Chords for Flamenco Scales (Picado) by Vahagni

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [Fm] _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ This time we're going to be talking about a flamenco technique called the picado.
[N] Picado is basically very similar to what is considered a restro in a classical playing,
except we have some differences when it comes down to how we actually attack the string.
First things first, the most important thing is the actual attack, how you actually approach the string.
You always want to be very comfortable when you sit, that's one of the main things.
[F] Also _ we [C] kind of want to start playing the strings _ [F] one by one with I and M, and also
alternating, but [B] not really playing up the string like this, [F] rather than playing in the string.
So kind of pushing in before you actually make [F#] the attack.
_ _ A body like this is not really going to help you with speed.
_ _ You want to kind of have this thing going where [F] you're [Em] kind of playing very staccato.
[F#] _ It's a combination [G] between the third and the first joint.
The first joint is going to move whether you like it or [N] not, but the third joint here [B] is
in a sense doing a little bit more of the work, as you can see.
And I'm [N] also attacking from above.
_ [B] I'm not playing flat like this, and I'm not playing too up either.
So you kind of want to [C] think about having this type of shape in your hands [F#] when you're
playing because you're going to get the best attack.
_ [N] So when you're actually playing, you know, when you curve your fingers out, it kind of
starts looking like this, because it's definitely impossible to play like that.
You're not really going [C] to make contact with the same string.
So you kind of just want to curve it in like this.
[D#] And when you tilt your hand [F#] slightly, it helps. _ _ _
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ So it's four notes.
_ The trick is, [D#] if you have a metronome going, basically you're trying to make the four notes
on the [F] last sixteenth note.
So you're trying to fit them in.
It's almost like [C] playing one sixteenth note in a bar, the last sixteenth note.
But you're playing four instead of one.
So that's [D#] what gives you the burst.
So you're never on the beat.
[D] If this is the beat, you're _ [G] playing_
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
So forth.
So, the key with this is to [Em] not start playing them like this, [G] like I said.
_ It's really difficult to get speed because you're making too much movement and your fingers
[F] are basically so far [C] apart that it takes more time for one to come back.
So you kind of [G] want to just_
_ [F]
Once you play a string, the other finger is already planted, _ [G] ready for the next one.
_ _ _ That's kind of [G#] _
[G] like _ the mechanism you want to get used [D] to.
So [F] once you do that, you go to five notes.
Now five notes is really good to practice because you're always going to be playing
the first one, let's say, with I, the second one is going to fall on F.
[C#] So you're always altering them.
You're not [C] starting with the same finger.
So you would be playing one, two, three, four, five, then now you have to start [C#] with F.
One, two, three, four, [G] five, now back to I.
[D#] And [Cm] it's the same concept.
You're not fitting five notes in a beat.
You're basically putting them all the way at [C] the end.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C#] _ _ [D] _ _ [N] And so on and so forth.
And the last one, you go to six, for example.
And what I like to do with that, it's kind of cool, is I take an arpeggio or a chord
pattern or whatever, and I start playing around the key tone.
So in this case, for example, let's take a D minor arpeggio, which would [F] be A, F, [Dm] D.
Then we just repeat [F] that.
A, [D] F, D.
_ [Am] _
_ [C] _ _ _ [G] _ _ [Am] _ _
[C] _ _ _ [A] _ _ [C] Okay?
And it's the same [F] concept.
So [F#] you're basically doing the same thing. _ _ _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ [G] _ [E] _
_ _ [F#] _ _ [G] _ _ _ [E] _
_ [Am] _ _ _ _ _ [Cm] _ [G] _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
[Dm] Now, what I would like to [C] do in the beginning is just, for [G] example, just get to this much of it.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Now, once I do that [Cm] for a while and get comfortable with that portion [C#] of it,
I'll move on to [E] the next portion, which is, for example, these six.
_ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ [F] Then I'll try to put them all thrown [D] in like a hammer-on or a pull-off.
[G] _ [A] _
_ _ [Am] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _ [Am] _ [F]
Start doing the whole thing.
One last exercise I want to [D] drop you is something I learned from Manuel Sanjuca,
which is a really cool pattern.
And you can take, again, anything [E] you want.
I'll stick to E [N] since we're here.
And what we're going to do is we're going to move up each string, starting with the I finger.
[E] So we're going to play like we talked about, pushing in, [B]
and we're just basically playing each [E] string. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Once we get that, now we're going to use I and M together, but always playing [F] the first string twice.
The reason why we play the first string twice is because next time around you have to start with the other finger.
So if you started with I, now you're going to start with M, just so it's not the same repetition.
So [Em] we're going to be doing_
[E] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Anyway, [G#] then we do the same thing with M and [E] A.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ And I and A, _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [A#] [D#] three fingers.
So we're going to play A, M, I, M.
[Em] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[D#] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [D#] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _