Week 4: Etude Extravaganza!
Welcome to the Main Thread for the forth week of "Etude Extravaganza" practice challenge!
- Choose an etude from a composer that captures your interest. It could be a soothing Sor etude, a technical Giuliani masterpiece, a Carcassi finger exercise, a harmonically rich Brouwer composition, or a rhythmically challenging Villa-Lobos piece. You're encouraged to experiment with pieces from composers you're not accustomed to or push your boundaries with a technically demanding work.
- Commit to regular practice and share your journey with the community. Aim to practice daily and upload at least two videos per week to showcase your progress. This will not only aid in keeping you dedicated and motivated but also enables you to share your musical journey with our tonebase family.
- Share your favorite etude or recording that epitomizes the concept of "Etude Extravaganza." Your submission will serve as inspiration for others and construct a vibrant repertoire of potential pieces for fellow members to explore.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Here is another chord study, Estudio #5 Homenaje a Villa-Lobos by Abel Carlevaro. This Estudio is part of a set of five Estudios in homage to Villa-Lobos. I like to pair Carlevaro's Estudio #5 with Villa-Lobos' Etude #6 which I posted earlier. You can definitely see in this study the influence that Villa-Lobos had on Carlevaro. As I have noted in previous posts, Carlevaro studied with Villa-Lobos in Brazil when Carlevaro was a young man.
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Dale Needles I only had time to look at it briefly and I'm definitely interested in learning it! But unfortunately I had a little problem with my left hand wrist lately, then I'm careful for now with what I play and practice
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Blaise Laflamme So sorry to hear about your left hand. Hopefully it will heal quickly. I have ongoing issues with my right hand. I have a condition called Dupuytrens Contraction. My orthopedic doctor is doing some work on it on Friday so hopefully that will help.
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Dale Needles what a great study Dale, and I can definitely see the similarities with the Villa-Lobos study. Nice work!
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Steve Pederson Thanks, Steve, and thanks for your other comments. Interesting that you noticed on the Lauro Estudio that I play close to the bridge. That is a tendency that I do in part because I like getting a clear or "claro" sound and it is a comfortable hand position for me. However, I do recognize that while I can still get a "dolce" sound from there, it would probably be sweeter if I played a little closer to the sound hole. This is something I plan to work on so that I can vary the timbre even more. I would also note that per Carlevaro's School of Guitar, Carlevaro teaches that the clarity or sweetness of the sound has less to do with where you strike the string in relation to the bridge but more to do with how you strike the string. Have a great vacation!
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HVL 8 (June 30 update)
Today, I mostly worked on page 2 of the Eschig edition. (See attached score if you wish. I come in at the second measure of the document, on the C# with the fermata.)
Here's my breakdown:
- Measures 33-39 are mostly a big scalar passage. I was trying to do an accelarando through the ascending portion, and a allargando through the descending portion. Very dramatic!
- Measures 40-45 are pretty straightforward. Nice singing melody.
- Measures 46-49 I have re-fingered from yesterday. I think this works a lot better.
- Measures 50-55 I have re-fingered in the right hand so that the accented beats are played with the thumb. Makes much more sense. I am also cutting down on the number of thumb rasgueados I was using (over-using) yesterday.
- Measures 56-58 are another scalar passage.
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Eric Phillips That part was really beautiful! Eric, did you add the reverb in Audacity? I really love the sound of it - so full and vibrant!"
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Wai Thanks, Wai. Yes, I did add reverb in Audacity.
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Microestudios 13 - Abel Carlevaro
This piece has a lot of double-stop passages. While I've been able to play them pretty smoothly at times, there are still some spots where I can't quite eliminate the string noises. Bars 22-28 are especially tricky because of the horizontally shifting double-stop passage.
After recording No. 13, I started practicing No. 14 and found that I really enjoyed playing pieces No. 12, 13, and 14, despite the challenges.
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Wai Very well done, Wai! I'm glad you are enjoying playing these. I find that is the only important question I ask for why I play some things, and don't play others: Do I enjoy playing it?
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Wai Very beautiful, Wai. The key to this study is the counterpoint and you bring out the two voice lines very well. I also like how you bring out the ethereal quality of this piece which is a characteristic of many of Carlevaro's later compositions.
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Wai that was great Wai, you're becoming a Carlevaro's insider!
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Wai that is great playing, Wai! as Dale Needles said, your voicing is very good and the tone so clear and pure. Bravo!
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Eric Phillips Dale Needles Blaise Laflamme joosje Thank you all so much for always being so supportive and encouraging!
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Wai Really brilliant work on this one Wai. Bravo!
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Wai This is really great, Wai, a very interesting piece. I like it a lot and you have played it beautifully.
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HVL 8 (July 1 update)
Here is a recording of the entire study. Still not quite under the fingers, but getting there.
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Eric Phillips Great job working this beautiful Etude up to a high level in such a short period of time. I really love the beautiful theme of this Etude reminiscent of a popular song.
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Eric Phillips wow Eric, you managed to learn and play this study in no time... amazing
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Eric Phillips good job, Eric. I love this Etude. You mastered the basics very fast. Love your steady tone…
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Sor Study in D, Opus 35, No. 17 - Final Submission
I regret that I haven't been able to be more involved in this challenge. The last couple weeks have been insanely busy, and I will be leaving again tomorrow for vacation. I will have several hours on the road tomorrow where I plan to listen to and comment on the many recordings here. I will be on the road when we have the watch party as well, so I most likely won't be able to make that.
For now, I have a recording of the Sor study I've been working on. I managed to get a couple minutes to play while at my mother-in-laws place recently. (Thus the dolls in the background)
What I discovered just now, as I was listening to some other recordings on YouTube, is that many people play a D#, instead of a D natural as I've played it, on beat one in the third to last measure - as well as an A instead of a B on the "and" of beat 2, making it a B7 chord instead of a B minor chord. Does anyone have a copy of the original score from Sor? I'd like to see what the original intention was.
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Steve Pederson This is beautiful, Steve! You bring out the melody nicely.
Attached is a picture of the last line from the 1828 score (Paris), which does have a D# and A in it. What you played was lovely, though, and I probably would not have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out.
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Eric Phillips Thank you Eric! I appreciate it - on both accounts. The D# was a little jarring when I first heard it, but the more I mess around with it the more it grows on me.
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Steve Pederson Yes, it works nicely as a secondary dominant to the following Em chord.
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Steve Pederson We have missed you in this Challenge but glad you posted this beautiful Estudio by Sor and nicely performed.
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Dale Needles Thank you Dale! I appreciate it!
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