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Classical Guitar Technique: Dangers of Playing Loudly
Having been permanently injured as a result of playing too loudly, I feel it is important to warn other classical guitarists about this problem, and to offer solutions and compromises.
The best way to experience this type of injury is playing loud and fast at the same time, where the muscles that operate the right-hand fingers do not have much time to recover between strokes. This was true in my case.
High and extra-high tension strings make the likelihood of injury even greater.
Although I can still play some music, any repertoire requiring fast playing poses a threat of even more serious and widespread injury. In addition, I cannot play for more than 15 minutes at a time without feeling discomfort.
In general, however, any consistent loud playing puts you at risk, as does playing unusually loud notes even occasionally.
The root cause of this threat is training students to play classical guitar in concerts without amplification. As a university guitar student, for example, I was constantly encouraged to play louder than my natural instincts dictated.
In my view, the unamplified classical guitar should not be used in halls where the player must strain their finger muscles to project a sound that the audience can hear clearly.
Having attended numerous concerts in this type of venue, I can say that the sound of the classical guitar was always weak and had a substantially diminished range of tone color--even when the player had the loudest instrument money could buy. In the largest halls, from where I was sitting, the guitar sounded like it cost $100 and was made from plywood. In other words, the tone was nearly colorless.
A LOGICAL COMPROMISE
I am a proponent of the "salon concert", i.e. classical guitar performances in small spaces. This was apparently the tradition of the great classical guitar virtuoso and composer Francisco Tarrega.
In addition to saving classical guitarists from career-ending injuries, in a small performing space, the audience can best appreciate the subtle and delicate beauty of the classical guitar's tone. The classical guitar's remarkable shadings of dynamics also become evident. Since classical guitarists work exhaustively to cultivate these elements of musical artistry, a performance venue should reward the player for their hard work with the greatest degree of audience appreciation.
In this respect, I'm reminded that Beethoven once told virtuoso classical guitarist Mauro Giuliani that the guitar was a "miniature orchestra" because of its remarkable range of tone colors. Thus it seems inadvisable to play this instrument in a performance space where its orchestral qualities are substantially obscured.
Furthermore, in a small performing space, there is a stronger expressive connection between the audience and the player, which to me, is the ultimate joy in experiencing a musical performance.
SOLUTIONS REGARDING STRINGS, PRACTICE, INSTRUMENT CHOICE AND TECHNIQUE
As an injured player, I can play pain-free at brief intervals throughout the day with medium tension trebles. In contrast, I notice pain within minutes if a classical guitar is strung with higher tension trebles.
Thankfully, with nearly every one of the dozens of unique models of guitars I've tried as a dealer, medium tension trebles increase volume. Another classical guitar dealer explained to me that this was the result of the top being freer to vibrate compared to the constraint of high tension strings. I also find that medium tension trebles bring out more of a classical guitar's full range of tone color, and increases its sensitivity to vibrato.
The same is often true of medium tension basses, but some classical guitars may buzz with this string tension. If so, too good compromises are medium-high tension basses, or the Savarez Corum high tension basses, which the manufacturer claims have the easier feel of medium tension.
If your current guitar doesn't sound good with less than high tension strings, purchasing a new one that works well with lower tension strings is strongly recommended. Remember that it's only money, but your ability to play freely without pain is priceless.
Practice in 15-minute sessions followed by a short rest. This gives the muscles time to recover, and may reduce the buildup of inflammation that can lead to more serious problems. Prior to using this approach, I had chronic pain that made playing impossible. I also limit myself to three 15-minutes practice sessions per day, or several shorter ones because of my prior injuries.
If you are a classical guitarist who needs to produce high volume levels consistently, purchase the loudest guitar available. This would be a concert classical guitar, such as a Sakurai Kohno Pro-J, Kohno Maestro, or Ramirez 1A. Since any model of classical guitar will vary in loudness, you should try several examples of whatever instrument you choose to find the loudest one.
As far as technique goes, when playing loud notes, move the entire right hand, and keep the plucking finger firm and resistant to bending. This can take a considerable amount of stress off of the forearm and finger muscles. In this respect, you may wish to explore the technical system for classical guitar devised by Abel Carlevaro. If so, I strongly suggest finding a teacher who has been trained in this system, as it would be very difficult to learn from a book.
The technique known as rest stroke, where the finger rests on an adjacent string after plucking, is the most advantageous for loud notes. The greatest mechanical advantage is achieved when the index, middle and ring finger knuckles are closer closer to string 6 than the fingertips. In the case of the right thumb, its knuckle is closer to string 1 than the tip. A straighter rest stroke finger causes considerable resistance, and increases the likelihood of injury when playing loud notes.
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Free stroke is the most natural means of plucking a guitar string. After the stroke, the finger moves over the adjacent string.
During a rest stroke, the finger gently touches the adjacent string without sounding it.
It should be noted, before continuing, that although I use both strokes in my playing, some notable concert artists have abandoned rest stroke entirely.
Rest stroke is supposedly superior in terms of volume production. This is misleading in that I have students whose rest strokes are initially softer than their free strokes. In other words, merely touching an adjacent string after a finger stroke does not increase volume.
In some cases, doing so may eliminate the sympathetic vibrations of the adjacent string, slightly affecting the tone and volume of the rest stroke note.
Rest stroke has an advantage because it makes pressing the string downward towards the sound hole during a finger stroke easier. The greater ease is due to the fact that the finger does not have to suddenly avoid the adjacent string at the end of the stroke. It is only the downward string movement involved that enhances volume.
Rest stroke must be avoided when using it mutes an adjacent string that was plucked earlier and needs to continue vibrating. Muting must be avoided when playing arpeggios, where each successively plucked string should continue to vibrate to form a complete harmony (chord). Furthermore, when playing block chords and double-note intervals on adjacent strings, rest stroke is impossible.
The loudest rest strokes require tilting the finger towards the right wrist, so the fingertip is closer to the floor. Comparatively, a straighter finger is more natural for free stroke.
Interestingly, I once had a student who used rest stroke extensively when playing fast single-note passages. As a result, you could hear a distinct, rhythmic thumping sound as his right-hand fingertips hit the adjacent strings.
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