🎶 Latin American Music Challenge | Week 2
Welcome to our tonebase Guitar Community Challenge! For the next few weeks, we’ll be diving into the vibrant world of Latin American music, exploring rhythms, colors, and styles that have inspired guitarists around the globe.
This is your chance to work on masterpieces and hidden gems by some of the most iconic composers:
Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil) – lush, virtuosic preludes and études
Agustín Barrios Mangoré (Paraguay) – romantic, poetic works full of soul
Abel Carlevaro (Uruguay) – brilliant studies and innovative techniques
Leo Brouwer (Cuba) – modern masterpieces mixing folklore and avant-garde
Manuel M. Ponce – sonatas, and romantic masterpieces
Antonio Lauro – famous Venezuelan Waltzes
Atahualpa Yupanqui – folk-rooted pieces
Jorge Morel – virtuosic concert works and arrangements
…and many more treasures from across Latin America!
How it Works
Pick your piece(s) – anything from the Latin American repertoire that excites you.
Introduce yourself – share what you’ll be working on and why.
Post updates – you can share progress videos, practice tips, or reflections.
Support others – comment, encourage, and learn together.
📅 When?
Start: September 29th
End: October 30th
Watch Party: October 30th 🎉
Why Join?
✅ Discover new repertoire
✅ Build consistency in practice
✅ Get feedback from peers
✅ Celebrate Latin American music with the community
💡 Whether you’re tackling a full Villa-Lobos Étude, polishing a Barrios gem, or exploring a short Brouwer piece, this challenge is for everyone — from curious beginners to advanced players.
👉 Jump in by introducing yourself below and telling us what you’ll be working on!
Let’s bring the sounds of Latin America to life together. 💃🎶
35 replies
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Here are two more of Ponce's Preludios Cortos. There's something about number 1 that I haven't quite figured out yet, so I need to work some more on the phrasing.
I also recorded the middle part of Leo Brouwer's La aventura de un soldado from his Preludios Los amores difíciles (Difficult Loves Preludes: The Adventure of a Soldier). The preludes are based on the book of short stories by Italo Calvino, and they're all sort of love-themed, but they deal with things like fear, regret, hesitation, insecurity, etc. The preludes represent them well since there are some really lovely parts, but they can be challenging and chaotic in places.
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Great work Steve - more pieces I hadn't heard before! Thanks for sharing
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Here is Abel Carlevaro's Microestudio #14. Six more to go to complete the set of 20, although I plan to take a break and move on to working on one of Carlevaro's later pieces, a Milonga from his Milonga Suite and a piece by Piazzolla and hope to post before the end of the Challenge.
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Here's my week 2 on Candombatan by Maximo Diego Pujol. Making progress. I still have some memory issues and a couple of buzzed or flubbed notes, but getting there. These challenges are always great motivators to make sure I am making consistent progress.
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Hi everyone, I think most of you are familiar with this piece. I've been practising this gorgeous piece for the last few weeks. As with many beautiful pieces, it has its difficult parts. I especially struggled with the barres and shifts in the B part. Anyways, hope you enjoy my submission.