Week 4: Prepare for Landing! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the fourth week of the "Guitar Music of the World" practice challenge!
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Steve Pederson got me thinking about all the great Venezuelan guitarists so I had to try to get this one back up to speed after a years-long gap... El Negrito by Antonio Lauro.
It was rainy and loud so I used a Kremona NG1 pickup which isn't perfect but did fairly well with some aggressive eq'ing.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. Yes, Lauro seems to write these great flowing lines with accompaniment that sound effortless in more capable hands, but when I read some of the scores I think, "You want me to do what?"
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This is a little piece by the English composer Vincent Linsey-Clark entitled Shadow of the Moon. He did write an extended version recorded on the album "Theo's Brother", but I don't believe he ever published that version. I think I last played it about 35 years ago!!
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Ron Beautiful, Ron! I’m glad you resurrected it.
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Eric Phillips Thank you!
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Ron Beautiful, Ron. I have heard of Vincent Linsey-Clark (not sure how) but I think this is the first piece of his I have heard. It is very nice and you performed it wonderfully.
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Jack Stewart Thanks Jack. Bert Rojas commissioned Vincent to write a work ("Fiesta Americana") which is on her Salsa Roja album. She also recorded a number of his works on her album Terruno including "Laura" - a delighful (but tricky) piece he wrote about his daugther!
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Ron Beautiful piece, Ron, great performance too. Really good you broke this 35 years distance with this piece! Thanks for sharing!
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Moyses Lopes Thank you Moyses!
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Ron Lovely job Ron, and such a gorgeous piece! I say - party at Rons house and let's break open some of those bottles of wine and play some of our favorite pieces together!
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Steve Pederson Sounds good to me
Thanks Steve!
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Carlevaro wrote five preludes for his Preludios Americanos series. The following is the fifth prelude, entitled "Tamboriles." Tamboriles in spanish is a small drum used in the "carnaval" parades in Uruguay. The Afro-Latino canbombe rhythm appears throughout the piece.
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Dale Needles That was great, Dale. That looks like a challenging piece, both technically and musically, but you handled it really well. I am sure I would have a very difficult time trying to make sense of Carlevaro's idiosyncratic chromaticism and angular rhythms, but it certainly made sense in your hands.
Great job.
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Dale Needles Man, I love this Dale! So much going on, and you handled it like a pro. What a fun piece!
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Dale Needles Great, Dale!! Bravíssimo! As said Jack, this piece made sense in your hands, you got the Duende of it! You made me want to play this song!
One more to the section Compositions, of our Carlevaro's School of Guitar Group. Thank you, Dale! 
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Dale Needles Bravo Dale, you rock! This is a beautiful work, it finishes very well the Preludios Americanos cycle and you play it right on
. You and Moyses Lopes put pressure on me to add at least one of them! 
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Dale Needles Wow Dale! This is a wonderful performance of this complex work. Lots going on here. Your execution is superb with great balance , shape, direction, dynamics,color, and articulation. Bravo!! Thanks for sharing it with us!
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Jack Stewart Steve Pederson Moyses Lopes Blaise Laflamme Barney Thanks for all the positive feedback. "Tamboriles" was challenging to relearn (I studied it with Carlevaro approximately 40 years ago). There are obviously still a few areas needing polishing, particularly those Carlevaro pizzicatos. As Blaise mentioned, "Tamboriles" is a great ending to the "Preludios Americanos" cycle. The five preludes that make up the cycle are a very obvious nod to Villalobos' with whom Carlevaro studied. All the "Preludios" are great pieces in their own right but truly make up a great cycle, each bringing something a bit different but also very much tied together. The first Preludio, 'Evocacion" is very contemplative and introspective, the second and the fourth, "Scherzino" (masterfully performed by Moyes in this challenge) and "Ronda" are very playful, the third, "Campo" is the most approachable with a beautiful melody reminiscent of the pampas of Uruguay, and the fifth,"Tamboriles" brings home that Afro-Latino candombe rhythm of Carnaval. In my opinion, the elements that tie them together are Carlevaro's musical language and use of dissonance, his broad and orchestral tonal pallet, his innovative use of rhythm and finally his subtle and not so subtle infusion of Uruguayan folkloric elements.
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Dale Needles Nice, Dale. I haven't listened much to this set, but the more I hear them, the more I like them.
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Okay, well...
I wanted to make a recording to show my progress on Canción Parameña by Efraín Silva. I've played through the entire piece here, including the repeat (which posed a problem with my iPad while trying to advance the page
). It's painfully slow, unfortunately. What I'm learning is that I can't just commit a few minutes every so often to a piece and expect miracles. However, since it is a YouTube video, you can play at faster than I recorded it. I actually tried that - playing it at 1.5 speed, and I think it sounds better!
The piece is growing on me. When listening to others playing it up to speed I like it, but there are some strange harmonies and fingerings that make the piece not one of my favorites.
Anyhow, I thought I'd change up the scenery a bit and give you a different view/perspective of my home studio. Maybe, while watching me play you can also play a hidden treasure game and find a dozen unique artifacts.
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Steve Pederson It's coming along nicely Steve. The tempo can be picked up a little, but not too much, I would say. A lot of the YouTube performances I've heard seem rushed to me. Interesting to see the room from a different angle - with the kitchen cupboards in the background, there's little doubt of its original function! The 'hidden' treasure I see is in plain sight - the scroll with the funky calligraphy hanging on the cupboard door!
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David Krupka Thanks David! The scroll is a painting of my last name that my in-laws had made for me when they were in China!
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Steve Pederson You are doing really well on that piece, especially considering just a few minutes a day on it. I don't know the piece but I agree with David that a modest increase in tempo is all that it needs.
As to the 'hidden treasures' - you don't have a pet hamster that is also a photographer, do you?
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Jack Stewart Ha! Not that I'm aware of Jack, but you never know!
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Steve Pederson Very nice, the piece is doing really well! Like David and Jack, I think that the speed needs just a bit up, the melody is sweet and expressive and maybe doesn't support a fast tempo.
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Steve Pederson Beautiful, Steve! I don't fond it painfully slow at all. It could be a little faster, but not too much. I think a little more difference in volume between the melody and accompaniment would put this over the top.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
