Group 1
Mastering the art of subtle timing flexibility is crucial for delivering performances that are as expressive and speech-like as possible, captivating your audience's attention. Have you ever marveled at how the fluid manipulation of timing by your favorite performers adds depth and expressiveness to their music? If you aspire to imbue your musical expressions with similar vitality, or if you aim to perfect and evolve your ability to produce seamless legato, this course is tailored for you. We will introduce techniques designed to equip you with the skills necessary for integrating these practices into your own rehearsal routines with pieces beyond the scope of this course.
Course Highlights:
Dynamic Timing Flexibility: Delve into the nuances of timing flexibility to achieve a more expressive and speech-like performance. Discover the secrets behind the captivating, ever-changing stretch of time that adds color and expression to music, drawing listeners into your sonic world.
Legato Mastery: Explore the techniques to perfect your legato playing, ensuring seamless transitions and a fluid, singing quality in your music. This segment focuses on cultivating the ability to convey your musical ideas with the same vitality and expressiveness as your favorite performers.
Technique Enhancement: Engage in specialized exercises designed to improve your timing flexibility and legato execution. These practices are crafted to help you integrate these skills into your personal practice routine, allowing for continual growth and refinement.
Customized Feedback: Benefit from personalized feedback tailored to your unique musical journey. This course offers the opportunity to receive direct guidance and strategies from an expert, enabling you to overcome challenges and achieve your musical goals.
Collaborative Learning Community: Join a network of like-minded musicians and enthusiasts. This course fosters a nurturing environment for sharing insights, experiences, and encouragement, building a community of learners dedicated to musical excellence.
Enroll now and unlock the potential of your guitar playing like never before!
Timeline:
- Sign-Up : NOW until March 17th
- Course Period: March 18th until March 28th
- Optional check-In via Zoom: March 23rd, 10 am PST
Assignments Week 1
Note:
- Try to experiment with different tempos (bigger, smaller, etc.).
- Always listen to yourself. If what you were playing was gradually becoming clear or audible, keep at it.
- For exercises 4-7, it is important that you emphasize the melody and make the accompaniment quieter.
- In exercises 6-7, you can use appoyando to bring out the melody.
- Please send me videos of exercises 1, 2, and 3, and choose only one from 4-5 and one from 6-7.
Videos
Exercise one: https://youtu.be/GDYyqiyhuws
Exercise two: https://youtu.be/hgux2nOkEaM
Exercise three: https://youtu.be/SFDvk4CHsaI
Exercise four: https://youtu.be/gbNV-ZEJv5c
Exercise five: https://youtu.be/h9Kfdnhmm54
Exercise six: https://youtu.be/-yHXgqAruYs
Exercise seven: https://youtu.be/OShYqOe6fyo
Scores
Improve_your_time_flexibility_and_legato
Assignments Week Two
First exercise: https://youtu.be/B53r9aRax44
Second exercise: https://youtu.be/CIWz9DZQFQ4
Third exercise: https://youtu.be/CGEyEbwx6UQ
Fourth exercise: https://youtu.be/XAdOVEPx5Lc
Fifth exercise: https://youtu.be/dm9dW9WTXLU
Scores
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Hello Borbála, Here is a link to my Week 1 exercises. Apologies to Carcassi and Sor for my rendition. Hopefully there is enough to get some feedback, though the technical aspects, coupled with the challenge of recording, made for a frustrating experience. I here something in my mind that I can't realize at the guitar. I stumble on the technical aspects and feel that I did not really get a chance to focus on the legato and rubato aspects. Perhaps the pieces are above my level still? Any tips you can provide from watching my playing will be greatly appreciated. On to Week 2's assignment, but I will keep working on Week 1 material, too. Thank you for a motivating, encouraging and most enjoyable Zoom meeting. Here is that link to my recordings: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtb90cHD226PFc4AMuX3xbYrF3W7fB04h
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David hi David,
Thank you for your videos.
Exercise 1
It was really nice how you played it the acc . was also good, it could be a bit more gradually, I mean try not to achieve your end tempo, try to start from a bit slower tempo and concentrate on the step by step accelerating. If you imagine it before how you want to hear it exactly it will help you a lot. The ritardando was great and also the third one acc, rit. The imagination helps you to make it very clear in your mind how you want to do it and when you execute it everything can become more natural and you will not have to focus on it too much during the playing. Anyway all the fingers are moved by the brain so if you imagine anything before playing that will always help you for this natural feeling.
