Kinematic analysis and comparison of right hand fingers in Apoyando and Picado techniques

In the classical guitar repertoire, especially in the concertos of Spanish composers, there are scales that should be played rapidly. Playing these scales quite rapidly can only be done with the right technique and is extremely important for the holistic musicality of the work. Although classical and flamenco guitar masters have their own apoyando or pikado techniques, their playing speed varies. There are various studies and theses about right hand technique in the literature. However, in these studies, right hand posture and finger movements are described with qualitative definitions. In my current study, finger movements and joint angles of guitarists who can reach high apoyando or picado speed were examined. It is aimed to quantitatively describe the right hand finger movements that enable high speeds. Another purpose of my study is to present a scientific perspective that will enable guitarists to understand different apoyando and picado techniques more easily, contribute to the development of their own techniques, and transfer their techniques to their students more easily. In my research, finger movements during fast scales of three guitarists (Paco de Lucia, Pepe Romero and Grisha Goryachev) who are considered masters in their fields were examined and kinematic analyzes were made. The finger angles of the three guitarists were compared and the relationship between these angles and the speeds they reached was examined. The findings of this study showed that in order to reach the highest possible speed, the right hand metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint should not move more than 10 degrees during the performance of the scale. In addition, it was concluded that the main movement should be centered on the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) without moving the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint too much. It has been determined that, in this way, the distance of the finger from the string (lift-off distance) is minimized while a very strong stroke is achieved. During a performance, the fingertip (distal phalanx) lift-off distance should be as close as possible to the minimal physical lift-off distance of 0.56 cm. As a result, to achieve the ultimate goal of low finger lift-off distance during performing rapid scales, guitarist should keep the MP angle very limited, while the center of motion to be the PIP joint, and maintain the stability of the DIP joint as much as possible. In the current study, the right hand technique has been mathematically analyzed in details. I believe that the finger kinematics, which were presented with quantitative data, will be a useful mathematical model for all guitarists, especially those who want to develop the fast apoyando or pikado technique. Keywords: Classical guitar, right hand technique, finger angle, stroke velocity, apoyando, pikado, kinematics