PREFACE It has been said that the guitar is not a

PREFACE It has been said that the guitar is not a

PREFACE
It has been said that the guitar is not a 'reading' instrument'. Now, whatever this
remark may mean, it is demonstrably
untrue since there are, today, guitarists
whose sight-reading
ability can equal that of a first-class violinist or pianist.
Such a remark therefore, can only reveal a completely outmoded viewpoint.
The guitar does have its special reading problems of C(""~ie... but none of them is so
intractable that it will not yield to a certain amount cf intelligelh~aV1lication and
industry. It cannot be doubted that there are many guitarists who would wo~.with
great energy and enthusiasm to remedy the deficiencies in their technical ~(d.u-musical armoury if only they knew how, but the average guitarist's failure t.dmeasure up
to the musical standards of other performers, is more often due to lack of method
and discipline than to any inherent problems in his chosen instrufnent.
It is with the intention of shedding a little light on the often perplexing question
of sight-reading, that Stephen Dodgson has composed the following one hundred
short pieces. It should be noted that these form only a guideline as to how to tackle
the various problems. Fluent reading is not a skill which can be acquired in two or
three weeks-which
is about how long it might take a reasonably energetic guitarist
to assimilate the printed materiaL The student is urged to write further exercises of
his own at every stage, basing these upon the examples given. As he gains facility, he
will find that not only his reading, but his musical understanding and general musicianship will show dramatic improvement too.
Only recently, sight-reading on the guitar was described as a 'nightmare'. It is to
be hoped, and indeed expected, 'that this little book may help to herald the dawn of
a new era, in which these spectres which have hau;'ted the guitarist down the ages
will be finally dispelled, and that he will be led far beyond a mere facility in
note-recognition
to the exploration of aspects of music which have-hitherto
lain
beyond his horizons.
'"
Hector
-
Quine
SOME NOTES ON HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
The traditional method of learning to play the guitar, by beginning in the first
position, "then working gradually up the fingerboard, has been entirely dispensed
with in tills book-for
a number of reasons. 'First-positionitis'
has been a major
stumbling-block in the path of countless guitarists, and is one of the chief causes.of
poor -eading ability. It is, incidentally, also responsible for much faulty fechnique
being instilled in the early stages of learni g, since the first position involves a
greater hand .spread, holding the hand further away from the body, as well as
grappling with problems of higher string-tension and closer spacing of the strings.
If the maximum benefit is to be derived from this book, a few simple rules must
ire observed and constantly borne in mind:
1. Play only in the position indicated (e.g. Chapter I-all Position V), and resist the
temptation to dive for the first position at the first opportunity. Always try t~ trunk
'in position'.
2. Play.no open stri12.gs-liIiless
the-se are clearly marked.
3. Keep strictly to the formula of one finger per fret, e.g.:
Fret
Finger:
and
has
rule
will
so on for other positions.
to be used for consecutive
is relaxed somewhat, but
ensure a sound foundation
V
I
Fifth position
VI VII VIII
2
3
4
This rule should be observed even if the same finger
notes on different strings. In the later chapters, the
careful attention to it in the early part of the book
for what is to follow:
4. Try to relate previously learned notes to new positions,e.g.
when playing at
Position V, the notes at frets V, VI, and VII will be memorized. These notes will of
course be at the same frets when playing at Position IV (for example), but played
with different fingers.
5. Unnecessary !.Useof barres and half-barres should be avoided in the early stages, as
a clearer mental picture of the fingerboard is built up if the finger tip is made to
'pinpoint' the notes.
6. Always try to look ahead. A conscious effort must be made to develop the habit
of making the eyes move forward to the next note or group of notes, rather than
allowing them to go on staring at the note which you are actually playing.
7. It is strongly recommended that initially each exercise should be played once
only, and if possible, straight through without stopping. After several exercises have
been read as a group in this way, then the whole group may be re-read so as to
increase accuracy and attention
to detail. In any case guard against reading
laboriously bar by bar without adequate musical continuity.
8. Do not look at your left hand. Observance of rule I, plus a reasonably welltrained left hand should make this unnecessary anyway. Keep your eyes on the
music, since if you look away from it, you may lose your place, with consequent
stumbling and hesitations.
9. The value of the book will be greatly enhanced if you can resist the temptation
to write in fingerings, string indications, etc. Remember, the purpose is to develop
facility in recognizing and locating notes, and reliance on symbols merely reduces
the exercises to a kind of tablature.
