TONE COLOR, Part 2

Copyright Douglas Niedt. All Rights Reserved. This article may be reprinted, but please be considerate and give credit to Douglas Niedt.

Tone color on the classical guitar can also be changed with arm and wrist "special tools" and with left-hand fingering, because each string has its own color — notes fretted in the first four frets sound brighter than the same notes fretted from the fifth fret up. Part 2 demonstrates slice gestures, pushing down or pulling up with the arm, and fingering choices that color motifs, repeated phrases, and entire sections, with eight videos.

Special Tools

In some situations, right arm and wrist movements can be added to whatever finger movements you have chosen to use to further alter the attack and quality of the sound.

Arm and hand “slice” gestures

Sometimes, players use what Charles Duncan in The Art of Classical Guitar Playing describes as:

“a slight propulsive gesture of the hand or forearm. When exaggerated, the result is a slice across the strings. With less propulsion, it is felt more as an emphasis of the nails to the right or left. Emphasis (or slice) to the right takes the hand momentarily away from the line of the forearm (somewhat as if screwing the cap onto a large jar, although the movement is tiny by comparison. It focuses the tone for maximum clarity by increasing the resistance of the nails. Emphasis to the left is akin to the motion of flicking lint off one’s coat and takes a small rotary movement of the forearm. The single-edge, line-of-force nail contact minimizes resistance to create a thick, mellow tone.”

Of the two directions, the slice to the left produces a fuller, sweeter, darker sonority. But as Duncan points out, you don’t necessarily want sweet all the time. The natural complement to that sweetness is the piquant or spicy, brighter sound which adds variety.

Video #9. Watch me demonstrate.

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Pushing the arm down towards the floor or pulling out/up with the arm and wrist

These two techniques are best done in slower passages.

1. Pushing downward: At the same time you pluck a string or chord, push down slightly toward the floor with the arm and wrist. In effect, you are taking power away from the fingers. You are pushing down with the arm as you are pulling up with the fingers. This softens the articulation and adds a certain hazy quality to the sonority.

2. Pulling out/up: Pull the arm and/or wrist outward and upward at the same time you pluck the strings. This produces a harsh, aggressive attack and brighter tone quality.

Video #10. Watch me demonstrate these lesser-known techniques.

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Each String Has Its Own Tone Color

Another characteristic that sets the guitar apart from many other instruments, is that most notes can be played on more than one string. Each string has its own unique color due to its thickness and the material the string is made of. The tone quality of both the open strings and the notes fretted within the first four frets is brighter than when the same notes are fretted from the fifth fret on up:

Example #1

Plus, there is a large difference in tone color between the first three treble strings and the metal-wound bass strings.

Example #2

Video #11. Watch me demonstrate the tone colors of different strings.

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We can exploit the tonal characteristics of the strings by choosing fingerings that produce a desired color:

Example #3

Video #12. Watch me play this excerpt.

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We can play a repeated motif or even an entire section on different strings for contrast:

Example #4

Video #13. Watch this great example of a dramatic change of color on the repeat of a section of music.

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Here, a short motif is repeated immediately, inviting a change of tone color:

Example #5

Video #14. Watch me play this section of Leyenda, changing the tone color on the repeat of the motif.

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In the next example, the entire theme is repeated. The first statement of the theme can be fingered with the melody on the first string. Then, the repeat is fingered with the melody on the second string, producing a very beautiful contrast.

Example #6

Video #15. Watch me demonstrate how a change of fingering on a repeated theme can produce a very pleasing contrast.

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When fingering a piece, always ask yourself what sound you are after. Then, find the different areas on the fretboard where a passage can be played. Playing a passage on different strings can greatly change its mood. For example, the first eight measures of the coda of Leyenda could be fingered in two very different ways:

Example #7

Video #16. Watch me play it both ways.

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The contrasting tone colors of the strings can also lead to problems. Players of other instruments sometimes ask guitarists, “When you play that melody, the tone color changes. Why don’t you play the notes on one string so it sounds more even?” Or, “Those open strings in the middle of that melody sound out-of-place.” Artistic players are very careful how they finger melodic passages to minimize switching from one string to another in the same phrase.

Coming up in Part 3, I will explain the big topic of how to choose tone colors. Additional goodies include Fernando Sor's techniques for imitating the horn and trumpet, and how to "orchestrate" your guitar pieces.

All this is explained in detail with 15 musical examples and 23 beautifully produced videos.