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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Barrios – País de Abanico (July 7 update)
Here are a couple videos showing my work on this piece today:
- The first video is me talking through some of the more difficult measures in the B section. The pictures below are those trouble sections, with the last one being an alternate fingering that I am now using in measures 49-55.
- The second video is a first take, warts and all, of the whole piece, but it starts at the B section (page 2, measure 33). After the B section, I do the repeat of the A section and then the ending coda, so this is essentially the entire piece.
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Eric Phillips ... having recently retired after a 40 year tech career (which BTW included some years studying theology while also working full-time) I can't say enough about the joys of being a full-time "guirar/music nerd". Problem is -- I can't settle on just one area. I am also a serious jazz drumming beginner and student of theory/harmony, ear training, rhythmic studies,, etc... I probably spend more time critically, listening to great music and studying jazz guitar (steel strings with a plectrum) than anything. So all of this is basically my new "more than full-time" occupation.
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Brian Sounds like heaven! I enjoy listening to and studying all kinds of music, but in terms of actually playing, I do classical guitar (and lute) exclusively now.
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Eric Phillips ... your focus clearly shows in the quality of your Classical Guitar playing. Can't wait to see you also play the lute!
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Brian Thanks, Brian. Here's a lute piece by John Dowland that I posted a couple challenges ago (Song and Dance Challenge).
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Giuliani – Le Jasmin Op 46 No 4
Alright, I’m not sure if this is unfinished business, exactly. I have played it before, though listening to my old recording, I wanted to improve it. Playing La Rose from this opus is what led me back to this piece. Interestingly, I see a lot of similarities between the two pieces, both melodically and harmonically. They each have a very different character to them, but they are similar nonetheless.
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Eric Phillips well played Eric, this is indeed another beautiful piece of this set with a more rhythmic character. Are all of Op 46 as interesting as these two?
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Eric PhillipsThis is really good, Eric. I am always amazed at how well you play pieces right from the start!
This is an interesting composition. I don't think it is as consistently good as The Rose (I feel G drops the ball in a couple of spots - at least to my taste, but mostly it is a beautiful piece.
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Blaise Laflamme I do like a lot of the opus. #5 is unusually dark and anguished for Giuliani. Christian El Khouri has an outstanding recording of the whole opus, plus some more Giuliani, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUbmwDnkSFs&list=OLAK5uy_mJBunQ-RCRdq16mgNLsocUXcXglynfmNk.
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Eric Phillips thanks for the link... looks like he's playing on a romantic-like guitar.
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Eric Phillips Cool piece. My "American Primitive" guitar background loves me a drone/pedal note!
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Blaise Laflamme Yes he is. On his website I found a promotional video for the album, and it definitely was a period instrument he was playing. His meticulous attention to detail is astounding, and it really inspires me.
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Spare Machine That is definitely a "Giuliani-ism" (though he's not the only one, of course).
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Spare Machine right on for mentioning "American primitive". I love the "dead thumb" the early acoustic blues players (and the revivalists) do so well. David Hamburger and Paul Asbell are great teachers of this!
Not exactly a classical RH technique yet gets the job done!
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Barrios – Pais de Abanico (July 8 update)
This video starts again on the B section (measure 33), but then does the repeat of the A section, and then the coda, just like yesterday.
I did a lot of slow practice this morning, particularly on the more difficult B section. (Not as slow as Jack Stewart recommends, but unfortunately, I have a few other things I would like to do this century.) My progress is very incremental today. I think that I will really have to be patient with this one, as it is right on the very edge of my technical ability. During the difficult measures, my mantra has been “RELAX”. Saying the word in my head actually does seem to help a bit (or maybe I’m just fooling myself).
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Eric Phillips Better and better, Eric. You will have this polished very soon. It is sounding great.
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Eric Phillips I think you should repeat your Mantra using Jack's patented slow practice method
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Blaise Laflamme Okay, I’ll be on the letter “r” for the next 3 weeks.
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Eric Phillips
you'll be ok after a few more challenges, probably by the end of the year! -
Eric Phillips
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Giuliani – Le Jasmin Op 46 No 4 (July 8 update)
I tried not only to play this more accurately, but also to add more musicality (dynamics, tone color, tempo, etc.). It’s fun to play!
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Eric Phillips Wow... definitely your best version!
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Eric Phillips That was beautiful, Eric! I've always thought that Giuliani's music has a unique quality that sounds like a symphony being played on the guitar, and you really brought out that symphonic element in your playing. Well done!
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Eric Phillips That was wonderful, Eric. I think you have that one to perfection. Beautiful.
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Eric Phillips Wow. What more can I add. Gliding elegantly across the beautiful instrument (not the best word for the guitar imo) we all
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Blaise Laflamme Wai Jack Stewart Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Thanks guys. I am pretty happy with this take, although it is far from perfect. As I was getting to the end of playing this one, my son walked into the room, and I could just feel his impatient stare, as he waited to make some "urgent" request for something from me. Thankfully, he waited until I finished.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
