Hector Garcia

I am delighted that Hector Garcia consented to answer my emailed questions concerning his no-nails technique. Hector is one of the most successful guitarists to come out of Cuba. He has for many decades been a USA citizen. As you will see, he is a man of few words, who prefers his guitar should do the talking for him. I like that!

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From his publicity material:

Born in Havana, Cuba, he received Master of Guitar and Master of Music degrees from Peyrellade Conservatory and subsequently joined the faculty of the conservatory.  He later studied with the eminent musicologist and guitarist Emilio Pujol in Barcelona, and assisted him with master classes for advanced students and performing artists. Hector García’s repertoire consists of works spanning the Renaissance through the present day, performed on the original instruments; he plays a Pimentel guitar in addition to vihuela, lute, and Baroque guitar.  He has performed with orchestras including the Havana Symphony, Los Angeles Sinfoniette, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, University of Albuquerque Chamber Orchestra, Dupont Consortium (Washington, DC), and Caspar Symphony, and has toured major U.S. and European cities as well as Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Canary Islands, and Africa.

This updated Wikipedia page gives a great review of one of his concerts when at the height of his powers as a player: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Héctor_Garc%C3%ADa_(guitarist)

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1. Dear Maestro Garcia, it is an honour to be able to discuss guitar technique with you. Can you tell me if you played with nails before meeting Emilio Pujol? I’m wondering if he changed your technique at all?

I played with fingernails before I met Maestro Emilio Pujol and continued playing with fingernails after I met him. However, since Fuenllana, Sor, Tarrega and Pujol played without nails I was curious, there had to be something good about it.  This was about three years after I met Pujol – and he never encouraged me one way or the other.

2. Is playing without nails a result of a medical problem with your nails, or has it always been first and foremost for musical reasons?

I have never had a medical problem that affected my fingernails.  Today, my fingernails are ready to be used if I so desire.

 
3. Domingo Prat and Isaias Savio say that Francisco Tárrega suffered from hardening of the arteries, which caused him to lose the use of his nails. Pujol seems to say it was a musical choice by Tárrega. Can you shed some light on this?
 
What Domingo Prat and Isaias Savio say is not true.
 
4. What is for you the most attractive thing about playing with just the flesh of the fingers? And also, the most frustrating thing?
 
The most attractive things are quality of sound and volume.  I do not have any frustrating thing about it.
 
5. Do you find yourself playing a lower-tension string? I mention this because I do, yet others are happy playing heavier strings.
 
I do not have any preference but I avoid super high strings even when I was using nails.
 
6. You have played concerti with many orchestras, did playing without nails cause you any problems?
 
I had no problems.
 
7. You also play vihuela and lute, is that correct? Did you study vihuela with Pujol?
 
Yes, I studied vihuela with Maestro Pujol. – I do not play lute.
 
8. In your own teaching, do you show the students the no-nail technique, or do they all play with nails?
 
I do not try to influence their choice.  Some students use fingertips and some use fingernails.
 
9. Some no-nail players grow their nails a little bit to give strength to the finger pad, but not long enough to reach the strings. Is this something you do?
 
No, I use fingertips only.
 
10. Can you tell us about other no-nail players you have met over the decades? 
 
Isaac Nicola, Professor of Havana Conservatory, Cuba; Juan Mercadal, Professor of University of Miami; Manuel Cubelo, First Prize Winner in the Competition of Radio and Television, Paris; Craig Russell, Professor at CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, Ca to mention a few of them.
 
11. There are fewer no-nail players around these days, it seems. Why do you think that is so?
 
Ignorance and influences of some well known players.
 
12. Please add anything else you want to say.
 
I recommended to those interested guitarists to read “El Dilema del Sonido del la Guitara” by Maestro Emilio Pujol published by Recordi (this is not a commercial). [You can read the English translation on my Technique page – RM]
 
Thank You.
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh
August 11th, 2015

32 thoughts on “Hector Garcia”

  2. I am a current student of Maestro Garcia, I play with no nails. He suggested in the beginning that I might consider playing with nails, that it is easier, esp. on the left hand. After hearing Maestro Garcia in concert, I could not even consider playing with nails. He produces the most beautiful tone imaginable.

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      • It was Virginia Luque in one of your interviews. What do you think she meant? I will recommend a whole tutorial with exercises on how to develop such a technique.

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      • Regarding Volume V of Pujol’s “Escuela Razonada de la Guitarra” Héctor García have prepared it for publication in response to a Spanish institute’s request. We are waiting for word from them. It is, as I write, this ready for publication. We are excited to see it published. On another note: we performed two concerts in October, one in Albuquerqu and the other in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Both were very successful and well received. Presently we are working on one to present in June 2019 here in Albuquerque.

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      • Hello Lew,

        Thanks for this information about Pujol volume V !! Do you know the name of this Spanish institute ?