10. The rule which concerns rhythm is possibly the most importan t of all-as well as
being the one most neglected by guitarists!
Look carefully at the time signature
first. Then, before beginning to play, count out the pulse aloud for one or two bars.
Whilst playing, continue this counting throughout each and every bar, giving a slight
stress to the first beat of the bar, even where there is a rest on this beat. Playing
rhythmically, and counting note-values accurately, are of the utmost importance to
good reading. A metronome may be helpful in the early stages. Disregard wrong
notes, and above all, keep going! A famous conductor once said that a wrong note
in the right place is only half wrong, but that a right note in the wrong place is
completely wrong!
11. As with all other aspects of guitar playing, it is important
in reading requires practice. Set aside regular time for it.
to realise that progress
Good readers on any instrument are such because they understand the musical
structures and harmonic patterns which lie behind the notation. Well used, this book
should help to familiarise the student with logical musical sequences and groupings
of notes, an understanding of which is essential to fluent reading, and fundamental
to a truly musical performance.
H.Q.
CHAPTER I
Fifth Position only-no open strings.
Mapping the territory.
CAPITOLO I
Ausschliesslich V. Lage-keine leeren Saiten
Abgr~nzung des Terrains.
Quinta posizione soltanto; nessuna corda vuota
Esame preliminare
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Repeat until you can play the exercise, saying the note-names,
procedure fpr Exercise 2.
Ripetere fino a che non si sa suonare l'esercizio, pronunciando
10 stesso procedimento per l'esercizio 2.
Diese Ubung wiederholen,
gleiche Art studieren.
but without looking at the notation.
Now follow the sam
il nome delle note, ma senza guardare la notazione.
bis sic auswendig gespielt werden kann. Dabei Notennamen
laut aussprechen.
Seguin
Dann Ubung 2 au
These two exercises follow finger-patterns which have been chosen to.illustrate all the notes which lie under the fingers at
the V position. The aim is to relate written symbol to fret and string location. Further similar exercises should now be
worked out on the guitar, always saying the note-names; the exercises should then be written down in notation, but
without fingering. With this basis, the exercises which follow should present little difficulty, but take care over key.
signatures!
Questi due esercizi seguono schemi di diteggiatura scelti per illustrare tutte le note che stanno sotto le dita nella quin ta
posizione. Lo scopo e di mettere in relazione il simbolo scritto con la posizione sui tasto e sulla corda. Dovrebbero ora
venir ideati altri esercizi sulla chitarra, sempre pronunciando il nome delle note; gli esercizi dovrebbero poi venire trascritti
in notazione, ma senza diteggiatura. Con questa base, gli esercizi che seguono non dovrebbero presentare grandi difficolta,
ma attenzionc alle alterazioni in chiave!
Diese beiden Ubungen bestehen aus Figuren, die alle Tone enthalten, die in der V. Lage zur Verfugung stehen. lhr Zweck
ist, das gedruckte Symbol mit Bund und Griff auf der Saite in Verbindung zu bringen. Weitere Ubungen ahnlicher Art sind
auf der Gitarre auszuarbeiten,
wobei die Noten namentlich genannt werden. Diese neuen Ubungen sind dann niederzuschreiben, aber ohne Fingersiitze, Auf dieser Grundlage werden die folgenden Ubungen nur geringe Schwierigkeiten
bereiten, aber man beachte die Vorzeichnungenl
Position V-the
three upper strings.
V. Lage; drei hohen Saiten.
Quinta posizione ; le tre corde superiori.
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Copyright 1975 by G. Ricordi & Co. (London) Ltd.
The Bury, Church Street, Chesham, Bucks.
LD.591
2
These preliminary exercises, using only two strings at a time, lead to the next group which employ all three upper string:
Always at Position V: Before playing the exercise, (1) visualise where each note is to be found, and (2) count out th
rhythm, imagining the sound as vividly as possible. Questi esercizi preliminari, che impiegano solo due corde alla volta, conducono al gruppo successivo che usa tutte e tre I,
corde superiori.
Sempre in quinta posizione: prima di suonare l'esercizio, (1) visualizzare la sede di ogni nota e (2) scandire il ritme
immaginando il suono il piu vividamente possibile.
