lovely, and it takes patient work to achieve. The fingers must be perfectly even in timing and volume. Both rhythmic hiccups and unwanted accents can break the illusion of the sustained line and even break up into a gallop.
Las Lecciones
Julio Sagreras (1879–1942) spent his life teaching guitar in Buenos Aires. His great contribution is the Lecciones de Guitarra, a graded method in six volumes. A seventh book, Técnica Superior, crowns the series. Each lesson develops one technical concept that the author then works out in a short, attractive piece of music. The result is a set of wonderful pieces of music along with helpful technical exercises. For this reason, guitarists still rely on these books a century later.
Lección No. 4 comes from the third book, Las Terceras Lecciones de Guitarra. The first three books are also in print in English, as Guitar Lessons, Books 1–3. Lección No. 4 is part of our Graded Repertoire for Classical Guitar, alongside Sagreras’s mazurka Maria Luisa.
Lección No. 4 fits the method’s pattern perfectly. It develops both your tremolo technique and your right-hand alternation. It does so through a pleasant, singing melody, so you are making music the whole time. (For more on Sagreras’s life and his mazurka, see our article on Maria Luisa by Sagreras.)
“Easier” tremolo
Most of the notes in the upper voice can be played on the first string. That places Lección No. 4 on the easier end of the tremolo spectrum, for two reasons.
First, the fingers repeat their notes on one string, so they never need to cross to a new string mid-pattern. The right hand can settle into a steady motion. Second, a melody on the first string projects naturally above the bass, so the tune comes through with little effort.
This gives you room to focus on the essentials. Aim for an even rhythm and a consistent tone from each finger. Keep the bass strong enough to support the melody, and soft enough to stay beneath it.
Choosing your right-hand fingerings
Once you can play the piece comfortably with p a m i, you can raise the difficulty. Rotate through a variety of other right-hand fingerings. Each combination trains a different relationship between the fingers:
- p i m i alternates index and middle, the pairing most guitarists already use for scales. It is a good first variation.
- p a m i is the standard tremolo pattern and the foundation for most concert repertoire.
- p a m a brings the ring finger into repeated alternation with the middle. Since the ring finger is often the weakest, this one builds real strength.
Try other groupings too. The aim is a right hand in which every finger can do every job.
Practicing the Variations
Work with a metronome and start slowly. Play each pattern at a tempo where every note is even. Then raise the speed one notch at a time. Accent a different finger each time through the study: first a, then m, then i. This highlights any finger that is weaker than the others and helps even them out. Our lesson on developing speed has more ideas for building tempo without tension.
The thumb’s role
It is easy to focus on the fingers and forget the thumb. In this study the thumb plays the bass and fills in the harmony. It also sets the timing for each group. Let it land firmly and on time, at the start of each pattern. If the thumb is late, the whole group shifts, and the melody stumbles. A few minutes on the thumb’s part by itself pays off quickly.
Watch out for the gallop!
The most common tremolo problem is uneven spacing. Usually the gap after the thumb is too long, or two fingers bunch together. The result sounds like a horse’s gallop.
Recording yourself is the quickest way to catch it. Play a few measures, then listen back at a slower speed if your device allows it. You will hear exactly where the rhythm stumbles. Then isolate that spot, and play it with the metronome until the four notes are evenly spaced. Check your progress with a fresh recording every week or two. Improvements in evenness are hard to hear while you play, and easy to hear on playback.
What to work on next
Tremolo opens the door to some extraordinary music. Tárrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra relies on it from start to finish. So does Barrios’s Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios. Lección No. 4 is a melodious first step on that road. The time you spend with it will pay off in every tremolo piece you learn afterward.