        Please let us know if you have further news on it.

        Cheers
        Matt

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      • An update on Volume V of Pujol’s Escuela Razonada de la Guitarra. We are sorting out details and means of getting it published. Hopefully sometime this year. Check out my Facebook page:  Think Guitar Lew

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      • Lew Critchfield (hispanicarts@aol.com) Dec 11, 2020

        Hello Rob,
        I truly admire and appreciate your lovely interpretations of Pujol’s pieces on your web site. Thank you for sharing them.
        We previously communicated regarding Vol. V of Pujol’s Escuela Razonada. The latest on that is, the institute in Spain which had expressed interest in publishing it, has been closed, or maybe just its publishing arm has closed. That has put translating it into English on a back burner.

        We are unclear as to whether Volume five is publishable or not. The institute in Spain said they had the rights to publish it. Maestro García has seen, and I believe has a copy of the contract Pujol signed with Ricordi in 1930 for the projected five volumes. The material relating to the 97 pieces identified by Sor as studies were entrusted to Maestro García with out any documentation of the transfer or mention of it in a will. Maestro García has a letter from Pujol’s widow, Maria Adelaide, referencing the materials for Volume 5 and asking him to secure an International Copyright for it. Since Maestro García is not the original author it makes achieving that difficult if not impossible.

        I would like to send you four Fernando Sor studies with annotations and comments by Pujol. This comes from the latest collaboration between Héctor García and my self. It represents material typewritten by Pujol’s wife, Maria Adelaide, and, occasionally, hand written notes by Pujol. If you’d like to see them let me know how I may send them to you. We thought you would be interested in seeing a representative selection of the Sor studies. I, myself, never had the opportunity to study with the Pujol but earned a Bachelor Degree in Music Performance from UNM with my mentor Maestro García as well as continuing private studies with him. With Héctor’s model so firmly influenced by the Master’s example I felt, in reproducing Pujol’s treatment of the studies, I was almost in the presence of Pujol himself. They clearly reveal Pujol’s brilliance and thoroughness even when examining the simplest one, Op. 60 #2. (unfortunately Op.60 #1 has neither score nor comments)

        A few of us, all former students of Héctor’s, partake in a Zoom meeting most Sundays at 1:00 pm local time. So far they have been mostly thoughtful, self-help sessions. None-the-less we are all interested in promoting the works, teaching and philosophy which are so eminently the essence of the great master Emilio Pujol. If you or anyone you know would be interested in dropping in on the Zoom meetings contact the host: Jim Lyke at: jclyke@gmail.com, to receive the necessary info and to be included in the meetings. The next one is planned for Dec. 20, 2020.
        I hope you are doing well under the present crisis.
        Sincerely,
        Lew Critchfieldhispanicarts@aol.com
        cc: jbaumgarcia@gmail.com

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      • You should check out Hector Garcia’s Wikipedia page. I just added a translation of a review he got for a concert in Spain 1973.

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  3. Very interesting interview !! Thank you for that. I also play with fingertips following Emilio Pujol’s school and method. Do you know if some Hector Garcia’s recitals are available on videos (or audio) ? I also know that he got all Emilio Pujol’s work that he made until end of his life for Book V of his method. Do you have any information on that ? Does he want to release it in the future ?

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      • Yes as far as i know on this last book Emilio Pujol wanted to share some things about composition, interpretation, guitar ethic and esthetic ,..
        Looking forward if you could get some news from Hector Garcia
        Cheers,
        Matt

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    • What a great thesis. Many thanks for the link. Not for the first time do I regret not being able to read Spanish! I will copy passages into an online translator.
      Thanks again, Matt.

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      Reply

      • Yes unfortunately document is locked for a Google traduction but at least there are names of guitarists students of Tarrega like Quintin Esquembre or Manuel Loscos (whom Tarrega dedicated his piece ‘La Mariposa’) who were known to play with flesh.

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      • Yes, I can make out a few words. But it would be great to see a published translation of the whole thing someday. I hope she considers that, as many people would be interested in it.

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  7. I met Hector Garcia a while back, and even went to his last concert. Rob is right; he was a man of few words.

    My teacher was a student of Hector. He also plays with no nails. I play with nails, but they are very short, about 1 mm of white on i and m, and 2 mm on a. The thumb between 3 and 4 mm. Slowly it seems I’ve been working towards shorter and shorter nails.

    I am currently going through Pujols book. It’s my opinion that there are few methods as well written as Pujols book series. The fault I see in most methods is that they offer no rationale for the exercises, and minimal technical instruction as to how to approach the exercises to the student. They almost exclusively rely in a teacher providing the remaining information. The issue I have is there is no guarantee that you will find a competent teacher near your town that will provide you with the correct information. In this sense, Pujols book series in an exception.

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