Group 3
Improve your Left-Hand-Fitness with Slurs!
The Fitness of the left hand is responsible for how comfortable you feel on the guitar. Regular slur practice will improve your stability and agility and opens your hand for more fingering possibilities! Two Weeks, Fingers 1234, a gazillion different possibilites! Let me show you my workout tips for the left hand and let us improve together!
Fellow Participants in Group 3:
Nick
TM
Peter
Tony Gunia
Jim
peter hancock
Nick Trani
Martha Kreipke
Peter
Debbie
Oscar Leonardo Molina Sierra
Steven Liu
Nathan
Some tonebase productions to get you started
Martin Zimny - Left Hand Workout with Villa-Lobos Etude #3
Martin Zimny - Getting Slurs Right from the beginning
Artyom Dervoed - Slurs from Nothing
How to get the most out of this course
- Start by watching the introduction video and practice the exercises given in the video.
- Write a post with your experiences with Slurs.
- At the same time, start practicing the first bars of Etude #3 by Villa-Lobos. If you are new to the piece, start with my livestream on this piece!
- Share two videos per week and help your course partners through feedback on their submissions!
Zoom Check-In: Friday, June 24th at 6 pm CET (9 am PT)
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Hi Martin and slur buddies.
I tried to condense my practice in the video for the forum here but it still came to almost 7 minutes. I did all four exercises. The video is timestamped for each exercise to make it easier in case anyone is interested in watching me play boring slur exercises
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Debbie Hey Debbie, that looks fantastic! I recommend not playing apoyando and playing the first note very softly. That way, you can check if your slurs are powerful or if it just inherits energy from the note before!
Listening back to Assignment 3 reveals that problem, where the hammer-on is much quieter than the pull-off (which is perfectly normal!)
But fantastic work, keep it up!! Do you already feel a little development in the hand?
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Debbie Good work. It feels very relaxed to me. I like the way you combined exercise 1 and 2.
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Martin thanks Martin! Good tip not to play the first note apoyando. I’ll do that for sure. Even in such a short time it’s amazing how regular slur practice strengthens the hand. I’m already seeing a difference.
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I ;played this on the fourth fret rather than 5th. Not sure I got all the exercises but would appreciate any comments.
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Peter Hi Peter, when you slur with the fourth finger, your wrist tends to move a bit, probably to compensate for a (seeming) lack of strength! Try to stabilize the other fingers a bit more and try to move from the pinky instead from a turn of your wrist!
I always compare issues like that with a metaphor: Imagine you're trying to run with crutches. Of course it is easier for your legs if you use crutches, but by using the wrong muscles, you won't be able to run a marathon!
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Thank you Martin. I will take that on board.
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Peter Great!
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peter hancock Fantastic, that is a much more methodical approach to fixed finger slurs!
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After the feedback from my first video I have been concentrating on the position of my left hand. Here is a short video of only exercises 1 and 2.
I have discovered that I need to recalibrate the the hammer-on slurs after making the change in my left hand position - especially for the 3rd and 4th fingers - to clearly hit the correct string at the fret wire. I feel It is worth taking the time to get this right, even if I don't make it through the rest of the exercises in the two weeks.
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Martha Kreipke Hi Martha, that looks like a fantastic improvement! I admire your awareness for your weaker side of the hand!
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Hey everybody, I've recorded this video with 5 of the main issues I have identified! Enjoy and let my know what you think! See you tonight at the 60min Zoom Check-In!
Slurs Group 3
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Martin This is very helpful. And I especially appreciate your enthusiasm!
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Martin,
I just recorded an abbreviated hammers, pulls and trills video.
Pete
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Peter
I tried to view the video but received a message that it is unavailable. Perhaps you have the setting as Private?
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Peter Hi Peter, it still isn't available!
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Martin Fixed!
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Next video – Exercise 1 and 2, Week 2
Again, focusing on the curves of the fingers and the overall position of the left hand as it moves across the strings
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Martha Kreipke Martha, that looks and sounds very good! Your pull-offs are very snappy and the hammer-ons have power! I think I can hear the string bend a bit sometimes when you are hammering-on, make sure that you don't keep the full pressure after the hammer on!
This happens in particular when you do a hammer-on and then switch to a higher string! I made you a video with an exercise, let me know if that helps!
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Martin Thank you for taking the time to view my short video and to recommend additional exercises. With your guidance during these two weeks I feel I am charting a path for continued improvement. So much of this journey is learning what to look for (and to listen for) in the videos!
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Martha Kreipke I am very happy to hear that! I had a talk with a violinist yesterday and we came to a conclusion that playing an instrument is actually very simple, it's just the awareness of the small things that sometimes gets in the way!
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Martin You can watch the livestream here: https://fb.me/e/1vXLfVDop
Since we are going to launch tonebase violin on July 11th, I'll be doing some public streams for violinists as well, tomorrow I'll do a stream on "Bow Control and Bach" with Stefan Jackiw, that should be interesting for all you here!Slurs Group 1
Slurs Group 2
Slurs Group 3
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Martha Kreipke you are making great progress Martha! Your slurs are getting stronger and more clear. I can see the string bending that Martin already mentioned and he is so attentive to have given you a specific exercise. As your confidence builds you'll learn to feel how to relax your hand. With less tension the string bending will improve.
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Debbie Thank you for taking the time to listen and for the encouragement. For years I have made audio recordings of my practice sessions to work on tone and phrasing. It has been a long time since I also made video recordings close enough to see something like string bending. So much shows up for a trained eye!
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I included a copy of the etude# 3. I have a deformity of my 2nd finger joint (distal interphalangeal joint left hand) tip joint see diagram. This makes it almost impossible to hammer the high E string from an open E to a F# , I do not have this problem at other places its only when I have to hold the C on the 2nd string with my index finger, Any suggestions??
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
