Rest stroke and free stroke

Classical guitar distinguishes two ways of plucking a string with the fingers:

• Free stroke (tirando): the finger plucks the string and passes over the neighbouring string without touching it. It is the stroke for arpeggios and chords.
• Rest stroke (apoyando): the finger plucks the string and comes to rest on the next (lower) string. The sound is fuller and more singing: it is the stroke for melodies and scales.

Practising rest strokes

On the open 1st string, alternate i-m with rest strokes: each finger lands on the 2nd string after playing. The motion starts from the base knuckle; the hand doesn't move.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=72
K:C clef=treble-8
e e e e e e e e | B B B B B B B B | e f g f e d c B | c8 |]

Melody with rest strokes, accompaniment with free strokes

In a two-voice piece, the melody (rest stroke, a or m) naturally stands out above the accompaniment (free stroke, i and p). It is the main tool for tonal balance.