How to Play a Tremolo on a Classical Guitar

Tremolo on a classical guitar is one of the most beautiful sounds you will ever hear. Because the guitar does not have a long natural sustain, the tremolo was developed to mimic the sustain of instruments like the violin. A tremolo uses a succession of rapidly repeating notes to give the illusion of sustain. By practicing the following exercises you can learn how to play a tremolo on your own.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Classical guitar

Playing a Tremolo on a Classical Guitar

1. Become familiar with P I M A. In classical guitar notation, the P I M A system is used to refer to the fingers of your picking hand. P = thumbA = ring fingerM = middle fingerI = forefinger

2. Fret an open chord. Choose an open chord such as E-minor or A-minor to use as the basis of your tremolo.

3. Pluck the lowest bass note of the chord with P, your thumb.

4. Play the highest note of the chord with A, your ring finger.

5. Repeat the highest note of the chord with M, your middle finger.

6. Repeat the highest note of the chord with I, your forefinger.

7. Play the next bass note of the chord with P, with your thumb.

8. Repeat steps 4 through 6 while the new bass note is still ringing.

9. Play the next bass note in the chord with P, with your thumb.

10. Once again repeat steps 4 through 6 while the bass note rings. You will continue using A M I for the high melody note as the bass notes change. Repeat the process over and over. Feel free to change chords if you would like to add some variety to the exercise. That's it. You now know how to do a tremolo on the classical guitar!

Tips & Warnings

• Practice, practice, practice. The tremolo is a very difficult technique to master. To get the coordination and touch down correctly will take a great deal of time.
• Do not be discouraged. Many students give up quickly and think that the tremolo is something that only pros can do. Do not give up. Do the exercise slowly. Add it to your daily practice routine and with time it will come naturally.