El Cant dels Ocells. Traditional Catalan By Estelle Bertrand El Cant dels Ocells (The Song of the Birds) is a traditional Catalan Christmas song. After a relatively free introduction, the theme is proposed in an arrangement that uses the tremolo technique. This technique, disconcerting at first, is very effective, like the magnificent Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Francisco Tárrega, entirely based on it. Tip: while the thumb is limited to bringing out the melody, the index-middle-ring finger (a single impulse for all fingers) come to pluck the string. But other combinations are quite possible (pima for example). So, try both to find the one that suits you best. Similarly, the thumb is traditionally used more than usual, because it may be required to do the splits when moving from one string to another (see measures 3 and 5). While this technique may seem tricky at first, fluency is acquired over time, at least when practiced regularly. Courage