Week 4: From Cardoso to Carlevaro!

Greetings, everyone! We are thrilled to welcome you all to the Latin American Music Challenge! 😀🎉

In this exciting journey, we'll be immersing ourselves in the richly diverse and vibrant world of Latin American music, a world that's deeply interconnected with our beloved instrument💪

This challenge presents an opportunity to not only enhance our skills but also to appreciate the cultural richness and musical complexity that Latin American melodies bring. From the passionate rhythms of salsa to the poignant strains of the tango, we'll explore it all!

Please remember, we have an extensive category in our library dedicated to Latin American Repertoire. This library is a treasure trove of courses designed to provide deep insights and technical knowledge about various aspects of Latin American music. Make sure to make the most of it!

We are excited to kick-start this musical journey and we hope you are too. Let's dive in!

https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/library/repertoire/latin-american
 

🗓️ CHALLENGE TIMELINE

  • Challenge Start: Kick-Off on June 30th
  • Duration: June 24th - July 24th
  • Watch Party: July 30th, 10 am PST

🎼 ACTIVITIES

  1. Choose Your Piece: Select a new piece of music to work on. Share your choice in the thread below and inspire your fellow musicians!
  2. 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!

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  • Hi, everyone, this is second take on Leo Brouwer's Un Dia De Noviembre. I'm somewhat satisfied with this, although there's still a lot of room for improvement. Slurs, harmonics and vibrato are my obvious weak points. Not the best video recording and I was sweating a lot from the humid Indian summer. No AC or fan because I was worried about the background noise. Anyways, hope you guys can give me some constructive comments. Thanks for watching.

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

      Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Beautiful playing, Nijwm. You have made great progress. In addition to Eric's comments I feel the transitions between 'A' section (repeated harmonics) and the return to th 'A' section are a little rushed or stilted. I would just be aware of those points and experiment with different subtle adjustments. Those points stand out just because they are transitional. I suspect this will be resolved more mentally rather than technically (if that makes sense). 

      These are very minor observations as your performance is so good!

      Like
    • Jack Stewart Thank you Jack, these are very valuable suggestions that I can definitely use. I'm often impulsive and rushed in my playing, something to work on. 

      Like
      • Barney
      • Barney
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Very nice performance Nijwm! 

      As for requested constructive comments,  I believe you already noted that listening carefully to yourself while playing is extremely important to achieve your intended result. I strongly agree.

      I find that using rest strokes for slow melodies serve to bring out the lyrical line better.  I could not see whether you are using rest strokes for the top voice where applicable...and making the accompaniment volume lower.

      I notice excessive movement for your left arm when plucking the strings.  Is this due to some injury where you are intentionally using larger muscles (like David Leisner describes in his book)?

      Thanks for sharing this update which continues to demonstrate great progress.

      Like
    • Barney Thanks Barney, I haven't used rest strokes except at one or two places. Mircea, in his masterclass also recommended using them for melodies wherever possible. I'm still learning to make choices when it comes to fingerings. I'll keep your suggestions in mind.

      Regarding my arm movement, they aren't always conscious as I'm often too focussed on getting the notes, resulting in excessive or unnatural positions. It's also partly due to bodily tension I suppose, things I'm trying to improve. Luckily, I haven't suffered an injury yet.

      Thank you for the comments.🙂

      Like
      • Barney
      • Barney
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary I'm glad there is no injury.  Playing Classical guitar is a complex process, which takes time to master.  So please be patient with yourself.  It is worth the effort.

      No matter what level we are at, the motto should be "continuous and never ending improvement";  and remember to enjoy the journey.

      Like
    • Barney very well said, Barney. Yeah, exploring this beautiful instrument and the wealth of music and knowledge that I've been able to explore so far has opened up a whole new dimension for me. Every single improvement, big or small gives me enormous joy and motivation go on in this journey.

      In fact, learning classical guitar has taught me so many things about pedagogy (things like deliberate practice vs aimless playing, talent/application and dedication) and various life lessons.

      I belong to a place where there isn't much of a classical guitar culture. There aren't trained professional teachers to give me in-person feedback or institutions I can enroll in. So, whatever I've absorbed so far is thanks to TB and its wonderful members in the forums.

      Btw, I've looked for online one to one teachers. Many of them are beyond my means. Perhaps you could recommend someone I can afford. I remember hearing your views in one of the livestreams on teaching and learning classical guitar.

