Week 2: Delving into Diverse Styles
Welcome to the "Around the World in 80 Strings Challenge"! This month, we'll embark on a global musical journey, exploring classical guitar compositions from various countries. The only rule: Don’t play a composer from your home country. Let’s make this a truly international experience!
🗓️ CHALLENGE TIMELINE
- Challenge Start: Kick-Off on May 15th
- Duration: May 15th - June 24th
- Watch Party: June 24th
🎼 ACTIVITIES
- Choose Your Piece: Select a new piece of music to work on. Share your choice in the thread below and inspire your fellow musicians!
- Video Submission: Submit a video of your practice this week. Highlight your favorite passage from the piece that showcases the origin of this piece!
🎸 GET INVOLVED
Let’s kick things off with enthusiasm! Share your progress, encourage others, and explore new musical horizons together. Can’t wait to see what everyone chooses!
58 replies
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Leila-Leila (arr. Afshar)
Here is an update on this piece. This time, I have recorded the entire piece, including the part with harmonics at the end. I had to cheat in a couple places by taking out the middle voice. I cannot find a workable way of simultaneously playing an artificial harmonic on the first string, a bass note on the fifth or sixth string, and a middle voice on the third string. Watching others do it in YT videos, it looks like they are plucking the middle voice with the RH middle finger, but I just cannot seem to make that happen, even very slowly. So as a result, I just don’t play that middle voice in those spots. I hope it doesn’t detract too much from the music.
On another (and very sad) note, I just found out today that Lily Afshar died last October. She was only 63 years old, and died of cancer. I obviously did not follow her career closely, but now that I am playing these arrangements by her, I feel a little more in touch with her musically. I have also learned a little bit more about her amazing career. Apparently, she was the first woman in the entire world to receive a doctorate in guitar performance. I'm honored to be playing something she created.
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Getting a weeks late start on this one. I think I'll choose a Modern Englishman for my piece. I have rotated Gardame las Vacas into my rotation, but I see some else is doing it. So I'll try the Prelude from the 'English Suite' Opus 31 by John Duarte. No way can I do the whole suite. Always loved this piece. Hope I can do it justice.
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Ravel Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis Guitar Transcription
I think I finally have a final version. I just need to play thru it to see if it is playable. I can, mostly, play it now. I just have a couple of changes that I need to confirm and hopefully post a rough draft tomorrow.
I just wanted to show I have actually been working on this. BTW, these are just the versions that I printed out. There are probably at least twice as many on my computer that never made it to the printer.
