Achieving IMPOSSIBLE Stretches With Ease (ft. Mircea Gogoncea)

[@tonebase]

If you enjoyed watching this segment, be sure to check out the full course over on tonebase! www.tonebase.co/guitar-course/mircea-gogoncea-teaches-on-stretching-lh-technique?

[@Aeronaut1975]

I've been playing guitar (on and off) for about 30yrs, and I have never heard anyone explain this before. Thank you!

[@Krj1332]

Jakob and Stephanie are international guitar world treasures!!

[@davemclellan4019]

I saw this video when it was first released a couple of years ago on tone bass, but it was great to watch it again. It has changed the way I approach stretches.

[@Mangoré1885]

Some people are just limited. Im 5’3 with small hands and some stretches are just simply not possible unless I use a smaller scale guitar. There’s a point for some where it’s not technique that’s the issue

[@DIEGOGONZALEZ-np9ed]

So how about women players with tiny child like hands who play wonderfully???

[@_conchobhar_]

meh, i’m sorry but i disagree. plenty of short guitarists out there with small hands who play the repertoire. bokyung byun being a great example

[@wonghow]

@@_conchobhar_ technique can only go as far as the finger length allow ! bokyung fingers are not that short, there are players with shorter fingers than that, and they have great difficulty playing those music that require great stretches. Even piano prodigies have difficulty playing Chopin because of the finger length, they resort to shifting. You disagree because if you are classcial guitarist, then you never try play Chopin fountain etude, and never try play Paco de Lucia's music. I did both.

[@nbnguitar]

If it’s too difficult just remove the note or try to play it somewhere else. In the grand scheme of things a couple of absent notes from a piece isn’t going to make a massive difference to listeners.

[@jguitar23]

Some exercises improve pinky mobility!

[@paulysguitarjournal]

Most informational ToneBase video ever.

[@GR_Guitar]

Another way to overcome some particular large stretches is to use also the thumb if possible. As an example look to Lucas Imbiriba playing Malagueña.

[@petertaylor233]

I have a Bachelor degree from a well known Conservatorium and this aspect of reach was never covered. I once sprained my left hand in Vals Criollo (low G- to mid C), which put me out for a bit, so can imagine why it's a sought after topic. I look forward to trying these principles out. Thanks for the vid.

[@zeleuny]

That was a great lesson.

[@damienchan1786]

That was an excellent lesson

[@tasmedic]

I learned a lot. Many thanks for a great teaching session. Note. Granados didn't write music for guitar. The ridiculous stretches are due to the transcriber. Unfortunately, many transcriptions are made by true virtuosos of the guitar. This can definitely be a bad thing when the transcriber has his or her own particular left hand superpower which they think they can just throw into the transcription. It's a form of grandstanding which does those wanting to play the music a great disservice, when a simpler apporach might make the music accessible to far more players.

[@GR_Guitar]

Players who find a transcription or even an original work being inaccessible for them are alowed though to write their own transcription. And they are slso alowed to adapt an existing transcription to their own capabilities. I don't see any problem.

[@rabokarabekian409]

Marvelous exposition. I am about 5'5" with small hands yet have long done 6th string F to 1st A. I just now had to study my hand position while doing this. Somehow I stumbled on this approach through through and error. Also, the more vertical the neck, the easier. It's interesting to watch Paul Galbraith with his Brahms guitar. He learned Feldenkrais as well.

