Week 2: Strings Attached 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the second week of "The Transcriptions" practice challenge!
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying!
- Watch the kickoff livestream!
Pick a transcription that was originally composed for another instrument, like piano or violin. Don't be afraid to choose a challenging piece or explore works from composers you haven't played before.
Commit to practicing daily and share your progress with the community. Aim to practice every day and post at least two videos per week showcasing your progress. This will help you stay motivated and accountable, and also allow you to share your transcription journey with others. Whether you're tackling a complex piece, refining your skills with a piece you already play, or experimenting with new playing techniques, the community is here to support you and celebrate your achievements.
Share your favorite piece that you would like to see transcribed or your favorite recording of a transcription. This will not only inspire others in the community but also provide a rich resource of ideas for everyone to explore. Plus, it's a great way to celebrate the creativity and artistry involved in adapting music from one instrument to another.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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II. Gallarda y Villano (Suite Española) - Gaspar Sanz
Here is the second piece of The Suite Española, but the indicated tempo was too fast for me so I had to slow down. For the Villano section, I also played a version arranged by Bradford Werner which was much longer. I'm curious to know which version is closer to the original, or if Gaspar Sanz had created multiple versions of Villano.
III. Danza de las Hachas (Suite Española)
This piece is relatively simple, but I'm not sure how to play it in a way that captures the essence of a "Danza".
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Wai Excellent. Your affinity for Sanz is quite apparent in your playing.
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Derek Steve Price joosje Dale Needles Thank you. I'm currently working on the 4th piece of this Suite, but I'm also preparing another piece by Handel. I hope to be able to record both of them before the challenge ends.
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David Krupka Thank you, David! You are very knowledgeable about Sanz's music. After reading the original manuscript you shared with me last time, I'm interested in attempting to create my own arrangement based on it. Maybe I'll try it someday.
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Wai We're going to have to start calling you "shredder"! Man, that was a great burst of speed in the Gallarda y Villano! Amazing!
I really enjoyed your version of Danza de las Hachas. I'm curious which transcription you're using. I've learned this, also in Dm, but it's a much different arrangement.
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Steve Pederson Thank you, Steve. I had to slow down the Gallarda because the original speed was insane! The version I am using is from a book called "Intermediate Pieces For Classical Guitar" (MelBay), arranged by the guitarist Lily Afshar.
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Wai It would be a worthwhile exercise, Wai. (However, once you know how to read tablature, you don't really need to make an arrangement - you can play directly from the original source! Of course, that would work even better with a five-course 'baroque' guitar, but it can be done well enough with a modern instrument - you should give It a try!)
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Wai this is a nice listening because Gaspar Sanz is one of my favorite composers. I am into the taste of his music. You have very nice trill execution and clear articulation. Great works Wai!
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Wai Very cool!
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wow. Awesome challenge. Only gripe is that it should be 4 months instead of 4 weeks. There is not enough time to really learn one new piece. Most of the pieces that I've played are all transcribed from other instruments.
Doctor Gradus
This is a piece that I'm currently learning. I've just about memorised the piece and settled on the fingering. I've skip on repeat in the video. Not much I can do other than whip out the metronome and practice slowly and regularly. Need it at 2 x tempo of what I can currently do. Gonna be some time before it is ready. But it is one of the funnest piece of music I've learnt so far.
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don Very cool, Don! As usual, I have never heard this. We can always count on you to post music that is unique, incredibly challenging, but very beautiful! Who is the composer?
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don This will be great when it's up to speed Don. You've made a very good start - another piece of Debussy for this challenge!
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Eric Phillips This is Debussy's Children's Corner Suite. He wrote it for his daughter Chou Chou. It may be easy on the piano but on the guitar, it is extremely crazy.
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don Oh, okay. I had heard of it, but never really listened to it. I need to stop being such a guitar nerd and start becoming more familiar with other classical music.
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don Very impressive, Don. This is a great start. You have a good grasp of the music, .... now just more work!
I am really looking forward to hearing your progress.It's interesting the opening pattern sounds like a finger picking piece - but then it sails off into Debussy.
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Eric Phillips The best thing about our instrument is there is very likely someone out there already made a guitar version of it for every music of other genre.
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don Way to go Don! I would be too intimidated to take this piece on. You're off to a great start!
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Steve Pederson It will be a long time before I get it into shape but it is ultimately just one note at a time and if I start now I may eventually get to play it but if I don't then I'll never get to do it..:-)
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don Interestingly, I just saw a post on Instagram this morning that said, "Doing nothing at all versus Making Small Consistent Efforts: (1.00) 365 = 1.00 whereas (1.01) 365 = 37.7" I had to double check with my wife the math teacher, and she confirmed the math. Doing a little bit each day adds up!
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Adagietto
I love it the first time I heard it. I bought the score immediately. But I've never ever attempted it as the second part are tremolo parts which I cannot do. But decided to just to try to learn up the first 5 sections prior to the tremolo for this challenge. It is not a difficult piece to read but it is extremely difficult to connect them.
Here's up section 3. Will work on the other 2 in the coming weeks.
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don You're posting these faster than I can listen! Such beautiful harmonies. I hope we get to hear updates on both of these pieces.
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don Beautiful, Don. I didn't know this piece and tried to find out on a YT search. I kept getting references to Mahler's 5th Sym. Finally I added 'guitar' to the search and found a video of Kyuhee Park playing Adgietto from.... Mahler's 5th. So now I know!
BTW I also found this amazing version, also on guitar:
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Jack Stewart Yes the arrangement I used was arranged by Hirokazu Sato and edited by Kyuhee Park. This was one of the piece in her 10th Anniversary album.
Wow the Jeff Beck's rendition is great too. Almost felt it is written for the electric guitar. IMG_4126.heic
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don Man, this is great stuff!
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don very gentle touch and sweet playing of a nice piece! Keep us listening more of this Don!
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Finally got around to making a recording. This is my frost piece for this challenge, A minuet in A (minuets I and II) by Jean Philipe Rameau. I have played it before a few years back . My main piece for this challenge was going to be Asturias which I will try to learn for the last week but I plan to try to perfect this piece by Rameau as it still needs some work. There is an annoying buzz early in the recording which I'm not sure where it came from so I need to sort that out before my next attempt. I'll also try to find a suitable background (and hairstyle) :-)
