The Rest Stroke

Up to now, most of what we have covered could be played with a pick, but we will bestudying arpeggios that are much easier to play with the fingers. For the single-note melodiesthat follow, a pick could be used, but now is a good moment to learn the principal strokerest stroke.used for melody lines on the finger-style and classical guitar, known as the rest stroke.

The rest stroke is the technique that produces the fullest sound from a single note. It isplayed by plucking the string in such a way that, when the movement is completed, thefingertip comes to rest on the adjacent string—hence the name.

Here are the steps:

• The fingertip is placed on the string in preparation.
• As the nail passes the string it catches and sounds the note.
• The fingertip ends the movement on the next string.
• notIt is most important to keep the finger slightly curved—do let the joint yield as thenail plays the note, because this will weaken your attack.
  

The rest stroke is quite a subtle movement, because small adjustments can mean a consider-able improvement in tone quality. It is fun to experiment with this, and good habits devel-oped at this stage will ensure maximum progress. Take a look at it now from another angle.This picture shows the nail sliding off the string at a slight angle, with the finger slanted soas to engage the string with less-than-maximum nail. This change in axis from a head-onapproach softens the attack of the finger to produce a more delicate sound.

Try these movements out now to see if you can produce a full and beautiful sound. Remem-ber that the state of the nail is important since rough areas will catch and produce a gratingsound.

Here are the main points to remember:

• Prepare to play by positioning the finger on the fingertip with the nail projecting overthe string.
• Press the string down slightly before playing.
• For a strong attack, play with more nail, i.e., with the center of the nail.
• For a subtler sound angle the nail and the stroke.

Tags: string, finger, stroke, sound, produce, attack, fingertip, movement