Linear phrasing: 6
The most important element of linear phrasing is the pulse. Whatever you do to the rhythm, never lose sight of the pulse.
One advantage piano players have over guitar players is the left hand.
The left hand in piano playing is the time keeper.
When you have a steady time keeper in the left hand, it’s very hard to lose sight of the pulse.
But on the guitar we do not have the left hand so there’s a tendency to forget the pulse and start to overdo our rubatos.
Segovia is a good example of this.
In his early recordings, the maestro’s pulse is impeccable. You always know where the beat is.
But in his later recordings, for whatever reason, he started exaggerating his rubatos to the point where the pulse is gone.
When it comes to linear phrasing on the guitar, the great master is Leo Brouwer.
Every one of his recordings is a gem, but my favorite is his debut recording for Deutsche Grammaphon.
Unfortunately, the recording has never been reissued although if you google hard enough, you might be able to find mp3’s of it floating around.
On one side of the album, he played Sanz, Narvaez, and Sor.
The Sanz and Narvaez are not only studies in elegant linear phrasing but also in structural delineation. The latter has to do with articulating the form which I will cover later.
The five Sor minuets at the end of the side are absolutely amazing—the imagination that goes into the phrasing, articulation and technique are unique among guitar players.
Back to the left hand.
Because we lack the left hand to keep the pulse for us, guitar players have to work harder in internalizing the pulse.
When you start working on linear phrasing, it’s very important to tap your foot as you play. The foot becomes your ‘left hand.’
Always know where the beat is as you play.
When you speed up or slow down, let the foot do it for you and follow its beat.
There’s a lot of freedom in linear phrasing but let the foot guide you so you don’t overdo it and start distorting the rhythm.