Week 1 - A New Hope 🌟

Hello tonebuddies! 🎶

A long time ago, in a practice room far, far away... you picked up a piece. You were excited. You cracked it open, worked through the first page, maybe the second — and then something happened. Life struck back. A new piece caught your eye. The fingering felt impossible. The score quietly migrated to the bottom of a stack where it's been sitting ever since. 🎸

This May, we're bringing back the Unfinished Business Challenge — and we're kicking things off on May the 4th, because what better day to summon the Force and finally finish what you started? Every guitarist has an abandoned piece (or three). This is your chance to rescue one from the Sarlacc pit of your music folder and bring it home.

This challenge is open to all levels. Whether you left off at bar 8 or bar 80, whether it's a Bach fugue or a beginner study that got away — if there's a piece waiting for its return, it belongs here.


🌟 The Challenge

Revisit a composition you started but never finished — and this time, see it through. It might be:

  • 🎯 A piece you abandoned because it felt too hard
  • 🎯 Something you got halfway through before a new obsession took over
  • 🎯 A passage or section you never quite nailed
  • 🎯 A piece you learned years ago but never polished or performed

Share the story of why it got left behind and what it means to finally complete it. That's half the magic of this challenge.


📅 Challenge Dates

Start: May 4
End: June 12
Watch Party: June 12


🎥 How to Participate

  1. Pick your piece – Choose the piece (or section) that's been haunting you. The one you've been avoiding. That's the one.
  2. Share your goal – Post in the forum thread and tell us what you're finishing and why it got abandoned in the first place.
  3. Post your progress – Share updates along the way — rough takes, slow-tempo run-throughs, the gnarly passage you finally cracked.
  4. Engage with your fellow rebels – Cheer each other on, leave constructive feedback, and celebrate every piece that makes it across the finish line.

Bonus points: Share a recording of your favorite performance of the piece you're revisiting — the version that first made you fall in love with it.


🎬 Watch Party — June 12

The Watch Party on June 12 will feature recorded submissions from everyone who completed their Unfinished Business. Make sure to submit your final performance videos so we can celebrate your finished piece together! 🎉


💡 Need a Little Help from a Jedi Master?

If the reason you left the piece unfinished is still giving you trouble, tonebase is full of lessons, masterclasses, and courses from world-class guitarists ready to help you through the tricky parts. Search for the piece, the composer, or the technique — chances are, there's a Master ready to help.


May the 4th be with you, tonebuddies. Let's finish what we started. 🎸⚔️

201 replies

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    • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
    • 5 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Difficult to match Blaise's opening post! But I offer my humble beginning to this challenge. Recorded on my phone, back in my village with insects and the evening noises in the background. Quite a few mistakes, memory slips and string buzz. Looking forward to your valuable feedback. Thanks for watching.

      • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
      • 11 hrs ago
      • Reported - view

       awe, thanks Debbie. This piece is very dear to me. One of the first pieces that cemented my love for the classical guitar.

      • Derek
      • 10 hrs ago
      • Reported - view

      That sounds great Nijwm. How long have you been playing this?

      • Retired
      • Andre_Bernier
      • 10 hrs ago
      • Reported - view

        Great piece, well done. I really enjoy the idea of recording black and white with you and the guitar in the dark side corner. This fits very well with the mood of the piece. Bravo 👍

    • “Do or do not. There is no try”
    • Michelle_P
    • 5 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Okay - I will bite the bullet here. I'm a newbie classical guitarist and it seems like only skilled players participate in these challenges. I'm hoping that other new players will see this and join in with me.

    My goal may be pitiful to some, but I REALLY want to learn Le Papillion (Giuliani, Op 50 No 13). My main problem is that. in addition to my many other playing issues, I play everything very, very slooooooooooowly. So, this piece has been a challenge for me. I have not practiced this for a while. And I am in Premium+ and plan to work on this with my coach, Juan David Vargas Mora.

    For comparison, here is the link to Martin's wonderful tutorial on how to play the piece - https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/courses/player/martin-zimny-giuliani-allegro-op-50-no-30?moduleSlug=martin-zimny-giuliani-allegro-op-50-no-30.

