Lesson #4: Tremolo Technique

Tremolo Technique In our 4th video of the 5 minute fingerstyle guitar series, I’m going to discuss the tremolo technique. This is a really fun way to provide the illusion of a sustained note on the top of the guitar. This is one of the more “flashy” techniques in fingerstyle guitar, and requires starting slowly with a single finger to eventually get the consistent 16th note feel of good tremolo technique.

We start developing  this technique by playing some sequences of our thumb on the 4th string and our ring finger on the top string. Once you get the ring finger going, switch to the middle, and eventually the index finger. The idea is to follow a P-A-M-I pattern and to create the tremolo technique. Practice the tremolo technique very slowly at first, and gradually work it up to a consistent tempo. The most important thing about this technique is that the fingers need to be balanced, meaning that each of the three fingers A, M and I should be even in volume and projection.

 You should work on each finger independently until each finger is the same volume as the next, otherwise you’ll have a very uneven sound in your tremolo. Practice this technique on different string combinations, making sure to work on the termolo with the inner strings as well as the top strings. Have fun with this great technique!