Welcome to tonebase!
Hey everyone - this is Igor from tonebase 
!
It's such a pleasure to welcome you as one of the founding members of the tonebase community. Please introduce yourself in a post below with the following format:
- Where are you from and what's your favorite food from there? ;)
- What are you currently working on?
- What are you hoping to get out of this community?
I'll go first:
- While it's hard to pinpoint where exactly I'm from, lol, I just go with Bavaria Germany, and as favorite food, I'd choose Beer (surprise, surprise - closely followed by "Schweinshaxe" - Bavarian Pork-knuckle, which is quite delicious, but sooo heavy that it feels weird calling it favorite food)
- Trying to keep my Aranjuez in the fingers, even though certainly don't have that much time to practice as during college days...
- I hope we can facilitate authentic and interesting discussions around playing, learning, teaching, performing the guitar as well as all adjacent topics like concert prep, professional development, auditioning etc...
Now over to you (after some participation from our tonebase team members!)
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Hello Tonebase Community,
I'm in Clovis, California (Central Valley). Too many food favorites, can't pick just one, but if I had to it would be cheesecake!
Working on the 6th Cello suite, JS Bach. My own transcription. Building myself a new guitar since I still play my first, and after building nearly 400 of them I thought it was time to upgrade. LOL
I miss the comradery of my classmates when I did my BM and MA degrees many years ago. Retired from teaching at the college level after 20 years there. Plus I see many of my former instructors from my college study years have lessons on Tonebase.
Wishing everyone a positive musical journey!
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David Schramm Hi David, glad to have you here! I feel your enthusiasm on food, there's just so much good stuff out there!
I hope to hear your transcription one day, maybe you might want to share your practice session in our Practice Diary?
Happy to have you here! I am quite positive I've heard one of your guitars already somewhere, but I can't remember who it was
Let us know if you have any questions or comments or maybe suggestions for a livestream!
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Martin George Sakellariou plays my guitars, so maybe you heard him on YouTube. https://youtu.be/GquXpmgYQ6Y
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Hello,
I am from Central California and my favorite food is the Asada Quesadilla. I am currently working on Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach. I hope to learn as much as I can to be able to play my favorite songs.
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Noe Manriquez Hi Noe, so good to have you here! I just had a quesadilla the other night, but being based in Düsseldorf/Germany, I figure a Quesadilla in Central California is somewhat closer to the source!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this piece! I even started a practice diary on that piece, but David Russel's transcription is so hard! Feel free to open your own practice diary with the pieces that you want to learn and share your progress there!
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Hello!
I am originally from China and now live in Singapore! My favourite local food is … seafood noodle - probably because it's taking the best flavours from Singapore and my hometown. 
I am currently going back to my basics, training on my tone projection and other little performing habits. I am looking forward to have fun with you all here, being part of the community means warm support, constant inspiration and place for me to give back! Which are precious to me because my connection to the music world has been only my teacher and few close friends. Looking forward to hangout and create some fantastic music with you all!
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Huang Wei Hey there, so good to have you here!!! I do miss being in a place with fantastic sea food, I'm happy for you!
Let me know if you have any questions! Tomorrow we 'll start our Happy Holiday Challenge where we invite people to play music that they connect with the festive and celebratory spirit of the season. Furthermore, you can always open up your own Practice Diary, where you can share your progress on the pieces you love with others and invite them to listen to you!
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- I'm from Massachusetts; the best food here is Vietnamese, IMHO -- particularly a good bahn mi sandwich. Sadly, there's only one Vietnamese restaurant in driving distance of me, so I have to settle for tomatoes from my garden as # 1 food, at least in summer.
- I'm working on Bianco Fiore and Carcassi's etudes #2 and #3, along with technical studies to help me make the transition from electric bass to classical guitar, with the help of my online teacher in Boston.
- I'm hoping to find out things I might not otherwise learn about, so it's hard to say. My goal is to find work as a solo guitarist after I retire from my full-time (non-musical) job. playing a variety of different styles in the resorts and tourist restaurants near me. Classical pieces would be on the setlists, but so would lots of Brazilian music, particularly Garoto's pieces which I love!
