IDA PRESTI

Danse Rythmique

Your Instructor: Connie Sheu

Level 9

tonebase Guitar
“Having a diverse repertoire is so important in helping you stand out

as a player.”

Prior Knowledge Contents

• Playing above the XII position
03
Introduction

• Block chords
03
Pizzicato

• Pizzicato
04
Shifting in Octaves

• Shifting positions with and without a guide finger

05
Voice Separation

• Voice independence and separation

07
Phrasing

• Switching between apoyando and tirando

09
Color Changes

• Playing ponticello
10
Focus Areas

• Playing in drop D tuning

10 Practice Log

• Half barre and full barre

Lesson Description
Ida Presti was one of the most virtuosic players of her time. Along with her husband, Alexander

Lagoya, she formed the Presti-Lagoya guitar duet, having many pieces dedicated to the duet from

composers such as Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Joaquin Rodrigo. In addition to her

successful performance career, Ida Presti composed several pieces. In this lesson, Connie Sheu

introduces us to Presti's Danse Rythmique. This colorful piece is full of opportunities to work on

techniques such as pizzicato, isolating and bringing out melodies, articulating color changes as

well as identifying and shaping your phrases.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to perform a strong pizzicato

• How to identify and shape phrases of varying lengths

• How to bring out melodies in homophonic textures

02
Summary
Introduction
One of the most impactful things that can help a performer stand out is their choice of
repertoire. While many works are part of the classical guitar tradition, plenty of works are
underplayed and ready to be discovered. This is an excellent opportunity to advocate for such
pieces and composers that you find important–especially composers that have not been
historically well-represented.

Danse Rythmique was composed by Ida Presti, the great French/Italian virtuosa. She was well
known for her guitar duo, Presti-Lagoya, which she formed with her husband, Alexander Lagoya.

She was a child prodigy and even impressed Andres

Segovia, to which he said, “I have nothing left to teach
you.” Presti also composed several pieces for solo guitar
and guitar duo. Her style was neo-romantic with
impressionistic influences. While the pieces are
challenging, they are very idiomatic for the guitarists’
hands.
Pizzicato
This piece begins with pizzicato. We often assume that performing pizzicato means that we will
be playing softer. However, we can control the volume by how we position our right hand. Place

the side of the hand parallel to

the bridge and then lean on to
the strings to get the muted
pizzicato effect. Finally, getting
under the string a bit can get
you a more powerful pluck.

03
 Since the opening has fast eight-note passages, we will need to
make use of the index finger as well. To get an ever more pizzicato
sound, we should avoid the nail and play with as much flesh as
possible.

In measures 60-63, we have a few

chords to perform in pizzicato. Play

them using your thumb for an added bit of emphasis. While going through the strings, bring the
thumb slightly outwards.

Shifting in Octaves

In measures 25 and 26, we have a short passage that involves octaves shifting down the fretboard.
We want to make sure our octaves are in tune, especially in higher positions. The easiest solution
is to slightly bend the string until it is in tune.

04
When preparing the shifts, it is essential to look ahead to the destination point to land the shift
securely. Additionally, it is important to free up the left elbow to “expand” towards the lower frets.

Finally, a great way to practice any shift is to work on a given passage with dotted rhythms.

Voice Separation

The guitar has the capability to play polyphonically. In many cases, such as baroque or
renaissance music, we must treat the individual voices equally. However, the Danse Rythmique is
not polyphonic but instead uses homophonic textures, where one voice is to be prominent. In
contrast, other voices provide support through harmony and bass line roles.

05
Anytime we work on music like this, we need to ask a few questions.

Which voice has the most movement? Which line has the most melodic qualities? Which voices
are not moving much or simply provide harmony, texture, or foundational bass line supporting the
melody?

In measures 5-7, it is clear that we want to bring out the upper voice as it is the most melodic. The
easiest way to bring out a melody is using rest-stroke. While it is not always practical to play
rest-stroke, we should aim to at least incorporate it on important downbeats or other moments of
particular interest.

If you have trouble executing rest stroke melodies while performing free stroke thumb, we should
start by addressing the right hand's position. We want to avoid needing to change positions
between each stroke and find a neutral position where you can perform both. Check your position
by flattening the right hand over the strings and then open up into position. The palm should face
the top of the guitar and be very close to an optimal right-hand position.

06
Use the following exercise to get the right hand used to this neutral position.

Slowly try to bridge the gap between the melody and bass notes until you can finally play them
together.

Once you are comfortable playing the previous exercises, you can begin adding arpeggios to
prepare for inner voices.

One thing to remember is that volume is relative. Many times we try to bring out a voice by
playing it louder than the others. However, we should also try bringing other voices down instead.
Try performing the most audible piano possible but still let the melody shine through.

Phrasing

Like with articles and essays, music contains segments that convey musical ideas. It is important
to break down a piece and identify these smaller segments of music by marking the phrases on
our score.

07
Once we have made our phrase markings, we can easily decide on shape using volume, color, and
timing. One of the simplest ways to phrase is to use the phrase marking as an indication of stress
and release.

If we take a look at the melody in measures 5-7, we can easily apply this approach to phrasing and
it will work quite naturally.

In longer phrases, we can use the same formula or even vary the format a bit. For example, in
measures 21-28, we can have a larger phrase in mind but do a bit more detailed phrasing, such as
a subtle crescendo and decrescendo in the first two measures.

08
Color Changes

Ponticello and tasto can help brighten or darken our tone on the guitar. Depending on the angle of
the right hand and the nails, we can achieve even more variation in color.

A more square angle, where the nails Getting a wider angle will result in a
are parallel with the strings will result in smoother warmer tone, as this avoids
a brighter tone. more of the nail. Keep the tip joint loose
so that it can easily sink in and release.

When experimenting with color, think about using this method to add color and complement
shifts of the right-hand position. If we play more parallel to the strings, we don't need to go all the
way to the bridge to obtain a ponticello timbre.

09
Focus Areas
• Performing pizzicato excerpts • Executing shifts

• Right hand balance • Shaping phrases

Practice Log

Below are your assignments from this lesson. Use the blank spaces to fill in other things you want
to work on. Try to spend a few minutes on each item every day for two weeks!

M T W T F S S M T W T F S S
Control volume of
pizzicato with right
hand (pg. 4)
Dotted exercise for
shifting (pg. 5)

Right-hand stability
(pg. 7)

10
Reflection
Use the questions below as a chance to reflect on how far you’ve come with your progress on the
guitar, and what you want to focus on next!

1. Take a moment to identify three things that are going well and three things that still need
some work in your playing.

2. Now think about ways you can reinforce those good habits, and make improvements on the
things that still need work. How can you incorporate these items into your daily practice?

3. With that in mind, what do you want to work on next? Which pieces or techniques do you
think will best help you achieve your goals?

11
Notes

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