      Like
      • Barney
      • Barney
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Yes, the good teachers have earned a higher fee per hour, but perhaps send a direct message to Martin.  Maybe he could suggest someone and let him know your budget requirements.

      Like
    • Barney sure, I'll do that. Thank you Barney

      Like
  • Pedro Ramirez Sanchez - Madrigal

    I will make this my last post of this piece, and probably of this challenge.

    Like 3
      • Jack Stewart
      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips Beautiful, Eric. You seem to have hit the mark on balance with this recording. Sounds like your nails have returned. 

      Like 1
      • Ronnull
      • Ron.3
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips Beautiful performance Eric. I'm definitely with you on the nails - love the tone colours

      Like 1
  • Matilde Tettamanti de Calandra – Preludio 1

    Okay, so I lied about the video above being my last post of the challenge. Instead, I thought I’d finish up with the composer I played at the beginning of the challenge. She was a guitar student of María Luisa Anido and a composition student of Alberto Ginastera.

    I came across a video of this piece, performed by the Brazilian guitarist Alisson Alípio. I wanted to play it, but I could not find a score. In the comments of the video I asked Alisson if he had the score, and he was kind enough to email it to me, as it is out of print. It is part of a set of three preludes. The other two look much more difficult!

    By the way, if you have time, check out Alission Alípio’s website (https://alissonalipio.com/). He is an outstanding musician. I particularly love his video performance of Debussy’s Girl with the Flaxen Hair, arranged by Luciano Lima.

    Like 5
      • Ronnull
      • Ron.3
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips What a delightful little piece - and of course beautifully played! Thanks for sharing this Eric

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

      Eric Phillips It's always great when kind musicians share their scores with us.  This is nice little gem which you play beautifully!

      Your sight reading is excellent!  Wondering if you had an opportunity to watch Martin's livestream yesterday on that subject, and if you have any additional helpful tips for us...  Thanks!!

      Like
    • Eric Phillips Here's a better version of this piece.

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

      Eric Phillips This is very interesting, Eric. I liked the opening chords but the next set I didn't care for. I felt it was going to be a 'gimmick'. (The sliding up and down chords). But it quickly moved on to a very beautiful and melancholic melody based on the patterns of those opening chordal passages. It is very beautiful - she (thru your playing) won me over.

      Thanks for sharing this.

      Like 1
    • Eric Phillips It's always a pleasure to listen to you and to your search for less-known music... so great to have you here and part of this community, thanks for sharing Eric! 🙏

      Like
  • Here is another milonga by Abel Carlevaro which was written in either the late 1990s or early 2000s and was premiered as part of his Milonga Suite on May 25, 2001, just prior to Carlevaro's death.   The title, Roelar was in honor of his brother Agustin Carlevaro, whose nickanme was Rocho and who was an architect by profession as well as an excellent guitarist and arranger of tango and milonga music of the Rio de la Plata.  Roelar pays tribute to Rocho the Architect (Ro-el-Ar).

    Like 4
      • Barney
      • Barney
      • 2 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Dale Needles Excellent Dale!  I enjoyed this very much!

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

      Dale Needles That was great, Dale. That is an exciting piece and you played beautifully. It occurred to me that this might have been something Theolonous Monk would have written if he had been Uruguayan. You can recognize all of the musical elements but they are wonderfully twisted. Great work (noun and verb).

      Like
    • Jack Stewart Barney Thanks, it is wonderful piece, the fourth piece of Carlevaro's Milonga Suite. Still needs some work but I am happy with the progress to date.  and it is rapidly becoming my new favorite Carlevaro piece.  Jack, have a great trip. I am at the airport today flying up to Northwest.

      Like
    • Dale Needles That was excellent. Really enjoyed it. 

      Like
    • Dale Needles That was excellent Dale, so great to have you here and introduce us to some of Carlevaro's lesser-known pieces! 👌

      Like
    • Blaise Laflamme Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Thanks for your support. 

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

    Brouwer Tres Apuntes (menos uno) II and I - closer

    I have an almost decent recording of the first 2 of Tres Apuntes, however I have reversed their order because I felt it would be better to conclude with the more dramatic first one.

    I am having my typical difficulty unmaking a decent recording. Trying to record both pieces just further compounds the difficulties. I feel both are close but each has a couple of glaring stumbles at points that I really like. 

    I might be able to try one more time but my wife and I leave for Pittsburgh and Buffalo on Saturday morning so I don't k now if I will actually try.

    Like 4
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