Analyzing the Guitar Technique of Julian Bream

[@simondanielssonmusic]

The classical guitar youtube community is (in the grander scheme of things) extremely niche. I get very happy whenever I find a new channel, and your channel is not an exception. Bream is one of my favourite guitarists (obviously), so I happened to find this in my YT recommendations. Very great video! I'm sitting here with my guitar trying to get my head around how the great maestro could ever do those motions with his arm without getting tense...? Really weird, but I guess it worked for him! Please keep releasing videos! I'm staying subscribed for life! :) (By the way, I was at a lesson with my teacher the other day playing the William Walton bagatelle no.3, I like using aggressive vibrato in several sections. My teacher commented on my vibrato saying it looked like Julian Bream strangling a chicken😂)

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Lol that is funny! Glad you enjoyed the video. To me Bream is one of the greatest guitarists to ever live, and after spending a lot of time studying his technique, also one of the strangest. Seems like people don’t really teach to do things the way he did but man did it sure work for him.

[@classicG342]

I love a Master guitarist like Mr. Bream. He is feeling "vibration" of the score through his entire being - ear to arm! Guitar CHI power at its best. He will be missed!

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

One of a kind for sure!

[@marioreznik3654]

After watching several of your videos analysing movement, I've come to the conclusion that, in a most natural way, music moves one, and the absence of movement, trained or otherwise, is the unusual or unnatural state. Love your videos.

[@bobbyhallmusic]

These videos are so cool. Thank you!!

[@OdditiesandRarities]

this is a great channel, subscribed!

[@clivepierce1816]

Some great insights here. I particularly liked your point about Bream’s sympathetic movements of the face, head and ears. As you suggest, these were as much a part of his music making as his fingers - he embodied the music he played. I met him on several occasions in 1990s, though only briefly. Inspired by Bream, I took up the classical guitar in my teens and later performed and taught on the instrument alongside another career. For me, it is his exquisite sensitivity and rubato which make his soundscapes so compelling.

[@hayesdabney]

In July 1984, the incomparable master guitarist Julian Bream was seriously injured in an automobile accident near his Dorset, England, home. Swerving his MG sports car to avoid another vehicle, he left the roadway and crashed into the side of bridge, suffering multiple fractures to his right elbow

[@bernardmurphy4762]

I heard his elbow was hanging out as he drove and it was clipped by a passing car. So whatever it was, a car accident caused him to have to adjust his technique it seems.

[@MunchyToy]

As I recall, Bream requested the surgeon administer a local anaesthetic so that they could converse during the procedure. On another, er, note, after watching Guitarra, he thought his left hand method looked terrible and he set about refining it.

[@themysteryofmusic]

After watching some of the videos in this series, it made me rethink what technique even is.

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

I think that’s fantastic and an important part of developing guitar playing

[@tufsoft1]

I was at the Lute Society about 30 years ago and I overheard Robert Spencer giving a pep talk to a rather sleepy lutenist. He said someone he knew had bought a guitar from Bream, Bream had owned the guitar for about 4 years and the frets were so worn that it needed a refret.

[@fingerhorn4]

Bream said himself that his technique was "all wrong" and made great efforts to change it in middle age, but he always had that outward curve of the last joint of his fingers. He knew this was wrong and tried to correct it. What is surprising is how he managed to find room between the strings to play like this. As with your analysis of Ida Presti you do not talk much about musicality. I know it is not the primary purpose of your videos but in both cases we are seeing players of amazing musical intelligence and musicality which overcame any limitations in technique if they occured. For me Bream was the most musical of all the great players.

[@joshneill7695]

I agree 100%. Someone like John Williams has flawless technique, yet there is less colour and interest in the pieces he plays. Musicality was paramount to Bream and he achieved this more than any other player I have ever heard (save for Segovia perhaps 😉)

[@18waywardson]

He's like the Glenn Gould of guitar

[@robertbrook439]

Amazing video. I would never have even thought about making my arm tremor like that with the elbow sliding all over the place. Looks like I have a lot more to practice.

[@StephiSensei26]

Fine analysis and done with love, care and warmth. He was a fine person. I had the extreme pleasure to meet him one rainy evening in Copenhagen. He apologized t me for the "poor" performance, but he was suffering from the Flu, poor guy. He was quite congenial and friendly despite his immediate condition. He even sent me a letter of thanks and encouragement a couple of years later. He actually remembered to write to me, despite his harrowing schedule. I was amazed and honored. It's one of my personal treasures. I'd been doing some studying of his hand techniques also. I quite like your name for his flat joint approach, "Frog Fingering". I don't believe he would do something like that just out of laziness or ignorance, quite the opposite, he must have found a particular usage for this approach. Thank you for your informative and delightful episode of my favorite guitarist. PS: We must never forget his auto accident with his right elbow. In the clip where he's wearing that White Tux, I believe it's possible to see him wearing a kind of brace under his clothing. Something to consider. Great stuff.

