How To Play "PAMI" Arpeggios (EASY!) | Flamenco & Classical Guitar Technique

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Hi everyone! I will start posting more videos very soon and will dedicate my channel to technique, practice strategies and performance. Please let me know what kind of videos you'd like to see on my channel and I'll do my very best to accommodate as many requests as I can. Thanks!

[@To4Trans-lr6xq]

I used to have a book with a variety of arpeggios. I want to replace it. Can you recommend one please?

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

@To4Trans-lr6xq Hi! I don’t know of a book that covers arpeggios for flamenco guitar but the one for classical that is a standard (and very good) is Mauro Giuliani’s 120 Right Hand Studies. I used to work on that using different chords. It’s a great resource and you can find free copies online easily. Other than that, I like to create my own arpeggio patterns that are fun and sound good to me. I hope that helps!

[@To4Trans-lr6xq]

@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Thank you so much.

[@lionbear7047]

Another great lesson!

[@DongoBongKong]

What is your opinion on planting of the fingers? I see it described as the proper technique

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Hi Peter! Thanks for your question. Planting is certainly not the only way to do it although, when learning, planting the fingers helps reinforce the muscle memory for precision and string spacing. For the backward arpeggio (PAMI), I recommend experimenting with these two options: 1) Plant P & A simultaneously, 2) Plant P only. A lot also depends on what is going on with your first string. For example, if your melody is in your first string, and you need that string to ring out while playing the arpeggio, then you would want to only plant P. I hope this helps!

[@timsmith3802]

Great help thanks..

[@LavekGaming]

Once again. Great advice! I've taken a few online courses with Narezo and Pituquete , and this method with regards to la mano derecha seems to be quite common in Flamenco. I've only recently started using it, but it feels much better than the traditional elbow on the arch of the guitar. Would you say this is a matter of preference? Or, comfort? I noticed Vicente Amigo also plays this way with the hand slightly up and forearm resting.

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Kai and Pituquete are excellent :)

[@LavekGaming]

@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Thank you for being so attentive and responsive to the community. Mucho respeto!

[@miassus10]

Hi thanks for your video. What I learnt from the first half of the video is not to bend fingers from their first joints rather upward and keeping them straight. However when I see in the later part of the video by increase of the speed you tend to freely bend them from first joints which is probably for the speed. Wondering if it is ok to change it with this shape or not. Thank you

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Hi Reza! Thanks for your comment. I can see how this can be confusing and faster speeds. It’s not that we want to avoid moving the middle or tip joints; instead, we want to initiate the finger movement from the large joints and allow the other joints to move freely. The faster the fingers move, the smaller the movements will be - they look especially small at the large joint. What helped me was to think about pushing the strings upward and toward the guitar instead of away from guitar. Hope this helps!

[@miassus10]

@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Thanks Dear Diego, I definitely make sure to keep the upward movement in mind, it also what my strict to technique teacher has advise me to do too :D

[@StuartwasDrinkell]

Diego your vids are a great help... thanks for sharing your knowledge! NOW GIVE ME YOUR HANDS! 😂🤣😅

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Ha! Thanks Stu. Glad you find them helpful! There will be more so please consider subscribing.

[@stefrom1977]

DUDE ! You absolutly not move your wrist when playing , but you said to aboluly do it >< so what plz ?

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Thanks for your comment! The movement is more in the forearm than the wrist. It's a slight back-and-forth rotation of the form with the wrist slightly flexed.

[@jconearth6686]

why are you showing this technique in the beginning of lesson starting with P [ and THEN I THEN M and THEN A ] rather than starting to learn in the correct sequence PAMI with each individual finger ? OK i found the error : In Flamenco Arpeggios are usually PIAMI and as you are explaining the sequence, if i followed you correctly, you called and pointed at the middle finger as the Index and the index as the middle finger ! As you are a professional doing a tutorial, i will give you a thumbs down until you correct this - i am a beginner and it is VERY important to me to not pick up bad habits or mistakes - nothing personal, as i enjoyed the quality of your playing, but respectfully, hope you can see some merit in my critique ; thank you . [ and if i called you out mistakenly you can PLEASE correct me ]

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

jconearth thanks for your comment. You’re right that I had a dyslexic moment at the top of the video when I called out the finger names. I added a note (poll) to address the issue at 0:20-0:22. Fortunately, as you did, I'm sure everyone else will realize that I simply misspoke but just to make it clear, p=thumb, i=index, m=middle, and a=ring. Thanks again for making me aware of this. When you say that I show PIMA at the top rather than PAMI are you referring to the part where I isolate each finger (I, M, then A repeatedly)? If so, you’ll notice that this is independent of the sequencing. I do this to isolate each finger in order to show the correct finger movement and because it’s easier to see on video if you show the isolation with the index first. In any event, it’s clear throughout the video (esp. in the lesson section) that the sequence I am focusing on is p-a-m-i for this video. Don’t worry about the finger order when you are isolating the individual finger movements. Notice that during this isolation we are repeating the same finger so sequencing is clearly not the purpose. You can randomize the finger order if you want but it doesn’t matter since the point of this section, again, is isolation not sequencing. Also, you are incorrect that “flamenco arpeggios are usually PIAMI.” There are no dedicated arpeggios sequences for flamenco guitar; however, there are 7 COMMON arpeggios to both flamenco and classical. PIAMI is certainly one of many arpeggio sequences (as is PIMIA, PMAIM, etc.) but the one you mention is not common. The PIAMI finger sequence you mention is typical of the flamenco tremolo rather than the arpeggio. I hope this helped clear things up.

[@DiegoAlonsoMusic]

Also, if your are a beginner I would strongly suggest finding a teacher either online or in person.