Week 1: Welcome to the Latin American Music Challenge 
Greetings, everyone! We are thrilled to welcome you all to the Latin American Music Challenge! 
In this exciting journey, we'll be immersing ourselves in the richly diverse and vibrant world of Latin American music, a world that's deeply interconnected with our beloved instrument
This challenge presents an opportunity to not only enhance our skills but also to appreciate the cultural richness and musical complexity that Latin American melodies bring. From the passionate rhythms of salsa to the poignant strains of the tango, we'll explore it all!
Please remember, we have an extensive category in our library dedicated to Latin American Repertoire. This library is a treasure trove of courses designed to provide deep insights and technical knowledge about various aspects of Latin American music. Make sure to make the most of it!
We are excited to kick-start this musical journey and we hope you are too. Let's dive in!
https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/library/repertoire/latin-american
CHALLENGE TIMELINE
- Challenge Start: Kick-Off on June 24th
- Duration: June 24th - July 24th
- Watch Party: July 24th, 10 am PST
ACTIVITIES
- Choose Your Piece: Select a new piece of music to work on. Share your choice in the thread below and inspire your fellow musicians!
- Video Submission: Submit a video of your practice this week. Highlight your favorite passage from the piece that showcases the origin of this piece!
GET INVOLVED
Let’s kick things off with enthusiasm! Share your progress, encourage others, and explore new musical horizons together. Can’t wait to see what everyone chooses!
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Two Pieces (June 29)
I am posting a couple videos today:
- Canción de Cuña by Matilde Tettamanti de Calandra – I think I will make this my last posting of this pretty lullaby. I tried shaping the melody line a bit more, but I am not sure there is much difference from my last posting of it.
- Barcarola by Maria Luisa Anido – Anido was the teacher of Tettamanti de Calandra, so I thought I would try one her pieces, since I have never played anything by her before. Anido is not unknown, but I think it is fair to say she is underappreciated. This Barcarola is more difficult than the Canción de Cuña above, and I am still in the very early stages of learning it. The pace is slow, and it’s a bit plodding right now. The short section with harmonics toward the end is VERY slow and needs much work to become fluent. I also don’t like the balance between the voices. My nail-less ring finger can sound nice, but it’s much quieter, and so the basses dominate. Hopefully I’ll be able to get that sorted out.
I am posting a score for the Anido piece. I found two scores of it online, both fingered, but I much prefer this one from Edson Lopes’ wonderful website. If anyone is looking for a good piece to play for this challenge, I think his website could be helpful, as he has oodles of scores, and a lot of them are by Latin American composers (Lopes is Brazilian). They are sortable by composer and by difficulty level, so it’s a great resource. Here is a link.
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Eric Phillips Beautifully played on both, Eric. Your performance of the Cancion de Cuna is working wonderfully w/o nails.
I listened to the Barcorole before I read your intro. I actually didn't miss the 'a' finger (the melody!) until after I read about the 'a' finger not projecting. The bass line is so well constructed that I just took that as the melody.
Just listened to Edison's performance. It is really nice and I see what you mean about the 'a' finger's absence.
Looking forward to hearing your progress.
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Eric Phillips yes, beautifully played, both pieces. What a lovely barcarole. I’ll try it. Thanks for posting the score as well.
you set out on this journey of nailessness, courageous enough. Your sound is still great and I’ll be happy to follow your findings in this different type of expressiveness, so far promising….