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Thank you for such an in depth comment! One of my favorite thing about making this series is hearing such interesting stories such as yours. Bream and his generation are truly unique artists, and are only further validated as such the more time goes by. Very interesting about the brace, I had no knowledge of such a thing. I’ll have to go back and take a look at that video yet again.

[@StephiSensei26]

Thank you from another OG!@@CharlesAlexanderAllred

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

@StephiSensei26 God bless the OGs!!

[@StephiSensei26]

@@CharlesAlexanderAllred

[@segovianity]

Mr. Allred uses the word "weird" and I think it could be applied to his analysis(?). Near the beginning of his exegesis he mentions the extension of the r.h. fingers, as compared to the "curved" fingers he considers normal. The latter tends to hook the strings from below the string (lifting it away from the soundboard and releasing it back, producing a rather ugly 'twangy' sound. Bream knew the best sound is produced by 'apoyando', which moves the string downwards from the initial attack. As the 'apoyando' attack is not possible in playing arpeggios etc., a 'quasi-apoyando' attack is called for, by activating the string in a vertical (to the soundboard) direction, avoiding the pulling action (away from the guitar) of too-curved fingers. Thus, the extended, less curved, r.h. fingers deployed by J.B. As Mr. used the words "rough & ready around the edges" in opining anent the technique of perhaps the most sensitive (musically) guitarist of all, I quit his video after six minutes, not wishing to ascertain what else he might have got wrong. P.S. I had a week of studies in Julian Bream's class at Dartington Hall (1959).

[@sinisterpigeonboy]

I never thought I'd watch a technique vid and get stich from laughing. The ear independence exercise is something I'll have to add into my routine😂

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

If you can do it, let me know if it helps your guitar playing!

[@gerardlacey9384]

Lovely video thank you. I think the Arnold video is from 1991 which would make Julian about 58. I have it on vhs since then, he was also interviewd by David Owen Norris. Best wishes. Gérard.

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

That is awesome! One of my favorite performances of him. Shoutout to vhs!

[@cfmill74]

I'm waiting for your analyzation of Christopher Parkening's technique. Being a long time student and follower of his, that's my major influence for the instrument.

[@AlGuitarist]

You have some keen and interesting observations, haha. Loving your technique analysis videos! Not as well known, but I think doing a video on Miroslav Tadic can be interesting!

[@MrLuridan]

Maestro Bream plays guitar with his face better than I ever could with my hands

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Word!!

[@BluntofHwicce]

Bream's left hand issue was that his hand kept becoming paralysed- so I am not sure whether he was retraining technique or aiming at exercising movements. As for moving one's face- when I filmed myself playing for the first time, I found that I moved my mouth and eyebrows in time with the music unconsciously- perhaps we all do it sometimes and don't notice. I have seen it in a few pianists too.

[@Waldemar81]

Mr. Bream was simply the greatest Guitar player 🙏

[@erict1917]

Fascinating.

[@luserdroog]

The flat fingertips might also help with left hand muting. If one of those exuberant rest strokes slips, it's nice not to have the string ring out to announce it.

[@Boepyne]

I remember seeing a video of Bream playing Sevilla (Albeniz). He got to the section that heralds the recap of the opening intro; that dum da da dum da da dum da da on the dominant and then, at that big G major chord finally arrived at he kind of jumps out of his seat; a very dramatic gesture but one that's completely the opposite of what I feel the body needs to do.

[@robinterkzer8128]

A genius !

[@francesbrooks2664]

Hector Quine (Google him) and Bream were great buddies and devised this technique in the 50/60’s. Quine wrote a book called Guitar Technique published by Oxford University Press in early seventies this should still be available. Quine was guitar professor at the Royal Academy of Music London - Guildhall College and also Trinity College of Music. I studied with Quine for three years in London in early 70’s.

[@peterlovett5841]

Bream was essentially self-taught on the guitar which he admitted gave him problems later in life. He had to alter his playing technique to avoid long-term damage to his hands. Whether this was totally effective I don't know but problems with his hands eventually stopped him playing the guitar.

[@nca1952]

I heard about that also. I think they were saying he did damage to his left hand, his fretting hand.

[@adamgoad4131]

I always assumed that his flat fingered left hand was a by product of his lute playing. Since the lute is pairs of strings like a 12 string, I just had guessed that it became very natural for him to do that. EIther way, we miss him!

[@crasigb]

Yes I love Bream. I think the fingers positioning are just how his hands are structured. If you watch Williams, his hand is flat under the neck and uses his finger tips. Bream is not flat under the neck and he uses all of his finger tips. I also think it has to do with the types of callous a particular hand makes. Some, like Williams, have nails that support the pad. Others like Bream, have nails that do not support the pad so the nails on the LH are longer - then he has to use other available areas of the finger tips.

