
Recuerdos de la Alhambra - Improving my Tremolo!
My goal for 2021-2022 is to finally get to the bottom of tremolo! I have been struggling with the traditional pami-tremolo since my second guitar teacher told me at the age of 12:
"You have to go to this masterclass and learn Recuerdos de la Alhambra"
So I did, I went there, learned it
Just kidding, of course not! Nobody bothered to teach me the basic fundamentals of that technique, and after some years I gave up on the pami and figured that pmia just works better for me. But it was never this warm, well-rounded constant flow of notes, there was always a certain hiccup! So this is why I want to hold myself accountable in front of everybody and share my progress!
I'll attach the current state of Recuerdos withing the next days! I intend to have a slow but well executed tremolo for the first tonebase community concert!
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October 26, 2021: So here is my very first entry of my personal practice diary! I am sharing my current state of the traditional pami-tremolo with Recuerdos de la Alhambra!
I was inspired to do that after our Interactive Masterclass with Raffael Aguirre which opened my eyes! I am talking a little bit about that in the end of my video, but my key learning has been:
I always talk about relaxation, yet I don't apply my key pillar of guitar technique to the technique of tremolo! I need to find a way to micro-relax after each stroke of the tremolo in order to get the smoothest, warmest tremolo there has ever been!
Nothing less is my goal! Excited to share my journey with you! What's your destination? Share it and create your very own practice diary (or more, if you have several pieces you are currently working and want to share!)
Don't mind me tagging some peeps of the Tarrega Challenge :)
Blaise Laflamme Eric Phillips joosje Emma Khiem Nguyen Barney Daniel Beltrán Jaime Zaldua Gokce Turkmendag Debbie Paul Kennedy Olalla Didier Dennis Greensmith Vilio Celli don Derek Bill Young
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And finally my next Practice Update #2
I was very busy which is why I hesitated to update without actually practicing something, but know I finally managed to play through (without the first repetition though) the whole piece without my arm falling of because of excessive tension in the upper right arm! Let me know what you think!
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Beautiful…. Forget the tremolo, the melody with your thumb is beautiful. Is is never missed and goes up and down , beautiful. That movement you do with the thumb is super hard for me, moving the first phalanx , I have to train it again it makes the melody shine. Good you mentioned the mistakes at the end because I did not notice, and I am learning to be a baker ;)
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Finally sharing the next progress update with you! I am currently focusing on getting the relaxation between the individual fingers right and ramping up the tempo. I was able to play it in 140 bpm more or less (not in the video though), which is my goal, but that means that I need to practice it until 160!
That's me with the man who inspired me to work on my tremolo, finally met him again during our production tour in Spain!