4. Separate the music into its component voices so that you can examine the independent rhythms of each part and hold the notes for their correct duration.

Sometimes, so much is going on in a passage that we don't notice we are cutting notes short that should keep ringing. For example, the last four measures of Andante from Book 2 of Twenty-Four Very Easy Exercises, Op. 35 No. 13 (Study No. 2 in Segovia's Twenty Studies by Fernando Sor), are very challenging. Example #272:

With the bar chords and intricate formations, it is easy to accidentally lift the low F in measure #30 and the low G in measure 31 early. However, if we look at the notation of the voices, we clearly see they are both half notes. Therefore, if we practice the voices separately, as I described in Part 11-A, we can be sure we are holding the notes for their full value.

As I explained before, we should practice each voice separately and in pairs for the maximum benefit. But if we only want to solve this one problem, we only need to practice the bass voice. We will fret all the notes but pluck only the basses to hear if they sustain for their full value. Example #273:

You can apply this same approach to any piece in multiple voices where you want to be sure you are holding all the notes their correct value.

Watch me demonstrate this very effective practice method (plus the "TremoloMute Bridge Dampening System") in Video #50.

★ BE SURE TO WATCH ON FULL SCREEN. Click on the icon at the bottom on the right:

5. Practice the Individual Voices to Learn to Eliminate Choppy Playing and Detect Bad Fingering

Find and Fix Bad Fingerings

While preparing to write this article, I looked for pieces I could use as examples. I thought about using Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by J.S. Bach, a piece I have played for many years. Example #274:

I started reviewing the passage by fretting all the notes but plucked only the notes in the alto voice (the blue notes). Example #275:

And lo and behold, I found a choppy spot in the alto voice of measure #3 due to a bad fingering! I couldn't believe it. Using the 3rd finger to play two notes in a row in the alto voice doomed it to be choppy. Before now, apparently, I had never played the individual voices of this section, so I never caught the problem. It isn't terrible since it is buried in the middle voice, but still, that's a rookie error!

Watch me demonstrate the problem in Video #51.

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6. Practice the individual voices to help you choose whether to play a voice as a pure line (only one note ringing at a given moment) or to allow notes to ring together.

Playing the Soprano Voice as a Pure Line

Here are measures 13-16 from Alman by English lutenist Robert Johnson (1583-1633) arranged for the guitar. Example #282:

Let's extract the upper voice. Example #283:

On paper, it looks like a simple melody LINE. When we use the word line, it usually implies playing a passage so that only one note rings at any given moment. If we finger the soprano voice like this, that is how it sounds. Example #284:

However, we could also finger it so that some of the notes ring. If we take it to the extreme, we can finger it as a campanella passage like this. Example #285:

However, if we play the melody with the bass line, our fingering choices are fewer. For instance, here is a conventional fingering for the passage. Example #286:

Let's fret both voices but pluck only the soprano voice (melody). Example #287:

You can hear some of the open strings ringing over into adjacent notes. They form intervals (often dissonant) with the notes that follow, producing a nebulous texture. The faster the passage, the more unclear it will be. That is not a pure line. But, to some players, that is acceptable.

However, if we want to produce a pure melody line in this passage more in keeping with the contrapuntal style of the period, we will need to employ string damping, perhaps like this. Again, if you aren't familiar with the intricacies of string damping, consult my four-part series, beginning with String Damping—Part 1. Example #288:

Now it sounds like a line. We only hear one note ringing at any given moment.

Playing the Bass Voice as a Pure Line

All of these considerations also apply to the bass line in almost any passage, but even more so. The sound becomes very muddy when bass notes ring together, especially if they form dissonant intervals. As the speed of the passage increases, the muddiness becomes worse.

In our Alman, without string damping, the bass notes will ring over into other notes like this. Example #289:

But we can clean up the bass line with string damping. Example #290:

If I apply the damping techniques marked in the music to the bass voice, it will sound like a line.

To play both voices of this passage as pure lines requires quite a bit of string damping, which is not unusual for contrapuntal music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Here are all the string damps for both voices. Example #291:

Watch me play the passage and explain the string damping as I play both voices as pure lines in Video #56.

★ BE SURE TO WATCH ON FULL SCREEN. Click on the icon at the bottom on the right:

You Can Play a Voice as a Pure Line or Not—The Choice is Yours

Whether you choose to play a voice as a pure line or not is up to you. By practicing the voice by itself and adjusting the fingering and string damping, you can make it sound however you want—as a pure line, a campanella, or anything in between. Campanella fingerings are a special effect. Pure lines are usually best for contrapuntal music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. However, from the classical period onward, pure lines sound best in some passages and semi-pure lines best in others. By semi-pure, I mean allowing the guitar's open strings to ring against adjacent notes or holding down notes together as intervals or chords, especially if they are consonant. Allowing notes to ring adds resonance but at the expense of clarity.

Let's look again, this time at the melody (the soprano voice) of the first four measures of Un Dia de Noviembre. Example #292:

We can choose to allow the open strings to ring into adjacent notes and hold melody notes together to form intervals. This approach adds resonance. The ringing notes produce several dissonances, but they are certainly not foreign to the style of this 20th-century piece. Example #293:

Or, we can lift fingers and damp notes to play the melody as a pure line. Example #294:

As with the Robert Johnson Alman, we can test both options by fretting all the notes but only plucking the soprano voice (melody). Then, we can pluck ALL of the notes of both voices using both options to hear how it all fits together.

In this case, I think both sound good. Of course, a clean, clear melody is always desirable, but the added resonance of allowing the notes to ring is also attractive. But, once again, it is your choice how you want the passage to sound.

Practicing the individual voices will help you make a choice. Practicing the individual voices enables you to hear all the details more clearly and will help you master the proper techniques to make it happen.