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
- Pick something you love, any piece, any style, any level
- Share your goal, tell us what you're taking on this summer
- Post your progress, clips, audio, or just an update as the weeks go
- 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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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.
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Glad to see this new summer Challenge and love the open ended theme. As I await the arrival of my second great grandchild, Lloyd Moseby III, I will be working on a Tango by Astor Piazzolla. For those from Toronto, you may recognize the name of Lloyd Moseby. He is one of the great Toronto Blue Jays from the 1980s.
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Just started working on 3 new pieces:
- Summer Forever by Angela Mair (an apropos title!)
- Cancion de Cuna by Barolome Calatayud
- Simple Mambo by Thierry Tisserand
Plus, my TB coach suggested I start working on the 20 Estudios by Ernesto Garcia de Leon. I already learned #3 out of order. So next on my list is #1 El Bufon (The Jester).
Don't know what I'll post in the end.☺️
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Since Martin mentioned playing what you love, I'm not sure what I'll be presenting, but it will most likely involve the music of Leo Brouwer. Lots of pieces and periods to choose from, so we'll see what comes about. Hope everyone enjoys taking part in the challenge.
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Llobet - El Mestre (Aug 3)
I actually posted this yesterday morning, but somehow it got flagged "pending review". Today, I literally just copied and pasted the same post and it was not flagged. 🤷♂️
Here is my first attempt at this piece. It's very slow and full of mistakes. The score I am using is attached.
The first section (measures 1-12) is very manageable. But then the trouble comes:
- Measures 20-22: This is a rather odd connecting phrase with some dense and harmonically obscure chords (especially measure 22, which I cannot even imagine playing at tempo).
- Measures 30-33: The chords aren't too difficult, but they need to be played pizzicato, which I find very challenging. I changed the fingering a bit.
- Measures 36-41: This is a section with artificial (octave) harmonics. I'm pretty good at doing this when there is only an upper and lower voice. But there is a middle voice here that needs to be plucked with the ring finger, and I find that quite challenging. The middle voice is harmonically very important, so leaving it out is not a good option.
- Measures 46-50: This is another odd connecting phrase with some clunky chord changes. Starting in measure 49, the score calls for octave harmonics in the upper voice, but I am leaving them out for now, at least until I can get the left hand down better. Interestingly, I found several versions of this piece on YT by some very virtuoso professionals who do not play these notes as octave harmonics. The sudden switch to harmonics does seem a bit random, and they break up the phrase in an odd way.
- Measure 72: More dense 16th-note chords. Thankfully, there's a ritardando!
- Measures 74-77: Chords in natural harmonics, but with one artificial harmonic thrown in just for fun! The left hand spread for the chord in measures 75 and 77 (an E major triad) is pretty challenging. Interestingly, I found a version by Segovia in which he plays this chord straight up, no harmonics at all, which is quite a bit easier. I don't like the change in texture, however.
So, lots to work on. If you actually read through all of this, you're a very good person!