Great job thank you
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David exercise 2
It's really nice that you also formulated it musically.
Your pee finger legato is quite perfect. The synchronity is almost everywhere there, only couple of times you put the thumb a bit earlier to the string and very few times your left hand fingers came a bit earlier and touched the string and of course these both will increase kind of non -legato.
You could also work on it a bit slower to be able to control both hands fingers and also to take a shorter part of the whole story. Then you can focus on each detail and on the feeling of good and smooth legato.
Nice work thank you
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David exercise 3
Thank you it was nice too. In this exercise it happened a bit more often that you put some of the left hand fingers a tiny bit earlier. But this alternative stroke legato is much more difficult since we have more factors we have right hand different fingers and also many different cases for the left hand fingers. I would recommend first to try to play it only with your right hand on open strings that you can concentrate and listen to the attack of the fingers if they are enough legato and if they are always coming from the air never from the string. Basically you do it good, of course when we have to concentrate on too many issues at the same time that is much more difficult. To make it more simple will increase more security and also a kind of automatism for the right hand, and and then you will be able to focus more on the left hand too. But you can also try to play only the left hand muted, work on it with smaller parts and focus on the good changes of the different fingers on the good timing. When you have both hands separately then you can put them together and go measure by measure. If you do this way your legato can become perfect. And as I said it zoom meeting try to find the feeling of the synchronity for both hands just like you would play the piano.
Well done thank you
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David Dear David,
Thank you so much on your effort of this exercise. As I said at zoom meeting on tonebase you are all on very different level. Which is good but also a bit problematic, because when we prepare let's say a this kind of course we cannot be sure what kind of pieces we should prepare for you and on which level. And of course that is why it happens many times that for some of you exercises will become very easy and for some very difficult. You said that this is your second year of playing the guitar. These Carcassi studies and also the sor ones are already quite difficult. But for sure for you very very difficult. I would advice to not to take this exercise anymore because this is full with barres and we don't want you to have some problem with your hands because of it. And please try not to misunderstand it because I appreciate so much the effort and the work which you put into it already!!!
I would I would recommend to you that you take only the exercise 6, and make it also more simple with playing only the top voice always. With this you will be able to concentrate only on the top Melody which is the main Melody and on the perfect legato of it. And of course for practicing the rubato you can also use only this material this voice because then you will be able to handle these time flexibility factors much better and you will have a still very enjoyable musical product.
I hope you didn't take it a wrong way.
Great job, thank you
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Borbála Seres Thank you for the very helpful suggestions on all the technical aspects, as well as the comments on the level of the pieces and for helping me set reasonable expectations. I will slow it down a bit and pull apart the different aspects as suggested and continue to watch the lessons as a guide.
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Here are my Rubato and Legato exercises. These are "musically" ( with tasteful legato and rubato) harder than expected and still need attention to get them the way I like. I'm very happy you assigned this to us, as I recognize their importance. Please let me know your comments. I will continue on these as I also work on the wk#2 assignment. Thanks!
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Barney hi Barney,
Thank you for your videos.
Exercise 1
I find it really nice gradually how you built it up. Maybe you could work on the first version acc, since if you're listening to it you will hear, that the end of it you make a tiny rit too. Actually it shouldn't be there. But I know it's really difficult since we are used to play the end of every piece this kind of rit (almost every piece) so it's difficult to hold ourselves back from it.
All the others were perfect!
Excellent job thank you
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Barney Exercise 2
It was really nice your p finger legato. If I'm not mistaken I realized that at couple of places you put your left hand fingers a bit earlier. Try to listen to it back without echo to have more exact control of what you were doing. It doesn't happen everywhere but a couple of times. About the right hand finger I cannot say it exactly if you would put it earlier or something but what I've heard I don't think so. Try to work on the feeling of this complete synchronity, not easy at all.
It was a great job thank you
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Barney exercise 3
It was really beautiful. I am glad that you made a second shot because that was really perfect. Your alternated stroke legato seems super good.
It was also musical.ly nice formulated!
Great job thank you
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Barney exercise 4
Very nice thank you.