[@douglasgoodhartmusic]

The rest stroke and the free stroke are taken using the same hand/finger position. This is what Bream is doing.

[@JaxonBurn]

I think what’s interesting is that, although many people teach it this way, in practice it’s very rare to see. Many very brilliant, well renowned guitarists have noticeably different hand/finger positions depending on whether they’re playing free or rest stroke. I suspect it might have something to do with the declining use of rest stroke in general- technique nowadays is more built around creating good free stroke sound and playability.

[@areftoo]

Great job. I'm looking for all these facial expressions musicians make. Apparently, it happens more about bassist and solo players. The question is do they do it for the sake of performance? Does it happen to them while playing for themselves?

[@rjlchristie]

The LH issue Bream identified in the mid 1980s was that the palm of his hand was generally held too far away from the fingerboard and neck. This contributed to an increase wrist bend and a reduced arch of the fingers, and resulted the pads being presented to the strings rather than fingertip. Bream identified if from watching playback of footage taken for "Guitarra". he worked to bring the knuckles.basal joint closer to the fingerboard and present the fingers with a greater arch and more parallel to the neck. This he discusses in interviews that you can find on-line in retro issues of Classical Guitar Magazine. Sorry but I'm not going to dig you out a link. He obviously hadn't addressed it comprehensively (well, in regard to the fourth finger) by the time that little discussion on remedial work was later filmed. I also think that by the later decade/fifteen years of his concert career the muscular and bone structures in his hand had been deformed by decades of practise and performance with his 'home-made" technique and it is unfair to judge his general technique on that later era*. He was a compulsive addict in regard to practice. He had unique issues. I understand Bream completely rebuilt his technique and approach at least three times in his career. Once (perhaps twice) he radically changed his approach whilst in his teens. I believe he even postponed some early performances in order to do so. Later after the infamous car accident and the broken elbow, and later again after viewing the footage I described above. More knowledgeable people can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. *i fear you did the same thing in regard to Segovia's later posture etc.

[@segovianity]

His left hand technique (reduced arch etc.) would have been affected by many years of playing across the wider fingerboard of lutes.

[@cycling.guitarist]

Actually his is playing rest stroke with a fast resting time in the next string.. it’s fast and big sounding. The stroke is kind of like a pendulum that glides over on the next string without plucking it. A must technique if you want to play fast and have a rest stroke sound!

[@marioramosribeiro7869]

That’s a wonderful journey hearings your analysis attentively. The issue with his left hand 3rd finger have always got my attention. I’ve even tried myself to do it, but , surely, I simply could not. So, I thought it was his unique mark to do it. An involuntary and natural way to use that 3rd finger. Now , After listening to you I’m sure your arguments have a point : Bream did it intentionally, on ful purpose. But , the big question was : why? And specially during very fast and difficult scales, or in chords? Well, with all the observations you’ve made , I’ve become now a bigger fan of him than ever. And even much more than I’ve been until starting listening to you. Each genius has his/her own mistery. And I thing Bream has left his own for us. Thanks a lot!

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Glad you enjoyed the video! He is such an interesting player to study. Without even trying, the video on him is twice as long as some others. But like you said, after studying him I appreciate what he brought to the guitar even more than I already did.

[@devindergharial7386]

What was wrong or problematic for Julian Bream with his left hand pinky finger? ChatGPT: Julian Bream, the renowned classical guitarist, encountered significant issues with his left hand, particularly his pinky finger, later in his career. The specific problem he faced was a debilitating injury to his left hand, which affected his ability to play. This injury was a result of a car accident in 1984, which caused severe damage to his left hand. The accident left Bream with impaired function in his left hand, particularly in his pinky finger. This impairment made it challenging for him to execute the precise and complex finger movements required for classical guitar playing. Despite extensive efforts to rehabilitate his hand, including surgery and therapy, Bream never fully regained the full dexterity and strength in his left hand pinky finger. This injury significantly impacted his playing technique and forced him to adapt his playing style and repertoire to accommodate the limitations of his hand. Nonetheless, Bream continued to perform and record, demonstrating remarkable resilience and dedication to his art. His ability to adapt and continue making music despite this physical setback remains a testament to his extraordinary skill and determination as a musician.

[@claudearthur4532]

Thx so much for that great analysis. The only thing that can be sometimes difficult to listen to in Bream’s otherwise impeccable playing is that rapid vibrato. It just sounds too frantic sometimes. The face movements are nothing but reflexes to the focus he has when he plays. Watch Jaco Pastorius - he does the same kind of thing when he plays. And I think the ears are a result of the tension in his face and his jaw movements.