    While the previous submissions sound more to me like finished business and not unfinished at all, here is my admitted pathetic attempt, which I am calling le papillon torturé (the tortured butterfly). Attempt #1 - watch at your own risk  ;-)

    https://youtu.be/bZFpuBDEN3c?si=6vaXgjdpp_SHbpe2

      • BLaflamme
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Welcome to the Challenge Michelle! And it is certainly not reserved for the most advanced, guitarists of different levels participate in each edition and all of us find kindness and encouragement! There is no scale of comparison or expectations between us, only your participation, your questions, your goals and your progress matter! If you allow me a comment on your work of Le Papillon, there is no mandatory speed, take what suits you to the extent that you master the context, and ideally use a metronome, this will allow you to create a framework in order to adequately organize the musical process, even if it is very slow, in the end when you are at the recommended speed then everything will take place in a safe and solid way. Can't wait to hear more from your progress!

      • Ron.3
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Great to see you in the challenge Michelle! I agree with everything Blaise said and look forward to hearing your progress.

      • Amateur guitarist/lutenist
      • David_Krupka
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

       It's so nice to see a new face in these challenges, Michelle! I can't imagine anyone here will find your goal 'pitiful' - we were all once 'beginners', and we're all still learning (or at least trying to!). About tempo, I wouldn't worry in the least about playing too slowly. With time, fluency will develop on its own. What is most important is accuracy. You're off to a good start with this charming little piece by Giuliani - I look forward to following your progress over the next six weeks!

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Thank you for the encouragement, Blaise!

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Thanks so much!

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 5 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thank you! I'm sorry to have missed the last challenge and look forward to doing this one, and more in the future.

      • LIVE
      • martin.3
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

        welcome to the challenge — and thank you for taking the leap to post! The community challenges are absolutely not reserved for advanced players, and your post is exactly the kind of submission that helps newer members feel like there's space for them here. I really hope others follow your lead. 🌟

      Le Papillon is a wonderful choice — and I promise no one is judging tempo. Slow practice with clean, intentional technique is exactly what you should be doing at this stage, and it's how every good performance starts. Speed comes later, on its own, once your hands really know the piece. You're doing the right thing.

      Looking forward to hearing this grow over the next six weeks. Glad you're here. 🎸

      • Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       One has make a start in our musical journey! I was a beginner too (perhaps I still am) when I joined TB a few years ago.

      My first challenge submission was Etude in B minor by Sor. When I rewatch that recording, I cringe a bit😬 but in hindsight, I'm glad I took the plunge that time.

      And as fellow members have said, don't worry about tempo or mistakes. There are some great tutorials on TB on things like RH finger control, arpeggios that I suggest you check out. Personally, I've used pieces like etude 6 by Brouwer and Giuliani's etude 5, Op 48 (Gabriel Bianco has a great lesson on this). You could also check out some of Giuliani's 120 arpeggio patterns. Good luck and welcome to the challenge!

      • Retired
      • mgshirk
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Fear not, Michelle. In the famous words of Mr. Spook, "for everything, there is a first time". Enjoy the ride. 

      • michel.2
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

      @Michelle PI, je suis dans le même bateau que toi — tiens bon et amuse-toi bien ! 

      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Welcome, Michelle. It is actually exciting ng to see someone here on their beginning journey learning classical guitar. As others have mentioned this is very supportive group. There is no hurry, so proceed slowly in small sections and enjoy the process (I mention that as if that is what I do - HA! 🙄)

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Thank you!

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thanks for the many suggestions!

      • mike.12
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       This one is on my music stand too :)

      • joosje
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       welcome in the challenge. Nice playing. I’m really looking forward to hearing you discover and conquer this lovely piece. Starting the challenge is one step. Keep going.

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thanks for the encouragement!

      • Eric
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Good job, and welcome, Michelle! Glad you joined in. For these challenges, I like to think that there are no beginners and no experts. We are all on the same journey together, and this is just a place to share our journey, and hopefully our joy, with others.

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Thank you!

    • LIVE
    • martin.3
    • 4 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Didn't expect to see this much going on already — the challenge doesn't even officially start until Monday! 😄 Really nice to see playing, encouragement, and a few stories about pieces that have been sitting on the shelf for a while.

                — glad you're all here. 🙌

    Use the weekend to get organized, plan your practice, pick your battles — and then let's make a real splash when things officially kick off Monday. Looking forward to it. 🎸⚔️

      • Retired
      • mgshirk
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       I know, really, I feel like the cameras should be checked for false starts. 😮

      • BLaflamme
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Well... thread created == new submissions! 😅

Content aside

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