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Triplet rasgueado P m P

Guitar technique

Triplet rasgueado - P m P

 

 

 

Video Details

Triplet rasgueado - P m P
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triplet rasgueado P m P

 

triplet rasgueado P m P

The 2 finger rasgueado is one the easiest to learn, but takes a little practice to get a strong and reliable action.

 

Origin and variations

The triplet rasgueado is commonly attributed to Juan Maya Marote. He played it using a+m fingers together in the downstroke but I was taught to use the m finger only.

This type of rsgueado is also known as abanico, meaning 'fan' in Spanish. 
Variations of this that some players use include P a i or P e i (e is th pinky).   
 

 

The video shows:

Triplet rasgueado at various speeds - very slow (practice speed) to very fast (playing speed).

Continuous rasgueado gradually building up speed and then slowing down to very slow again.

 

The three actions:

The starting position is where you end up after the P downstoke. If you had a smiley face painted on the back of the hand you should see it looking up at you. This applies to slow practice only and you should try to turn the wrist almost to it's limit. This follows the principle "if you want to reach the moon, aim for the stars". Naturally, when you play faster your wrist will not be turning as much and you will not see the back of the hand.

 

P upstroke.This is a quick flick of the wrist. When this is finished, stop and let your hand completely relax. If you allow any tension to remain in the hand, Santa will know you have been a naughty boy (or girl) and you will not get that Barbie doll you asked for. Be sensible and don't skip this bit. It's very important that you come to a dead stop. Notice how the middle finger has been brought up during this stroke to prepare for the next stroke.

 

M downstroke. The middle finger strikes down. Notice how the thumb comes down closer to the strings preparing itself for the next downstroke. Once again, this is a quick flick of the wrist. As before, you come to a dead stop and completely relax your hand.

 

P downstroke.The thumb strikes down and ends up in the starting position. Once again, this is a quick flick of the wrist. As before, you come to a dead stop and completely relax your hand.

 

 

Practice slowly:

ALWAYS practice at the slow speed shown at the start of the video. You can speed it up when you use this rasgueado in your playing pieces. Practice time is sacred and should not be messed around with. Think of it like going to going to university. If you mess about in class you will not get that degree you keep dreaming about and you will have wasted several years of your life being average. There are enough mediocre guitar players out there. The world doesn't need another one. Focus on what you do and think of practice time as mastering the principles of a complicated science. Because that's what it is. A couple of years down the track, you will look back and laugh. You will see that's it's not rocket science at all but simple common sense.

 

Practical video examples:

Granadinas - Continuous triplet at the very end - slowing down.

Farruca - Continuous triplet at the very end.

Angel - Long Continuous triplet at the very end.

Tarantos - There are many single triplets throughout this solo. Typically, a P upstroke would be added when you play a single triplet, as shown in this video, effectively giving you a 4 stroke rasgueado P m P P. (triplet plus 1). The extra stoke is accented and would usually land on a beat.

 

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