[@1firstguitar]

WARNING! Guitar Heretic here! Mircea, you are absolutely DEAD-ON for this stretching technique! What now seems incongruous is the standard orthodoxy: Left hand fingers (usually with reference to the knuckles) completely parallel to the fretboard, with 4th finger angling in from the outside. You mention this is not preferred at 6:16 "because your hand doesn't have a reason to look like this." To me, given your insight on stretching, we actually now need a reason to accept the standard orthodoxy! Not only stretching, but shifting and slurring are more easily effected with the angled position of the LH fingers. (It is especially necessary for the 4th finger to move from a naturally leveraged position.) There are exceptions of course, but I feel the LH finger angling should be the standard default position--especially when playing single melodic lines. Flamenco guitarist Grisha Goryachev uses it convincingly here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYrZapKaj714ec0. Watch his LH from 5:12 onward. If he were to hold the head of the guitar fully up into classical position the angling could be even slightly more pronounced, and with more mechanical advantage. All this is my humble opinion from my own experience. I welcome discussion! 13:48

[@youmondo]

Mucho appreciado!!

[@seancassidy4812]

Thanks! Knowledge is everything.

[@juuse94]

It took me a couple years to realize that the position of your left arm really impacts how much you can stretch. If you sort of push your elbow forwards/towards the guitar body, suddenly bigger stretches are possible. Don't know if this works for everyone but for me it's the difference between making the bwv 999 stretch and not. Edit: After looking at the video I suppose what I'm doing here is changing the attack, I'll have to see if this can be achieved with less arm movement.

[@spencerdieck1665]

mircea is awesome.

[@mer1red]

Excellent explanation. When I also learned the viola da gamba I realized how easy it is to play certain grips compared to the usual guitar position. More or less intuitively I started to mimic this on the guitar in a way similar the explanation in the video because it felt so comfortable. There is no such thing as a unique, universal correct left hand position. One caveat however. If you rotate the fingers the rotation should come from the shoulder and upper arm, not the lower arm and the wrist. Otherwise you are transferring the risk of injury from the hand to the wrist. This is similar to people that use a computer mouse the usual way for a long time and develop problems with the nerves and tendons of the wrist.

[@rjlchristie]

👉 " If you rotate the fingers the rotation should come from the shoulder and upper arm, not the lower arm and the wrist" That was worth saying again.

[@mer1red]

@@rjlchristie My intention was to add why you should do it this way. It's always good to know the reason for something.

[@rjlchristie]

@@mer1red I don't follow the point you make in your reply to me. Did you not completely convey your intent in your first comment.?

[@mer1red]

@@rjlchristie Sorry. Maybe I'm too zealous when I explain something :-) .

[@rjlchristie]

@@mer1red Well, whatever, the comment you made in regard to shoulder and arm was correct and worth repeating, so I did it for you.

[@williammouri1096]

Mrs. Andres Segovia used a variation of this technique to make the Chaconne first position Bb stretch. I saw it in person.

[@olewetdog6254]

This is really excellent stuff. Brilliant video and I must say I'm a little bit ashamed I didn't think of this before. I'm also convinced that some of this stuff is why short scale guitars were made. Torres made them and I'm betting it was by request for doing these kinds of things.

[@niceguitar6144]

Excellent stuff

[@Potwhale]

Great thx❤

[@RyanMcQuen]

Wow, this was incredibly helpful.

[@ramonacosta2647]

Even with this technique the sounds of muffled because I can't can't quite get it and can't produce enough pressure on the stings. But there's another way to play it so that it's super easy, barely an inconvenience. Do the 2nd fret to 5th fret stretch with your index finger and pinky, and then tap and pull off with the index finger of your right hand.

[@johnmac8084]

Great advice, thanks

[@bossanovaboy]

Just play the F sharp an octave higher on the forth string and you will not need a stretch..😄You may need also to rearrange the previous or the next bass note the same way if it does not sound good to you. I suppose Granados will don't mind.

[@foljs5858]

When you play classical pieces you can't just change chords to play them higher...

[@tasmedic]

@@foljs5858When the original piece wasn't written for guitar in the first place, then transcription is always a compromise, and if it's a case of 99% of players being unable to play what's transcribed, then I think the person transcribing has probably lost their way.

[@josdurkstraful]

@@foljs5858 It happens all the time. Also: Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco encourages the player to change very difficult or even impossible chord fingerings. You can read this in the foreword of the Caprichos de Goya and also in Platero and I.

