Scale Lesson and Exercise: Articulation and Dynamics

ByBradford Werner
2020

Scale Lesson and Exercise (Part 3 of 3): Articulation and Dynamics for Classical Guitar– This is Exercise No. 13 from my pdf book 20 Favorite Exercises for Classical Guitar for beginner to intermediate classical guitarists. Includes: notation, TAB, fingerings, practice tips, video lessons. YouTube Lesson Link.

If you practice your technique in only one way you might end up playing your pieces without much dynamic contrast or articulations. So, here’s a chance to practice your expressive technique in a controlled setting. Make up your own articulations and dynamics to complement what I’ve provided. You may also wish to experiment with different timbres such as tasto (warm sound: right-hand near the fingerboard) and ponticello (bright sound: right-hand near the bridge). You can make similar changes to the sound by slightly adjusting the angle of the fingers on strings.

Check out more free video lessons at the lesson archive.

Bradford Werner

Bradford Werner is a classical guitarist and music publisher from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He originally created this site for his students at the Victoria Conservatory of Music but now shares content worldwide. Curating guitar content helps students absorb the culture, musical ideas, and technique of the classical guitar. Bradford also has a YouTube channel with over 94,000 subscribers and 13 million views. He taught classical guitar at the Victoria Conservatory of Music for 16 years and freelanced in Greater Victoria for 20 years and now dedicates much of his time curating content online and helping connect the classical guitar community. See more at his personal website.