Week 1: Prelude to Villa-Lobos

GREETINGS, ESTEEMED TONEBUDDIES!

Are you ready to embark on a musical journey through the enchanting realm of Villa-Lobos and his South-American roots? With the new release of Douglas Lora's Preludes this Friday and the whole Suite Populare Bresilienne with Fabio Zanon in the making, we are thrilled to present the revamped "Villa-Lobos Voyage Extravaganza," an extraordinary experience celebrating the works of Villa-Lobos and composers influenced by his heritage. Over the next four weeks, dive into captivating compositions, exploring the rich tapestry of sounds and rhythms.

WHEN 📆

  • Challenge Start: Official Kick-Off on July 30th
  • Challenge Duration: July 30th - August 30th
  • Watch Party of Selected Submissions: August 30th

HOW TO BEGIN 🚀

  1. Select a Piece:

    • Choose a mesmerizing piece from Villa-Lobos or a composer connected to his South-American heritage. Options include soulful Villa-Lobos compositions, rhythmic Brazilian-inspired works, or pieces by other artists inspired by South-American musical traditions. 🎼 
  2. Practice and Share:

    • Commit to regular practice and share your progress with the community. Aim for daily practice and upload at least two videos per week to showcase your musical voyage. This keeps you motivated and allows you to share your artistic journey with our tonebase family. 🎥
  3. Submit Your Performance:

    • Share your favorite performance or recording that captures the spirit of the "Villa-Lobos Voyage Challenge." Your submission will inspire others and create a vibrant collection of potential pieces for fellow members to explore. 🎧

The heart of this challenge lies in exploring the rich cultural heritage of Villa-Lobos and his musical influences. So, pick a piece that intrigues you and embrace this journey with enthusiasm and curiosity. Together, let's celebrate the captivating sounds of Villa-Lobos and his Brazilian roots. Get ready to practice, learn, and immerse yourself in the Villa-Lobos Voyage Challenge! 🎸🎼🌟

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  • Mazurka-Choro (July 31)

    For the previous HVL challenge, I worked on the Valse-Choro from the Suite Populaire Brésilienne, so this time I thought I'd try the Mazurka. I was able to practice it for about an hour this morning. Like the others in the suite, it's in rondo form ABACA (+coda). Listening back, there are too many things to work on to list here!

    Sorry for the loud beep about ten seconds from the end. I forgot to silence my phone. Don't you hate that! 📱

    Like 1
      • Jack Stewart
      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips Really nice, Eric! Especially for an hours work!! 
      I'm glad you explained about the phone. I had wondered how you got that extra harmonic in there.

      Like 1
    • Jack Stewart Maybe that is how Tarrega was inspired to write his Grand Vals. His phone with a Nokia ringtone must have gone off while he was playing.

      Like
    • Eric Phillips great start already, Eric. I'm thinking of skipping this challenge as most of Villa Lobos' pieces are too difficult for my technical level. Btw, I have a question for you guys- how easier is it to play a new piece of music (especially a moderate or difficult one) if you're already great technically?

      I'm assuming you'd have to be able to read music well, have great finger independence, make stretches onnthe LH, be able to play at high tempos if required in addition to things like dynamics, articulation, ornamentation etc.

      I have used etude no.1 as part of my practice routine for arpeggios. I struggle if I play beyond 90bpm, while I have played around with prelude no.1 with difficulty in many places of the piece.

      Like 1
    • Eric Phillips really good rendition

      Like 1
    • Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Thanks, Nijwm! I do think you have the technique to play some HVL pieces, if you want. You said you can play Etude 1 at 90bpm, which is far better than I can do, so why not work on that for this challenge? Of the preludes, I think number 3 is the easiest. It looks hard on the page, but when you actually get to playing it, it is not too bad. Prelude 4 is often considered to be fairly easy. The B section scares people, and I am currently not able to play it with any kind of speed, but I think it can actually sound pretty good when played much slower but very musically. I do think number 1 is attainable by you right now, but it is quite long, and the sheer number of challenges in it might take you more than a month, but why not just work on a section of it?

      Also, check out the Suite Populaire Brésilienne, from which the Mazurka-Choro I am working on comes. I think you could manage of few pieces from this suite.

      I'm not sure how to respond to your question about how easy it is for me to play a new piece. It depends on the piece. I have plenty of technical limitations. To be honest, with the way my right hand index finger has lost all independence these days, I actually do not think any of the HVL etudes are playable by me right now. You mentioned several aspects of good technique, and other than good sight reading ability, I don't think I have any of them. I avoid fast pieces like the plague. If a piece has right hand arpeggios that require proficient use of the index finger (like HVL's Etude 1), I simply cannot play them. Sometimes, I have to find a way to re-finger arpeggios, avoiding the index finger, like I did in the coda at the end of the Mazurka-Choro here in this video. It's not ideal, but it gets the job done.

      So, know that the struggles you have playing new pieces are struggles we all have. For me, the key is sticking to pieces that are challenging, but are still playable by me right now, and not worrying about my inability to play everything in the repertoire that I'd like to play. When I let go of what I cannot play, and dive into pieces I can play, I am much happier and playing brings me a lot of joy.