If you would like to make it even nicer you could work on the upper voice to highlight it bit more. That would increase an even nicer singing musical material. I would recommend to take a bit slower tempo to enjoy and focus the small details, and try to emphasize your musical ideas a bit more to make them even more clear for us.
Very good job thank you!
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Borbála Seres Thank you very much for your constructive comments on the first 4 videos. Your guidance is greatly appreciated and I will follow your advice. I also look forward to receiving your observations on the last 2 videos.
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Barney Hi Barney,
Exercise 6
Thank you it's very nice how you formulated it musically. The melody on the top is nice highlighted, maybe the time flexibility you could play a bit more, but this way is also very nice .
Great job thank you
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Barney exercise 7
That's also very great. Only musically couple of ideas; if you give a tenuto for each first note of each measure that will increase the continuously stopping of the musical flow and you cannot hold the musical material together enough. For the listener it will become also difficult to follow you, because you are stopping each time the attention with it . Of course it's matter of taste too.
The release at the end the rit. and the calming down is very beautiful.
Very nice job thank you
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Borbála Seres Thank you very much for your helpful comments on exercise #6 and #7. I will certainly keep in mind these musical ideas for my playing here and in general.
Your great advice and careful attention to these details is much appreciated!!!
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Steve Price Rick Lord
Hi Everyone!
I made you a short video about the position of the guitar, that maybe helps you take the right hand better for dolce tone color.
https://youtu.be/Ln77wBF0nDM-
Borbála Seres Thank you very much for this short video - quite helpful! You explained it well with the leg position being closer to the position as if using a footstool. That really helped. I am experimenting with my set up (currently using sage works/magnets) for the support. I will let you know how it goes. Best, Rick
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Rick Lord OK, good luck!
I forgot to say on the video, that I'm using guitar lift now, probably you saw it. With that I could achieve my very comfortable posture.
Let me know,if you would need some more help!
B
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Borbála Seres This was extremely helpful for me. I've struggled for years with hand position and drifting towards the bridge but it never occurred to me that the problem was in my feet. As long as I remember to keep my left leg forward my hand falls naturally closer to the soundhole. Thanks so much for this.
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Steve Price dear Steve,
I am so so happy that I could help you with that position and tone quality problem!
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Hi Everyone!
There was some questions about rubato playing, so I made a video about this topic. I hope it will answer everyones questions.
https://youtu.be/QORKJGqUVT0-
Borbála Seres Thank you Borbala for these short videos. They are very helpful!!
You are a wonderful teacher!
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Here's a take of the Tarrega prelude. I tried to be a little more free than before as suggested. As I was working on this a little bit of a story took shape in my head which is something I don't usually do but I think it helped me add a little of my own take on it.
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Steve Price Hi Steve,
What a beautiful tone colour!
Thank you for your beautiful video!
I am super happy that I can see that you worked on the shifting and preparation exercise really so well!
Basically I find it musically also really nice, but sometimes I have the feeling that you could hold the tension even a bit more. Try to focus on the legato Melody and try to make my (or your) musical ideas first only with the top Melody that you can concentrate on the graduality of all the musical ideas which you want to play. At the end after the stretching position you waited a bit too long and somehow it stopped the flow of the melody.
Listen to it back, and it could also help you if you would sit only with the note and would try to imagine the whole musical story only in your head. Like you would listen to a CD inside. With this mental technique you can make all the musical ideas very clear and it will help a lot during the execution.
Really great job thank you!
P S.: what was your story?
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Borbála Seres
Thanks so much for your feedback and suggestions.
I totally agree about breaking the flow of the melody. There are so many little things I want to put into the piece, but it’s hard to get them all down in a recording. Hearing it in my head definitely helps.
As far as the story, last week we noticed one of our two golden retrievers has a little grey hair on his chin and he’s slowing down a little bit. The story is just a montage of when we first got them as puppies and it felt very care-free until now when we’re coming to terms with the fact that nothing lasts forever. The piece sounded very melancholic and bittersweet to me and I tried to bring that out.
I’ve always been very clinical about the guitar so putting any sort of story or emotion into a piece is new to me. I don’t know how of it much comes through but I think it helped me shape the piece and I definitely enjoyed it more.
Thanks again for all your help.
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