View source for Rasgueado

{{short description|Guitar finger strumming technique associated with flamenco music}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2008}}
'''Rasgueado''' (also called '''Golpeado''',<ref name="Grove">{{Cite encyclopedia |author=Robert Strizich|author2= James Tyler|date=2001|entry=Rasgueado [golpeado] (Sp.; It. battuto; Fr. batterie)|encyclopedia=Grove Music Online|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.22914}}</ref> '''Rageo''' (spelled so or '''Rajeo'''), '''Rasgueo''' or '''Rasgeo''' in [[Andalusian Spanish|Andalusian]] dialect and flamenco jargon, or even occasionally '''Rasqueado''') is a [[guitar]] finger [[strum]]ming technique commonly associated with [[flamenco]] guitar music. It is sometimes used on other fretted instruments such as the ukulele and in other styles of guitar playing. The rasgueado is executed using the fingers of the strumming hand in rhythmically precise, and often rapid, strumming patterns.<ref name="Grove"/> The important characteristic of this strumming style is the fingernail (outer) side of the finger tips (as opposed to their fleshy inner side) is also used, and in such case, in reverse of the way it is done when the fleshy side of the finger tips is used, namely downward (index, middle, ring and little finger) and upward (thumb).<ref>Chapman, Richard (2003). The New Complete Guitarist, Dorling Kindersley (revised edition), pp. 66-67. {{Full|date=July 2014}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Pepe-Romero-La-Cumparsita.flac|Rasqueado in La Cumparsita by Pepe Romero|thumb]]
Although originating in the classical tradition, the technique is most often associated with [[flamenco guitar]].

Its use in classical music is limited today, but an example of a piece employing rasgueado is [[Manuel de Falla|Manuel de Falla's]] "[[The Miller's Dance]]" (a [[farruca]] from ''[[The Three-Cornered Hat]]''). It is also heard in the Rodrigo [[Concierto de Aranjuez]]. Modern applications of the rasgueado technique can be seen in Luciano Berio's "Sequenza XI" and [[Tristan Murail]]'s solo guitar piece [[Tellur]]. This technique is used in the arrangements of [[Pepe Romero]], [[Paco de Lucía]] and other representatives of the style of "[[new flamenco]]".

==Technique==
{{Unsourced section|date=November 2024}}
In contrast to ordinary strumming, which is usually done either with a plectrum, or with several fingers as a unit, rasgueado generally uses only one digit (finger, thumb, etc.) for each strum; this means that multiple strums can be done more quickly than usual by using multiple digits in quick succession. Furthermore the outer (fingernail) side of the finger tips that is also used and, as a result, in that case, the strumming direction is reversed from the usual one, so it's a downstroke for the four fingers and an upstroke for the thumb.
Flamenco guitarists often build up their fingernails using layers of silk and superglue to protect the nail from breaking. There is some loss of tonal quality with this practice, but without it, rasgueado is likely to break most fingernails after a time.
The wooden table of the guitar is protected from the reinforced nails by a plastic plate called a "[[Pickguard|golpeador]]" which is stuck to the front beneath the soundhole.

There are several types of rasgueado, but the two main divisions are those that employ the [[forearm]] and [[thumb]] in conjunction and those that incorporate only the [[finger]]s. Of course, both approaches can be combined to allow for the use of all digits on the [[hand]]. {{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}

==Application==

Application of the technique is generally required to achieve the rapid strumming and complex rhythms used in flamenco music. 

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/Rasgueados_Are_For_Everyone Rasgueados Are for Everyone: ] rasgueado method ebook on Internet Archive

{{Flamenco guitar}}
{{Guitar picking}}

[[Category:Flamenco]]
[[Category:Guitar performance techniques]]
[[Category:Symbols of Mato Grosso]]