Contrary Motion For Guitar

Contrary Motion for Guitar is a deep dive into one of the most expressive and overlooked aspects of guitar playing: the art of movement between intervals. This course breaks down the technical foundations, right-hand mechanics, and the creative possibilities of contrary motion to help you expand your phrasing and compositional voice.

Through carefully structured lessons, you’ll explore intervals across the fretboard, develop right-hand fluency, and learn how masters of African and classical traditions have used contrary motion and sixths to craft iconic lines. You’ll practice these concepts in progressive exercises before applying them to create your own musical ideas.

This course is not about copying licks, it’s about understanding the mechanics of the guitar and unlocking a new way of thinking about harmony and melody. With Niwel’s guidance, you’ll discover how to connect theory, technique, and creativity into one seamless approach.

Whether you’re a classical guitarist, an improviser, or a songwriter searching for new textures, this course will give you the tools to create lines that move with clarity, contrast, and musical depth.

Key Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to::

Build Interval Foundations

• Identify and play intervals across the fretboard with accuracy.
• Recognize the role of intervals in shaping harmony and melodic lines.
• Apply interval exercises to strengthen both hands.

Develop Right-Hand Technique

• Execute chord-based and interval-based picking patterns with control.
• Strengthen finger independence and dexterity in the right hand.
• Understand how muscle coordination and finger mechanics impact technique.

Master the 6th Interval

• Use the interval of a 6th in creating melodic and harmonic ideas.
• Practice across positions to achieve fretboard fluency.
• Draw inspiration from Franco Luambo’s use of 6ths in African guitar music.

Expand Contrary Motion

• Combine 3rds, 6ths, and other intervals in contrary motion.
• Apply classical approaches of contrary motion to guitar playing.
• Experiment with intervallic variation to create musical tension and release.

Create Musical Lines

• Build complete melodic lines using intervals in contrary motion.
• Integrate 2nds, 3rds, and 6ths into improvisation and composition.
• Transform technical exercises into creative tools for writing guitar parts.