[NOTE] I have decoded the message that Mr. Savino sent.
the picture is at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute/cono/pellegrini.jpg
Dear Luters,
Regarding the issue of nails:
Below is an engraving of Domenico Pellegrini, take a close look at his right
hand. His book of music for the baroque guitar contains some outstanding
pieces. but you should also know that he was the "lutenist" to the ensemble
Concerto Palatino in Bologna for a number of years.
Also: I am including a segment from my chapter in the book Performance on the
Lute, Guitar and Vihuela from the Cambridge University Press "Studies in
Performance Practice" series. I can not reproduce the examples here, but if
anyone likes, I am happy to send a pdf.
While this article addresses the issue of "classic guitar performance
practice" let us not forget that the dominant classic guitar in Spain during
the
mid/late 18th century was a 6 double course instrument.
R Savino
The Right Hand
There has rarely been an issue that has so polarized the guitar and lute
world more than the use of right hand fingernails in the performance of "early
music." It is important to recognize that there is ample evidence for the use
of both techniques from the17th through 19th centuries. This evidence is
provided by such illustrious lutenists and guitarists as Alessandro Piccinini,
Sylvius Leopold Weiss, Domenico Pellegrini, Fernanado Ferandiere and Dionisio
Aguado. Speaking as an advocate of nail use Ferandiere writes: '...our
guitar is played with at least three fingers of the right hand, without any
more
nail than is necessary to strike the string.'19 Aguado's comments on this
subject are more thorough and recognize that technical differences exist
between
the two manners of execution. He states: 'The right hand can pluck the
strings with the tips of the of the fingers only, or with the fingertips and
then
with the part of the nail which protrudes beyond the fingertip. These two
forms of plucking require different uses of the fingers of the right hand.
Without the nails, the fingers must be bent so as to grip the strings; with the
nails, the fingers are less bent so that the string will slide along the
nail.'20
He then goes on to suggest a modification to this technique after having
heard Fernando Sor play: 'I had always used the nails of all the fingers I used
to
pluck, including the thumb, but after listening to my friend Sor I decided
not to use the nail on the thumb, and I am very pleased to have done this...'21
In subsequent paragraphs that follow he gives his reasons why he considers it
preferable to play with nails, how they should be shaped, and cautions against
their being too long. His comments are remarkably similiar to that of 17th
century lutenist Alessandro Piccinini and his concluding statements on the
subject are interesting and refreshingly non-dogmatic: 'If the nails are used,
runs can be performed very rapidly and clearly. There is an important
exception,
however. Persons with very long fingers should not play with the nails,
because this gives each finger more leverage on the strings and thus diminishes
the force used.'22 Clearly he accepts that to play without nails is also a
legitimate technique.
Speaking as an advocate of the flesh school of right hand articulation
Fernando Sor writes: 'Never in my life have I heard a guitarist whose playing
was
supportable, if he played with the nails. The nails produce but very few
graduations in the quality of the sound: the piano passages can never be
singing,
nor the fortes sufficiently full.'23 Quite in contrast to the teachings of
Aguado, about whom Sor then states: 'It is necessary that the performance of
Mr.
Aguado should have so many qualities as it possesses, to excuse his employment
of the nails; and he himself would have condemned the use of them if he had
not attained such a degree of agility, nor found himself beyond the time of
life
in which we are able to contend against the bend of the fingers acquired by a
long habitude.'24 Although later in this section Sor claims that Aguado had
confessed to him that 'if he were to begin again he would play without using
the nails,'25 there is nothing, other than the removal of his thumbnail, in
any of his writings to support this. Interestingly, Sor's comments as to why
Aguado learned to play with nails are exactly the reasons why Sor occassionally
recommends Aguado's method: 'His master played with the nails, and shone at
a period when rapid passages alone were required of the guitar, when the only
object in view was to dazzle and astonish.'26 A few pages later he confesses:
'As to the right hand, I have never aimed to play scales staccato, or
detatched, nor with great rapidity...'27 and concludes this section by stating:
'Should the reader wish to learn to detach notes with rapidity in a difficult
passage, I cannot do better than refer him to the method of Mr. Aguado, who,
excelling in this kind of execution, is prepared to establish the best rules
respecting it.'28 Later he makes one last reference to this subject: 'When it
is
(a) question of a staccato passage without accompaniment, I have heard several
guitarists (and cheifly Mr. Aguado) who make them with surprising neatness and
velocity, by employing alternately the first and second or third fingers.29
On the surface, the philosophies of these two authors present the serious
student of 19th century classic guitar performance practice with a dilema:
which
technique is the most appropriate? I propose that one need not be of such
limited vision as to exclusively promote one over the other. Certainly, in
order to fully develop one's technique to its fullest potential, a certain
degree
of committment is essential, yet, as Sor and Aguado themselves recognize,
each technique is appropriate and allows for unique interpretive results. Sor
himself put it most succinctly when he commented on Aguado's perfomance of one
of his works: '...he succeeded in playing all the notes very distinctly; and
if the nails did not allow him to give the same expression as I did, he gave
one peculiar to himself, which injured nothing.' 30
More important than the issue of nails is the manner in which sound is
produced on early instruments. On more than one occasion I have met with
patrons
who have attended a concert that I had just given and who were completely
surprised when they learned that I use fingernails on my right hand. They
were completely convinced that I had played without nails. As with anything the
use of right hand nails has its advantages and drawbacks, there are times
when the use of nails does produce a harsher, brighter sound but this is
dependent on how the nails are used and the kind of instrument that they are
used on.