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Hi! I'm from Quebec (Canada) and even though I should say my favorite food is Poutine, I guess I'll choose Apple Pie. I joined Tonebase a few months ago, and already watched a few video. But for the new year, I thought I should start to participate a little bit more actively with challenges and stuff. So I decided to work on some Mertz-Schubert for the Playing Transcriptions Challenge. Looking forward to meet new players!
Cheers
Hélène
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Hélène Beaulieu Welcome to Tonebase Hélène, I'm more than happy to meet someone from Quebec here! I hope you'll enjoy the activities and I can't wait to hear you!
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Hélène Beaulieu Hi Hélène, so good to have you and excited about your participation in the Challenge, your 8-string guitar looks amazing and I look forward to listen to your recording that you shared!
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I wish. To cancel my recurring subscription. Purely due to financial concerns unfortunately.
Please assist
Mr. Jeff Sieth
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Hi, Jesus from Spain.
I’m very interesting on your learning platform, you have great teachers and tech resources.
I will spend my practice through this year and my desire is improve my skills on classical guitar.
greetings
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Jesús Mostajo Bienvenido, Jesus! Where are you from in Spain? I spent two months in Zaragoza, and traveled a bit around Spain about 25 years ago.
Right now, we are in the middle of a challenge on the music of Spain. Check it out in the forums, and if you would like, you can join in. Let any of us know if you have questions, although Martin from the Tonebase team is the best one to ask.
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Jesús Mostajo Holá Jesus, glad that you've joined! I've done a trip to Spain at the beginning of the year for some exciting new tonebase productions and I enjoyed every second of it!
Let me know if you have any questions about tonebase LIVE and our Community! We are currently running our "Explore Music from Spain" month, we have a lot of people already sharing their love for Spanish music in there! We have a very welcoming and helpful community and love to listen to each other (not only in these challenges but also in interactive masterclasses and community concerts).
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Eric Phillips Hi Eric, I'm from Madrid, Spain is little compare USA but there are so many things and sites to enjoy. It's my first time in Tonebase and I'm doing my first steps. I detect a great level. Thank you for your contact.
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Hello!
Stefano from Italy here. I'm very happy to have just joined, I hope I'll find nice tutorials and explanations. I really like that there seem to be so many competent people playing guitar here!
- I have two favourite foods I must say: "parmigiana di melanzane" (typical of Sicily) and "baccalà alla vicentina" (typical of north-east Italy, where I come from). The first one is vegeterian, while the second uses cod fish in a special preparation. If you can you should try them, they are very good recipes in my opinion!
- I am currently taking the rust off from my past as a classical guitar student. In particular, I'm trying to improve my speed and musicality on "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" and am also learning "Asturias (Leyenda)" for the first time. I would like to play very often, but a full time job in ICT/Engineering takes up most of my time these days.
- I'm curious to see if there are other people nearby north Italy here, and of course to get to know other players from all over the world and share knowledge, support and share our love for music and for the amazing instrument that guitar is!
Wish everyone a nice day!
Stefano-
Stefano Ciao, Stefano, e benvenuto. I live in the United States, but I lived in Italy (Roma) for five years back in the 1990s. I did visit Venice a few times. Are you anywhere near there?
I want to taste both of those dishes you mentioned! I really miss the food in Italy. In Rome, there is a restaurant called "Filetti di Baccala" that I enjoyed a lot. My favorites, however, will always be the pastas, like Spaghetti alle Vongole, or Penne Carbonara. I always prefer simple dishes done well (which is actually similar to the guitar music I most enjoy).
Right now, we are in the middle of the Spanish music challenge. It would be great if you could participate and send in some videos of your progress on those iconic pieces. You can read about it in the forum. Let any of us know if you have any questions, but Martin from the Tonebase team is the best one to ask.
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Stefano Hi Stefano, very nice to have you here in our Community!
Those two dishes sound absolutely amazing, I love Italian food so much! I hope to be back in Italy this year, shortly before the pandemic hit I've done a trip to the Amalfi coast with absolutely stunning views and delicious food!
As Eric Phillips mentioned, we are currently running our "Explore Music from Spain" month, it would be absolutely fantastic if you could join in the fun and share some music there! We have a very welcoming and helpful community and love to listen to each other (not only in these challenges but also in interactive masterclasses and community concerts).
Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions around tonebase LIVE and Community!
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Martin
Yeah, now the warm weather is coming and the pandemic seems more under control, so I think it will be possible to travel again around Europe! I'm also missing that! Nice to hear you liked the food and the stay in Italy.
Eric Phillips
Great that you lived in Romefor a while. It is really a beautiful city, even though it is a bit complex and chatoich to live.I am from Trentino, which is right below the Tyrol part of Austria, in the middle of the alps.
It is pretty close to Venice, but it is more of a mountains place than a seaside place.
Thanks for suggesting "Exploring Music from Spain". I'll definitely try to participate!
I don't have good equipment to record my playing on video, but I can try my best.
Is there some sort of deadline or is it fine to submit for the whole month of February? -
Stefano The Watch Party for the Spain-Challenge is on March 4th, afterwards we will start another challenge! We are doing these every month, so that we can never stop practicing
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Ciao Stefano
vivo a Rimini, lo possiamo considerare vicino al nord Italia?
Ho visitato molte volte il Trentino Alto Adige, andavo a fare sci di fondo nella meravigliosa Alpe di Siusi, ho visitato Bolzano, Merano, Trento, Bressanone..posti incantevoli dove camminare attraverso splendidi paesaggi bere vino e mangiare piatti tipici squisiti.
Suono per diletto da molti anni, trovo Tonebase un'ottima piattaforma per condividere
la passione per la musica e in particolare per la chitarra.
Contattami per la qualunque (come dicono gli amici siciliani)
- I have two favourite foods I must say: "parmigiana di melanzane" (typical of Sicily) and "baccalà alla vicentina" (typical of north-east Italy, where I come from). The first one is vegeterian, while the second uses cod fish in a special preparation. If you can you should try them, they are very good recipes in my opinion!
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Hi folks! I'm new to tonebase (where were you 50 years ago when I was trying to learn classical guitar?) I've just finished reading a lot of the intros - everyone has an interesting story. Mine is, I live in St. Louis, Mo, I love Canadian Bacon Pizza and I'm drinking a gin and tonic as I type this. Ok, not terribly interesting. I'm in my 80's and I haven't played the guitar in about 28 years. I used to play folk music, blues, some jazz on electric and anything on electric bass. All the while I was trying to learn classical guitar. I ended up with a repertoire of about 10 or 15 pieces that I could get through but my technique was pretty crummy. I had two problems that slowed me down which I still have - nails breaking and the reaches on the guitar are sometimes impossible for me. I'm thinking I might need a small scale guitar. BTW are there any discussions on buying guitars? I could use some advice. Anyway I'm happy to have found tonebase (Thanks Alexandrea Whittingham) and I'm starting out really slow with reading music and beginner courses.
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Lon Gilbert Hi Lon - welcome to ToneBase from a fellow member. If you have problems with your nails, I suggest you trying playing as I do - without them! Here's a video describing this approach from Scottish guitarist/lutenist Rob MacKillop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB_NBJbYJZo&t=1s
As for big left hand stretches (which I also have trouble with) one possibility is to simply avoid repertoire that has too many of them! Yes that means not playing some pieces that I would otherwise love to (like the beautiful 'Choro da Saudade' by Barrios) but there is more than enough good repertoire out there that doesn't make unreasonable demands on the left hand. A small scale guitar might be a solution, but personally speaking, I have found this doesn't help much. (In fact, among my own guitars, the one I find easiest to manage has the longest scale length - go figure!) As far as I know, there are no discussions here about purchasing an instrument, but if you were to start one, I suspect you would elicit more than a few opinions!
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David Krupka Thanks for the reply David. I watched a lot of Rob MacKillop's videos on you tube - he's really an interesting guy. I've never heard of him before which surprises me because I used to be a folksinger and thought I knew everyone connected to folk music. I'll keep that in mind about the nail-less playing but for now I'll keep trying different shapes and see what happens.
Interesting what you said about stretches/small hands and your long scale guitar. I guess I need to find a small scale guitar and see if it makes any difference for me. Not an east search in St. Louis but I know one place that might have one. Thanks for the info.
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My name is Sage. USA resident. Love seafood. Hoping to learn to express myself through strings.
I'm currently working on holding my guitar without crying.
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
