Villa-Lobos Etude No. 1: Arpeggio Mastery and Beyond

Ariel Elijovich Go look at a number of videos on youtube, Anna Vidovic, John Williams, etc. See anybody planting fingers? And you think you know technique better than Segovia?

John Mardinly ana does some planting. Williams would not, as his time was one before planting was adopted. I myself I'm not a big fan of planting either... I just thought that bringing Segovia into this was far-fetched and I certainly don't enjoy Segovia as much as you do... I much prefer Bream if we are bringing the OGs....

Regarding the matter of wether I think I know more technique than Segovia... i'd say that the answer is inequivocally YES, because I know pretty much everything Segovia did plus the learning acumulated by decades of guitar pedagogy since his time....

Ariel Elijovich Well said, Ariel. I've had teachers go both ways on planting. I love having all the different approaches of the masters, old and new, available to me. 

Steve Price Hi, Steve and all!! for this etude my fingrings for the right hand are Gilardino's idea. p m and just p m going up and p i and only p i going down... great fingering to clarify the arpeggio from 6th to 2nd and back with the thumb. Fast and easy. And very related to plectro sweep picking tech, because thumb action is pretty much performed while and by moving the arm down from position to position. 

Ariel Elijovich I prefer Bream too, but remember that Segovia is why we play the guitar. 

John Mardinly personally? not at all. Segovia was never an influence in my path choice. Hiistorically speaking, well we'll never know otherwise... In any case I owe respect to him as a fellow person and artist who cotributed greatly but no devotion. I mean, for me, Segovia's dos or don´ts don´t mean anything in terms of what my approach should ot should not be. And I think we can all be equally free of his shadow about the matter. 

Ariel Elijovich The Villa-Lobos Etudes were dedicated to Segovia in 1929. How he plays them is THE authoritative way to play them. (My only issue is he skips repeats that are in the published score). As for resting the fingers on the strings, that should only be done to damp the strings. Never in the Villa Lobos Etude #1 where they need to ring.  And BTW, if it was not for Segovia, there would not be a classical guitar industry, half the repertoire would not exist, there would be no Tone Base, very few universities giving guitar degrees, etc. So no, none of us are free of his shadow. 

John Mardinly wow, John...  I so completely disagree with you on so many points that I am unsure this thread will lead to anything good for the forum. I'll leave the subject alone now. Best wishes to you!

Ariel Elijovich I also think this particular thread risks unwinding in a not altogether constructive manner. But for the record, I do agree with Ariel here - Segovia is simply one figure in the long history of our instrument: we should, no doubt, acknowledge his achievement, but there is no need for hagiography.

Randy Wimer tha ability to rethink the way we do things is a crucial creative and artistic necessity. And, even if some times the new ideas come from others, the plasticity to reshape one's own opinion of what works best should be excercised as much as possible as a performing and interpretative requirement.

I heard Martha Argerich once say that whenever she was convinced something should be played some specific way, she would also work the opposite trying to make it fit in the best possible way...

Ariel Elijovich So many artists become entrenched in their own orthodoxies and immune to outside influence. It is an especially easy trap for older artists to fall into. But I've met my fair share of 25-year-old players who were convinced of their own special knowledge. There's a continuum from humility to arrogance and I think those of us who strive to stay on the humble side of that line have a better chance to keep growing as artists, and as human beings.  

Randy Wimer I agree 100%. I like 20 yearolds' conviction, though. 

It's a necesity, many times... part of the bigger process, I think.  

We al have time to get to know better when we are still 25, and oh, the drive... I sometimes envy that energy I had when I was alone, 12000km far from home, washing dishes and serving pizzas to pay the rent that allowed me to stay in Italy and study guitar the rest of the day.