One of the specific advantages of using nails is that of increased volume and
a more definite articulation. Given today's performing venues, and that I
enjoy playing in a variety of ensemble settings, I have chosen to play with
nails.
Historically, this appears to fall into line with the practices of certain
guitarists. For example Fernando Sor, who we know did not play with nails
was also someone who was not reknowned for his chamber and concerto
performances, and all of his published music that we are left with is either
for solo or
two guitars. On the other side there is Dionisio Aguado who specifically
recommends the use of right hand fingernails in his method. He then goes on
to
describe a variety of techniques for their employment as a means of creating
timbral diversity. A close friend of to Aguado was Françios de Fossa and who
edited and translated Aguado's method from the original Spanish to French. De
Fossa's composed some extraordinary chamber music for guitar and multiple
strings, and there are accounts of his having performed these works in concert.
This coupled with his obvious familiarity with Aguado's method suggests that he
too played with nails.31 Then there is Fernando Ferandiere who, as previously
mentioned, advocates the use of nails in his method for six course guitar. He
too, composed many works for guitar and multiple instruments including some
six concertos for guitar and full orchestra32 . In the case of Mauro
Giuliani and Fernando Carulli there is never any mention of the nail issue in
either
of their methods or writings, although it seems logical that these
guitarists, both of whom were active in chamber music cirles, were more likely
candidates to have used right hand nails. Specifically, Giuliani regularly
performed
with some of the greatest virtuosi of early nineteenth century Vienna
including pianists Johann Nepomuck Hummel, Ignatz Mocheles and violinist Joseph
Mayseder. As was discussed earlier in this paper some of these performances
even
took place out of doors and it would seem that Giuliani would use whatever
means necessary to insure that his instrument would be clearly heard at these
concerts. This, coupled with the numerous chamber works and full concertoes
that
eminated from his pen suggests that he too used righthand fingernails. But
it is the nature of his writing which provides the best evidence. Unlike Sor,
who specifies that many of his scale passages are to be slurred, Giuliani's
compositions contain many passages which are not slurred and occur at blazing
speed, similiar to the writing style of Aguado.
Once the issue of performing with or without nails is determined the player
must then turn his/her attention to timbre, hand position and fingering. Timbre
is a most interesting subject do in no small part to the fact that both Sor
and Aguado, although employing very different techniques, both describe widely
varying effects that are possible on the guitar. They describe imitating the
sounds of the harp, wind and brass and percussive instruments.
The most important issues to consider regarding sound production are: where
the point of articulation begins, the angle and the follow through of the
pluck/stroke itself. And as was pointed out in the discussion on seating
position
and support, the angle at which the guitar is held will usually impact the
angle of the finger stroke when plucking. Contemporary guitarists playing on
modern instruments, which, for the most part are larger and strung with thicker
and higher tension strings, will often hold their right hand wrist at an
angle that is arched an inch or two above the soundboard and then pluck at an
angle that is more perpendicular to the string. While this technique is
easily
applied to the later instruments of the period that is being discussed, c.
1815 - 40, and is clearly advocated in Dionisio Aguado's tutor of 1843, it is
less appropriate for those instruments of the earlier period. For the most
part
the instruments prior to 1815 are set up with the strings fairly close to the
soundboard with a very small saddle on the bridge and those prior to 1800
usually have no bridge saddle whatsoever. This results in very little space
for
a stroke follow through, which is essential for a resonant sound production.