      I hope that helps!

      Like 1
    • Jacques farmer Thanks, Jacques! I hope to make small improvements each day.

      Like
      • Ronnull
      • Ron.3
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips Beautiful!  I love this suit and the Mazurka-Choro is one of my favourites. I'm in awe of what you can achieve in 1 hour! You should have the whole suite recorded by the end of the challenge!!

      Like 1
      • Derek
      • Derek
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips Blimey Eric - If you can play that after an hour then it's no wonder that you manage to post so many videos! One of the reasons that I have been absent from recent challenges is that it takes me so long to learn something new (and to set up my recording gear!). I have played a few VL pieces in the past so I am trying to get back into them to post something this month.

       

      Back to your video - it's sounding really good already so I am looking forward to hearing the final product. It's one of my favourite pieces!

      Like 1
    • Ron Thanks, Ron. I'm just going one piece at a time. I wouldn't mind bringing this one to a much higher level and working on it for a while.

      Like
    • Derek Thanks, Derek. Good to hear from you, and I really hope we get to hear you play again soon. Also, I'll give you a "cookie" if you use words like "blimey" more often in your posts! 😁

      Like
    • Eric Phillips Bravo Eric. Always inspiring to see how you can get that level of performance so rapidly. 👍

      Like 1
    • Thank you, Eric for taking time out to respond (I love this community!). You've given me a good overview of the difficulty levels of the preludes. HVL pieces are so enticing, yet technically difficult for me. Regarding etude no.1, yeah perhaps I should give it a try although I'll be fairly busy with something else this month. But, let's see.

      Sorry to hear about your I finger. You have still managed to play so elegantly here in the challenges after losing your I finger independence. I too have struggled with my index finger independence, especially when I practice tremolo. For some reason, there's much more independence between my M and A fingers. That seems a bit weird to me because from what I have gathered from other people, it's easier to have more independence between I and M fingers, and that's why most people use I and M for scales. I still have to improve on my rudimentary sight reading skills as well.

      Generally, I'm very demanding and critical of myself yet often settle too easily for an average level of playing. I know that sounds paradoxical, but I think that comes from my lack of knowledge about musical and theoretical aspects of music and inability to analyse critically with my ears about what a piece demands. Anyways, we have to enjoy the process of learning and playing.

      Like 1
    • Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Thanks, Nijwm. I certainly was not trying to pressure you into playing any HVL, I was just trying to encourage you to try some since I think you have the technique needed to play some of his pieces. If you’re working on other things, though, we all understand. I’ve taken a break from some challenges as well. That said, I’m sure nobody here would mind you posting other pieces that are not by HVL (or even related to him). If you’re like me, posting things to the community gives you a bit of motivation.

      Like
    • Eric Phillips Thanks, Eric. Of course, I understand you're not pressuring me. I appreciate your view on my technical level and I couldn't agree more with you on the motivation these challenges provide us.

      Like
  • Eric, thanks for sharing this!  I am going to watch the Prelude videos and choose one.  Nice tone, fast progress for an hour!

    Like 1
    • Ron Rutstein Thanks, Ron, and welcome to the challenge! I look forward to hearing you play one of his beautiful preludes!

      Like
  • Hello everyone: This is a piece that I have been learning for the past few months. I still have work to do on it, so your input would be greatly appreciated. This is the complete piece, but I may start uploading different parts during the challenge to see if can improve the more challenging passages.

    Like 4
    • Raul Guzman Vidal Great work! It’s very long, so that took a lot of work to get the whole thing playable.

      I would suggest practicing it a lot with a metronome. This strikes me as a piece where the pulse is really important to the character of the music. Obviously, you eventually need to push and pull the tempo a bit in places, but right now the slowing down and speeding up seem a bit random, and more determined by your hands than by the music. I would want to make sure I could play the whole thing at a consistent tempo first before adding any rubato.

      Like
    • Eric Phillips Yes, it's a very long piece. Thank you for the advice, I will start practicing using the metronome more often. I have wanted to play this piece since taking part in the Latin Rhythms two weeks intensive course with Arturo. 

      Like 1
    • Raul Guzman Vidal Nicely done. The great thing is, you have the entire piece and, now you can work on the finer details of the piece as suggested by Eric. I'm sure you have checked out the lesson/livestream on this piece at TB. If you haven't, you should.

      Like 1
    • Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Yes,  have taken the lesson in TB, but it wouldn't hurt to rewatch again. Thanks for your input. 

      Like
      • Ronnull
      • Ron.3
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Raul Guzman Vidal Well done Raul! It's great that you can play through the whole piece. I agree with Eric's suggestions and look forward to watching your submissions

      Like
  • Mazurka-Choro (Aug 2)

    Here is an update on this piece. I botched a few key moments.

    Like 1
      • Carlo Martins
      • A scientist with a passion for the study of proteins
      • Carlo_Martins
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips 👏🎉 Great rendition!

      Like 1
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