Summa Kitharologica, Volume 1 The Physiology of Guitar Playing: Functional Anatomy and Physiomechanics

Book excerpt: Ricardo Iznaola's long-awaited Summa Kitharologica (vol. 1) is the culmination of three decades of deep exploration of the guitarist's playing mechanism and is the most comprehensive presentation of his thinking about these matters to date. Structured in three chapters, Chapter 1 surveys basic anatomy and physiology of the upper limb, with additional sections discussing general pedagogical considerations. Chapter 2, devoted to the right hand, presents detailed information regarding digital joint behavior in general and as applied in actualactivity on the guitar, as well as introducing an analytical system to study anddescribe positional attitudes, or `frames', adopted by the hand in the course ofplaying. Chapter 3 discusses at length left-hand physiomechanics, taking the concepts of shifting and mobility as fundamental categories encompassing all aspects of left-hand technique. Twenty-six anatomical figures, over fifty photosand more than sixty musical examples, with access to online video amply illustrate the text. In the spirit of ground-breaking scientific pioneers, celebrated performer and pedagogue Ricardo Iznaola offers the guitar world the first volume of SummaKitharologica, a comprehensive and highly insightful examination of guitar technique in a remarkable mixture of soaring erudition and down-to-earth practical and applicable approaches to the instrument. Like a modern-day Charles Darwin of the guitar, his insatiable passion for discovery, keen eye of the `naturalist' and relentless analytical mind have carefully and methodically recorded previously little-known or little-recognized observations, relationships and nuances about the natural principles at work in artful guitar playing. For guitar instructors, serious students and even advanced performers who desire to go beyond the `what' ofguitar technique and delve into its `whys' and `hows', this may well be thedefinitive text. Henry Adams, former editor, Guitar and Lute Magazine