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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Satie's Gymnopedie #1
For the practice challenge I'm submitting Satie's Gymnopedie #1. I found a guitar transcription somewhere on the internet (perhaps classclef) and then changed it quite a bit. I found Angel Romero's recording in my collection and adapted that version to reflect what I'm hearing on that recording.
I've been playing it considerably slower while getting used to it. Today, it is perhaps too fast for me.
- I'm going to make some changes to the left hand fingering to help with legato
- Work on dynamics
- Explore different approach to phrasing and rubato
I attached a pdf of the arrangement which has tab and music notation. I've given this to some of my fingerstyle students and most don't read for guitar.
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Randy That's lovely, Randy, glad to have you joining in! Thanks for the score. I'll give that I try when I get home to my guitar.
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Randy That's really nice Randy. Satie's work is some of the earliest music I remember enjoying on the classical guitar.
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Randy Sounding really great Randy! Sounds like a good tempo, and it doesn't sound like it's too fast for you. Thanks for attaching the arrangement! Have you tried playing that first A Major 7 chord down in open position? It seems like it would be much easier to get to the E Major 7 chord from there. And, one other suggestion, if I may? (I'm just reading through the score you sent) If you use your 3rd finger for the C# on the downbeat of measure 7 your hand will be in a nice position to grab that E Major 7 chord on the next beat.
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Eric Phillips Thanks for the welcoming reply, Eric.
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Steve Price I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks, Randy
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Steve Pederson Good observations! You picked one of the places (m.7) where I decided to make that change. When I first tried using my 3rd finger on the I was unnecessarily leaving it down when reaching for the D#.
I hadn't thought about playing the Amaj7 open. I like your suggestion. Not only is it easier but the G# on the third string will have the same sound quality on the open Emaj7!
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement.
Randy
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Randy Morris Very good, Randy. That is the first time I have heard this Gymnopedie on guitar - at least, all the way thru. You have a great start and a good strategy planned out. looking forward to seeing your progress.
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Randy Morris That's beautiful! I've always wanted to learn this piece, but it looks too difficult for me.
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Randy Morris very nice, Randy. It’s not an easy piece. I like the relaxed but not too slow tempo you chose. Looking forward to more of this…
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Randy Morris Very good, Randy, that's a beautiful piece, a good choice you did! You play nicely, thanks for sharing!
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I. Españoletas (Suite Española) - Gaspar Sanz
I have been practicing Sanz's music recently, but I am not sure if his music is appropriate for this month's challenge. I am currently learning the first four pieces of Suite Espanola, and I would like to share the 1st piece "Espanoletas" this time. It is not a difficult piece, but there is one chord that is really challenging for my small hand,
and the trills are challenging due to the hand stretching. Anyway, here is the best take I recorded this morning. I hope to share more pieces before the end of this challenge.
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Wai You always play Sanz so beautifully, Wai! I think it’s fine for this challenge, since it is written for another instrument, the baroque guitar. It may not need to be adapted massively to the modern guitar, but it is an adaptation. Besides, I just love hearing you play, so I don’t really care if what you play doesn’t fit the challenge!
Regarding the voicing of the F major chord, I sympathize with you. I always struggle with that voicing of a major chord. To be honest, I often will cheat and leave out the F on the second string. It’s not a melody note, and there is already an F in the bass, so it’s not the most vital note to play. Unless someone is carefully watching you play, they probably would not even notice if you leave it out. Just my two cents.
Also, if the low F is very difficult to play, again I’d change it. Just use the F on the fourth string. The baroque guitar would not have had the low F, so that’s just something that the transcriber added. If it makes it difficult to play well, I say leave it out.
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Wai That is beautiful, Wai. I whole heartedly agree with Eric's comments. Hearing your participation over rides any technicality it may raise. His comments about voicing and added notes (or not) are equally on point.
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Wai Really nice, Wai. I think it fits perfectly here. As far as what notes you actually play, I've heard in more than one lesson here that the important thing is to get across the message of the music and that's more important than strictly following the score especially when working from a transcription like Eric said. Good job.
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Wai that’s beautiful, Wai. Nothing wrong with this choice. I enjoy hearing you play this music. Well done on the trills.. can’t wait to hear the other pieces of the suite.
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Wai what Eric Phillips said. All of it.
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Eric Phillips Thanks, Eric! Your support and encouragement are greatly appreciated. When I first joined Tonebase, I limited myself to simpler pieces. However, this year, I wanted to challenge myself with more difficult pieces, even though progress has been slower. I was amazed at how quickly you learned and recorded a new piece!
And thanks for your advice as well! Changing notes while practicing is something I had never considered before, and it has definitely made things easier. By the way, I found that I did change a note on a mistake, I play a wrong G note instead of F after the trill.
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Jack StewartThank you, Jack! I'm still practicing, but I've found that my progress has slowed down since I started tackling more challenging material. Seeing Eric learn and record pieces with varying levels of difficulty within a day has truly astounded me!
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Steve Price Thanks, Steve! I just found that I played a wrong note after the trill in the video. Could I pretend that I meant to play it that way instead of admitting it was a mistake?
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joosje Thank, joosje! I also hope that I can at least record the first 4 pieces before the end of this challenge, and hopefully one more piece.
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Wai When playing something written for the 'baroque' guitar, It's often worth having a look at the original tablature. If you're not familiar with this system of notation, you need to know that the lines represent the strings and the numbers (or sometimes letters) represent the frets, with '0' being the open string. Rhythm is generally indicated above the top line. In the type of tablature used by Sanz, the bottom line represents the highest (i.e. 'E') string - so this particular form seems upside-down! You can find the piece you are playing on the page marked '15' in the upper right corner of the publication pictured in your video:
https://vmirror.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/0/03/IMSLP346373-PMLP393222-sanz_bk1_instruccion.pdf
Two things to note in the 'Espanoleta': there is no indication of ornamentation, and no chord with more than three notes. So, just as Eric says, you can drop the second string 'F' in the problematic chord - it was indeed added by the arranger. (As was also the third string 'C', and the ornament in the following measure! For what it's worth, my own approach to ornamentation is to do only what feels comfortable. After all, omitting an ornament isn't a crime!)
Btw, I don't have the impression from watching your video that you have particularly small hands - they look the normal size to me! In any event, strength and flexibility are probably more important factors in being able to 'get' all the right notes!
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David Krupka Thanks, David! I had never considered searching for the original, so your link to the PDF was eye-opening, I really want to try to play it on a baroque guitar!!
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Wai Lovely playing! Looking forward to future posts.
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Wai Bravo! I love this piece and it was a pleasure to listen to it in your interpretation. Thanks!
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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.)
