Week 1: Let there be Music! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of "The Transcriptions" practice challenge!
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying!
- Watch the kickoff livestream!
Pick a transcription that was originally composed for another instrument, like piano or violin. Don't be afraid to choose a challenging piece or explore works from composers you haven't played before.
Commit to practicing daily and share your progress with the community. Aim to practice every day and post at least two videos per week showcasing your progress. This will help you stay motivated and accountable, and also allow you to share your transcription journey with others. Whether you're tackling a complex piece, refining your skills with a piece you already play, or experimenting with new playing techniques, the community is here to support you and celebrate your achievements.
Share your favorite piece that you would like to see transcribed or your favorite recording of a transcription. This will not only inspire others in the community but also provide a rich resource of ideas for everyone to explore. Plus, it's a great way to celebrate the creativity and artistry involved in adapting music from one instrument to another.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Rameau 2nd Allemande Premier livre de pièces de clavecin 1706
I had a transcription of this piece in a collection by Andrew Bellows. He actually transcribed most of the a min. suite. However, his transcription of this Allemande was in e min. I heard a YT of Bertram Burkert performing this in a min and it was amazing. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1F4_eoOcFs). So I have the score of Rameau's suite and referred to the Burkert recording to make a transcription of it.
Hopefully I will make enough progress on this to record something in a few days.
Aleksander Wilgos has a beautiful YT of the Prelude to this suite. However she plays it in g min, using scordatura o the 2 lower strings. I hope (
) to transcribe it into a min for guitar as well, as the next project. We'll see.(I just corrected the previous posting if anyone accessed it before 12:00 4/15.)
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Jack Stewart Just listened to Bertram's video - what a great piece of music! Looking at the score (albeit not with guitar in hand), it looks well suited to the guitar. I look forward to hearing you play it!
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Jack Stewart Thanks for sharing the score, Jack. I'm not generally a fan of guitar arrangements of baroque keyboard music, but I must say Bertram performs this beautifully! Definitely looking forward to your version!
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Jack Stewart Hi Jack. This looks interesting - I don't think that I've heard it. I'm just revisiting a couple of minuets by Rameau for this challenge, one of them I think from the same set of pieces by Rameau. I've not played them for a while but hopefully I'll manage a recording this week.
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Jack Stewart good choice for piece Jack! I watched the video in your link - it sounds very sweet on a bird-eye-maple guitar. A not too long piece but is packed with a lot of left-hand finger-independant moves - quite a challenging piece I think. But at the same time it is a very beautiful Allemande. I am looking forward to seeing your recordings too! :)
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Bach Violin Partita No. 2 in Dm - Gigue
First of all, thanks to David Krupka for pointing out some discrepancies in my score. So, I DON"T have to transpose this to the key of A minor to make it work on guitar. I can play it in the original key of D minor, which is what I'm doing here.
This is the challenge, of course, with pieces adapted for guitar - deciding exactly how to transcribe it.
Additionally what's challenging - I find with most of Bach's music - what fingers to use - both right and left hand, what fret to use, what string to use, to slur or not to slur, etc. A million different decisions, and you may always be changing it - especially as you pick up speed. A fingering that works well at one speed may not work at a faster speed.
Not sure that I can commit the time to this piece for that reason, but it's just such a great piece.
Here is measures 1 - 4.5. Yes, that's four and a half. Bach crams a LOT of notes into one measure, and then decides to have a cadence in the middle of the measure!
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Steve Pederson This sounds good, Steve. (And as you say, Bach does cram a lot of notes into a few measures - no latter-day shredder has anything on our man!) I notice that there are quite a few versions of this gigue on YouTube. (Apparently there are arrangements by both Tilman Hoppstock and Manuel Barrueco.) It certainly works well on guitar, and looks like an excellent technical workout too! I imagine it's not easy to get it to tempo, but it's undoubtedly worth the effort.
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Steve Pederson You have a solid command of that section, Steve. I hope you continue with this piece. It is showing a lot of promise.
I sympathize with your observation of all the variables in deciding how to play Bach. And then you hear a version that requires a complete re-do.
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David Krupka Thanks David. I've watched several of the different variations on YouTube. It's interesting that the ones that seem most appealing to me are the ones that follow the single-note score without any harmonies. And, I don't have any aspirations of getting it too fast. If I can just get through it, that will be quite a feat for me.
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Jack Stewart Thanks Jack. I appreciate your encouragement to continue with this piece, because it's very daunting and easy to give up on!
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The original piece I planned to work on...
Isaac Albéniz - Cadiz
I played this piece for my senior recital over 30 years ago! Uh...I haven't played it much since. So, I kinda forgot how it goes.
The original score I learned off of was by Manuel Barrueco - published in 1981. Last year, though, I went to Spain for La Ruta De La Guitarra and got a chance to study with José María Gallardo Del Rey. We didn't go over this piece, but he gave me an autographed copy of his arrangement for me to work on...now, I guess.
What I've discovered, in working between the two different transcriptions, is that I've needed to actually go back to the original piano score as the authority (which is unfortunately in the key of Db as opposed to A, which I am working in). Barrueco takes some liberties and creates some harmonies that are just not harmonically true to the original score. Gallardo Del Rey's score actually has some print errors in it, so I'm finding this whole experience to be extremely maddening to say the least. (There is a video of Gallardo Del Rey paying this piece on YouTube, and he doesn't play it the way his transcription is written, so there's that.)
This recording is of the first 20 measures. This is pure gymnastics for the hand, thus I am taking this at a very slow tempo. So many crazy chords!!!
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Steve Pederson Great choice for this challenge, Steve! Slow and steady at the start is definitely the way to go. I always give up on this one after trying to play the first measure (and failing). You’ve already got a great start.
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Steve Pederson A great piece, Steve, and really cool that you're working from a score given to you by the arranger himself. And interesting to be coming back to something after such a long time. (I know the feeling! I generally console myself by thinking 'well, at least I understand the music better know, even if I can no longer play it ...')
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Steve Pederson This is a good start on what appears to be a very challenging piece. I was not familiar with it so I just listened to Bream's recording. Wow! It is very engaging but sounds very challenging as well. You are on your way. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric!
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David Krupka Totally!
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Jack Stewart Thanks Jack.
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Debussy - La fille aux cheveux de lin (Apr 17)
I did not have too much time to practice this past weekend, but I was able to practice today. Here is an update on the Debussy. I'm getting fairly comfortable with it. I'm trying to add more variety in tone and dynamics.
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Eric Phillips Sound even better and better every day Eric! Wow!
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Eric Phillips This is great, Eric. You have definitely become more comfortable with this piece (in a good way).
Its good to see that you are playing more modern music.
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Jack Stewart Yes! This piece is only 113 years old! A mere child.
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Eric Phillips That's only 16 in dog years
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Jack Stewart You're dating yourself, Lorne!
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Eric Phillips This is wonderful Eric! You definitely look more comfortable with it.
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I am practicing on a Frédéric Chopin piece: Waltz op. 69 no. 2. Here is my own transcription. I plan to post videos of my practice soon.
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Khiem Nguyen Great choice! The score looks so impressive. That would take me about 5 years to create.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
