Group 1
Embark on a transformative musical journey with our exclusive two-week intensive online course designed for guitar enthusiasts eager to elevate their playing skills. Delve into the intricate world of guitar technique, with a primary focus on refining the right-hand technique and addressing various technical challenges.
- Right Hand Mastery: Uncover the secrets to developing a flawless right-hand technique that enhances precision, speed, and control. Our expert instructors will guide you through a comprehensive exploration of techniques tailored to elevate your playing to new heights.
- Villa-Lobos Study Nr. 1: Immerse yourself in the timeless beauty of Heitor Villa-Lobos' Study Nr. 1. Unpack the nuances of this iconic piece and receive personalized feedback from our instructors to perfect your interpretation.
- Tackling Tremolo: Demystify the complexities of tremolo, a technique that adds a mesmerizing layer of expressiveness to your playing. Learn strategies to build speed, clarity, and endurance in your tremolo execution.
- Arpeggio Artistry: Explore the world of arpeggios with a focus on diverse patterns. From classical to contemporary, our course provides a comprehensive understanding of arpeggio techniques, enabling you to incorporate a rich variety of patterns into your repertoire.
Timeline:
- Sign-Up : until Sunday, Jan 21th
- Course Period: Jan 22nd - Feb 2nd
- Optional check-In via Zoom: Jan 30, 11am PST
Assignments Week 1
Week 2 Assignments
Zoom Check-In:
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Week 2 Assignments are posted!
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martin Here I am uploading also the scores.
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I am Listing to your video on Villa-lobos Etude 7. Which measures are you playing ? It look's like 2-5-8-10-11. Please help.
Peter Hancock
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peter hancock It is actually the opening section but I am repeating the scale in the higher positions.
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SANEL REDŽIĆ Thanks . I sent this a second time because I sent it in group one but I was in group 2. So did not see your replay. Sorry for the error . Thanks again for your quite reply. Peterr Hancock
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SANEL REDŽIĆ Hi Sanel, I lost internet connection and did not hear any of your comments regarding the new assignments. I will watch the recording when it is available.
Thank you very much for the live Q&A zoom session. It was very helpful!
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You are welcome Barney !
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SANEL REDŽIĆ Would it be possible for you to add one more video on "Tackling Tremolo" (as indicated in the topics description)? This would be helpful for many of us struggling to have a nice even flowing beautiful tremolo.
I recently discovered that my tremolo sounds a lot better if I use p-i-m-i (not p-a-m-i, which still sounds uneven and inconsistent). What is your opinion about that?
Thanks Sanel!!
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Barney I will make it this week.
pimi is, I think, the fingering that Ana Vidovic uses. I think it is very interesting as you use less fingers and as it is easier to control the sound quality but with me it doesn't work. It is definitely good to practice this way.
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SANEL REDŽIĆ Thank you Sanel!
Yes, Ana uses something similar; she does p-m-i-m.
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Barney Hi Barney, I have a similar issue. Pami hasn't worked for me either yet. My problem is there's too much gap from M to I fingers, hence a galloping sound. I've tried Pimi, but the same problem persists. Then I've tried a strange pattern- PMAM. It seems to work, at least in a low tempo (somewhere between 85-100 bpm)
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SANEL REDŽIĆ That's true (p-m-i-m) - Ana Vidovic plays Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Francisco Tárrega on a Jim Redgate classical guitar (youtube.com) I recall seeing a video of here discussing it but cant find it - I think she mentioned something about being easier for her because of finger length
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Hi Nijwm I'm sure Sanel will provide some useful advice on Tremolo. He is great and said he would prepare a video for us.
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SANEL REDŽIĆ For Villa-Lobos Etude #7 few scales at the beginning of the piece: What Speed (bpm) is acceptable for concert performance?
Is the last scale exercise intended to help with speed and string-crossing? What was your approach to achieve the speed needed for Etude #7?
Thanks!!
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Barney , an acceptable speed for the concert is around 140 bpm. My intention was here to work on string crossing and to make everyone aware of how important it is. We are not paying too much attention on playing with the proper fingers, when changing the string. We should also try to improve our speed on this.
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SANEL REDŽIĆ 140 bpm is quite fast. How did you work up to that speed? What was the most important exercise to achieve that? Thanks!
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Hi Barney , well I didn't try immediately to play on 140. I started very slow. At 60 or even slower and was working on tempo step by step. It took me some time years ago to achieve it. One of good exercises is to play for example 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, 4 quarter, 16 sixteenth notes. You can do it at the open second string with i and m at the speed of 50 bpm. After you reach this speed, you can try it a bit faster - maybe 55 or 52.
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SANEL REDŽIĆ Hi Sanel, Sounds like a good practice plan. Thank you for your great advice!
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Barney you are welcome!
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SANEL REDŽIĆ Hi, thanks for the tips. Regarding the etude no.1. I've been practicing this one on and off and I just can't get the tempo going. Does it help if I practice in dotted rhythms like some people do in tremolo practice?
And Regarding tremolo, I can't seem to get an even rhythm with the traditional pami pattern. I found it strange that my index finger is too slow after I strike with my M finger, hence the distance from M to I. Instead, I've tried PMAM, which kinda works better, although not beyond 90-100 bpm. I haven't come across many people who use PMAM. I don't know if that's normal or possible to get evenness and tempo with that fingering. Any advice/tips. Thanks
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Hi Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary , I would suggest you to practice the right hand with the muted string and to listen where the problem might be.
About tremolo, check my newest video here. (Martin will upload it very soon - it is too big to be uploaded here). -
SANEL REDŽIĆ thanks. Looking forward to it.
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Hi Sanel, It seems you are always playing the open string notes the same and only moving up the fretted part of the scales. Then you move up on the next note after the open 'e'. Is this correct?
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Hi Jack Stewart , yes! You are right. I am using the same pattern as in the first position all the time. It can be a little bit distracting at the beginning.
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Hi Sanel and friends,
As I did last week, I have notated the two Villa-Lobos excerpts to help me learn and practice them. I've attached them here in the hope they might be helpful to others. Please feel free to offer corrections or changes that might help. I have found both exercises to be challenging but very effective. Playing the combined pattern in each position is a brain twister for sure!
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
