Classical Guitar Techniques and Definitions

• Left Hand Guitar Techniques
• Right Hand Guitar Techniques

Classical guitarists use a variety of techniques to perform beautiful, strong, and articulate sounds. However, finding a clear source for identifying these techniques can be difficult.

So what are these classical guitar techniques, and how do you incorporate them? Below is a comprehensive list of some of the most important classical guitar technique terms and definitions. Simply click on any of the techniques to visit a page with more info!

For convenience, I’ve put the terms into two separate categories: left hand and right hand classical guitar techniques. The list of terms in each category appear in alphabetical order.

Please note that I’ll constantly be adding more individual pages for these techniques, so come bookmark this page and visit often!

Left Hand Techniques

The left hand fingers for classical guitar are numbered 1,2,3, and 4.

Need a refresher on how left hand finger numbers for guitar work? Check out this article for more!

To indicate open strings, composers and arrangers may use a 0 on the score next to the designated note. The left hand thumb is never used to play the strings in classical guitar (some steel string acoustic players like this method).

Note: sometimes people abbreviate left hand as “L.H.”

• Ascending Slurs (Hammer-Ons): Involves plucking a string and then forcefully pressing down on a higher fret without plucking again, producing a smooth transition to a higher pitch.
• Barres (Full barres, Cross-Fret Barres, Hinge Barres, and Partial Barres): A technique where the index finger presses multiple strings across a single fret, with variations accommodating different chord shapes and tonal requirements.
• Campanella: A unique playing style where you play consecutive notes on different strings. Most often, this means the notes on lower strings are higher pitch than the open string notes on higher strings. This allows them to ring out simultaneously, creating a bell-like effect.
• Chord Coloring: Subtle alterations of chord voicings or adding decorative notes to enhance harmonic richness.
• Descending Slurs (Pull-Offs): The opposite of hammer-ons, this involves plucking a note then quickly releasing the left hand finger from a fret to produce a lower note on the same string.
• Finger Independence: The ability to control your finger movements, both independently and as a group. Popular exercises to help with left hand finger independence are: the Spider Exercise, Vertical Finger Hops, and Opposing Motion.
• Glide Shift (Guide Finger): A smooth transition between fret positions using a single finger as a guide, maintaining contact with the string for fluid movement.
• Glissando (or Strisciato): Sliding the finger across the strings to create a continuous, sweeping pitch change, often used for dramatic and romantic effect.
• Grace Notes (Acciacatura and Appoggiatura): Short, ornamental notes played just before the main note. You can either play these quickly (acciaccatura) or more prolonged (appoggiatura), to embellish the melody.
• Harmonics (Natural Harmonics and Artificial Harmonics): Producing ethereal, bell-like tones by lightly touching the string at specific nodal points. You can produce natural harmonics on open strings, which and the most common. However, you can also produce artificial harmonics to play full melodies beyond just open strings!
• Legato (or Ligado): Playing notes smoothly and connectedly with minimal silence in between, often achieved through slurs (hammer-ons and pull-offs).
• Mordent: A rapid alternation between a note, the note above or below it, and then the original note again. Mordents are a common Baroque technique, and create a brief trill-like effect.
• Position (and position shift): Refers to the placement of the left hand on the fretboard, with shifts indicating movement between these positions for accessing different notes.
• Staccato: Playing notes with a detached, crisp articulation that creates a clear separation between sounds. Stacatto notes are indicated by a dot above or below the note.
• Strisciato: Similar to a glissando, this involves sliding the finger across the fretboard to connect notes smoothly, sounding all the intervals on the way to goal note. This technique is similar to portamento in singing, but is particularly expressive on the classical guitar.
• Tabalet: A less commonly used term, this refers to a percussive techniques where you rhythmically tap on the strings or body of the guitar.
• Trills: Rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, producing a vibrating effect that adds tension and release to the melody.
• Turn: A decorative figure that consists of four notes: the main note, the note above, the main note again, and the note below, executed quickly as an embellishment. Alternatively, you may see a turn consisting of: the main note, the note below, the main note again, and the note above.
• Vibrato: A technique of varying the pitch of a note by rocking the finger back and forth on the fret, creating a warm, expressive sound.

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Right Hand Techniques

The right hand fingers for classical guitar use the letters p-i-m-a, which I’ll reference in various definitions below. For more information, check this post on classical guitar finger names.

Note: sometimes people abbreviate right hand as “R.H.”

• Alternation: A fundamental technique where the index (i) and middle (m) fingers alternate to pluck the strings. This provides speed and efficiency, especially when playing scales and single line melodies.
• Arpeggios: Plucking the strings in a sequence rather than simultaneously, often outlining various notes of a chord.
• Cross Fingering: A technique involving the use of non-adjacent fingers for plucking (like i-a), allowing for more complex string crossing and texture variation.
• Damping: Intentionally stopping the vibration of a string with the right hand after it’s been played to mute the sound or create rhythmic effects.
• Free Stroke (Tirando): Plucking the string so that the finger does not rest on the next string, allowing for a lighter and generally softer tone.
• Opposed Finger Sweep: A technique where fingers move in opposite directions across the strings, often used for rapid arpeggios or to create a sweeping sound effect.
• Palm Muting: Using the side of the right hand to lightly touch the strings near the bridge. This dampens the sound to create a muted, percussive effect.
• Pizzicato: Plucking the strings while your hand is dampening the strings in a way that mimics the sound of a pizzicato string instrument. The result is short, detached notes that have a percussive resonance.
• Planting: A preparatory technique where you place your fingers on the strings before plucking (also known as “Prep and Play”). Planting is the best way for beginners to improve accuracy and tone production.
• Ponticello (sul ponticello): Playing near the bridge of the guitar to produce a bright, metallic sound, often used for dramatic or atmospheric effects.
• Rasgueados: A strumming technique common in flamenco guitar music involving the rapid, rhythmic fanning of the fingers across the strings. Guitarists also use Rasgueados for percussive strumming while the left hand is muting the strings on the fretboard.
• Rest Stroke (Apoyando): Plucking a string and allowing the finger to rest on the next string above it. Rest strokes tend to provide a stronger, more pronounced sound that’s ideal for melody lines or accenting certain notes.
• Rolling (Chords): Breaking up a chord by quickly plucking each string in succession, creating a rolled effect rather than striking all strings simultaneously.
• Speed Bursts (Velocity): Short, rapid increases in picking speed, used to develop agility and control in the right hand.
• String Crossing: The skillful movement across strings in a smooth and efficient manner, essential for playing complex passages cleanly.
• Sympathetic Movement: Coordinating movements of the right hand fingers to complement each other, enhancing fluidity and minimizing effort.
• Tambour: A percussive technique that produces a drum-like effect by tapping on the strings or guitar body.
• Tasto (sul tasto): Opposite of Ponticello, tasto refers to playing over the fingerboard to produce a softer, more mellow sound. Guitarists often pluck in this range for delicate, lyrical passages.
• Tremolo: A technique where a single note repeats rapidly by alternating fingers (usually p-a-m-i). The successive notes create a sustained, trembling sound that mimics the sustain of bowed instruments.