Week 1: Rhythmic Revelations 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of "Song and Dance" practice challenge!
Choose a piece that is inspired or transcribed from a song or a dance. It could be a lively south-american danza, a passionate tango, a serene romantic lied, or a poignant aria transcribed for the guitar. You're welcome to explore pieces from unfamiliar composers or challenge yourself with a complex work.
Commit to daily practice and share your journey with the community. Aim to practice every day and upload at least two videos each week to illustrate your progress. This will not only help you stay committed and encouraged but will also allow you to share your musical voyage with our tonebase family.
Share your favorite piece or recording that embodies the theme of "Song and Dance." Your submission will serve as an inspiration to others and create a vibrant pool of potential pieces for other members to delve into.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Sor - Valse Op 47 No 6
For the last several weeks, I have been working through Sor's opus 47 over in the practice diary. I am now on this last piece, and since it's a waltz, I thought it would be at home in this Song and Dance challenge.
This is just a first stab at each of the sections:
- Measures 1-16: Pretty straightforward. The slurs and occasional open string are the biggest technical challenge.
- Measures 17-24: This is the hardest part of the piece, without a doubt. The position shifts are pretty big and quick, and I want the slurs to be strong and fluid. I'm taking it quite slowly for now until I have it down. I really have to memorize this section so I can keep my eyes on the fretboard due to the shifting.
- Measures 25-32: Nothing too hard here. Slurs again always need attention. Despite the markings in the score, I think I will not slur to the open second string in measures 28-29.
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Eric Phillips I always enjoy your Sor. I also very much like and impressed that you are so focused and dedicated to Sor. I also find it rewarding to specialize on a particular composer.
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Dale Needles Thanks, Dale. Unlike you, I never met the composer upon whom I focus. I wish I could have met him (and heard him play).
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Eric Phillips you learn the piece so quickly Eric! This Sor's valse in 3/8 time signature reminds me of Carcassi: he wrote a lot of waltz studies in 3/8. Sor seemed to use a lot of different chords than Carcassi. This Sor valse sounds very classical/romantic, and it is a nice dance piece! You already have a lot of technical things solved beautifully! Congratulations!
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Eric Phillips well done! It flowed really well. Will be awesome when you put them altogether.
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Poulenc - Sarabande for Guitar (May 12 update)
I tried to add more dynamics today. I also did a few small things in the fingerings to try to make it more legato and have less string squeak (although there is still plenty).
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Eric Phillips Really nice, Eric. I need to get this back out. Such a pretty piece.
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Eric Phillips beautiful sound, tempo, colours and phrasing. Thanks for bringing this piece up and exploring the beauty of it in this challenge
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joosje Thanks, Joosje. It's not too dance-like, but why not?
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I have some new things in the works for the month, but here are a couple of pieces I put up in my resolutions post a couple of months ago and they seemed to fit this challenge.
Leo Brouwer's Zapateo (or Zapateado) is based on a flamenco dance and the name translates to tap dancing in English.
Antonio Lauro's Ana Cristina was conceived of by Lauro as a lullaby for one of his nieces, but it's written in the style of a Venezuelan merengue with a triplet followed by a tuplet which gives it a distinct swing feel.
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Steve Price
Well done Steve. Two very beautiful pieces. Both pieces are flowing nicely.
Thanks for sharing your work
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Steve Price Great work, Steve! I hadn’t heard either of those before. The Brouwer is especially impressive.
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Steve Price I completely agree with Eric - the Brouwer one is truly impressive and playful. Thank you for sharing it!"
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Steve Price Very Nice! You played both pieces very well. I like the timbre variations in Ana Cristina and the strong rhythm in El Zapateo. As a small anecdote, I played Ana Cristina for Lauro when I met him in his home in Caracas in 1984.
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Steve Price wow, that’s really good. I know the zapateo, it’s not so easy, and your playing is so fluent, rhythmical . I enjoyed it a lot, also the Lauro, which I didn’t know. Charming piece. Thanks also for the info - and Dale Needles for the anecdote.
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Steve Price Nicely played, Steve! The Brouwer piece really ‘rocks’! And it’s great to hear this rarely performed lullaby by Lauro. As it happens, I sight-read through it just the other day and really didn’t understand the ‘groove’, so it’s nice to hear it played properly.
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Dale Needles Wow - that must have been a great experience, Dale! I think if I had ever had such an opportunity I would’ve been too nervous to even hold a guitar, let alone play!
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Dale Needles That's crazy. No pressure there, lol, but I'd heard he was a very cordial man. He's always been one of my favorites and I found some books about him, but none were in English. What a great experience. Thanks for the feedback on the pieces too.
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joosje Andre Bernier Eric Phillips Wai I really appreciate the feedback.
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David Krupka Thanks, David. I wasn't entirely sure of the feel for the Lauro piece since some seem to play this type of dance in 5/8 while others play the five notes as a triplet and a tuplet. For a slow piece, I think the latter works better.
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Steve Price that’s more or less what I thought too, Steve. Btw, I don’t mean to be snooping, but is that a framed picture of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald on your wall!?
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Steve Price David Krupka Yes, playing for Lauro was nerve wracking but it was a very casual evening. I was visiting Lauro in his home, having been introduced to him by a good friend of mine and student of Lauro's, Bartolome Diaz. We were sitting in his living room, and I had fortunately brought my guitar in the off chance he would ask me to play something. Fortunately, he did ask and I played Ana Cristina. It wasn't really a lesson but he did give me some pointers. And yes, Lauro was a very gentle and kind soul from what I know of him. He even agreed at that meeting to allow me to represent him (I was also an artist manager at the time) in negotiating a publishing contract with Guitar Solo in San Francisco. Additionally, I also met the famous Natalia (his daughter) that evening. She was also very welcoming and kind.
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David Krupka Lol, oh. That's a picture a friend bought me decades ago where someone photoshopped instruments into the Ruby shooting incident to make it look like it was from a gig. If you google oswald band it's still floating around out there. A bit inappropriate so I might have to keep that one out of shots, lol.
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Dale Needles That's great Dale. Natalia has always been a bit longer than most of the pieces I've been able to play, but I'm hoping to get Andreina up to speed by the end of this challenge.
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Steve Price I found the image online. It’s remarkably well done, although I don’t think the Roland D50 was around ‘63! The Telecaster is appropriate, though.
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Steve Price nice! i've not heard of them. Thanks for sharing!
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