[@openrealm]

I believe he had broken his hand, I think in an auto accident but don't remember how it happened. I was told that in the 80s.

[@antwit]

Was the issue after the car accident he was in? I think he broke his arm..

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Maybe, my old teacher said that he was driving home drunk and had his hand hanging outside the car window, and broke it on a mailbox.

[@mariebetts4894]

He crashed into the brick wall of a railway bridge.

[@timjames7470]

A True Gift and Talent. The Holy Grail So to Speak. 🙏🏼 💐 🌟 🏡 💞 🎶 😇 💎 🌿 🦪 ✨

[@joe308watson]

Hey nice you got around to Bream. I'm just starting to dig in but just throwing out some random thoughts before I watch. It's maybe the best and worst of being self taught in one place and in some of the most extreme ways and It gave him so much charm. So many of the choices he makes are actively making the physical playing of the guitar harder, but producing the exact output soundwise that he wants. If you analyze his arrangements they often go completely off the rails to make one part he likes really stick out. One of the things that might make analyzing him hard is how much of a showman he was. In music videos he sometimes recorded the sound with one guitar and then visually record the video with his Hauser. How much of that did he consciously think about when walking out onto a stage? At a glance modern players might even assume his technique to be harmful long term. Seems to me like he was just playing massive amounts of the guitar in general but it's hard to say what will hurt my hands vs someone else's. He grew his nails out quite a bit longer after mangling his arm in a car crash, and you can even find videos of him performing on stage after recovery. "Not at all. There's nothing sad about not playing any more," says Bream, who turned 80 in July. But in the next breath he adds: "The thing I feel a little annoyed about is that I know I'm a better musician than I was at 70, but I can't prove it." Overall I think his oddities were what made his sound special. Modern techniques are making the best guitar players to ever live right as we speak, but we might never again have the perfect shit storm needed to randomly find another Bream.

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Wow that is so well said and insightful. Although I am certainly impressed with many modern players, maybe it’s the charm factor that always makes me prefer the great guitarists of previous generations.

[@antwit]

I'm no expert on technique, and can well believe Bream broke a lot of rules, but the outcome, however achieved, was an amazing sound, especially evident on his recordings at Wardour. I've yet to hear anything to match those, which is odd given the plethora of brilliant guitarists around.

[@drewburgess3039]

Well done-informative and sensitive too. His moving ear is worth the whole video😊

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Lol! It blew my mind when I saw that. The weirdest thing I’ve ever seen a guitarist do. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@drewburgess3039]

Thank you, it was really cool to see, and for you to notice.

[@JeremiahAlphonsus]

My teacher said Bream was a great player in spite of bad technique.

[@openrealm]

My favorite because of how rough around the edges he is.

[@kaislerzvi3449]

❤

[@gordonduff22]

Interesting video for the classical guitarist. Nicely detailed. It would have been even more effective, in my mind, had your commentary been dubbed right over Bream's actual playing, and in the background. You do tell us what piece he is playing but we cannot hear it. That way, your observations and remarks would have been illustrated in his playing.

[@kipponi]

You can listen those songs without commenting. Better way.

[@kipponi]

His string plugging is like pianist/guitarist hybrid? More sound off strings. Very exhausting needs super stamina I think.

[@JOHN-tk6vl]

Did you mean Plucking?

[@slavaukraini404]

He had two accidents in his life that affected his physical ability to play. What he did say was that he was cursed by nature and had slow hands and that being self taught created issues that he tried to correct after 30 years of playing. It isn't easy being a natural genius, always striving to produce the perfection in his head. His genius is really his ear not so much his hands. When Bream plays it just sounds better than everyone else. For me as a listener Bream does it best, although my untrained ears may not be the best judge. I'm not a player, just a fan.

[@JaxonBurn]

About the frog fingers: He may also be doing that to avoid string squeaks during shifts. The fleshy part of the finger doesn’t make as much noise as the callused part (the tip). That might explain why he only does it sometimes: some passages involve more shifts than others.

[@ericrose3877]

A lot of the strokes in the Bach section are rest strokes, not all free.

[@bruceboome]

As to Mr. Bream's (my number 1 guitar hero) facial expressions, sometimes he looks like a bulldog chewing a wasp.

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Ha!!

[@dearding1392]

Why you use backing music when you’re talking which is really really really anoying😂

[@areftoo]

And why not hearing the sound he is talking about!

[@vincentveasey9389]

Dick van Dyke school of of English at the start there?😂

[@CharlesAlexanderAllred]

Something like that ;)

[@Lincoln12933]

Seriously, why the background music?!?! It's so grating. Also, Julian Bream wasn't prim and proper, he was a London cockney and his family weren't particularly well off.

[@franklandsman3436]

Pure-blooded Englishman? JB is of Portuguese descent.