[@bossanovaboy]

@@tasmedic Absolutely!

[@bossanovaboy]

@@foljs5858 You don't change the chord here you just move the bass note one octave higher.Classical, especially when it's a transcription is not set in stone.

[@Bixll09]

As an older player, I have restrictions in my hands from a disease called dupuytren's contracture. I wish I could stretch my hands like this.

[@IanStukenborg]

And I already knew about this 30 years ago also except being careful and not doing it enough has kept me from mastering it. I was trying to learn and DeLarocc’s solo (King Diamond lead guitarist) to Abigail that in Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine. And there were overdubs transcribed in slurred 3rds. Off you turn your hand with the palm facing back at the headstock you can manage them. It’s kind is neat.

[@markharwood7573]

Thank you.

[@roshansubba6333]

Thankyou

[@glenndavid8725]

Players that have played since childhood have a massive advantage, it isn't stretching it's mobility. 26 years playing guitar!!! For some players some chords are not possible.

[@kablah19]

True, but mobility can be gained. Mobility isn’t something where you’re stuck at a certain Mobility level for your entire life.

[@rjlchristie]

@ 9:15 What Granados work was that please? I couldn't catch it from your pronunciation, it wasn't No 6 from Ochos Valses Poeticos, that's for sure.

[@Varvitski]

The four bar passage played is definitely from No.6, commencing at Bar 37, which is 12 Bars from the end of the piece.

[@rjlchristie]

@@Varvitski Thank you and good grief, you are correct! It's that the interpretation here is so staccato-like and against the composer's instruction it rendered the passage not immediately recognisable to me. This articulation reminds me of being more appropriate to something like Falla's Chanson du feu follet.

[@barryhambly7711]

One way is not to play all the notes if you have long fingers and the right shape of hand then you can make all sorts of stretches Barrios hands form his part of the world does some great stretches the way he wrote his music.This guy has the right shape of hand and long fingers.

[@nickp4872]

As a guitarist with smaller hands I can tell you, there is no substitute for long fingers. Some things are simply physically impossible for me but I also don't stress about them and I do what I can do and have fun with. It's also the reason I play steel string guitar and not classical.

[@mer1red]

A classical guitar with reduced scale length (63 cm is very good) and slightly less string spacing than usual can make a lot of difference. Many guitars of the Romantic era where made like this. An additional advantage is the reduced string tension. Unfortunately, factory built instruments like this that also meet some additional requirements are increasingly rare. I play a 63 cm scale guitar that misses other features, hoping that some day I will find my dream guitar without having to pay a luthier. We should insist more that factories offer customisable instruments.

[@ramonacosta2647]

When it comes to playing guitar there's nothing wrong with cheating. In the example in this video one can simply play the F# an octave higher. No one is going to notice except pedants on the Internet.

[@NicoPezzotti712]

Have you tried it on a multiscale bass? That will tear your hand for real🎉

[@IanStukenborg]

What I REALLY wanna see is someone performing all of the starting workouts in Ricardo Iznaola’s Kitarlologos! HA!

[@IanStukenborg]

I thought the stretch on BWV999 was easy in my first year when I learned it, that’s why I learned it, became that was fun to bar the pinky, but I could still use help after 33 years of playing in comfortably stretching. Segovia taught how to do the ebb cord in his arrangement of Bach Chaconne in Dmi, but I still can’t do it…

[@luserdroog]

Nice.

[@GeorgieFlintlock]

4:03 in-CRED-ible! 😂

[@Ponsdaniel]

La técnica del violín

[@dividedwestand2467]

Very Holdsworthian.

[@josdurkstraful]

I know this technique. and I teach guitar for 37 years now but........ I still can't play Choros de saudade (Barrios) because of that one chord (1x56x6 I believe it is).

[@nicorasp78]

You can use your thumb... It works

[@ramonacosta2647]

Not exactly the same but try it with x 8 10 0 11 x.

