Carcassi Etude No. 1

[Jose-Guitarra8a]

Dear Fellow CGist,

I'm working on Carcassi Etude No. 1 and I'm trying to play it as recommended - Staccato.

What is the proper technique to play staccato? I've been trying with left and right hand damping. I'm struggling with the piece right now.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Jose

[Florentin]

I play this study for a warm up many times, and don't really play it staccato. Then again, I don't play it from the book anymore, since I have it memorized.

Whose edition are you playing? Are you sure it says staccato at the beginning of the study, or is it just an isolated passage? Which passage is it?

Staccato simply means to play short: short and light.

[Nemesis]

Try thinking of it in terms of the opposite of legato. Sometimes that approach helps.

[Brock]

That description makes sense to me Nemesis - legato playing implies pull-offs, hammer-ons and slides, and I think this is meant to be played with a clear right hand stroke for each note, the left hand ready in position. So in the first bar the B should sound without any sense of a 'pull-off' from the C. There isn't meant to be any shortening of the note values.

The Delcamp edition has the word staccato on it, above the second note (others don't). I think that means you can let the basses ring a little bit not the trebles - but that's as much in the weight of your RH stroke rather than damping. The aim is to sound like a series of clear notes, not a peal of bells.

And Jose, don't be discouraged with getting it right.

[Jose-Guitarra8a]

I have an edition that indicates staccato in the beginning. I understand that to mean across the entire piece. This understanding is consistent with the recording from David Tannenbaum where the notes are short.

Thanks for the input,
Jose

[Athanasios Ziros]

Stacatto theoretically means playing the notes at half their duration in a abrupt and nervous way. For example a recorder player will blow once and then mute the instrument with tongue instead of a constant blowing, and a piano player will "hit" and lift.Think the sound af a drop of water it is stacatto, and then a wave it is legato.

In CG performing stacatto is quite difficult. One way is to mute the string with same RH finger after the stroke (easily done with thumb much harder with a).

The amount of "stacatto" varies according to your taste. You can just play clear notes without slurs or try the above idea in an extreme way.

[RJay]

Hi Athanasios Ziros,

Stacato mainly means detached. This piece worked up to tempo is allegro so in this case it means distinctly. It is much too fast to think about muting anything individually.

Now Brock,
Where and how do you come to the conclusion that: "legato playing implies pull-offs, hammer-ons and slides"... perhaps you wrote something here before thinking?

[Eldert]

Still somewhat in the dark as to how to play staccato as to proper practice.
Mute or not to mute; indeed when playin fast passages that is practically impossible. Any sound bites available?

ragrds, Eldert

[david_classg]

staccato means palyin' only half the value of the note or notes with the staccato sign, so, yes, mutin' is the proper way to do this on the guitar, but, i don't thin etude 1 for op 60 is played staccato, my edition doesn't have that sign and i hace a recording and its not played legato, but it isnt staccato either.