Diese Voriibungen, die nur je zwei Saiten anwenden, fiihren zur nachsten Gruppe, die alle drei hohen Saiten verwendet
Stets in der V. Lage! Vor dem Spielen der Ubung (I) vorstellen, wo jeder Ton zu finden ist, (2) Rhythmus auszahlen urn
den Klang so gut wie moglich innerlich-horen!
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Flat key signatures, which are generally less familiar to guitarists, should cause no more problems than sharp ones in this
present context, since all notes are 'stopped'. A moment's thought before playing the exercise should fix the names and the
significance of the flattened notes in 'the memory.
I segni di bemolle, che sono generalmente poco familiari ai chitarristi, non dovrebbero causare in questo contesto problem
piu gravi dei diesis, poiche tutte le note sono 'premute':Una
breve riflessione prima di suonare l'esercizio dovrebbe fissan
nella memoria i nomi e il significato delle note con bemolle.
Vorzeichnungen in 'Bes', mit denen Gitarristen weniger vertraut sind, als mit solchen in Kreuzen, sind in diesem Zusam
menhang nicht problematisch, da alle Tone gegriffen werden. Kurze Konzentration vor dem Spielen sollte genugen, dir
Narnen und die Bedeutung der erniedrigten Tone dem Gedachtnis einzuverleiben.
3
Rhythmic Interludes
lnterludi
(at Position V)
ritmici (in quinta posizione).
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(in der V. Lage)
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All rhythm exercises should be played moderately fast, so that the underlying
on a monotone first if change of note prevents fluency.
pulse is felt as strongly as possible. Try therr
Tutti gli esercizi di ritmo vanno suonati a velocita moderata, in modo da far sentire il piu possibile il tempo di fondo
Provarli prima in un tono solo se il cambio di nota impedisce la scorrevolezza.
Alle rhythmischen Ubungen sind massig bewegt zu spielen, urn den zugrundeliegenden Taktschlag so stark wie moglich zu
empfinden. Sollte Tonwechsel das flussige Spiel hemmen, so konnen die Ubungen zuerst auf einem Einzelton ausgefuhrt
werden.
Position V-the lower strings
(similar procedure).
Quinta posizione; le corde inferiori
(stesso procedimento).
V. Lage-die drei tiefen Saiten.
(Anwendung der gleichen Methode.
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three strings at a time.
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Still at Position V=across the middle strings.
le corde intermedie.
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. tre corde alia volta.
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uber die mittleren
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four strings at a time.
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Rhythmic Interludes
Interludi ritmici (ancora in V posizione).
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(still at Position V).
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. (n.b, This final low E should be the only open string you have played throughout
this Chapter.)
(N.B. questo MI basso finale dovrcbbe essere Yunica corda vuota suonata in tutto il capitolo.)
(N.b.) Diese Schlussnote
If these Rhythmic Interludes cannot
rhythmic symbols, (2) practise tapping
fixed left-hand patterns, and write them
Keen awareness of rhythmic values is
technique.
(tiefes E) ist die einzige leere Saite, die in diesem Kapitel gespielt werden darf.
be played boldly and confidently, you should (1) check your understanding
01
these and other rhythms away from the guitar, and (3) devise similar interludes or
out carefully.
vital, not only far accuracy in reading, but far the development of a dependable
Se non e possibile suonare questi interludi ritrnici con chiarezza e sicurezza: (I) controllare la comprensione dei simboli d
ritmo, (2) esercitare la scansione di questi e di altri ritmi non sulla. chitarra e (3) ideare interludi simili su moduli fissi per l~
mano sinistra e trascriverli attentamente.
. .
Un vivace sensa dei valori ritmici
d'importanza vitale, non soltanto per un 'accurata lettura, ma anche per la sviluppo d
una tecnica sicura.
e
Falls diese rhythmischen
Zwischenspiele nicht fliissig und mit Elan gespielt werden konnen, (1) prufe man seine Kenntni'
der rhythrnischen
Zeichen, (2) iibe man diese und andere Rhythmen durch Klopfen (ohne Gitarre) und (3) erfinde mar
ahnliche Zwischenspiele iiber die fur die linke Hand gegebenen Notengruppen und schreibe sie sorgfaltig nieder.
Eine instinktive Kenntnis der Notenwerte ist wesentlich nicht nur fur exaktes Blattspiel, sondern auch fur die Entwicklung
einer verlasslichen Spieltechnik.