Group 4
Breaking Your Scale Speed Limits with Eduardo Inestal!
Virtuosity and speed go hand in hand when it comes to freeing your musical expressiveness from technical limitations. One key element in classical guitar performance is the ability to play fast scales with ease. Together, we will explore exercises that will enable you to push your speed limits and improve your scale skills while retaining relaxation in both hands and gaining a richer tool set to express your musical ideas.
- Sign-Up Period: August 11 - 14
- Course Period: August 15 - 26
- Class Size: 4 Groups á 10 Participants
- Optional check-In via Zoom: August 23, 11 am PST
Assignment for the first week:
Play the first exercise (Slow) while paying attention to the following:
- Keep the tempo
- Always alternate i-m
- Be "lazy” (move your fingers, both right and left hand, and yourself as less as possible) to keep the relaxation
Do the same with the 2nd exercise (Faster tempo)
Once you control this exercise, you can gradually choose your tempo, increasing the bpm. Pay attention not to lose your relaxation!
Have fun!
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I think I’ve got the link posted now.
Hello Eduardo and thank you for the great lessons. I am discovering that this exercise is very effective at getting me to focus on right hand accuracy. This is something that I need to work on because a lack of consistent good tone and too much noise is a problem with my playing in general and I attribute this to needing to be more accurate with the right hand. I will make this exercise a part of my routine and continue to work on it and extend it to other right and left hand fingers. Thanks for this. I am trying to be slow and controlled in my video and still some accuracy problems but I feel that this is helping get there.-
Mark Hi Mark! Thank you for posting your video!! Great job!
I like very much how you play, you look very relax and the position of your hands and body is great. What I missed is just a bit more of control. Both in Tempo and precision.
Try to play it a bit slower, with metronome, and concentrate on the tempo. Aswell try to get the shifts of your LH precise. It may help at the beginning if you look at your LH, just to make sure that your fingers go to the right fret with the right position and you dont need to correct it.
Only that, Pretty easy task, but at the same time, pretty complicate!
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Hello Eduardo. I am posting links for three videos. They are ex 1 slow and then a little faster and ex 2 slow. There are mistakes from inaccuracies but to be honest, I have been a sloppy player for a long time because I only play for myself and in the past I have just ignored those problems. I am trying to change those bad habits and your lessons, these exercises and Tonebase are extremely helpful towards this. It will take longer than the time we have in this course but I am excited and feel that I am progressing. Thank you!!
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Mark Hi Mark, thank you for your videos! Great job!
Ex 1 slow: Very good. Fantastic control of your body, but you start to loose control of the tempo on the last patters of the exercise (2-1, 1-1). Try to control it
Ex 1 moderate. I find there is too much movement on your RH. Try not to move your hand at all. Think that the movement of the fingers start on the phalanx, no the the arm of wrist. Therefore, no movement whatsoever. Try it. Aswell, on the repetion 2-1, you were not accurate with the rhytm. Not a big deal, but lets try to master it!
Ex 2 slow: The movement of your LH and coordination are great. RH same thing I said before regarding movement. The only thing You have to work on is on the rhytm. You are playing irregular patters, so I suggest you to play it with metronome, in order to be crystal clear.
I need to hear 4 eight notes and 4 sixteen notes.
Would love to hear you playing this ex again!
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Eduardo Inestal YES! That is a terrific observation. I think the movement is because I am unintentionally letting my fingers push my hand away from the soundboard during the stroke, especially m finger. This takes power away, causes inaccuracy and contributes to another issue I have been unable to correct for some time and that is I sometimes sound the upper string instead of resting on it on follow through especially at faster tempo. You picking this out is very helpful! Thank you.
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Mark Glad to help!!!
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Eduardo Inestal Hello Eduardo, I have a question that perhaps you could address in the zoom session because it may be of interest to all. These exercises have been great and make me look deeper into my technique. A problem I have had in fast rest stroke is that I often play through the upper string that I should rest on and cause it to sound unless I rest my thumb there. I can prevent this and control it at slower tempo but not when trying to play faster scales. As you have already pointed out part of my problem is letting the stroke push my hand awAy from the soundboard a bit. I think also that I am keeping the tip segment of my fingers stiff causing my finger to come to rest on the upper string too near its tip. A relaxed tip seems to allow the finger to come to rest more toward the pad and less likely to slip through the upper string. Do you advocate playing with relaxed tip? Thank you for your valuable time and help!
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Here is the next assignment video for all of you!
Goals:
- Keep the tempo
- Be as "lazy" as possible (move your fingers (an also your body) as less as possible).
