I wonder if there are other newer classical guitarists who would like to discuss learning and repertoire. I am "technically" Grade 2 - which means I passed a Grade 1 examination, but I still feel so new to classical guitar.
My beginning questions for anyone willing to join in this discussion:
1. Did you complete the Tonebase Beginning Guitar course, part 1?
2. Did you take any examination(s)?
3, What's on your music stand? (sorry - stolen from Martin Z.)
4. What do you believe is your biggest challenge with classical guitar?
5. What piece(s) would you like to be playing in a year?
6. What guitar(s) are you playing right now?
7. What guitar would be your dream guitar?
Cheers! Michelle P.
4replies
Marius.2
Yesterday
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hi Michelle. maybe silly question but how do you take a Grade 1 examination?
“Do or do not. There is no try”
Michelle_P
Yesterday
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I did it online on another website. I know there are many different programs out there.
“Do or do not. There is no try”
Michelle_P
Yesterday
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Here are my answers to kick things off:
1. Yes, I completed part 1 of the Beginning Guitar course, and it was more challenging than I thought it would be. Which was great. I need to be challenged.
2. Yes, I took examinations at another online platform, and passed Grade One. I had to do a pre-determined Assessment and perform two pieces from a pre-determined List A and List B. It was very difficult and I really didn't think I passed. But I did! Yay!
3. I have lots on my music stand - maybe too much. My goal is to learn a nice amount of repertoire by women composers. Sadly, there's not too much out there for someone at my level of playing. I've just started Maria Linnemann's Desiree and Chanson Du Montmartre and Angela Mair's Summer Forever! I've also been working on Tatiana Stachak's Kurpie Etude. Plus lots of traditional pieces.
4. My biggest challenges are finger independence and being able to produce good tone. I feel like I'm plinking and plunking along.
5. I'd like to be able to play some easy arrangement of Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie
6. Right now I'm playing a Hippner spruce over Florida rosewood (whatever that means) short scale (630 mm). I also have a Cordoba C9 parlor with a cedar top.
7. My dream guitar would be anything handmade for me, solid wood. spruce top or double top over ??? maybe rosewood, maybe maple, maybe some unique tonewood. I guess I'm not quite sure yet. Short scale - perhaps 620 - with a 52 mm nut - a raised fretboard and a comfort armrest. And it would sound awesome.
Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
21 hrs ago
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Hi Michelle, I read your post and felt tempted to reply, even though I'm not a completely new guitarist. I hope you don't mind. Before I answer your questions, I also hope you don't mind me going on a tangent to explain how I ended up on TB.
I joined TB about 3 years back after my 10 year old son started guitar classes in school, and for reasons I cannot explain fully ended up wanting to learn the classical guitar.
Back when I was in my 20s (I'm 45 now), I used to noodle around with an acoustic steel string, playing a few chords and learning a few pop/rock songs. I wasn't even aware of classical music played on a guitar! Anyway, nothing much came out of my guitar playing as life and career took over.
Decades later, thanks to YouTube and algorithms, I started to listen to the recordings of pros like Ana Vidovic and Alexandra Wittingham playing Recuerdos or Layenda. Something in my brain clicked and I decided to explore more and learn classical guitar. I watched a few instructional videos on YouTube and immediately tried to learn Recuerdos! Little did I realize at that time that tremolo is one of the toughest technique haha!
Learning classical guitar from India is difficult because we don't have much of a western classical music tradition here. So, there aren't many professional teachers or academic institutions based around classical guitar. After exploring learning avenues, I ultimately ended here because of the impressive roster of instructors.
To answer your questions:
1. I did finish the beginning guitar course part 1 and I think 2 as well. I also started to practice a few of the 120 Giuliani exercises. The first few months of learning was painfully slow. But I also tried to learn a few Brouwer etudes to improve my technique.
I also watched tons of recorded livestreams that were on beginner topics like arpeggios and LH technique, finger independence. Navigating TB materials is sometimes a bit tricky I feel as the courses are not structured in a strictly progressive and academic manner. Many of the technical challenges are addressed through pieces of music, while there are dedicated courses on themes like musicality, phrasing, tone production or techniques like barre.
Since I joined I've improved a lot using the materials here. A few months back, I had also tried the TB coaching program for 90 days (it's premium+ now, I believe)
Do you have a personal one on one teacher? I think it's always very very helpful to have one for various reasons. If I can share a piece of advice, based from my learning experience- trust the process, be patient and meticulous and you'll see the progress. Initially, the learning curve might be slow, but once you learn a few fundamentals and improve your technique, you'll be pleasantly surprised with your own progress!
2. I haven't taken any exams or tests, mostly because they're not locally available here or not affordable for me. Obviously, taking exams will force you to adopt a more structured way of learnin. Passing grades and getting certificates will also you that extra motivation and reward at the end.
3. Right now, I'm trying to improve La Catedral (Preludio saudade). Besides that, I have Villa Lobos Prelude 4 and tons of other pieces on my wishlist.
4. Besides technique, my biggest challenge is musicality, particularly phrasing. I need to have better harmonic understanding of music.
Another challenge is being consistent in performance. I often get stuck at some difficult passages in a piece and struggle to play through.
With tone quality, I'm fairly satisfied although I'd like to use more variation and subtlety. I still continue to experiment with nail shape (as nail shape is very important in producing a good tone) and using varying angles of attack on the string.
4. Actually, there are many pieces that I've been trying to finish upto performance level. Villa Lobos Prelude and a few other pieces.
Your choice of Gymnopedie No.1 is a great beginner level piece. There are other pieces like Lagrima, Spanish Romance, Etude in E minor by Tarrega you can explore. But some pieces that are often labelled beginner level are actually grade 4/5 pieces. I discovered this myself when I first tried to learn these pieces.
6. Currently I'm playing a factory made Yamaha CG 182S.
7. I'd love to own a Luthier made Cedar top. I've heard that the tone of a Cedar top is very warm and sweet. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know the quality or brand/maker of handmade ones. I guess any guitar that's been crafted by a skilled luthier would be great.
Incredibly long post. I apologise if I've written too much and sound like rambling. But thanks for reading.
And I wish you a happy and great learning journey with the classical guitar.