Antonio Forcione Masterclass: Part 2 of 2
As our masterclass concludes, Will McNicol continues his impromptu discussion with this amazing player about his influences and ideas.
Antonio plies us with more of his acoustic guitar wisdom in the second and final lesson in this video masterclass series.
This instalment of our Antonio Forcione video tutorial sees the continuation of our impromptu chat with the Italian guitarist and a detailed look at utilising a vast variety of textures on the guitar. Antonio gives a fascinating insight into building melody and harmony around Cuban basslines, using treble-string drones as a frame for bass-string melodies; if that weren’t enough, he treats us to a smorgasbord of his flat-picking approaches and warm-ups.
Having spent considerable time in Cuba and working alongside numerous Cuban musicians, Antonio has a unique understanding of how the rhythmic quirks, which make the region’s music so recognisable, can be applied to the acoustic guitar. This month’s first example begins with a palm-muted ‘tumbao’ bassline. It’s worth repeating this rhythm along with Antonio in the video to make sure you grasp the rhythmic groove before moving on. As the texture builds, the bassline shifts on to the beat, and the syncopated elements get passed to the treble melodies – so be wary of that as you work your way through the chord changes. Do your best to keep to a solid pulse while maintaining a relaxed feel as the piece progresses.
Moving onto a different area of Antonio’s compositional style, we discuss the use of the open second string to maintain a drone while building texture on the treble strings. The 6/8 fingerstyle pattern Antonio uses for this is a little tricky to master at first. It’s definitely worth repeating the first couple of bars a few times so your first, second and third fingers get into the feel of the pattern. Dynamics are a key part to this, so do use this example as an excuse to explore the full dynamic and tonal range you have at your fingertips: from the tiniest pianissimo to the most enormous fortissimo! Your thumb will be providing the melody on the fourth and fifth strings here, so aim to bring this out as much as you can while maintaining the pattern.
To round things off Antonio discusses his approaches to plectrum-playing, particularly with regard to keeping a rhythmic ‘compass’ as you play. The first examples highlight the usefulness of using a downstroke to accent on-the-beat notes, and upstrokes to highlight off-the-beat notes. Maintaining this idea while more notes are added and the speed increases, will ensure you keep on top of the rhythmic elements of your plectrum playing, which can so often become blurred at faster tempos. The final example gives an insight into one of Antonio’s regular warm-up routines: this involves chromatic scales with string-jumping. It’s deceptively simple, so slow and steady to begin with will certainly be the best approach as you try and build a steady rhythm.
I hope you’ve found Antonio’s unique approach to acoustic playing inspiring, and that you can incorporate some of these ideas into your own playing.
use the examples as an excuse to explore the full dynamic and tonal range you have at your fingertips