OP 60 STUDY NOTES Grp 3 Etude #4 in D major

CARCASSI OP. 60: THE GUITARIST’S ANVIL

©Roger Allen Cope

GROUP III STUDY NOTES

Ligados – Slurs

Etude No. 4 in D major

This is a binary study featuring descending slurs between the first two notes of the final three triplets in each measure. Therefore it is important to keep that rhythmic identity even though this pattern is broken on approach to cadences. Though the time signature is 2/4 you can think of each measure as in 4/4 with four triplets per measure where beats 2, 3 and 4 have a strong accent on the beat immediately followed by a slur. Keep production noise to a minimum and work very slowly and deliberately in the beginning. The objective is not speed: it is clarity and distinctive strong to weak articulation. Not too heavy. Even and smooth.

The manuscript dating from the first publication is shown with a time signature of 2/4 and a half note on the downbeat followed by eleven sixteenth notes per measure – more or less consistently. The first measure is shown with double stemmed bass note D, the downward stem indicating the half note, with a duration of the entire measure, and the upper stem indicating its parallel function as first of a series of sixteenth notes, as all the remaining notes of the measure are. Basically, each measure is a sequence of four triplet figures, and each triplet is executed where the eighth note falls, equal to four triplets.

Some LH movements deserve comment: In m.6, experiment setting a half bar at V on beat one and then on beat two move that half bar up a whole step to VII.

Do the same in m.7; take all of beat 1 at V with no bar: bass E on ➎ with 3, treble C# on ➌ with 2, soprano E on ➋ with 1, then the following F# to E slur with 4-1.

Play beat two by taking the D on ➌ with 1, and the following G#/A on ➋ with 4-3 thus making the transition to m.8 easier.

In m.23 try a half bar there on beat one, simply for the opportunity to further develop that skill, and on beat two stay in position.

 

                                                            OTHER VOICES

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford: “The left-hand fingers should remain in their chord positions while the slurs are being executed – not moved until necessary for other notes.”

David Tanenbaum: “Above all, the study should be played lightly. This is generally true of slur textures, because too much marcato in the attack of the first note means that the second note, particularly of the hammer-on, has little chance of being equally loud. There are three different ways that the basic pattern can be successfully phrased. (But) There isn’t one interpretive answer (to how the piece should be played), even if we could know how Carcassi played it. The piece becomes the student’s - no longer Carcassi’s or the teacher’s. It has to be treated with respect, and through understanding the music, different possibilities become evident, as all players have experienced after knowing pieces for long periods.”

Rey de la Torre: “In measure 5, the transition from the finger on the D natural on ➁, slant the wrist a little so that the 1st and 2nd fingers make room for the action of the 3rd on the G natural and then "pivot" on the 2nd finger-moving it towards the right without displacing the tip - that is, rolling it, not sliding it - so that the G# can be reached by the 3rd (finger) comfortably and in doing so the 4th finger is able to attain the position which gives the leverage to slur cleanly. Don't expect the fingers to go against their anatomic possibilities; their mission is to go down (stop) and up (lift, pulling a bit) on the strings. The wrist, arm and elbow are in charge of taking the fingers to the exact place where they can do their work properly. In slurring, the best results are obtained by "nailing" to the board the finger that is stopping the lower note so that the action of the slurring finger does not weaken the hold on that lower note.”

Brian Jeffery: “Bar 1 has pf, bar 9 mf, and bar 10 rf ( rinf in the Brandus edition). Pf may stand for poco forte but it seems to mean also with some degree of accent but not too much.”

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“Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976: Allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

CARCASSI OP. 60 STUDY NOTES, GROUP I Etude No. 1 in C major

 

CARCASSI OP. 60: THE GUITARIST’S ANVIL

©Roger Allen Cope

STUDY NOTES - GROUP 1

Passage work, scales and horizontal prominence

Etude No. 1 in C major

 

This etude is mostly about scalar movement along the fingerboard except for one eight measure arpeggio segment toward the end. It quickly outlines the single octave C major scale using the tonic chord pitches of C, E and G, as a starting point. In m.4 the accidental F# signals a transition to the Dominant where the same formula follows on the G major chord tones of G, B and D. This single-voice single note activity will continued exploring various tonalities, splitting into individual bass and treble call/response, and then at m.21 adding longer value bass notes changing to chordal arpeggios in m.29. At this point LH bars appear for the first time continuing through m.36. In m.37 begins a brief coda returning to the first major scale formula until ending in mm.42/43 with three block four voice chords.

The clear objective throughout is single note playing – passage work – requiring alternation of RH fingers with special attention paid to consistent timbre throughout. Generally use i and m to play the upper linear lines and sound the base notes and extended bass passages with p. This is especially important where the bass figure extends apart from the upper voice; e.g. mm.10-13, mm.15-17, m.18 and m.20. Use p to play the first note of a measure when the note is a stem-down bass.

             In the early Brandus and Schott editions, and later the Rowies edition, the composer specifies staccato. This indication is widely interpreted to mean playing detache’ or in a more detached manner rather than simply playing very short duration notes. However, the modern definition of staccato is also one technique to use here, and so too legato. There is plenty of space between the upper and lower voices for a variety of playing techniques. Certainly playing the prepared’ RH stroke is another middle-ground technique to practice here.

            At m.29 begin using RH finger placement (RHFP) or p, i, m and a on beats one and three of each measure until m.37 where all fingers remain on the string until time to play. This conditions the RH for the ascending four-note arpeggio of each new chord while ensuring there are no lingering chord tones ringing into the next chord change.

            The change at m.31 to m.32 presents the first major difficulty and requires some examination and practice to make smooth. In many editions the first finger holding the F# in m.31 must move across the fingerboard to G on ➊ and then on beat 3 of m.32 move back across the neck to play the bass G on ➍. One solution: at m.32 fix the G ➍ with 2, the C on ➌ with 3, sound the open E ➊ and then sound the last note G on ➋ using 4 – and then set a bar for the next chord.

            In addition to consistently sounding every note with equal balance of timbre and volume, practice the prepared stroke, also staccato and legato, along with a very quiet pp and clear, well balanced sound, and then crescendo to FF to acquire control all of these techniques.

OTHER VOICES

Rey de la Torre, “Apoyando on the scales produces a fuller tone; this is a good color contrast to the arpeggios, whose free strokes are naturally lighter.”

Erwin Schwarz-Reiflingen, “Take care to observe the notation of the basses, strictly

respecting their duration and accordingly damping the strings to stop them ringing on past their notated value.”

Vahdah Olcott-Bickford, “ . . . should be played slowly at first until every note is of equal intensity and smoothness, after which it should be played allegro.”

David Tanenbaum, “ . . . excellent practice for free stroke scales.

Aaron Shearer, “ . . . suggest this etude be practiced with the more-difficult m-a alternation as an alternative to i-m. This approach would strengthen your m-a alternation playing, which is often neglected, while promoting fluency in the right hand.”

A free download of the public domain copy of all 25 etudes is available from Free-Scores.com

Here: https://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=4392

END OF NOTES

 

 

 

“Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976: Allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement is intended.”