i have been practicing tremolo just like how you said in the intro for a week now , my goal was to play Recuerdos de la Alhambra and i really really wanted to be able to play such a beautiful peace , so i started slow at 50 speed with the metronome for 10mins , and once i feel like i got it at that speed , i will add 10 speed in the metronome and again for 10 mins , i managed to get to speed 110 , i have not watched the video yet and i am super pumped to watch it and learn something new , keep the videos coming my friend , all luck and best regards for you ...
That is the most beautiful piece for tremolo. Once it starts coming together it just makes your heart smile. I learned it almost 20 years ago. Word of advice, if you don't use you lose it.
The secrets of a balanced tremolo is keeping the "a" finger nearer the "p" and keeping it away from "m" finger. Another exercise is the "Triplets technique" on Recuerdos de la Alhambra. The "p" and "a" finger will be played at the same time, followed by the "m" and "i". This technique will balance the finger muscles to produce a very organized sound. An imbalanced tremolo sounds like an old printer, while a clean and well balanced tremolo sounds like an introducting snare drum
You understand what I'm going through T_T I practiced tremolo using the first exercise you demonstrated (from a very popular guitar book). It was boring as heck and my wife and I both went crazy listening to it, plus it was on the E string, and I had to stop after a couple weeks of going nowhere. I'll be adding this to my daily practice!
This is so much better than a exercise! One of the most helpful videos in my guitar journey, this is the kind of video that motivates you along with giving you the knowledge! Great work sir!thank you
This is incredible. Thank you for sharing. It truly is disheartening to practice tremolo if you're just playing for yourself, and don't aim to go professional. Will definitely give this a go.
Hey blues guitar player speaking here who got up to 120 bpm tremolo. I struggle a lot with left hand, chord changes are daunting. Is there a way to speed up learning all those changes? Maybe I should start from grade 1 classical guitar school pieces and work my way up. For example 2 pieces per grade - 10 grades. 20 classical pieces before recuerdos or una limosna per la amor de dios.
Thanks "Beyond Guitar". I'm a "Jack of all trades, master of none." I could do the whole "Recuerdos" piece at one time, but very slow and not very well. Yes indeed, this looks like this will be fun. I need Tremolo ideas, for a solid foundation...and have fun playing it. A helpful exercise for myself is something I call "Adam del Monte Harmonic sequence". (People noticed my improved guitar playing--persistence pays). It's a great cycle of chord changes, a couple of "hard" chords in there, that sounds great musically--like it's a song....so good idea on your tremolo exercise/ song. I'll check your other video. 5 STARS! --Van
The major challenge of the tremolo is sustaining an even tremolo over a long period of time, think Campanas Del Alba. Those muscles start burning if you don't stay loose.
Uh...I simply use Recuerdos itself as my tremolo exercise. The left hand is not hard. I play it first thing every morning using 4 different tremolo patterns (3 three finger combinations plus flamenco). I find that my left hand shifts unwantedly and imperceptibly 'communicate' tension through my shoulders to poor sonic and musical effect that interfere with the even execution of my tremolo in my right hand. When doing simple repetitive 'exercises', which liberate or isolate the movement, I don't experience the same unwanted transference or 'generation' of tension in my hand. There is undoubtedly a head-game involved here for me. But tremolo, or the 'ability' to it, is something that is variably invested in individuals. Here's hoping you are one of them! LOL! Some great guitarists just never get 'great' at it, while some novices and lesser concert artists have beautiful tremolo. I never give up, but if it were going to happen for me, it would have happened by now. The tightness in my right hand comes a function of my age and a life well lived. Live well, but keep trying.
Hi Nathan- what kind of guitar are you using? I tried your gear link but it didn’t work and couldn’t find it on your site. I’m a beginner and I bought a cordoba c5, but it feels really big and I have trouble getting comfortable. Yours looks comfortably nestled in your arms, maybe it’s smaller. I’d be curious to know. Thanks
I have a question that seems crucial to me: when do I switch left hand? a) after the stroke of the i finger? easier since there is more time; and that's the way I practiced intuitively before giving this a thought; probably soundwise not an issue when played at desired speed. b) after the stroke of thumb? makes more sense musically (especially since your trying to mimic the sustain of a singer or a violin); may sound better (even at full speed?); it definitely the way to play, when the string played by thumb isnt empty (other than in this exercise). b seems more plausible to me but i lack the experience. And I believe this must be considered from the very beginning of your practice. Thank you for qualified (!) help! (And thank you for the lesson.)
ah, I always move around from one string to another with my thumb and also cycle through 2-3 chords. that's what James Devon thought me, strum in various patterns, through various chords and I've applied the idea to tremolo and flamenco learning.
Thanks for the practice , but i have a problem with finger nail lenght My a finger nail just gets stuck to strings which annoys me so much I've not found any video relating to how long finger nails should be in tremolo
Hey, Nathan, what do you consider the minimum space required to make a fairly decent reliable home recording studio?. I am making a very small garden shed. I hope Shepit Workshop components are available i(with instructions) in Europ :-). And of course what approximate cost would we be talking about in US dollars? Anticipated thanks for your reply 👍
about the aop, I downloaded it en heard it. to understand what it is that the apo ask me to do....🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔😉 my english ...... regrettable I don 't understand ....🤒🤒
You can literally make your own exercise by tremolo picking the b string and then play whatever chords fit on top of it with the thumb. Lots of students lack creativity.
Hello! I've been practicing the tremolo for a few weeks now. I'm far from getting it yet lol. However, two of my biggest problems are it sounds so low. The volume is just ridiculously low. Anything else I play is fine, but the tremolo, again, sounds very low. Anyone has some advice for this? Also, the middle finger hardly touches the string, buy I know this is just a matter of time and practice. Any advice also on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
If you are looking for more exercise ideas: I would love something for barre. Something that requires barre on different combinations of strings with different fingers with and without holding or playing other notes. I know you've given advice on barre in the past about how it should not hurt, but... I just can't seem to get there :D Any piece that requires a significant amount of barreing hurts my hand and requires lots of breaks, which messes with practicing.
I had seen so many this but no one specifically mentioned that you should practice these few exercises started at what bpm and for how many minutes otherwise is it only rubies
Oh, thank you so much!!! It sure very generous of you to give away this nice piece of music as an exercise!!! Hopefully it WILL help with improving my tremolo!!!
I wanted to download the Tabs and subscribed to your newsletter but instead I got something about fretbord freedom sent in my mailbox. Is the tremolo training not available anymore? :)
That’s another bonus free training. You should’ve got a separate email with the tremolo exercise. Maybe check your spam? Email me at nathan@beyondtheguitar.com if you don’t see it
What troubles me that the speed that my index, middle,and ring have, my thumb lacks it. But I will surely practice this, and hope it will help. Thanks ❤️❤️
Sir, it has just been over a week of me practicing this piece, and I can already see the effects. I have greater Control, better output and most of all, the process of learning is now more enjoyable. Thank you so much for this ❤️❤️❤️
I disagree.... People tend to get bored too quickly. I can easily practice just the right hand on the b string for half an hour or longer. Purely focussing on the motion and the evenness like a meditation. I also practice pima tremolo by introducing even more difficult combinations like pimami and pimam. I use rhythmic groupings like pamip - amipa - mipai - ipami.
I don't know if this was a direct response to my comment on your hammer-on video, but I just wanted to say thank you for providing exactly the exercise I need right now.
