Alfredo Escande: Understanding Abel Carlevaro
Hello everybody, I am super excited to welcome one of the leading experts of Abel Carlevaro's work, his long time assistand and collaborator on his books Alfredo Escande! 
During the last 27 years of Abel Carlevaro's life, Alfredo Escande (Montevideo, 1949) was his student, his assistant teacher at international courses in several parts of the world, and a collaborator to write all of his books. Now, 20 years after Carlevaro's death, Alfredo Escande is still a first-hand source of thorough knowledge about the instrumental theory and technique developed by the famous Uruguayan Maestro.
The livestream on September 17th will focus on three main items:
- Basic concepts of Carlevaro's instrumental theory and technique (aesthetic approach, the guitar played with the whole body, fixation, etc.).
- Training of the right hand thumb for its different uses (flesh, nail, pizzicato, sordina, double stroke, glissandi, etc.). Exercises and practical examples.
- Different kinds of movements of the left hand on the fingerboard focusing on the action of the arm and the wrist (technique for leaving the strings without friction or noise, different kinds of displacements and presentations of the hand on the fingerboard). Detailed work on some exercises and a chosen musical example.
We are going to be using this thread to gather suggestions and questions!
- What questions do you have on this topic?
- Any particular area you would like me to focus on?
Forum questions will be answered first!
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Scores for today's workshop! -
Two more scores for today and further resources:
- the free online "Library Abel Carlevaro": https://bibliotecaabelcarlevaro.blogspot.com
- Alfredo's Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtdPAgh5kHmWTQWK1YZeezg/
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Thank you for presenting Maestro Alfredo Escande. I am looking forward to this workshop on Maestro Abel Carlevaro!
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I encourage all my Tonebase friends to attend this up and coming workshop. Alfredo Escande has a wealth of knowledge on Abel Carlevaro's School of Guitar. Also, if you are like me and struggle to eliminate left hand string noise, I can not say enough about how Carlevaro's approach to the left hand helps to reduce/eliminate that annoying string noise. Check it out, you won't be disappointed!
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Dale Needles great to see a workshop on Carlevaro's work! I consider myself from this school, also through the master I studied with who was one of his student. While I don't strictly adhere to everything, I can't separate out of me how it shaped every aspect of how I play the instrument.
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Blaise Laflamme I know it will be a great workshop. I know Alfredo and it will be a treat to hear him speak about Carlevaro and his School of Guitar. Great to meet another student of Carlevaro's School of Guitar. Also, if you would ever like to communicate directly with me about Carlevaro, you can reach me through my personal email [email protected]
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Really looking forward to this event.
lot of questions. I’ll order them first and then post.
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Herman fantastic!
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cuaderno 1: Did Carlevaro give any advice on righthand fingering to be practiced. did he suggest any rhythmic patterns?
cuarderno 2: Should we damp the basses in formula 1-12 or can we let everything "ring" when practicing? 73-84 there are rest written; should we obey them? Could the maestro show the "military step"?
cuarderno 3: Displacement by substitution; should the hand contract before the substitution or stay extended and jump?
How much time should we spend on this daily work?
Did Carlevaro use "preparation/planting" ?
I heard a recording of asturias by Carlevaro and the pim triplets are the best I have ever head.
If I listen closely I hear no planting. How did he achieve such regularity, speed and power?
Thank you in advance, Herman.
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Herman Great questions.
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I want to know if they exist audio files to study all the exercises of carlevaro's book as musical acompanist
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CARLOS GUTIERREZ I see an album (1998) with 20 Microestudios as at least part of an audio collection.
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Martin Here is a question that I have for Alfredo:
Knowing that Maestro Carlevaro was close to Segovia during Segovia's time living in Montevideo when Carlevaro was a young man, with that in mind, in what ways do you think that Segovia influenced Carlevaro's approach to the guitar and in what ways did Carlevaro deviate from Segovia's more traditional technical style in developing his School of Guitar?
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Martin Great session. Hopefully it can be followed up with another technical session but also one on Carlevaro the composer. That gets me back to my suggestion for a Carlevaro Challenge of his Microestudios. Excellent short pieces which are perfect for a challenge.
Also, for those wanting to go deeper into Carlevaro, I suggest his book published by Chanterelle, My Guitar and My World. In this book, Carlevaro talks about his relationship with Segovia, Villabos and others.
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Check out the link Martin provided "Abel Carlevaro Library". Scroll down To Carcassi Estudio No.24 (msAC) to see the arrangement and compare to the Carcassi Op.60 No 24. So Fantastic.
You could spend hours in this gold mine of treasures.
Thank You Tonebase for the session with Alfredo. So much heartfelt lifelong knowledge shared.
Precious, Invaluable
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Michael Carlson Could not agree more. I have known Alfredo since 1980 when I studied in Montevideo with Carlevaro and was pleased to have introduced Alfredo to Tonebase. The library that Alfredo has compiled with the help of Maestro Carlevaro's widow, Vani Carlevaro, is a major contribution to the guitar world.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
