Week 1: Play Whatever You Love ☀️🎸

Summer's here. Longer evenings, slower days, and hopefully a little more time with the guitar in your hands.

This one's wide open. No set piece, no required technique, no weekly checklist. Just this: spend some of your summer making music you love, and share it with us.

That could be:

  • A piece you've been chipping away at all year and want to finally get on tape
  • Something brand new you're picking up just for fun
  • A tune that sounds like summer to you, bright, warm, nostalgic, whatever that means for you

Post whenever you've got something to show: a video, an audio clip, or even just a note about what you're working on and how it's going. Cheer each other on. That's the whole thing. Open to all levels.

Dates: August 1 to August 28

How to participate

  1. Pick something you love, any piece, any style, any level
  2. Share your goal, tell us what you're taking on this summer
  3. Post your progress, clips, audio, or just an update as the weeks go
  4. Engage, cheer on your fellow players and swap encouragement

We'll close things out with a Watch Party featuring your recorded submissions, so make sure your final performance video is posted by the end of the run. 🎥

49 replies

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    • BLaflamme
    • 4 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Posted last week in my practice journal... more to come!

    «Nothing beats a lovely “Fingerpicking” to start the summer holidays… Except perhaps having a good time!»

      • Amateur guitarist/lutenist
      • David_Krupka
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Beautiful interpretation, Blaise! Your control of the various musical elements - melody, rhythm, harmony - is truly masterful. And as always, your attention to detail is an example for us all to emulate! (And I notice that the composer makes the score available free of charge - I'll definitely give it a go myself.)

      • BLaflamme
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thanks David, I'm glad you liked it. Indeed, I always try to bring out the best in a work in all its aspects, to the best of my ability and also to my capacity to make sense of it. Wolfgang Vedral is an excellent composer whom I particularly appreciate, most of his works are free and very accessible, both technically and musically.

      • Ron.3
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Loved it the first time I heard it! Beautifully played Blaise as always!

      • BLaflamme
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thank you Ron, If I had known that a challenge was coming I wouldn't have posted it last week!

      • Ron.3
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Certainly worth posting twice in case anyone missed it! Just downloaded the music

      • BLaflamme
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Maybe... have fun reading it, if you have a capo it's even more enjoyable!

      • Dale_Needles
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Feels very reminiscent of Joplin. Very enjoyable to listen to and very well played.

      • BLaflamme
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thank you Dale, it was a fun play (and record session)!

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       That was lovely! Not familiar with that composer. Definitely a wonderful sunny summer feel!

      • BLaflamme
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thank you Michelle, I'm glad you like it!

      • Retired
      • Andre_Bernier
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       So nice Blaise. Bravo and thanks for sharing 👍

      • BLaflamme
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Merci André!

      • Steve_Price
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

      Nice, Blaise. Such a clean sound. 

      • BLaflamme
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Thank you Steve, can't wait to hear what you'll share!

      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       Excellent, Blaise. You and Eric have really set the bar for beautiful playing for this challenge!

      • BLaflamme
      • Yesterday
      • Reported - view

       Thank you Jack, I hope to hear what you're working on... maybe some BWV 996?

      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • 22 hrs ago
      • Reported - view

       I am trying to put the BWV 996 Prelude, Allemande and Courrante as a single post. Individually they are close but trying to get all three in one go is a big ask. I am leaving for Bali/Borneo on Friday so I will need to get before then. I return on the 20th so not a lot of time to recover in time for much else.

      BTW, I believe it was a comment you made about  praising Knobloch strings. I just tried them (Knobloch Erithacus EDB 33.5 Bio-Nylon Medium Tension) and love them. They are over due to change but I won't do that until I am back

    • Eric
    • 4 days ago
    • Reported - view

    Canción Leonesa by Rogelio Villar (arr. Miguel Llobet)

    This is part of Llobet’s famous Canciónes Populares Catalanas. But after researching it a bit, I found out that this one is not a popular Catalan song at all. Instead, it is one of twenty-five pieces for solo piano by Rogelio Vallar called Canciónes Leonesas, which means songs from the León region of Spain. This is the first one, which is a lullaby (Berceuse). Llobet’s arrangement does stray a bit from the original, especially at the end. To be honest, I think I like the ending he gave it more.

    I have played this piece before, but I recently heard a performance of it from Carles Trepat on the Casa Sors YouTube channel, and I loved it so much that I wanted to play it again myself, using some of Trepat’s ideas. This video is the result.

    So, now that this challenge is posted, I think I will try playing some more of Llobet’s Canciónes Populares Catalanas. My favorite is El Mestre, which I have never played since it seems rather difficult, but maybe I will try that next. We’ll see where it goes.

      • BLaflamme
      • 4 days ago
      • Reported - view

       A beautiful discovery for me this little piece, and your playing is very sweet and appropriate, I very like what you've done with this! 👌

      • Amateur guitarist/lutenist
      • David_Krupka
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Very fine performance, Eric! This is such a calming, peaceful sounding lullaby. (I'm surprised it's not better known.) Llobet was certainly an outstanding arranger - I look forward to hearing further interpretations of his work!

      • Ron.3
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Lovely piece Eric and a great performance. Very relaxing!

      • Dale_Needles
      • 3 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Very beautiful, Eric. Unfamiliar to me, but definitely got the Llobet vibes. 

      • “Do or do not. There is no try”
      • Michelle_P
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       Just gorgeous! Don't know why but I have a thing for lullabies. I hope to one day have a repertoire of beautiful lullaby pieces. Would love to add this one to my future collection, although I'd be challenged to play it half as well as you have. 

      • Retired
      • Andre_Bernier
      • 2 days ago
      • Reported - view

       This is indeed a very nice piece and very well executed. Bravo Eric 👍

Content aside

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