Editing Classical guitar (section)

==Performance==
[[File:Alisa Gladyseva-Romanza Española.ogv|thumb|Popular song (public domain): Spanish Romance.]]
{{Main article|Classical guitar technique}}
The modern classical guitar is usually played in a seated position, with the instrument resting on the left lap – and the left foot placed on a footstool. Alternatively – if a footstool is not used – a ''guitar support'' can be placed between the guitar and the left lap (the support usually attaches to the instrument's side with [[suction cup]]s). (There are of course exceptions, with some performers choosing to hold the instrument another way.)

Right-handed players use the fingers of the right hand to pluck the strings, with the thumb plucking from the top of a string downwards (downstroke) and the other fingers plucking from the bottom of the string upwards (upstroke). The little finger in classical technique as it evolved in the 20th century is used only to ride along with the ring finger without striking the strings and to thus physiologically facilitate the ring finger's motion.

In contrast, [[Flamenco]] technique, and classical compositions evoking Flamenco, employ the little finger semi-independently in the Flamenco four-finger [[rasgueado]], that rapid strumming of the string by the fingers in reverse order employing the back of the fingernail—a familiar characteristic of Flamenco.

[[Flamenco]] technique, in the performance of the rasgueado also uses the upstroke of the four fingers and the downstroke of the thumb: the string is hit not only with the inner, fleshy side of the fingertip but also with the outer, fingernail side. This was also used in a technique of the [[vihuela]] called [[dedillo]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ralphmaier.com/index_files/Page318.htm|title=Mastering the Dedillo|website=ralphmaier.com|access-date=15 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930030129/http://www.ralphmaier.com/index_files/Page318.htm|archive-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> which has recently begun to be introduced on the classical guitar.

Some modern guitarists, such as [[Štěpán Rak]] and [[Kazuhito Yamashita]], use the little finger independently, compensating for the little finger's shortness by maintaining an extremely long fingernail.  Rak and Yamashita have also generalized the use of the upstroke of the four fingers and the downstroke of the thumb (the same technique as in the rasgueado of the [[Flamenco]]: as explained above the string is hit not only with the inner, fleshy side of the fingertip but also with the outer, fingernail side) both as a free stroke and as a rest stroke.<ref>[http://www.egta.co.uk/content/rakinterview A 1992 interview of Štěpán Rak by Graham Wade] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530073212/http://www.egta.co.uk/content/rakinterview |date=2013-05-30 }}</ref>

===Direct contact with strings===
As with other plucked instruments (such as the lute), the musician directly touches the strings (usually plucking) to produce the sound. This has important consequences: Different tone/[[timbre]] (of a single note) can be produced by plucking the string in different manners ([[apoyando]] or [[tirando]])  and in different positions (such as closer and further away from the guitar bridge). For example, plucking an open string will sound brighter than playing the same note(s) on a fretted position (which would have a warmer tone).

The instrument's versatility means it can create a variety of tones, but this finger-picking style also makes the instrument harder to learn than a standard acoustic guitar's strumming technique.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nationalguitaracademy.com/classical-guitar-lessons/|title=Classical Guitar Lessons|date=30 May 2016|website=nationalguitaracademy.com|access-date=15 April 2018}}</ref>

===Fingering notation=== <!--This section should be moved to the classical guitar technique article BUT AS LONG AS the Alternation subsection is here this section about marking of fingerings needs ALSO to stay here in order for the reader to be able to make sense of the fingerings used in the following subsection-->

In guitar ''scores'' the five fingers of the right-hand (which pluck the strings) are designated by the first letter of their Spanish names namely p = thumb (''pulgar''), i = index finger (''índice''), m = middle finger (''mayor''), a = ring finger (''anular''), c = little finger or pinky (''meñique/chiquito'')<ref>The little finger whose use is not completely standardized in classical guitar technique can also be found designated by e or x. There are several words in Spanish for the little finger: dedo meñique, dedo auricular, dedo pequeño, but their initials conflict with the initials of the other fingers. C is said to be the initial of the dedo chiquito which is not the most common name for the little finger. E and X are not initials, but letters that were picked, each with its own rationale, by people who didn't know what else to pick</ref>

The four fingers of the left hand (which fret the strings) are designated 1 = index, 2 = major, 3 = ring finger, 4 = little finger. 0 designates an open string—a string not stopped by a finger and whose full length thus vibrates when plucked. It is rare to use the left hand thumb in performance, the neck of a classical guitar being too wide for comfort, and normal technique keeps the thumb behind the neck. However Johann Kaspar Mertz, for example, is notable for specifying the thumb to fret bass notes on the sixth string, notated with an up arrowhead (⌃).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/8/88/IMSLP83126-PMLP169483-Mertz_-_Bardenkl%C3%A4nge_books_1-13.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/8/88/IMSLP83126-PMLP169483-Mertz_-_Bardenkl%C3%A4nge_books_1-13.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live |title=Mertz — Bardenklänge books 1-13 |last=Mertz |first=Johann Kaspar |date=1847–1850 |website=imslp |publisher=Vienna: Haslinger |access-date=February 2, 2022}}</ref>

Scores (contrary to ''tablatures'') do not systematically indicate the string to pluck (though the choice is usually obvious). When indicating the string is useful, the score uses the numbers 1 to 6 inside circles (highest-pitch sting to lowest).

Scores do not systematically indicate fretboard positions (where to put the first finger of the fretting hand), but when helpful (mostly with barrés chords) the score indicates positions with Roman numerals from the first position I (index finger on the 1st fret: F-B flat-E flat-A flat-C-F) to the twelfth position XII (index finger on the 12th fret: E-A-D-G-B-E. The 12th fret is where the body begins) or even higher up to position XIX (the classical guitar most often having 19 frets, with the 19th fret being most often split and not being usable to fret the 3rd and 4th strings).

===Alternation=== <!--This section should be moved to the Classical guitar technique article; it is too detailed for the general information the section Performance deals with in the context of this article which is a general introduction to the Classical guitar-->
To achieve tremolo effects and rapid, fluent scale passages, the player must practice alternation, that is, never plucking a string with the same finger twice in a row. 
Using '''p''' to indicate the thumb, '''i''' the index finger, '''m''' the middle finger and '''a''' the ring finger, common alternation patterns include:
* ''i-m-i-m'' : Basic melody line on the treble strings. Has the appearance of "walking along the strings". This is often used for playing [[Scale (music)]] passages.
* ''p-i-m-a-i-m-a'' : Arpeggio pattern example. However, there are many arpeggio patterns incorporated into the classical guitar repertoire.
* ''p-a-m-i-p-a-m-i'' : Classical guitar tremolo pattern.
* ''p-m-p-m'' : A way of playing a melody line on the lower strings.