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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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 Nicely played Steve! Glad you got to submit it. Enjoy your vacation!
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Steve Pederson ... hello, my name is Brian and I'm new to tonebase.
Very nice playing! I especially enjoyed measures 9 to 16! Also, thought you handled the cadences very well. Interestingly, I just submitted the same piece a minutes ago. It's been part of my ongoing work with my longtime local teacher for the past several weeks.
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Brian Hey Brian, great to meet you! Welcome to the Tonebase community! You're one of us "Tonebuddies" now! Thank you for the kind words, and I look forward to listening to your recording!
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Barney Thank you Barney!
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Steve Pederson Very nicely done Steve. Glad you submit on time! Enjoy your holidays!
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Steve Pederson great to hear you back here Steve, you played this beautiful study very nicely. I hope you'll bring back home a doll for your next video backgrounds!
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Steve Pederson very nice performance Steve. Have fun, travel safe!
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Steve Pederson Lovely phrasing and tone, Steve! I really enjoyed your performance!
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Steve Pederson For what it's worth, the Segovia edition has a D natural there. The earliest editions I can find do have the D# as Eric noted (for the Paris edition).
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don Thanks Don!
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Blaise Laflamme Thanks Blaise! Ha, yeah, no dolls for me!
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joosje Thank you Joosje! I appreciate it.
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Marilyn Blodget Thank you Marilyn!
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Stephen Darrell Oliver Thanks for confirming Stephen. Yes, it’s amazing to keep learning new stuff about these classic pieces after all these years!
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Steve Pederson Beautiful, Steve. This is a very sensitive performance. You phrasing and tone are wonderful. Great job.
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I'm nearing the end of my first major cycle of work on Sor Op.35, No. 17. Please try to overlook the involuntary mouth movements. I'm working on that but when I'm really into playing it's hard to stop. The iPhone mic is harsh and I can hear every buzzy note that wasn't fretted perfectly. Onward!
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Brian That was beautiful, Brian! I love the way you played that dramatic high A on the second string. Very effective. This piece has so much to teach us every time we play or listen to it.
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Brian Very nice, Brian and welcome to Tonebase.
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Brian Yes, great job Brian! Great tone and great control.
I hear you about the involuntary mouth movements. It still happens to me all the time, and I've been working on it for a while. Like you said - "onward"!
For a microphone, you can ask others what they're using. I've been using the SHURE MV88+ and I love it! As for video camera angle, I like to be able to see both hands clearly. It helps me see how others are using their right hand, and it also helps me when I watch myself. Just a thought.
Keep up the good work!
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Steve Pederson … Thank you for the kind words and the camera positioning/microphone recommendations. I have ordered a SHURE MV88+. Should be able to mount the tripod on a flat surface at a distance where both hands will be visible. The stereo mic configuration should pick up a wider soundstage as well. Stay tuned for an updated video!
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Brian you did a great job and we can easily hear you have a good tone! Don't worry too much about your facial movements, I'm always fascinated by that and how this relates to how people play their music, we can see a lot of your intentions and satisfaction in them. At some point in the future you'll translate them into even more musical dynamics and movements.
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Eric Phillips
Steve Pederson
Wai
Dale Needles
don
Marilyn Blodget
I just came back from 4 days babysitting our grandchild and took the time tonight to watch all your postings during that period. Great performance and beautiful music; Thanks to all for sharing your work.
I just could not believe the number of different pieces Eric posted during this challenge. I took the time to review the posting of the 4 weeks and came up to 20 different pieces.
martin Martin could use all of them and this will fill up nicely the Watch Party.
Wow thanks Eric for this incredible work.
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Andre Bernier Thank you, Andre. I do go a little crazy! I’d rather post one piece played well than 100 pieces played “so so” however.
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Andre Bernier Thank you for taking the time to listen to it. Appreciate it.
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Eric Phillips No No, keep posting as much as you enjoy it. This helps us a lot discovering great music and provides great examples on how to play classical guitar.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
