Week 2: Pack your Bags! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the second week of the "Guitar Music of the World" practice challenge!
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Bogdanovic Monk-a ning Complete rough draft
This is a complete, reasonably intact, posting on Monk-a-ning. Well, I say complete - I did not play the repeat of the first section. I felt it was too precarious to go for a second round. Kinda muffed the beginning and end of the middle section but with some imagination you can probably imagine how it was supposed to sound.
This is much rougher than it should be. I have been overwhelmed with fingernail issues so I have decided to try playing without nails. I don't like it (at this point). I can't control the tone and feel very disoriented with my right hand. I don't know if I will be able to post again for this challenge. It will take me some time to adjust effectively to no nails. We are leaving next week for a 2 week road trip so I won't be able to practice during that time. I will keep following everyone else's progress and will be back home before the watch party.
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Stefanie Mosburger-Dalz Thanks, Stefanie. It is not nearly as joyous as your singing posts.
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Blaise Laflamme Thanks Blaise. Amazing composers they are. I may try the fake nails again before we leave on Thursday. I would love to try and get a decent recording of this piece and something for the mini Baroque. But we'll see if I can pull that off in 2 days.
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Jack Stewart my friend uses the nail kit by Savarez and he said it's almost like having a real one, nothing to compare with fake nails you find in drugstores. What are you using?
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Blaise Laflamme My last preferred was Guitar Nails Kit (https://www.acoustic-music.de/Guitar-Nails-Kit/en).
I have also used Rico Nails (Strings by Mail). Their glue dots are better but the nails have too much curvature for my fingers.
I have used the SBM nails but they are too thin. I have also stopped using glue on because that seems to really deteriorate my nails. The adhesive dots are designed to come off so you can reuse the nails and take them off when not playing. Recently the adhesive stopped adhering long enough to practice so that's when I decided to try no nails but, so far, I don't like that at all. I will try the adhesives again tomorrow to see if my nails just needed a longer break. I'll be taking 2 weeks off after that so maybe there is still hope.
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Jack Stewart Hey, Jack. I just got a reply in YT from Michael Chapdelaine, who uses fake nails. He said he discovered a new one that he likes a lot. Here is the link if you're interested: https://guitarplayernails.com/%3E.
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Eric Phillips Thanks, Eric. I think I have tried those, but it has been a while. I can't remember why I stopped. They are available at String By Mail. I will look into them again per your posting and I may try them again when I get back home. My reluctance is that they require nail glue which I feel has further deteriorated my nails. Their instructions are quite detailed (which I probably skimped on - knowing me) so they certainly seem to know what they are doing.
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Jack Stewart What a fun piece! It looks like you’re really enjoying it! Me too!
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Jack Stewart I have savarez guitar nails but ut is with the glueproblem, but I have to kit a little gap, only just gluing the strip of silk on the tip of the nail.Sometimes it is 4 wheeks good, sometime comes off the day after. I use Nailtique on the one problemnail and on the others DIKLA, which is cheaper. But it helps. Because I work as a nurse- hard for nails with the gloves and desinfection etc But: when I eat Quark and Joghurt, it gets better. Now in GB there is no Quark to by, but other things like clotted cream;-)
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Marilyn Blodget Thanks Marilyn.
It is indeed fun, albeit challenging, at lest for me. -
Stefanie Mosburger-Dalz Thanks for this information, Stefanie. I believe the Savarez kit is silk based, rather than actual fake nails. is that correct? Is it primarily for strengthening existing nails or do you build out an extension from your nail?
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Jack Stewart Yes, silk! Well, in the deskription it is promised to be useful as extension, but that is not right! Maybe if you take a bath in glue that turns out to cause cancer someday...but: to recover the brittle nails you can just cover 2mm of the edge to let them grow. I have to cover a gap in a nail that always gets into two pieces due to my work. but with nailtiques combined with the silk underneath I have now reached that the gap stays closed. And I discovered that my nails improved as I gave them a drop of native cocosoil before going to sleep. here I had to pay 59 euro for the nailtique 2, just for 7ml !!!! but all for playing guitar;-) . Last year I bought a lamp for gelpolish and used some fillmaterial out of china, it is so insane for me, I nearly cant stand the smell. You expose the hands and the damaged nails to just more damage, so I put it all away from me. With the Savarez kit you can help one or two nails, but if all nails are damaged, I would just give them time and care and eat proteins of natural food, avoid everything chemical or soap etc, wear gloves while working in house or garden. I have the impression of a bad nail phase in early Year and fall....like chicken;-)
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Wow, very cool Jack! Nice and jazzy and love those moving bass lines.
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Barney Thanks Barney. Those baselines are really nice but a challenge to keep going.
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Londonderry Air (Danny Boy) arranged by Toru Takemitsu. This is my first Saint Patrick's Day since Ancestry informed me that I'm 8% Irish. All four of my grandparents emmigrated from Norway. But we were Vikings, so it makes sense.
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Marilyn Blodget Beautiful! From one Viking to another, that was a great job!
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Marilyn Blodget Very nice, Marilyn. Takemitzu arranged an interesting collection of tunes.
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Marilyn Blodget So nice, Marilyn! Takemitsu's arrangements are so lush and surprising. It looks really difficult for the left hand, especially the pinky.
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Marilyn Blodget Beautiful arrangement and playing, Marilyn! I don't have Takemitsu's book of 12 songs, but wondering if you tried any of the Beatles songs he did. I love the jazz harmonies he uses in the arrangements, which are truly concert level. Thanks for sharing it for the holiday.
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Barney Thank you Barney! I do play Takemitsu’s Yesterday, and I have worked on Michelle. I figured out how to bar with my thumb on the intro to Michelle. That helped.
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Eric Phillips You are right—especially at first. A lot of the LH shapes take time to get to and play, but it’s marked rubato, so I’m taking him up on that.
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Marilyn Blodget Awesome Marilyn! I should probably pick up a copy of the book one of these days. Thanks!
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Marilyn Blodget Beautiful, Marilyn! Takemitsu's lush harmonization really suits this Irish classic.
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David Krupka Thanks David! I love the harmonies as well.
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Steve Pederson Tak!
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Barney Please do! A lot of great arrangements!
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
