Week 1: Our Unfinished Pieces!
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of "Unfinished Business" practice challenge!
- Choose an piece that you have started to practice but never fully commited to finish. It could be a an iconic masterpiece, a technical challenge, a sweet little miniature or a piece that you played a long time ago and always wanted to refresh! 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 piece or recording that you always wanted to learnm but is still "unfinished business". 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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I started learning "El Testament d'Amelia" after watching this tonebase video: https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/live/player/gtr-antigoni-goni-llobet-catalan-folk-songs
I see now that there is this lesson too, which I will check out soon!: https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/courses/player/thomas-viloteau-teaches-el-testament-amelia-by-llobet?moduleSlug=thomas-viloteau-teaches-el-testament-amelia-by-llobet&t=1&recommId=
I sort of know my way around the first part (except maybe for that G7 chord on the 6th fret). The harmonics-centered B section and the last part still have a long way to go, making it "unfinished biz" for me. I look forward to giving it a little more attention with the help of this group!
Thanks, all!
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Giuliani – La Rose Op 46 No 9 (July 5)
As coincidence would have it, for the last couple days I have been working on a piece that fits this category for me. I was never a huge Giuliani fan until I discovered this opus. I had played several of the pieces (“flowers”) from the opus about a year ago, but this one (my favorite) always eluded me. It wasn’t that I didn’t have the technique, but whenever I tried to actually play it, I simply could not get the phrasing to work. I would listen to others play it, get a sense of the phrasing, but then when I put my hands on the guitar, I just kept hitting a brick wall. So … I stopped. I tried picking it up several times after that, but would just hit the same brick wall. It went into that huge pile of “unfinished business” as this challenge calls it.
Then, a couple days ago, I heard fellow TB member Rick Lord post a video of the piece on YT (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTXftPmGKUw). His performance is outstanding, and it inspired me to give it a go once again. This time, I just went phrase by phrase, and worked with the fingering until I got it coming out the way I wanted it to sound. Well, I have been playing it almost non-stop for a few days now, and the video below gives you a sense of where I am at with it now. It’s one of those pieces that, whenever I finish playing it, I just want to start it over again, and over again, and over again …
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Eric Phillips That was lovely! Thank you for sharing it. My "El Testement d'Amelia" has a much farther way to go before it sounds organized, but, in the spirit of the challenge, I'll share something soon!
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Spare Machine Thanks, and looking forward to hearing from you!
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Eric Phillips Beautiful, Eric! And a very fine piece too - it's easy to forget that, in addition to all the virtuosity, Giuliani had a lyrical, romantic side, on full display here.
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David Krupka Thanks, David. I just love playing this so much. Analyzing the piece a bit, I do see many "Giuliani-isms" in it, but you're right, the overall affect of the piece is not what I have come to expect from him. It's also strange how I just was not able to play it all before, but now it feels so natural to me.
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Eric Phillips This is a beautiful piece, and you already play it very well.
I agree, it seems uncharacteristically beautiful for Giuliani.
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Eric Phillips beautiful Eric, a great piece choice and you already play it very well. I understand when, for any reason, something is missing to satisfy yourself about the way you play something, it happens a lot to me and even if I master both technically and musically the material, sometimes I miss the angle to make everything cohesive as I feel it should. You're also right about Rick's performance he did a beautiful rendition of it, I hope he'll find time to join the challenge this time! OTOH I can hear a lot of Giuliani's patterns in there but mostly from more ambitious works like the Sonata Eroica, the Rossiniana or his 1st Concerto.
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Eric Phillips This has to be my favorite of al your performances! Such a romantic piece!
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Eric Phillips That was beautiful, Eric! I really enjoyed listening to the piece you shared. I've always wanted to try some of Giuliani's pieces, but the "Flower" series looks quite challenging. Thanks for sharing this piece, so I can appreciate it without the pressure of practicing it myself.
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Blaise Laflamme Thanks, Blaise. I don't know those pieces well enough, but I'm sure you are correct. The similarities I hear come from his shorter pieces (which I have actually played).
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Wai You could definitely handle several of the opus 46 pieces. Opus 50 has many easier pieces that are well within your grasp.
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don Very kind, Don, thanks!
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Jack Stewart I agree! It's like he pulled out all the stops on the Romantic thing.
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Eric Phillips that's also what makes this piece very interesting as it has more developed and rich musical material as opposed to other Giuliani's works in that range. Sor's music is more rich in that level of difficulty and more interesting to play, Giuliani outdid himself for this one!!
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Eric Phillips played beautifully like a pro (which you are already imo
). I'm just a beginner, so won't be able to comment on the technical aspects. But your movements across the fretboard are so smooth and silky. I'll try to post a video myself, albeit a bit of trepidation -
Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Thank you, Nijwm. I prefer to stay just an amateur - that way I can play only what I want! And there is no need for any fear (let alone trepidation) here. In this community, all that matters is passion, joy, and a desire to learn and grow. I hope we will hear from you soon!
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Eric Phillips Congratulations Eric, you make a complicated piece look simple
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Giuseppe Gasparini Thank you, Giuseppe! It's good to have you back. I hope we get to hear (and see) you play soon!
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Eric Phillips beautiful piece Eric. Well played
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Eric Phillips played beautifully and thanks for the score, I will have a look at this myself.
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Jacques farmer Thanks, Jacques. Right now, is say it’s my favorite Giuliani piece. Give it a try!
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"Choose a piece that you have started to practice but never fully commited to finish." Wow! there are so many to choose from in my case. In fact the possibilities are endless!
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Jack Stewart Don't forget to make use of your patented "slow practice" method!
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Eric Phillips I don't think I'll have time.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
