Ejercicio No. 2 by Ferrer

This lesson comes from my new book Classical Guitar Repertoire Lessons Grade 3 – Seven pieces at the grade three level with dedicated lessons preparing you for each piece.

Ejercicio No. 2 from Colección 12a de Ejercicios, Op. 42 by José Ferrer (1835-1916)YouTube Video Lesson Link – For the final piece we will study an active work that will challenge your playing skills. This piece has no barres, hinges, or different tunings, but it will be a thicker texture and will require greater finger independence and dexterity. The lesson elements here are: playing in thirds, ornaments (grace notes), and harmonics.

Ornaments (Grace Notes) – We will, for now, avoid a lengthy discussion on appoggiaturas and acciaccaturas which are types of grace notes. The main point is that these smaller notes are ornaments that decorate the primary melody note. The word acciaccatura comes from the Italian verb acciaccare, “to crush” which nicely describes how these grace notes combine with the primary melodic note on the beat. There are plenty of discussions about which notes should be played on the beat or just before the beat during different eras but for this introduction we will consider all the grace notes to be played on the beat. This will keep our rhythm and beat structure secure. The video lesson should help you imitate the sound.

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