WEEK 3: Master of Classical Style!
WELCOME TO THE MAIN THREAD FOR THE THIRD WEEK OF "Ferndando Sor" PRACTICE CHALLENGE!
- Select a mesmerizing piece from Fernando Sor! Whether it be a delicate Sor etude, a powerful solo work , or a little miniature, the repertoire is in your hands
- Dedicate yourself to consistent practice and share your musical evolution with our community. Aim for daily practice sessions and upload a minimum of two videos each week to document your progress. This will not only fuel your dedication but will also allow us to partake in your musical expedition within our tonebase family!
- Contribute your most cherished performance or recording that resonates with the "Sor Guitar Soiree." Your contribution will not only motivate but also help curate a diverse anthology of pieces for our members to discover and enjoy..
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Walze Op 8 No 6
I wanted to take a little break from the very long, somber Fantasie Elegiaque that I have been working on. I looked around for a piece by Sor that I had never heard before, and that would be light, fun, and relatively easy. This little waltz fits the bill perfectly!
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Eric Phillips Very nice, Eric. I think opus 8 represents a bit of a break for Sor too - it follows two important works: the challenging opus 6 studies and the magnificent Fantasia, opus 7. Sor surely needed a bit of breather, because next up were the celebrated Mozart variations, opus 9!
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Eric Phillips Really nice, Eric. And a well deserved break.
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Fantasie Elegiaque Op 59 Andante Largo Nov 18
This is my first time recording the entire Andante Largo of this piece. It’s a little over nine minutes long, so I completely understand if nobody listens to it all. I just wanted to try playing it all the way through. I told myself that I would not stop, no matter how bad it gets. In the final section, it definitely got sloppy, so it’s good for me to know that I need to practice playing it all together. I can’t even imagine trying to add the Marche Funebre, which is just about the same length as this!
Jack Stewart So sorry for ending again on the dominant. After you listen to it, you can pull out a guitar and add your own big E minor chord, if that makes you happy!
Blaise Laflamme The fingering you suggested for the last section is clearly the right way to go, but for a while now, I have been having a lot of problems with my i finger. I cannot play scales with with i-m or i-a anymore, unless I use rest stroke for stability. Arpeggios are sometimes impossible for me, even simple things like Spanish Romanza. In this video, I mostly did the fingering as you suggested, but it is very difficult and inaccurate for me, and it makes my thumb curl inward involuntarily. I am no expert, but I wonder if I may be developing some dystonia. I generally compensate for the problem by avoiding use of the i finger unless absolutely necessary.
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Eric Phillips Well done! A pleasure to listen to. I can see that the index is not moving... cannot give any advice, sorry.
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Eric Phillips A very good run through in my opinion and the knowledge/memory you are gaining with this piece seems invaluable. Sorry to hear about the index finger. I have a yearly visit with a orthopedic hand specialist /surgeon to monitor a Dupuytren's contracture in my right hand palm. Fortunately, it has not given me any noticeable problem at this point but time will tell. Maybe worth a professional opinion if you can find someone in your area.
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Eric Phillips beautiful playing, Eric. Well done so far. It sounds secure and musically convincing. So sorry to hear your trouble with your i-finger. Have an expert give an educated opinion, as Rick advised. Better to check before you damage more than necessary.
Thank you for posting this wonderful composition, an impressive performance. -
Eric Phillips Great job, Philip! I particularly enjoyed the section that began at 2:10 and lasted until 7:00. It had a beautiful and romantic sound to it.
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Eric Phillips Great and impressive work, Eric. Especially in light of the issues you are having with your I finger. I am sorry to hear that and hope there is some remedy for it.
As to the unresolved 7th - I braced myself for its lack of resolution and managed to sleep soundly. Years ago, I heard a story (probably aprochyphal) of a pianist staying with a composer. They had a disagreement and retired to their respective rooms still fuming. Finally the pianist got up late in the night and played some passage on the piano leaving it on the dominant 7. He gleeful listened to the conductor get out of bed muttering furiously, come downstairs and supply the resolution. That is what ran thru my head when I listened to your first video.
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Eric Phillips Well done. I enjoyed the whole piece. Hope you get your i finger looked at soon.
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Eric Phillips great work Eric, it's already well under control, amazing! I'm sorry to read about your «i» finger, as others said it would be wise to have an expert opinion ensure you take proper action about this in any case. For the last section you can also put your thumb on the following (or upper) string after you play the bass note to stabilize your hand, I do that most of the time.
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Alright! Op 32 No 3. Cutting and pasting the score took me a while, but I like so much how it looks!
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Ernesto Great performance and video, Ernesto! This piece always sounds like a Christmas carol to me. It reminds me of Barrios’ Villancico de Navidad.
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Ernesto This is really well played and enjoyble to listen to. Thank you for including the score. Lovely tone and feel is expressed through out. Great work!
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Ernesto Really nice, Ernesto. Beautifully played. I really like its change to minor in the B section.
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Ernesto Well done Ernesto. Nice touch adding the score to the video which I was able to follow as you play.
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Ernesto bravo Ernesto, your sound and playing are great! And thank you for the score montage, it's a very interesting addition to the video.
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This is my second posting of playing Sor's Op. 60 No. 9. This week I changed the fingering for measures 14 & 15. By eliminating the shifting I was originally doing, I have made it easier to play by staying in 1st position throughout the piece. I also tried to improve on playing the middle voice softer than the upper and lower voices. After listening to this video, I will need to continue working on that aspect of playing. I have left the tempo where it was for the first recording.
Here is the recording:
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Jim King That is a big improvement, Jim. You have made a lot of progress and are playing with much more confidence. Keep going!
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Jack Stewart Thank youJack Stewart . I think simplifying the fingering in m.14-15 helped with the confidence level.
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Jim King Sounding good Jim - good accurate finger independence in the right hand.
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Rick Lord Thank you Rick.
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Jim King Great work, Jim! Fingering choices make a big difference, don't they.
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Eric Phillips Thank you Eric. Agreed, simplifying the fingerings does make a big difference. However, unlearning what has been previously learned can take a lot of time and effort to achieve. Now onto other things that I want to fix on this piece.
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Jim King Good job Jim, This is a nice piece from Sor. Keep posting your progress.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
