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172 Part III: Beyond the Basics: Playing Like a Pro TEAM LinG
After you bring the note into existence, though, the job doesn’t stop there. As
the note sounds, you can still shape and modify it by adding vibrato (a wavering
quality to the sustained part of the note) and affect its duration (that is,
whether the note rings for its full rhythmic value or gets cut off prematurely).
Your influence on the life of a note breaks down in the following ways:
Attacking the notes: Accents and mutes are ways of varying your attacks,
and the two often work in conjunction with each other. An accent makes a
note louder and is used to help an important note stand out from those
immediately surrounding it. A mute (performed with the right-hand heel,
which partially stops the string from vibrating) subdues a note, making it
softer and percussive and shortening its sustain (how long the note rings).
Varying sound after the attack: Beyond how you initially sound the
note, you also have to consider what you can do to it once it’s ringing.
Unlike wind instruments (like trumpets and harmonicas), a guitar (like
the piano or other percussive instruments) can’t really increase the
volume after a note has been sounded except through electronic means
(like goosing the guitar’s volume control or, better yet, by using a
volume pedal to swell a note). You can also apply vibrato to a note,
which gives a sustained note a little more life.
Phrasing the notes: The most subtle of all expressive playing is the
overall approach to the music. This method is called phrasing, and it
can mean everything from making the notes shorter or longer (staccato
versus legato, for you music-school types) to varying the rhythmic flow
through laying back or backphrasing (also called rubato). For more on
music dynamics, see Table 10-1, later in this chapter.
Going In for the Attack
The most important part of a note’s existence is its initial sound. This is what
gives instruments much of their character. Guitars and pianos have sharp
sounds at their outsets because they’re struck with a pick and a felt hammer,
respectively. But a note from a violin has a softer sound because it’s coaxed
into life with a bow. Striking a string is called attacking in musical terms, but
don’t let the hostile nature of that word give the wrong impression. An attack
can be gentle as well as fierce. In fact you can apply an infinite variety of force
to your attacks, making the guitar whisper or shout. In this section I talk about
the expressive musical possibilities when you attack notes with varying
degrees of intensity.