Recuerdos Tremelo

[adeklerk]

Hey all,

Does someone have a suggestion for me on how to exercise the string transitions with a tremelo. I keep knocking other strings as I go from high e to b etc. Maybe someone has a good suggestion on how to improve both this and tremelo speed.

[nikpearson]

I'm not sure I can help you with this but here are a few observations on playing 'Recuerdos'. I emphasise that these are just my personal feelings:

- The thumb is an integral part of the tremolo so make sure that it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb! Try to avoid any irregular gap between the notes played by thumb and fingers.

- I've noticed that it's easier to play when I've just file my nails just long enough to play. Ultra-smooth nails and not to much length should help prevent catching unwanted strings (though I do it regularly too on some days)

- Build up the tremolo speed using a metronome. I found that playing the individual notes almost staccato helped me ensure even volume and eventually allowed a more fluid tremolo.

Other more expert players may disagree with me but I find playing the Recuerdos consistently well extremely difficult. Some days I can play it; others not. I've been working on it for over a year and the improvement is vast so keep persevering.

Kindest Regards, Nick

[M. Stephenson]

I am in the same boat as nikpearson in that I have been working on it for more than a year as well, sometimes it sounds great, sometimes it sucks.

Although I have had some excellent formal classical instruction, some of my methods are a bit maverick, so take them with a grain of salt:

Do one or two tremolos (p-a-m-i, the thumb plays the same string as the fingers) on e, one on b, one on g, one on b, one on e, etc. When that gets comfortable, start doing string skips from e to g, b to d, etc.

Play the tremolo with 5 finger trremolo p-i-a-m-i. I found that this really helped my a-m-i. It is slower, but I find it to be more romantic.

My instructor worked a long time with me to get me to curl my fingers. I used to play across the strings, almost like a rest stroke, but now I am pulling up thru the strings. It has really increased my volume and clarity, but the bass still overpowers the tremolo if I am not vigilant.

I made my biggest improvements from playing tremolo on a steel string guitar, but I do not think this would work for everyone. In fact my tremolo sounds better on the steel string guitars than on the nylon sting guitars. Go figure.

[John_c]

What about first studying a piece like Carcassi's study in A minor? That has some nice tremelo passages that involve switching strings but it's far less intense than Recuerdos. I'm quite aways from playing RDLH and I'm sure you've already covered the Carcassi stuff...but maybe it's time to revisit? Could be useful.

[Zak]

An exercise that helped me was to use all four RH fingers on the same string. In other words, pick a string and work the P-A-M-I pattern on it. If your fingers aren't working properly together and things aren't lining up, it becomes instantly apparent when you hear a gross "click click click."

[classguitar24]

Hey guys,

This may seem strange, and dont ask me how this helps, but my teacher once told me to practice the tremolo backwards PIMA instead of the normal PAMI. I was told to practice this for a couple of weeks slowly until it was easy, than turn it around to the normal RH pattern. I find that it somehow helps clean up the right hand movement. But i do agree with you guys though, the tremolo somedays are easy and fluid, and other days its as stiff as a board.

[PaulB]

I'm also working on this piece. Absolutely concur with how easy it is for the base to overpower the tremolo - the faster I play the fainter the tremolo becomes. Changing the angle of the fingers to lift the string does improve the power of the tremolo, definitely agree with that.

Just got back from a short holiday in Seville. Heard Recuerdos played a couple of times in the street. Thing is they played it way slower than I've been trying to play it, and it sounded great.

Finally, try playing the top line alone and without the tremolo. It fixes in your mind the sound of the piece and the phrasing. It seemed to help me in hearing the transitions I'm looking for when playing the whole piece (if that makes any sense at all).

[cardenas]

I had the problem with hitting the wrong strings while playing the b string. What fixed it for me was shortening my nails slightly. That really cleared things up for me....also made me much faster, so I have to really restrain myself from overdoing it. Practicing arpeggios also seemed to help me slightly.....gets the fingers working like pistons.

[Jonny Hotnuts]

I agree 100% with M. Stephenson in practicing trem on one string, and I would add that I feel that it should not be the high e. While some well known players and teachers say it is ok, I think that you can develop over stroke problems if you start on the high e.

I would also suggest that your really push your limits on trem, start slowly to get the mechanics but then really start cranking the metronome, even beyond your abilities to play it perfectly. I feel that pushing your limits will make you advance faster and in the end you will be able to play it sooner and better.

[jay]

for me it't the opposite
i have no problem on the middle strings but when playing on the high e
it felt uncomfortable i used to lose balance , precisicion and evenness
somehow knowing that there's a string above me keeps my hand stable.

[Jonny Hotnuts]

Jay I have the perfect fix for ya.

Get a 7 string with a high A!!!!!


:lol:

-JH

[jay]

that's a good one i think more practice would be cheaper for me

[ChrisAM86]

The best way I found to learn the piece was to play it not only forwards, but also practice the tremolo backwards. This will help you develop a better feel for the tremolo. Also, try learning the Barrios tremolo excercise while you do Recuerdos, if I'm not mistaken, the Barrios is mostly on the E string.

[Jordanao11]

You know, I just saw Ana Vidovic on Sunday, and she played Recuerdos for her encore. She did the tremolo m-i-m. Afterwards everyone just stood around talking with her about it. It sounded great, but is difficult when you're used to a-m-i.

[Jonny Hotnuts]

I-M-I!!!!!!


No S***,
Cant wait to see her play, I have seen many people play RDLH and never imi.

Will try it when I get home but think it sounds very inefficient. I know she is a fast player but was she able to play it fast using this fingering?

[Jordanao11]

Yeah, it actually sounded great. (m-i-m, btw) -- I was pretty impressed.

[Jonny Hotnuts]

It is not as inefficient as I thought. While I could not play it as fast as I could using A-M-I, M-I-M did work and I could see how someone could work it to a fast tempo. I also see how learning to play RDLH using M-I-M could make your runs really fast.
I have always thought that trem was sort of a novelty because it is used so rarely, requires so much work and there are not many benefits to other pieces by learning the technique.

I am now wondering if I too should work more on M-I-M trem.
Very interesting.

[Jordanao11]

Maybe you can just practice both, that way you can show off your bad-ass skills. Eh, eh?

[Jordanao11]

Good Lord, I didn't realize that there is an automatic censor on this forum. That's...let's go with disheartening.

[mihalis]

All the great guitarists play the p-a-m-i tremolo and it sounds fluid enough for me. It's not difficult but you can't expect to pick up the guitar with cold fingers and start playing a tremolo piece. You need to warm up playing scales for at least 15 minutes. A good warm up study for tremolo is Sor's Study in A (Estudio No. 10 in Segovia's edition of 20 Sor Studies). :D

[Jordanao11]

dude...