12 Flamenco Etudes (Volume 1 - Picado) by Berto Boyd

Author Foreword: It is my great pleasure to present a series of original etudes that have helped mold my hands into the player that I am today. I practice many of these on a daily basis with great variation in my right hand fingering and consider many of them essential to my continuing development. It is my philosophy that you need to exhaust every way to play a scale. To cross train. This is why I enjoy a steady diet of doing things in 3's Rest, Free, and a Combination of the two. I only included right hand fingerings in the first few etudes to show some of the variations in which I practice these on a daily basis. The rest of the etudes are for you figure out what works for your hands. One of the main topics I cover regarding right hand fingering is the concept of “Slip Finger” which is when you drag your index to the next string on a descending passage. Many teachers will tell you this is not correct and that you should always use strict alternation when playing descending scales. There is no right way or wrong way, it's really about what works for your hands. My middle finger is ¾” longer than my index and I play with a straighter finger in the style of Sabicas so it makes sense for me to utilize this technique, BUT, I make a conscious decision to use it. I can also keep strict alternation if I choose to. Paying close attention and being aware of which finger starts the group or makes the shift is a very important part of developing your picado. Please feel free to contact me with any questions bertoflamenco@gmail.com. I am available for private lessons at my Portland studio or via Skype! I wish you all good luck and many technical breakthroughs!

Berto Boyd