Plucking the strings

In classical guitar playing, we have two ways of plucking the strings; rest stroke (sometimes refered to as apoyando) where the string is plucked by push of the finger or thumb which then rests on the adjacent string, and free stroke (also known as tirando) where the finger plucks free of the next string. Rest stroke gives a warmer fuller tone and is used for single line melodies, to help a melody stand out from an accompaniment, or to accent or emphasise a single note. Here we are using reststroke to drag through adjacent strings which is a special technique in classical guitar playing. instruments are arranged in a glistening web of harp-like glisses through exotic harmonies, while the flute and strings play an enchanting melody.

Quite satisfyingly, i’ve kept the original key of a minor, and to emulate the harp-like sound i’ve adopted a technique called a rake (or in classical guitar terminology a plucking-hand harp or gliss) to run through the strings rapidly. this is explained in the tab captions which will also help you through the trickier sections of the piece. take your time with this, as the techniques you learn are transportable to other pieces, as well as allowing you to play this magical work.

the main material in this arrangement aims to emulate the under-water like rippling arpeggios played on the pianos. it’s impossible to use the notation in exactly the same way as the original score but i have used a guitar technique that gives a similar effect while maintaining the correct harmonic changes and hopefully capturing the mood.