[@josdurkstraful]

@@ramonacosta2647 That would be x 7 10 0 11 x then..... But thanks anyway.

[@seemingmusic]

😂 i love her high five hAhaha

[@TheJoern]

Sorry but saying that it all comes down to technique is just a bit arrogant or ignorant. I can do those stretches. I also have quite small hands. I can do a stretch from the low G on the 6th string to the high b on the 1st string, maybe even to the c. It is true that technique helps a lot. but you can't ignore that people with small hands do have limitations. There is a limit to what you can solve by technique. There is a video about Angus Young playing the way he does because he has small hands. he says that himself. People with small hands should learn to adjust their style and find solutions and workarounds. Because even if you can do those stretches, it is very exhausting and sometimes painful. it is certainly not healthy for your hands, to do it a lot. That's why I only do it when there is not another possibility. There is a reason that most (maybe all??) shredders like Guthrie Govan have very long fingers. If they didn't, they would still be great musicians i guess, but i dare to say that their playing style would differ a lot from their actual one.

[@seanman22001]

I’ve got a short pinky

[@andrewpegman7959]

Very few pieces would require this though 😊

[@RichardGutierrezRG]

Amazing player. In all seriousness, couldnt a player just cheat the F# by playing the octave on the D string? It seems like such a flex move that 99.9% of an audience wouldnt even notice as it is only played very quickly. I enjoyed the video, very smart technique...

[@rjlchristie]

Your explanation needed more emphasis on the forearm arm and shoulder train adjustment that is required to allow presentation of the hand in order to facilitate the technique you discuss. Both mechanisms are required.

[@isolateddemon9438]

THE SMALLER YOUR HANDS THE MORE DIFFICULT IT IS TO KEEP THE RIGHT TONE.🤔

[@isaacbeen2087]

great video, almost nobody listens to this...also he seems to be a little double jointed

[@brunos5675]

Too many Words. Get to the point.

[@jhdgdyhi8]

get to the point faster please

[@NathanTax]

stop crying, pay attention and practice moar please

[@jhdgdyhi8]

@@NathanTax Practice with a bad teacher, nope

[@angelwolff90]

You are Right!! 2 Minutes into the Video I Fell asleep 😴 💤💤💤💤💤💤 Boring Video!! If You Want to Know about Stretching? Watch the Master Of the Stretch ALLAN HOLDSWORTH!!

[@vivaldesque]

Rather than imposing your impatience on others why don’t you just appreciate that someone is sharing a potentially great technique for free on KZbin? It’s as if people you don’t even know are at your beck and call! 😳

[@jhdgdyhi8]

@@vivaldesque Great technique really? I only stayed up to the first example, due to him being such a boring speaker, and realise the F bass and A treble with 1 and 2 it's a sure way to tendonitis and the way he is play it is actually inaudible

[@mbbag1980]

Or, buy a smaller gitaar?

[@Me_ThatsWho]

This video is 1.5 times better at 1.5 x speed :)

[@gfy2979]

Imagine making this video, but being much less annoying about it!

[@LedByGrace]

Please -pleases --do NOT do this to your hand. It will mess you up down the road unless you have a large hand to stretch out easily, otherwise. Do NOT do this to your playing hand. You will regret it. I am living proof. I have small hands and little fingers and I stretched them so far that people were amazed -only to find out later-I may never play guitar for that long now. I ruined my hand.

[@haste2]

did u even watch the vid

[@peteywheatstraws4909]

First, shapeshift into Paganini or a character from the "X Files". Next....

[@Playsinvain]

I’ve seen people fold fitted sheets and I’ve watched this snake oil salesperson….both are in a dimension far away from my reality.

[@johnsteven5544]

So your little finger is 20% longer than your index finger? BS.

[@ockers678]

Goes on too long with the chat.

[@tuomasi1]

Whats the opposite of dense and concise?!? Boil it all down to a minute, PLEASE!