Week 2: Sleeps a Song in all things! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the second week of "The Romantic Era" challenge!
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying (<- click)
- Watch the kickoff livestream! (<- click)
Who is your favorite romantic lyricist?
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Mendelsohnn Op. 19.6 Barcarole (Venetian Gondola Song) 1st update
Ok, I lied. I said I was going to take a break on this but it just keep sitting looking at me saying "Well, are you really going to leave like that?". So what could I do?
This is much better technically - new strings were a big help. I hope to get some help from Tengyue Zhang' masterclass tomorrow. (Wait! What? Tomorrow?)
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Jack Stewart Great work, Jack! Isn't it fun how a piece of music can actually speak words to us? I wish I could attend the class tomorrow, but I hope you find it enjoyable and fruitful.
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric. I am sure it will be fruitful. Enjoyable? We'll see.
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Jack Stewart It’s a chance to share a piece of music that you love with some friends, and then to gain knowledge and inspiration from a kind musician and teacher. What’s not to enjoy?
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Eric Phillips Stress and frustration. I do enjoy it in the sense you mention but performance has always been difficult for me.
Also, I always seem to be the last person to sign up which means I'm usually the last person to perform... which means I don't get to watch everyone else in a relaxed way.
When I was young my parents brought me a bicycle with square wheels and I never ever got what I wanted for Christmas.
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Jack Stewart If lies can bring us more music, I don't mind you lying more.
The flow was better than the last take, well played! As Eric said, sharing music with all of you was a real enjoyment, the sharing part was even bigger than the music itself (at least to me). 
Wait, what?! bicycle with square wheels??
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Wai Thanks Wai. I agree that the sharing of music is a real enjoyment. I thoroughly enjoy posting music and seeing others' posts. My challenge is performing ... I want to, and sometimes can, enjoy that but I find it very stressful.
I also tend to overstate things as a form of self-deprecating humor. That's what my last statement was referring to - a bit obscurely, I admit.
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Jack Stewart thank you for your decision to share your interpretation of this beautiful arrangement. It works so well on guitar. I will try to attend tonight. You shouldn’t feel stress, your such a good player, but….I know what you mean, and I feel the same
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Jack Stewart Much improved. It flows really nicely and harmonics are much clearer. Good luck with the masterclass. Looking forward to the next rendition.
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joosje Thanks Joosje. I agree that this piece works really well on guitar. Tarrega did a good job. Stress is so annoying.
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Dale Needles Thanks Dale. New strings did make a big difference on the harmonics, though I still find them difficult.
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Jack Stewart I enjoyed listening. Also the class with TY. Great insights. I hope you will not be too sick and recover fast!
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joosje I do seem to be a little better though I am still in a fog. (And how is that different? you may ask.)
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Jack Stewart I couldn't attend the Masterclass, I hope you had a great time with Mr. Tengyue Zhang and our Tonebase mates. Maybe this week I'll have a window of time to see the recording. Anyway, I really like the way you're conducting this boat... (sorry about this awful pun...). Thanks!
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Mertz - Op 13 An Malvina (May 13)
Here is today's update. I changed a few fingerings from yesterday, and I am generally more comfortable playing it. I still botched the same chord at the end as I did yesterday, so apparently I need to practice that measure about 1000 more times!
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Eric Phillips that’s so beautiful. The upper voice is singing freely, and the arpeggios steady and well controlled.
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joosje Thank you, Joosje. Hoping to memorize it.
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Eric Phillips Great job, Eric. It sounds beautifully balanced and expressive.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack!
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Eric Phillips Beautiful! You were not only able to perform new pieces perfectly in a short amount of time but also got them memorized. Any tips to help improve my goldfish brain? I couldn't even remember my wife's birthday this month...
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Wai Thanks, Wai. I don’t think I had it memorized in the video, but I think I do now. Of course, my memory always disappears when I hit the record button, so we’ll see. As for memory tips, I have nothing. They say memorizing from the end first is a good method, and I tried it a few times, only to give up partway through the process (too tedious). When I memorize a piece (which isn’t often) it just happens because I play it so much. But with some composers (like Bach and Sor, both of whom I love) I can play the piece a million times but still not have it memorized. It’s strange.
BTW, my wife’s birthday was this month too. May 1.
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Eric Phillips Bravíssimo! Great performance, Eric! You really did a great job in just 1 day! You're amazing, like Joosje said the upper voice is singing like a soprano and the arpeggios are well controlled. About memorization: did you (maybe Wai too) watch the Dale Kavanagh live session (here in Tonebase), about memorization techniques? It's full of great insights and techniques for memorization. For obvious, we are all different, but the idea is to test some processes and choose one that fits (and works!) for you. Thank you for that amazing video, Eric!
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Moyses Lopes Thank you, Moyses. I desperately need some lessons on memorization. Let me check out the live session and see if I can remember my wife's birthday next year.
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Here is a nice little Mazurka by the Argentine guitarist/composer from the Romantic period, Juan Alais (1884 - 1914). As I mentioned during the Latin American Challenge, Alais' is considered one of the first Argentine composers who wrote for the classical guitar. This Mazurka, which he entitled Emma, is part of a dance suite which also included the Vals that I posted last month.
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Dale Needles what a sweet little piece. Charming. Well played. Nice gesture to our friend Emma!
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
