Tremolo

Because the guitar is not capable of a long sustained melody note, a tremolo is sometimes employed to repeat notes fast enought to give the impression of a continuous line.

In classical playing, tremolo usually consists of a bass note followed by three melody notes:

Tremolo

The most famous tremolo study is that of Francisco Tárrega, entitled “Recuerdos de la Alhambra,” and thousands have been inspired to take up the guitar by Segovia’s beautiful playing of this piece. Thousands have also tried unsuccessfully to master it.

A similar pattern is used in flamenco, except that there are four melody notes instead of three:

The flamenco tremolo

To play either form of tremolo evenly and up to time takes much practice.