Week 3: From Ponce to Piazolla!
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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Maria Luisa Anido – Triste No. 1
I decided to work on another piece by Anido. This one is from a collection of pieces called Impresiones Argentinas. I was able to find an online copy of what I would guess is the original publication of this collection. From my poor reading of the Spanish introduction to the whole collection, it seems as though each piece is drawn from one of the various ethnic and geographical heritages found in Argentina. I do not know the particular origin of or inspiration for this piece. The title simply means Sad.
This obviously needs a lot more work from me, particularly the more animated and rhythmic middle section in A major. I think the entire piece needs to be a bit faster.
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Anido - Triste No. 1 (July 9)
Here is today's update of this piece. I have changed several of the fingerings, for both musical and practical reasons. I tried to add more drama with bigger dynamic and tempo changes. I still want the middle section in A major to be a bit faster, but the tougher chords make it difficult to do so.
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Eric Phillips very interesting work with great ideas and playing... I was aware Anido wrote some music but never really listened to it, thanks for the discovery!
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Anido - Triste No 1 (July 10)
Probably my last posting of this one. Next, I'd like to try another piece from Impresiones Argentinas, which is called Preludio Pampeano.
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Eric Phillips Sounding really nice. So glad you are introducing Anido's music to the Tonebase community. Also, I think you connect very well with her music. Bravo.
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Eric Phillips I don't understand how you can learn a piece and bring it to such a level of interpretation but Bravo.... this was just great
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Eric Phillips Really beautiful, Eric. Both your playing and the piece. Thanks for the introduction to her music.
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Astor Piazzolla. Milonga del Angel. Arr. Jose Maria Gallardo del Rey.
It has not been a guitar intensive year for me. Now vacation times and play a couple of hours almost daily . I played -or attempted to -this Piazzolla piece 5 years ago. Have revived it and am happy to hit the Ponce to Piazzolla week. The flaws are not significantly above 10 and readily recognizable mistakes not significantly higher than 5 ( oner per minute)- I hope. Outdoor recording with iPhone best of 2 during my wife out jogging. .
Southamerican "folk" music is played outdoor or in rooms with limited acoustics I think.
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Lars Kjøller-Hansen Nice to see you back Lars... Great music in a great environment. Well done
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Lars Kjøller-Hansen It is great seeing you back, Lars. A very nice Piazzola piece. It is much different than what I am familiar with by him. The birds provide a nice accompniment. Great job.
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Anido - Preludio Pampeano (July 11)
This piece is quite a bit more difficult, so I have nothing even close to a performance yet. This video is just a walkthrough of the piece. If you want to hear it played well, there are several excellent YT videos of it, one of them from the composer herself. (To be honest, though, I actually prefer the performance by Maria Esther Guzman). I'm not sure if this one is within my technical abilities, so we'll see how it goes.
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric... Very nice. Don't give up. You definitively have the skills required to bring this piece to a great performance level.
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Eric Phillips Eric Phillips such a cool piece. Thank you for introducing it to us!
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Eric Phillips This is very nice, Eric. A bit devious for her to lull you in with that rather accessible intro and then throw all those challenging chords and rhythms in.
Your ability to pick up complex pieces like this quickly continues to impress.
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Eric Phillips I was just listening to a recording of the Tres Apuntes ! on an album by Rahaela Schmidt when I noticed she also had 2 works by María Lusia Anido. Aire Norteño in particular was very energetic. Just a coincidence that I had just listened to your recording.
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Eric Phillips Impressive what you can pick up and perform well in short time, but this has been said so many times
. ..so off topic..
I liked how well your simple recordings without artificial reverb postprocesing sounded, it was a good example of how a well played guitar sounds natural in a living room.
I was so lucky to hear a very skilled guitarist ( well represented in TB) perform in a small living room and the sound was like a simple recording with an iPhone with no postprocessing.
PS Martin will probably disagree
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Jack Stewart Yes, Anido has several energetic and more technically challenging pieces. I love Raphaella Schmidt's playing - anything she touches turns to gold.
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Lars Kjøller-Hansen Thank you for the kind words, Lars. I record with my laptop and an inexpensive USB microphone. Typically, I do add a touch of reverb with Audacity (it took me forever to figure out how to do it), but don't add reverb on videos in which I speak. I'm glad you enjoyed the sound. I am not very interested in learning how to make high-level recordings, and I refuse to spend much money on equipment. I am very grateful for people like Martin who are so knowledgeable and gifted in this area, but it's just not my thing.
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Brouwer Tres Apuntes I 'from "Homenaje a Falla" Update
This is a bit better though I have really worn down what little fingernails I had left working on this. I am afraid the 'a' finger tends to drop out on occasion.
I still have difficulty in the last part of the 'A' section. Sometimes my trills work and sometimes they don't, which really throws off the next passage.
There are still some rough edges in the 'B' section as well. I think I tend to add an extra note here and there (4 instead of 3).
I will probably rest this for a couple of days and see if that helps. I want to try to get the next Apuntes. (#3 is way beyond me).
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Jack Stewart This is typical Brouwer, I think. I am not sure I have heard it before. It seems like a challenging piece. But I don't hear it from your performance. I think you perform it very, very well!!
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Lars Kjøller-Hansen Thanks, Lars. This is typical Brouwer. However, so is Un Dia de Noviembre which is completely different. He is a very diversified composer. I tend to prefer the 'gnarly' stuff but I also like a wider range of music (I have become something of a reluctant romanticist - kicking and screaming as it were
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Jack Stewart Sounding really good. It just is getting better...Love the rhythmic and harmonic dissonance. As Lars mentioned, this typical Brouwer. I also hear echos of de Falla. Bravo!
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Jack Stewart This is awesome, Jack! I particularly like the section from about 1:45-2:10ish, with the driving rhythm on the upper strings and the angular melody underneath it. You execute it very well, and it looks incredibly difficult.
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Jack Stewart Jack this is sounding great! I've not heard it before - thanks for sharing
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Here is that rainy day.. oops. .not latin..
Un amor de valsa by Paolo Bellinati
A video of this piece performed by Nora Buschmann showed up , randomly?, on YT. I liked it. There is also a nice performance by TB Brazilian Rhythms instructor Douglas Lora but he plays 7 string.
Heavy rain and waves from the sea accompanies and reinforces the Brazilian melancholic mood
