Improve Your Rasgueo Technique Without a Guitar
You will be happy to know that you can build your strength, agility, and ease of movement on the four-stroke rasgueo even during those times that you have no access to a guitar. Therefore, you can practice this stroke during any down time you have – on a break at work, at lunch, at home, on the train or the bus. Practicing during those times can greatly speed up the time that you spend learning the technique. Flex your fingers so that your nails press directly into the palm of your right hand. Next, flick each out separately in the order ‘e,’ ‘a,’‘ m,’ then ‘i’ against the resistance provided by the ball and base of your thumb. For even more practice, balance your thumb on the top or the edge of a flat surface, on the side of your thigh, or on your seat on the bus. Use whatever surface that is convenient to use as the resistance against which you flick your fingers. Learn to control each finger at a time, making the strokes of each finger equally powerful. After much practice, you should be able to repeat the sequence ‘e,’ ‘a,’ ‘m,’ ‘i’; ‘e,’ ‘a,’ ‘m,’ ‘i,’ in a smooth, unbroken rhythm with no pause between the ‘i’ of one rasgueo and the ‘e’ of the next. Once you have conquered this exercise without a guitar, you will have a firm foundation to perform longer rolls on your instrument.