Similar problems exist when performing on instruments that are strung with
double courses. A perpendicular, or "straight on" stroke that is coupled with
a highly arched wrist and fingernails that are on the "long" side will usually
produce a tinny or metallic sound. Furthermore, in order to avoid hitting
and scratching the top of the guitar the perpendicular modern stroke is often
executed in a plane that is more parallel to the plane of the strings and is
usually too forceful for lighter strung period instruments. This tends to
be
more of problem with instruments strung with double courses. The modern
guitar stroke will often cause the strings of these instruments to be displaced
to an excessive degree and cause them to rattle against each other. This
becomes less of a problem with single strung guitars, yet the strings on these
instruments are still very close to the top of the instrument . As a result,
those players using modern technique with long nails will still have the
problem
of their fingers hitting the top of the instrument when the strings are
plucked. Yet there is a solution to this dilema that does not require any
radical
overhaul of modern guitar technique. First one must recognize that modern
guitar technique, even with its diverse "schools," is the logical extension of
mid
19th century guitar technique. With the advent of the Tarrega school and
it's modification and further transformation by the great 20th century
guitarists
Emilio Pujol, Miguel Llobet, Andrès Segovia and their apprentices, right hand
guitar technique became dominated by the apoyando or "rest" stroke. This
stroke, when executed on later instruments with higher tension strings on an
insruments with ample clearance between the strings and insrument top,
produces
a very loud, full toned pitch, but on many late 18th century and early 19th
century instruments this stroke is too strong and can result in a great deal
of rattling, buzzing and a generally unpleasant sound. On these instruments
it is important that the angle of the stroke be more oblique and towards the
top of the instrument which can be easily be accomplished with a "free" stroke
that presses into and "springs" off the string. A similar position is
described in 1799 by Ferderico Moretti: 'The right hand should be held
horizontally
with the strings, because in this situation the fingers can play more easily
and the fingernails do not get in the way.'33 The result is full toned pitch
that is similar to a rest stroke on a modern guitar but with the unique timbral
characteristics of an early or period instrument. I have found that this is
most easily accomplished by holding the right hand in a position that resembles
a semi-circle which the enables the player to securely grasp the string,
press it towards the top and then release with a spring like motion. To
facilitate this hand position I suggest that the player experiment with one of
the
earliest classic guitar right hand positions; that of placing the pinky on the
top of the instrument and holding the hand in what is most commonly described
by
lutenists as a "thumb-over" position in which the thumb is held above and at
a right angle to the fore-fingers. This position causes the fingers to form
the above described semi-circle by placing the hand closer to the instrument's
top and is very similar to that which is described in 1623 by Alessandro
Piccinini34 .
The placing of the right hand pinky on the top of the instrument is a hand
position that has existed throughout the history of plucked string instruments
from the earliest lute tutors to present day electric guitar and country
"pluckers." As is well known this technique was abandoned by mid 19th century
classical guitarists and is no longer a part of modern classical guitar
technique.
This change in hand position occurred gradually and paralleled the path of
musical developments and instrument evolution. It is easiest to employ this
technique on the earliest classical guitars whose fingerboards are flush with
the instrument's top and bridges lack a saddle. On these instrument the
strings are very close to the soundboard and the right hand pinky serves as a
support which prevents the fingers from constantly hitting the top. This hand
position is advocated by most pre 1820 guitar tutors. In particular
P.J.Baillon (177_), states: 'The right hand must be fixed on the little finger
between
the bridge and the rosette so as to be able to pluck near the latter.'35 We can
add to this Carulli's comments: 'The hand must rest lightly on the little
finger, which must lie almost next to the E string, and precisely in between
the
bridge and rosette.' He further states: 'This hand has no fixed
position,because when one wants to soften the sounds and imitate the harp, one
must play
closer to the rosette, and loser to the bridge to play forte.'36 This latter
statement demonstrates Carulli's increased awareness of the guitar's timbral
diversity. Sor is partial advocate for this hand position stating: 'Sometimes
I employ the little finger, pressing it perpendicularly on the sounding-board
below the first string, but taking care to raise it as soon as it ceases to
be necessary.'37
The drawbacks of this position are that an apoyando forefinger stroke is very
difficult to execute and it limits the use of the right hand ring finger.