- Increase the tempo gradually. -Start with 50 bmp and speed it up till 100 bpm
Submit 2 videos with both tempos (slow and fast)
scales group 4
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Hi Eduardo Inestal
Here's my homework for exercise 2. Slow the first day and moving up in speed over the past couple days. I noticed my lips tightening in the speed bursts of the fast version
so some tension is there... trying to be lazy as possible. -
Mark Baran Hi Mark, great playing on these exercises. I want to ask how you embed the YouTube videos I've only managed to copy and paste the links Thanks, Mark A.
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Mark Baran Hi Mark! you are a virtuoso! Great job!
A couple of things:
On the ex 2 slow, you played it perfectly, so nothing to correct. What you can do know is to play with musical intentions. Try to play it with dynamic and direcction. For example. Each group starting piano and makind a crescendo, and so on with every group. Then, the other way around.
Regarding the second video, where you play faster, I think you are a bit above your limit, and for that reason you feel tense, and it sounds not as controlled as it should be. The solutions is easy. Increase the tempo gradually from the slow one, always controlling your body and your tension. (check every 2 sec if you feel relax, and if you see yourself relax). Hear if the sync is perfect and if the sound is always the same. That is the way to master it!
I am sure you are going to do it!
Btw, the movement of your fingers are perfect. No worries about that!
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Thanks Mark! For me I have a couple of icons below the chat box that allow me to share a video. See screenshot below.
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Eduardo Inestal Thank you! I'll dial it back and make sure I'm more relaxed along with dynamics/direction. I struggle with holding tension in my face so it's definitely a good thing for me to work on.
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Mark Baran thanks. My tablet doesn't show me the video icon. I'll try the desktop pc. I appreciate your help!
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Mark No problem at all. Maybe martin knows something about that?
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scales group 4
Please find login information for Eduardo's Zoom Check-in on August 23, 11 am PST here. Feel free to post questions before the Check-In in the forum so Eduardo can prepare those.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88539131031
Meeting-ID: 885 3913 1031 -
here's my attempt at exercise 1, at 180 bpm. I also had trouble with my pinky so I tried to tuck my a finger and pinky into my palm. my rest stroke also needs work lol.
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Vilio Celli Hi Vilio, I have trouble opening your file. Is there a way you can send a link to youtube? Looking foward listening you playing!
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Eduardo Inestal sorry Eduardo here is the YouTube link.
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Vilio Celli
Hi Vilio, Thank you for sending your video! Great job.
There are a couple of things we can improve:
1. Your thumb of your LH should never be seen. Watch this video where I tell why:
2. Try to start at a slower tempo, in order for you to master the exercise and the rhtym pattern. Then you can start speeding it up, step by step.
3. Try always to alternate i and m. Sometimes, you repeat finger. we have to avoid it absolutly if you want to play precise and fast.
4. Making mistake is normal. Everybody does it. but the key is, when we make one, we should stop and analize why. (maybe wrong finger, maybe wrong movemente, etc). If you can name the mistake, you have the solution. So we should start over. It requires patiece but it worht it.
Let me hear it again slowly!
Cheers
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Eduardo Inestal thanks Eduardo great advice!
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scales group 4
Exercise No. 4 by Eduardo!
Goals:
1) keep the tempo
2) Be as "lazy" as possible (move your fingers (an also your body) as less as possible).
3) increase the tempo gradually.
Start with 50 bmp and speed it up till 100 bpm Submit 2 videos with both tempos (slow and fast)
scales group 1
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https://youtu.be/5XF3U2rCvVM
Hi Eduardo. I suppose we are nearing the end of the course but here is an attempt at ex 4 slow and simple meter only. Just trying to get control of it.-
Mark Hi Mark, very good job. Definetly you should play with metronome. It is not the first time your meter is very irregular, so my suggesition in order to avoid rhytmical problems is to play with metronome, aka "your best friend".
Besides that, great mov of your fingers. Try to speed it up a bit (with metronome!!!!)
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Sorry. Of course that was slow attempt at 2 and 3.
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Eduardo Inestal Catching up on my homework here. We're in the process of moving so things are a little crazy, but here are my videos for exercise 3 and 4.
I wanted to ask you about the right hand thumb in exercise 4. For me I find that I can play a lot faster with free stroke if I allow my thumb to travel to the string adjacent to the string that (I/M) is playing on. I play this way in my second Exercise 4 video.
With rest stroke and keeping my thumb on the 6th string I find as the right hand opens I lose speed. Any thoughts on this?
Thank you!
