Study Notes and Classical Guitar Lesson For Allegro Op. 50 No. 13 by Mauro Giuliani
Please download both the full score and the melody only score, to practice singing and playing the melody.
This Allegro is full of beautiful melody and harmony. As you get acquainted with the first phrase, start implementing a little more of the singing to bring out the melody in the bass. This is the most important part when learning this piece, I always emphasize this for my students. It's the most freeing thing, when you start to sing with the guitar.
This Allegro Op. 50 No. 13 is a grade 2 level of study, which is a beginner/beginner stage of classical guitar study.
Definition of Allegro. What Does Allegro Mean?
Fast, between Moderato and Presto
Overview of The Music
Allegro by Mauro Giuliani is a very harmonic piece with a clear melody in the bass. There is a definite sense of phrasing with clear tensions and relaxations in the cadences.
Transitions or bridges between phrases are also very clear. This is a great opportunity to explore a wide range of dynamics and timbre of the classical guitar.
Opportunities to Practice:
Singing the melody with the bass
Left hand alignment
Right hand arpeggio and sensitivity and balance with the bass melody played with the thumb
A wide range of dynamics
A wide range of TIMBRE (colour)
There is a definite sense of phrasing with clear tensions and relaxations in the cadences.
Phrasing
If you are a guitar student of mine, you know that I’ll be asking you to sing the bass melody as you complete the first phrase.
There is a big benefit to singing the melody.
The guitar is a percussive instrument that loses it’s notes after they’re played, released. So, in order for us to be able to have a sense of connection, voice is our best choice. The voice has the ability to sustain and shape the sound. When we translate this to the guitar, we start creating the illusion of connection in our ear.
Here is the breakdown of the praising and bridges (transitions) in Allegro Op. 50 No. 13 by Mauro Giuliani.
First phrase bars 1-8
Second phrase bars 9-16
Transition or bridge 17-20
Back To The First phrase bars 21-28
Back To The Second phrase bars 29-36
A big Cadence Ending 37-41
Dynamics
There are no given dynamic markings, this gives us the opportunity to really explore the praising and parts of this Allegro.
Exploring The Left Hand
Very conscious of the left hand and how to set up the melody for best and smoothest left hand transitions that supports both the accompaniment and the melody.
We are anchoring on note A (bars 4 and 5, alternating between the 2nd and 3rd fingers) for the transition into the set up for next bar, bar 5.
Exploring The Right Hand
Melody is with the thumb, we can use either rest stroke and free stroke. In the video I use mostly rest stroke. I don’t talk about muting the overtones as this is still a beginner piece, and I don’t play it that way in the video. There is a bit of an overtone when I’m phrasing , mainly the D note and in the repeated cadence at the end. Like I said, I chose not to explore this as it is a beginners performance piece.
One thing I didn’t talk too much about in the video study notes (classical guitar lesson) for Allegro, is the 4/4 timing. Please remember, when interpreting music it is very important to have awareness of the time signature. This gives the listener a sense of the timing. As musicians, it gives us the sense of structure and rhythmic accentuation.
Happy practicing!
If you have questions or something to share, comment below or contact me.