Most tutors readily acknowledge this by rarely advoctaing the fomer and
carefully discussing the use of the latter. In his brief method for a six
course
instrument Fernando Ferandiere writes: '...our guitar is played with at least
three fingrs of the right hand.'38 I interpret this as thumb, index and middle,
and in a brief paragraph on right hand fingering Carulli states: 'One must
pluck
the sixth, fifth and fourth strings with the thumb of the right hand, and the
three other strings with the fore-finger and the middle-finger, alternating
with each note. The ring finger is used only when playing chords and
arpeggios.'39 Carulli goes on to give a series of exercises for playing scales
on
the bass strings with the thumb alone.40 In a more analytic discourse from his
method Sor writes: 'I therefore establish as a rule of my fingering, for the
right hand, to employ commonly only the three fingers touched by the line A B,
and to use the fourth only for playing a chord in four parts of which the
part nearest to the bass leaves an intermediate string, as in example 1, plate
I.'41 The following illustration accompanies this comment:
Ex. 4
While some might question the wisdom of adpoting such a technique there are
certain benefits to be obtained from its employment. For instance, it gives
greater flexibility to the thumb in the execution of certain passagework. For
instance, the following passages from works by Sor clearly demonstrate the
benefits of this use of the thumb:
Sor: Grand Solo, Op. 14
Sor: Sonata, Op. 22
Ex. 5
Aguado describes such a technique in detail: 'Instead of using four digits of
the right hand to pluck chords played on four consecutive strings, the thumb
is applied firmly to the lowest string and is then forced rapidly across the
next after the first has sounded. The same can be done is cases where two
consecutive strings must be plucked at one time.'42 From personal experience
I know that it helps if one performs these kinds of passages with a short or
no thumbnail, a technique used by both Sor and Aguado. In addition, many tutors
also recommend using the thumb in treble and more melodic context and Sor and
Doisy both clearly state that articulated scales are to be played by
alternating the thumb and index fingers, another hommage to lute technique.43
It is precisely for these reasons that I advocate experimenting with and, to
some extent, adopting this hand position of placing the pinky on the top of
the instrument, it forces the player to adopt early classic guitar fingerings
and strokes.
Two guitarists who clearly broke the above tradition are Mauro Giuliani and
Dionisio Aguado. Although Giuliani never states a position, his Opus 1 right
hand studies show a thorough and active use of the ring finger to an extent
that would be all but impossible if the right hand pinky were placed on top of
the guitar. Aguado makes a clear, forceful and repeated argument against the
right hand pinky placement as early as 1825 by stating: 'By no means should the
little finger or any other be rested on the table, because the hand must be
free and completely loose.'44 Later in 1843 he tempers his tone:
'Some rest the little finger of the right hand on the soundboard so as to
give sureness to the hand when plucking. This may have been useful for some
people while the guitar was not in a fixed position, but now that it is played
on
the tripod I do not consider this support necessary because the fingers of
the right hand depend on the support given by the forearm and wrist. Two more
disadvantages are avoided in this way - the weight this finger lays on the
soundboard which is a real impediment to its vibration, and the danger of
staining it with the contact of the finger. Another advantage is that the
hand is
more nimble and able to perform all the movements desired.'45
Yet he still recommends a preference for the use of the middle over the ring
finger: 'In order to obtain from the strings all the tone they can give, I
generally prefer to use the middle finger of the right hand rather than the
ring finger since it is stronger,'46 and almost all the exercises that follow,
including those that are arpeggiated, indicate this preference. Curiously, the
engravings in this method appear to show Aguado resting his pinky on the bridge
of his instrument. It was not until the appendix to his method was
posthumously published in 1849 that the reader sees an engraving which clearly
shows the
pinky not resting on the insrument.47 In the appendix to this method Aguado
shows very a progressive side by suggesting the use of the right hand pinky .
He states the following: 'The direction and firmness of these fingers
(right hand index and middle) are also useful when the ring finger and even the
little finger are used, because they successively give support to those which
follow.'48 In a footnote to this he states: 'I have thoroughly considered the
great force needed to enable the ring and little fingers to pluck strongly
keeping the hand in the position explained; however, after experimenting with
my
pupils, I have observed that this difficulty can be overcome.49 To my knowlege
Aguado is also the first author to advocate an apoyando stroke for the
fore-fingers of the right hand. He then describes playing a passage consisting
of
consecutive thirds: 'The forefinger can also pluck the first and second strings
when they have to be sounded together, for example in intervals of a third.
If
the nails are used, the first string must be plucked sharply so that the
finger passes over the second string, sounding it and then coming to rest on
the
third.50 While not the conventional execution of an apoyando stroke, it is
still an apoyando stroke. It must be remembered that this method was published
in 1843 and that Aguado was playing on a guitar that was much closer in
design to our modern guitar than those that were used in the first decades of
the
19th century.
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