WEEK 2: Conquering Carcassi's Etudes
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of the Carcassi Etudes op.60 challenge!
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying (<- click)
- Watch the kickoff livestream to get an overview over the etudes!
- Get the Scores here! (<- click)
If you want to describe your process (optional), feel free to use the following template.
- Things you found easy:
- Things you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
- (Optional:) questions
↓ Reply below with your assignments and questions! ↓
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Hi everybody, here is my Etude 7 played a little slower than my previous submissions. I use my laptop's camera for a better video quality than the previous videos using my phone. It is easier to see my left hand fingering choice in this new one. Thank you for reading and watching :)
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Khiem Nguyen Bravo and thank you for performing in yesterday's interactive class!
I just uploaded the annotated score for yesterday's lesson! -
Martin thank you for a fantastic interactive master class yesterday. And you and my classmates were all so kind with my performance yesterday, I would like to thank you so much! ^_^ And the annotated score is really helpful to keep the points discussed yesterday in one place ^_^
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Khiem Nguyen You do such an amazing job on this piece, Khiem! Thank you so much ofr being willing to play it in class yesterday!
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Khiem Nguyen Nice phrasing and tremelo, good job Khiem
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Hi everybody, here is my second take of Etude no. 2. There are a lot of room to improve. Please don't hesitate to give me feedback. Unfortunately the audio of the video is clipped, so there are distortion. There are things like shifting, dynamic, and speed that come into my mind as my self-critique. I need to continue working on this piece for a long time before it will be more ready, I guess.
I might not be able to touch a guitar in week 3 due to my private schedule, so that's why I am posting today when I can. Thank you :)
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Khiem Nguyen I think this is incredibly beautiful, Khiem! Your playing is very expressive. The only thing I'd want to do differently is put a but more pause at the end of measure 20 (the high F note) before continuing to measure 21. But this was really great. I can see and hear that your playing is improving quite a bit in this past month.
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Eric Phillips thank you so much Eric for motivating me and giving me good feedback! :) I will try to apply more rubato around measure 20 as you suggest :)
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Khiem Nguyen Bravo, good job! I really liked the micro dynamics you applied for each position, it gives the piece a beautiful breath! I'd probably risk to sound like a broken record, but I think that placing your thumb and right hand preparation might help against the occasional nail clicks
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Khiem Nguyen Bravo Khiem!!! Very beautiful!!!
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Study 24 A and B sections.
By my breakdown, this study has three sections of material. Today, I practiced the first two (which get repeated a few times). The first section is very lyrical and Romantic in style. The second section is labeled "animato" and so I am trying to play it a bit faster and more intensely. Let me know your thoughts.
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Eric Phillips super. Again, you make it look and sound easy, which it is not!. I really like the way you play both parts. Agree with the tempo change. You could make some more dynamic variation I.o. to give it more structure and direction. I ‘d also prefer to play the repeated chords in the first section a bit lighter, if not staccato but light and bouncing. As I have very little occasion to play these days, I rather spend the time working on these etudes and the technique involved (and i tend to follow your choice, which coincides with my own preference). Didn’t have time to record (yet)……
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joosje Thank you so much for your thoughts, Joosje. I like the idea of making the chords in the first section lighter and bouncier. That would create even more contrast with the second section.
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Eric impressive transitions! As joosje points it out, it looks quite simple, but we definitely know that there's a lot of prep work involved! I'd probably try to look for a different fingering in the 3rd bar of the animato, the d-c move from 3rd finger to the barré does sound a little bit disconnected. How about this fingering?
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Eric Phillips Very clear and clean. Joosje is right, you make it sound simple and effortless. Well done!! Very legato and musical... beautiful
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Martin Thank you, Martin, that works much better. I can't believe I didn't notice that problem in my fingering.
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Emma Thank you for the kind words, Emma!
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I’m still working on #12. The shifts are getting smoother and should improve as I get more familiar with the chords in the second section. I live on the northern Gulf Coast and my practice has been interrupted a bit with hurricane preparation. Overall, I’m glad I chose this piece. Next will be #21 I think.
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Peg Barrett Take care and be safe!!!
Hope you and your family will be alright! -
Peg Barrett I hope and pray that you and your loved ones stay safe! That puts life in perspective, doesn't it?
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Hello, this is my second posting of the week. I was planning to record number 16 this weekend but after 5 attemps or... more? I postpone it. I keep failing in the same couple of places, so I will practice it a bit more and challenge myself to send a recording next week
What is difficult, many things, keeping a consistent sweet melody with a consistent "a" finger, the displacements (one of the without a guide finger in bar 7)
What is easy, it is beautiful so I want to practice it more and more. It is easy to memorise
Next week I plan to record this one and the wonderful number 21 with the
mordents.... -
Emma Those are two of the most beautiful pieces in this collection! I hope you're enjoying them and I look forward to hearing you play them.
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Study 24 C section.
Yesterday, I worked on the A and B sections (which repeat a few times), and today I worked on the C section (coda?) which is measures 28 until the end.
What was easy: Tying my shoes, especially since they have no laces.
What was difficult: This section has quite a few shifts that can be tricky. I made use of some open string fingerings to ease the shifts, but I'm not sure if that is the best musical choice. Let me know if you think that they interrupt the melodic line.
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Eric Phillips good job Eric. I agree with your open strings solution. I think Carcassi planned them that way., but I can be mistaken . These shifts are still not easy in this part, anyhow.
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Eric Phillips I was off the forums for a few days but just watched all the parts you did for 24. Seems like one of the more advanced etudes, amazing to watch. What's been your favorite so far?
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Brett Gilbert At the risk of sounding hokey, I’ll say that my favorite is always the one I’m working on at the moment.
I must say, however, I have the feeling that #24 might end up as permanent addition to my repertoire, a piece I will memorize and try to keep “in the fingers” always. I love it a lot!
Of course, #3 and #16 already have that status for me.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
