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! ↓
-
For this challenge, I will continue my exploration of the music by Abel Carlevaro with one of his early folkloric pieces, based on the Afro-Latino candombe rhythm which is very popular in Montevideo, Uruguay during Carnivale. I was fortunate to have experienced Carnivale in Montevideo on three different occasions in the 1980s and it was truly amazing to hear the candombe groups playing throughout the city during the month of February. Carlevaro wrote this piece in the early 1960s under the pseudonym Vincent Vallegos.
-
Blaise Laflamme Barney Let's move this discussion over to the Carlevaro discussion forum as Blaise suggested.
-
Blaise Laflamme Thanks Blaise!
-
Dale Needles Will do, thanks!
-
Dale Needles Great performance, Dale! Candombe is a challenging rhythm, and you played very well! Curious situations those where Carlevar signs as Vincent Vallegos, don't be?
-
Moyses Lopes My sense is that at that time in his career (early 1960s), Carlevaro did not want his folkloric compositions to interfere with his "more serious" compositions, so he used a pseudonym. I think later in his life, once he established himself as a major composer for the guitar, both for his solo as well as his ensemble pieces, he became more comfortable with publishing some of his more folkloric pieces, such as some of his milongas, under his own name.
-
Dale Needles it is such a gift to always learn new things about music when you appear.Never heard that piece. Thank you!!
-
Stefanie Mosburger-Dalz Thanks, you are too kind. Just listened to your Catedral post and it is coming along very nicely. Such a beautiful melody which you capture well. Barrios at his best.
-
Dale Needles thank you, I will work on it
-
Dale Needles Sounding good Dale! Makes me feel like I'm walking through the streets of Montevideo!
-
-
Hello, friends! As homework for this second week, I have finished the reading process and would like to share the result with you. Next week, I will try to memorize the piece and polish the phrasing. Recorded with AKGC411 in my kitchen, I mean, in my studio...
And now, time to listen to your contributions!-
Moyses Lopes Great Moyses, can't wait to hear your final version... it flows under your fingers! When I started listening I was about to say... hey, you're sounding like a plugged guitar, then I Googled your mic model and I got my answer!
-
Moyses Lopes I agree with Blaise, can't wait to hear the refined version, but this version is sounding great. I love your use of timbre and phrasing, very Carlevaro sounding. If there is one minor suggestion, I would watch the glissando. As you know, Carlevaro used them very sparingly.
-
Moyses Lopes That has some really lovely moments in it, Moyses! I like the pickup you are using - it sounds so direct, and fits this music well.
-
Moyses Lopes That sounded great, Moyses. Well played and I like the sound of the pick up. Might have to do some research since it may work for what I do.
-
Moyses Lopes Love your playing Moyses. Do you think Mr. Carlevaro would have liked the mic pickup? I can see its value when playing in a group with louder instruments. My personal preference is for a natural sounding Classical guitar sound. If I want amplified sound in my house, I plug in my Strat or PRS and rock on, haha. (Just my humble opinion...). However, I do I think it would sound great for fingerstyle Jazz guitar music. I will keep that in mind for future interests. Thanks for sharing it.
Do you play with a footstool or a guitar support?
-
Moyses Lopes Wow! this is coming along great, Moyses. I am also really looking forward to your next posting.
-
Thank you - Blaise Laflamme , Dale Needles , Eric Phillips , Steve Price , Barney , Jack Stewart - for your kind words! I really like this piece and will make a big effort to play it well.
About the microphone: Actually, it's not my first choice because the sound is a bit "rubbery" for my taste. But... it's good for drafts and very useful when your neighbors are noisy and you don't have enough silence to record.
About the stand: I'm using the Guitarlift, from German, and I'm really liking it because it's easy to put on the guitar, and easy to adjust. I still use my footstool, maybe for a cultural issue.
Dale Needles : good note about the glissando! I'll strongly consider your suggestion!
Ci vediamo!
-
Moyses Lopes Thanks Moyses! I understand about the surrounding noises when recording, which is annoying, and compensating with that microphone. Good to know about your satisfaction with the Guitarlift support.
I look forward to your update on the Scherzino! I always enjoy your playing.
-
Moyses Lopes sounds already great. Looks so easy when you play, although so hard
-
Moyses Lopes Very nice, Moyses! I enjoyed the playful rhythm! I was not familiar with this piece before. Thanks for sharing!
-
Moyses Lopes I get it. My studio is our dining room...or what was our dining room!
Way to go with this piece Moyses. It's coming together very nicely. -
Moyses Lopes Hi Moyses, I'm curious what your pickup is plugged into. Are you recording direct or what kind of interface? I think the trade off of losing some of the sound quality would be worth it for not having to worry about trying to work around a noisy neighborhood, a loud HVAC system, and two big dogs. I'm not really concerned with album quality recordings since I only share a music with some friends and on this forum.
-
Steve Price the AKG C411 is a high-performance miniature condenser vibration pickup. He has a special rubber and you can put them in any place on your guitar. Usually, they sound better near bridge, but with time you perceive where you can install it. You need an interface because they need phantom power to work, I use a Scarlet 2i2 Studio. Like you, for me losing some of the sound quality it's not a problem if you have confort to record without worry about noisy neighborhood and dogs. It's not the best sound I can get but it's really useful for me.
-
Moyses Lopes Thanks for the reply and the information. I actually have the 2i2 coming in a couple days so that works out perfectly.
-
Steve Price Just to mention: I bought two C411 in 2003, and they are working perfectly.
-
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
