Tárrega
Tárrega — Prelude in A major (No. 9)
Hammer-ons and pull-offs
Level 4/5 · 16 bars · Practice tempo · 56 bpm
Listen for groups of four sixteenth notes. In the first five bars, pluck the first note with a, hammer on the second, then play the last two with m and i. The scale then rises from the bass into the upper register. Keep the pulse steady when the thumb enters in bar 9. The suggested practice tempo is 56 quarter notes per minute.
Skills to prepare
- Hammer-ons and pull-offs
- Scales with alternating i and m
- Sustained basses and open first string
Before learning the piece
- Play five groups of four notes, matching the volume of each slurred note to the plucked notes. Practise this skill.
- Alternate i and m on adjacent strings for two bars while keeping a consistent tone. Practise this skill.
These checkpoints belong to our learning path. They do not set a deadline for your progress.
Tablature and fingerings
The six lines represent the strings, with high E at the top. Numbers show frets; 0 means an open string. The letters p, i, m and a indicate right-hand fingers.
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Your phrase-by-phrase plan
Work on a short passage. Aim for five clean attempts in a row, then connect two phrases. Bar numbers follow our transcription, including a separately numbered pickup where applicable.
Phrase 1 · bars 1–2
Count four notes to each beat and sound the second with the fourth finger alone.
Phrase 2 · bars 3–4
Join the short barres at II, IV and II, easing pressure as you shift.
Phrase 3 · bars 5–6
After descending to low G-sharp, reverse direction and alternate m and i throughout the scale.
Phrase 4 · bars 7–8
Prepare the first finger on the next string while the fourth finger finishes the preceding group.
Phrase 5 · bars 9–10
Place the open low E under the scale, then sustain the bass A through the chromatic notes.
Phrase 6 · bars 11–12
Let the bass A tied from bar 10 ring and distinguish the slurred open Es from those you pluck again.
Phrase 7 · bars 13–14
At each descending slur from a high chord, release the finger on the first string to sound the open E.
Phrase 8 · bars 15–16
Prepare the small barre at fret II before the cadence and leave a full quarter rest after the last chord.
Watch and listen
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Lesson · This is Classical Guitar
General lesson: listen for an even attack from each finger before practising the scale in the prelude.
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Sources and transcription choices
The notes follow the credited sources. Fingerings, phrase divisions and practice tempos are editorial learning choices. How our transcriptions work.