Practice diary 2024 - Andre Bernier
Starting a new practice diary for 2024 with few comments on what I have been working on in January.
My practice routine has been at least one practice a day (sometime 2 and even 3 on some days). Each practice is about 45 to 60 minutes. It starts with a 10 to 15 min warm up using about 5 of the 120 Guiliani's Right Hand studies. I have so far worked on 30 of them and I introduce 10 new ones every month. I hope that by the end of the year I will have make good progress on them.
I also came back on the Sergio Assad Sketch no 1 that I put aside in November and December. I progressively worked on the 4 parts of the piece. I am able to play each part at different speeds and still need the metronome for the last 3 parts. Still a lot of work to do but I made some progress.
I normally finish my practice routine by practicing one or 2 of the pieces I learned last year.
Here are the separate recordings of the 4 parts of S. Assad sketch 1 .
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Andre Bernier Congratulations on the work and success you have achieved in 2024. I can see from your previous videos that your playing has great strides during the year.
Looking forward to seeing your progress in 2025 as you work towards the new goals. I am sure that working on 3 different paths at the same time will continuing being a challenge in itself.
All the best in 2025.
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Jim King Thanks Jim
Working on many things at the same time has the benefits of not being boring
See you around
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Here is a recording I made today of a piece I learned in the summer of 2023. I started my review right after the new year. I am able to play it at 125 bpm which is 15 bpm better than in 2023 and I feel that the tone and overall musicality is better.
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Andre Bernier This is very good, Andre, definitely a big improvement over your earlier performance. As you say, both tone quality and musicality are greatly improved. One small (non-musical) thing I will point out, however, is that you seem to have some unnecessary tension in the fourth finger of your right hand. Ideally, the hand should feel fully relaxed. Of course, only you will know if there is any discomfort associated with this: if you don't notice any stress, everything is likely fine. Oh, and as a final point, the new guitar (I know not so new now, but newer than the one in the old video) looks and sounds great!
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David Krupka
Thanks a lot for your comments David. You are right about my 4th finger. It is not very flexible and relaxed. However, it does not seem to limit my playing so far. My not so new Cordoba C12 is definitively a big improvement in tone and $$ over my Cordoba C7. Also, I have more experience playing with the Alaska picks which contribute to some of the tone improvement.
Thanks again for taking the time to watch my stuff.
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Andre Bernier Well done Andre. All of the tones are coming out nice and clear. I went back to your recording in the summer of 2023 and I can see a lot of improvement now compared to then. Keep up the good work.
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Andre Bernier This is sounding very good, Andre. This is much more confident and musical than your earlier post. Your improvement is inspiring.
I noticed the same issue as David Krupka. I would also suggest trying to raise your right hand a little so that your fingers can relax a bit more. You can experiment by raising your wrist to see what effect that has on. your RH finger position. If it seems to help I think you can gradually change the position by focussing on it in short periods thru out the days practice.
BTW I have the same issues with collapsing my wrist in my own playing.
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Here is an update of the work I did in January and the progress toward my goals for 2025.
Classical Guitar:
I am actually working daily on 3 elements for about 15 to 20 min each. The first element is generally a study for warm-up purposes. The second element is a review of a piece I previously learned with the intention to improve the fingering, the tone, the speed and musicality. Finally, the third element is to learn a new piece.
This month I worked on Emilio Pujol – Etude no.1 – This is a study that I use to practice the rest stroke technique on the low strings (6,5,4 and 3) using alternate i,m fingers. So far, I have made good progress during the month. From 85 bpm last October, I can now play at 100 bpm and play both parts twice.
For the second element, I worked on Piece by Leo Brouwer – Estudio Sencillos no.1. This is another etude using Cuban rhythm. This is the first time I made a recording of this piece.
Finally I worked on learning a piece of Mauro Giuliani – Andantino Mosso Op.1, Part 4, No.3. This is a nice piece that I will have to keep working in February before attempting to make a first recording.
Here are 2 recordings of my work this month:
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These are sounding great, Andre. The Pujol etude (which I had not heard before) seems to be an excellent warm-up exercise. I may start using it this way myself. I would be inclined to use the R.H. thumb throughout, though. (I think you are undoubtedly following Pujol's intention, but in my own (unconventional!) view, an agile thumb is very useful!) The Brouwer etude is coming along very nicely too - it's certainly a piece worth maintaining in one's personal repertoire! I look forward to hearing the Giuliani study when it's ready!
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David Krupka Thanks David for taking the time to watch my recordings. I agree with you that the Pujol's Study would feel more comfortable using the Thumb.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
