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! ↓
-
Manuel Ponce arranged a number of popular songs for piano and then either he or Andres Segovia, depending on the source, arranged some of them for guitar. This is the start of Por Ti Mi Corazón which may have actually been an original or was based on a popular piece, again, depending on the source.
I started changing the way I learn pieces and I've been going through them phrase by phrase instead of working through the whole piece which hadn't proven productive for me. Here are the first two phrases of the a section.
The sound is odd since I'm regrowing nails and like Jack said, it's forcing me to dig in to get some volume. I recently installed a new floor which is rough on the hands and especially the nails so I had to take a bit of a break.
-
Steve Price Hey Steve, Ponce was amazing and I love this piece. It's coming along nicely, and I look forward to updates as it progresses. Nice choice!
-
Steve Price Very nice, Steve. I'm not familiar with this, but it's beautiful.
I am very guilty of practicing like you said, the entire piece all at once. It's obviously a much better idea to break it into smaller sections and bring each section up to a high level before moving on. Hopefully I can follow your example more.
-
Barney Thanks, Barney. He's always been one of my favorites.
-
@Eric Phillips Thanks a lot, Eric. And as far as how to work on music, I don't know about following my example, lol. What you're doing certainly works for you. Probably the best thing I've gotten from Tonebase is learning that this is all very individual. I think I mentioned before I don't have the best focus so I learned breaking things down into smaller bits to really understand them keeps it interesting for me and I can stay on track. Seeing what everyone brings to the table and how differently they all approach music and solve problems has been immensely helpful for me.
-
Steve Price Very nice, Steve. I am not as familiar with Ponce as I should be, but he does have many important compositions that cover a diverse range of styles. I really appreciate his Mexican works. I am looking forward to hear this entire piece.
-
Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. And you're right, he does have a variety of styles he works in. That definitely keeps him interesting for me.
-
Steve Price This sounds good so far, Steve. The phrase by phrase approach probably makes good sense - it seems to me one of the livestream guests here on ToneBase (I can't remember which) recommended this approach. That's interesting about the origin of the piece. I gather that even when Ponce composed for the guitar, Segovia had to do a lot of editing to make the pieces playable. Luckily, Segovia was a highly competent arranger - and not such a bad composer, either!
-
Steve Price Well played! I too love to learn a piece phrase by phrase. It makes me feel more secure that way.
-
Steve Price Good start Steve. These aren't easy pieces. I have a nice recording of them by John Williams.
-
Derek Thanks, Derek. I think I know the recording. Wasn't it an all-Ponce disk? And they are surprisingly challenging for such short and sweet pieces, at least for me.
-
David Krupka Thanks, David. I did some more research and it looks like these were actually arranged by Ponce for guitar and then fingered by Segovia, but I'm sure he did his thing to it. I'm using the Segovia Schott edition and I might have a chance to compare it to Ponce's so I'm curious.
-
Wai Thanks Wai. The more I work like this the more I like it. It really makes me understand the music which helps me remember it and probably play it better as well.
-
Steve Price There's some really tasty stuff going on there Steve! Can't wait to hear what's next!
-
-
Working on Oriental by Granados, a beautiful piece originally for piano. I found this transcription on free-score, I believe there are better ones for 1 guitar out there, just need to find them.
-
Calin Lupa Sounding great, Calin! Such great music. I've heard it as a duet many times, but never thought of trying to play it solo.
I did a quick search, and I found a transcription on Classclef by Stanley Yates. I don't have my guitar with me right now, so I can't give it a try, but Stanley Yates' transcriptions are generally pretty good. Worth checking out.
-
Calin Lupa This is beautiful, Calin. This is a beautiful piece which you perform wonderfully. I have heard this but I am not very familiar with it.
I agree with Eric's assessment of Stanley Yates. His website has a lot of transcriptions , some for free and some are collections, as well as many articles, esp. Bach and Albaniz.
-
Jack Stewart Eric Phillips thanks for your kind words and the recommendation, I'll check Stanley Yates score.
-
Calin Lupa I had recently come upon this performance by Kevin Loh, which I like. I contacted both he and his teacher (Richard Wright), who arranged it for solo guitar. It is not published and they refused to share it. No luck...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_UMsnXErto
It is a great piece and I'm glad you chose it to work on. The arrangement is not the best, but your playing is beautiful! Thanks for sharing it!
-
Calin Lupa Very nice performance Calin. I don't hear this as much as some of his others so this was good to hear again.
-
Calin Lupa Hey Calin, I just found this version on MuseScore. I don't know how it compares to your version or the original.
-
Calin Lupa You're off to a great start with this, Calin! I'm familiar with the arrangement for two guitars, but this version is new to me. It seems to work well, although that trill looks difficult! (Even in the duet version, where the first guitar has the melody alone, it's hard to 'pull off' - pun unintended!) Looking forward to the 'B' section.
-
Calin Lupa That was beautiful, and the accompaniment sounded so dreamy! I think I've heard this piece somewhere before, but I didn't know the name of it. Thank you for sharing, now I know its name.
-
Calin Lupa Beautiful Calin. I've got a transcription of this and Dance No 6 (Oriental is No2) by someone called Yoshikuni Onishi from a series called 'Zen on the Guitar' . I haven't looked at it for many years (when it seemed beyond my capabilities - it probably still is!). I'll have to have a look at them.
-
Barney thanks for sharing, I believe the Kevin Loh version I like the best so far, would be great indeed to have the score. The one I first heard was Milos Karadaglic interpretation, and made me fall in love with the piece. Btw how are the new suction cups, do they work?
Jack Stewart thanks for sharing , I think that it's pretty close to what I used, I attached my version. I'll look closer to compare and see if I can borrow something to improve.
David Krupka , yes the trills are not easy to pull-of that's why I am attempting the cross string trills, in the video I use two i-a-i-a , I am debating now between using 3 or 4 fingers.
Thank you all for your comments and feedback.
-
