This technique will help you project certain notes in a musical texture with ease and consistency. It might feel a little unusual to repeat a finger on purpose. However, if it is done with intention and a little choreography it can be a great technique to help your musical goals.
The name “Double Stroke” is a bit of a placeholder for me and I am not really sure what to call this technique. If you have heard of other names or you want to come up with a new one, please feel free to write it in the comments below.
How to do a Double Stroke on Classical Guitar
Normally we avoid repeating right-hand fingers on classical guitar. Building up a habit of repeating fingers can slow you down and cause your fingers to trip over themselves. Therefore, it is better to alternate your right-hand fingers. However, there are always exceptions to every rule.
In this technique, the double stroke, we will intentionally repeat a right-hand finger. Here’s how it works.
First, play a rest stroke on any string. Remember that a rest stroke allows the finger to play through one string and “rest” on the lower adjacent string. It doesn’t matter which right-hand finger you use. After your finger comes to rest on the adjacent string, play a free stroke on that string you were just resting on. The rest stroke adds a bit of an accent and projection to a note so this works really well when you want to accent one note and make another after it softer.
Where can you use double stroke on classical guitar?
There are many instances in the classical guitar repertoire where you may want to emphasize one note and then make the next softer. A great example would be the beginning of the first movement of Barrios’s La Catedral. We can use a double stroke to accentuate the melody, but back off of the accompaniment notes underneath it. Likewise, the famous Spanish Romanza features a melody on the first string with accompaniment on the lower treble strings. A double stroke can be used to great advantage here to really separate the singing melody from the accompaniment.
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‘Double Stroke’ is fine.
Simple and effective …
Can we see some detail on that knee stand of yours? Perhaps a video on the subject?
Great examples! The old fashioned word for the E string on a violin (or those one or two top strings on a lute) was “chanterelle”. So it is kind of bringing out a singing voice, so to speak.
Jim
I’ve heard this referred to as a ‘flamenco drag’
Great Catch. Thanks for sharing this with us.
economic motion or movements for fingers is the best even in appreggio execrises and scale playing study. Double stroke can not use for non-adjacent strings.
So the double stokes can only be applied in slow pieces. For Romance de Amor, why don’t we use “a” rest stroke instead of “m” rest stroke?
Fender (electric) bass players refer to the technique as raking. It’s a commonly used technique that repeats fingers at string changes on descending passages. I played a Fender J-Bass for many years. The technique just felt perfectly natural for classical guitar and came along for the ride.