There is different variations of the 4 finger rasguedo

my question is on a particular one that i see in different pieces like tangos or sevillanas

the pattern like in a 3/4 beat pattern

i(upstroke)-i(downstroke)----1 st beat

i(downstroke)- x- a- m -i (downstroke) --2nd beat (4 finger rasguedo)

i(upstroke)- i(downstroke) --3 beat


The 4 finger rasguedo there is starting with 1 down stroke and then immediate going to pinky -a- m -i


how do you do i downstroke followed by x--a --m --i, all downstrokes


do you flex all the fingers or like when the index downstrokes the pinky gets immediately ready to hit the strings

which is a opposite direction movement?

You want a shotgun style clear sound of each finger


what is the best way to approach this rasguedo?

What I do as the index is just finishing the downstroke is the little finger is curling up with the others following so when the index is cleared the E 1st string, the little is just starting a downstroke. I wish I had a video recorder, I could demo. Practice without the guitar by just moving your index out and pulling your little in at first. sort of a twisting motion. Once you get this motion you can practice the curling and powering out with the all the fingers. I think Juan Serrano demos this best in his first video where he demos technique.

Here is a good demo just finish with the index

Hi Sam

Thank you for your suggestion
i appreciate it

so its better to create that opposite movement between the index and the rest of the fingers
its like index goes out and the a,m, x goes in simultaneously
which makes the pinky ready to strike

let me know if i misunderstood you

that will save time, cause if not you have to get the pinky ready

i find curling difficult while striking, i guess you need powerful fingers

Solen, That is right. Powerful fingers help, but not necessary or I couldn't do it. It is something that takes practice and slowing building strength in your hand. The main thing to remember with any rasqueado is the timing.

Here are 3 demo clips of simple beginning Sevillanas. My sami rasqueado is not as clean and defined as you should strive for. This demo is only to give you an idea and not meant to be instructional. You will notice I leave a space between the i down and the sami. This is because I cannot play a slower sami with 4 clean distinct strokes. The goal would be to play i s a m i all evenly timed and fill the same space I filled with my i-sami. This gives the best sound in my opinion.

Clip 1 is i down sami down then i down.

Clip 2 is downstroke with am together then samip all down then up with p.

Clip 3 is downstroke with i then sami finished with i up.

the following after each of these is just i up and down twice then down with i.

While playing it sounds to me like my best dynamics comes from clip 2, however I cannot hear much difference in the recordings.

I wish I had seen your post while Bob was here yesterday. He has an outstanding sami rasqueado and I could have recorded him playing this and it would have been a much better example.

Thanks Manos

Its great help and the recording is nice too
I can hear the how its should sound
i will ask you more after i try it more on timing especially
thanks alot