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Study Notes for Learners
Beginners' Playing Tips
Fernando Sor's Study in D Opus 35 no.17 is from his collection of pieces called "24 Exercices Tres Facile" (24 very easy exercises). No doubt, a virtuoso guitarist's estimation of what "very easy" means is considerably different to that of the vast majority of beginner classical guitarists who attempt this very popular piece and struggle over the barré chords that are a common feature throughout. Study in D isn't an advanced piece by any means, but neither is it 'very easy'. You need to be at a stage where barré chords and half-barré chords are no longer the insurmountable problem that they first appeared to be. If you are, then this piece will be beneficial in further developing your technique and very rewarding to play. Otherwise, you should leave it for a bit and work on some barré chord exercises first.
Bass Note Durations
Another challenge of this piece is in the duration of bass notes. For example, in bar 1, the first bass note is an open D on string 4. It shouldn't be allowed to ring out until it fades away. It should be muted by your thumb at the same time as playing the next note (A). Musically, it won't sound too bad if it continues sounding through that note as they both belong to the same D major chord, but it should definitely have been stopped before beat 3 where the melody note, E, belongs to another chord (an implied A7). This happens throughout the piece. Controlling the open string bass note durations gives the bass a more melodic character that echoes the upper notes. Fretted bass note durations can be more easily controlled simply by removing your finger from the fret when required. Even if you ignore this feature (as many beginners do), it will still sound musical and tuneful, but the bass will lack the melodic clarity that Sor intended.
Rest Stroke
Use rest stroke to bring out the melody wherever it's practical to do so. Rest stroke not only emphasises the melody and separates it from the bass, but it also provides another handy way of muting some of the bass notes where required. If you're not sure what rest stroke is, it's where you pluck the string but bring it to rest on the string above. How it works is that the angle of attack of your finger is such that more force is required to overcome the resistance of the string, so the note comes out louder and fuller in tone. The normal stroke is called free stroke.
Key and chords
The principal key is D major and the main chords are those that belong to the key of D major, such as A7, G and E minor, but there are also some tasty, chromatically altered, 'foreign' chords that make the piece more interesting, harmonically, and that lead briefly to some secondary keys. For example, in bar 3, the chord is G major, but by chromatically altering the bass note, G, to G# under an E melody note, the chord is converted to E7, which leads strongly to the A major chord in bar 4. E7 is foreign to the key of D major and is called a secondary dominant in this role. It's not foreign to the key of A major, though. That's why it leads convincingly to the A major chord.
Fernando Sor's Study in D Opus 35 no.17 is from his collection of pieces called "24 Exercices Tres Facile" (24 very easy exercises). No doubt, a virtuoso guitarist's estimation of what "very easy" means is considerably different to that of the vast majority of beginner classical guitarists who attempt this very popular piece and struggle over the barré chords that are a common feature throughout. Study in D isn't an advanced piece by any means, but neither is it 'very easy'. You need to be at a stage where barré chords and half-barré chords are no longer the insurmountable problem that they first appeared to be. If you are, then this piece will be beneficial in further developing your technique and very rewarding to play. Otherwise, you should leave it for a bit and work on some barré chord exercises first.
Bass Note Durations
Another challenge of this piece is in the duration of bass notes. For example, in bar 1, the first bass note is an open D on string 4. It shouldn't be allowed to ring out until it fades away. It should be muted by your thumb at the same time as playing the next note (A). Musically, it won't sound too bad if it continues sounding through that note as they both belong to the same D major chord, but it should definitely have been stopped before beat 3 where the melody note, E, belongs to another chord (an implied A7). This happens throughout the piece. Controlling the open string bass note durations gives the bass a more melodic character that echoes the upper notes. Fretted bass note durations can be more easily controlled simply by removing your finger from the fret when required. Even if you ignore this feature (as many beginners do), it will still sound musical and tuneful, but the bass will lack the melodic clarity that Sor intended.
Rest Stroke
Use rest stroke to bring out the melody wherever it's practical to do so. Rest stroke not only emphasises the melody and separates it from the bass, but it also provides another handy way of muting some of the bass notes where required. If you're not sure what rest stroke is, it's where you pluck the string but bring it to rest on the string above. How it works is that the angle of attack of your finger is such that more force is required to overcome the resistance of the string, so the note comes out louder and fuller in tone. The normal stroke is called free stroke.
Key and chords
The principal key is D major and the main chords are those that belong to the key of D major, such as A7, G and E minor, but there are also some tasty, chromatically altered, 'foreign' chords that make the piece more interesting, harmonically, and that lead briefly to some secondary keys. For example, in bar 3, the chord is G major, but by chromatically altering the bass note, G, to G# under an E melody note, the chord is converted to E7, which leads strongly to the A major chord in bar 4. E7 is foreign to the key of D major and is called a secondary dominant in this role. It's not foreign to the key of A major, though. That's why it leads convincingly to the A major chord.
Music by Fernando Sor - Public Domain
Scored and tabbed by chasmac-Fretsource
Scored and tabbed by chasmac-Fretsource