Week 1: A Guitar has Six Strings, Right? 🎸

Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of the transcription challenge! This is the place to discuss the Week 1 livestream.


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 Progress Update and Questions! ↓

255replies Oldest first
  • Oldest first
  • Newest first
  • Active threads
  • Popular
  • Scarlatti Sonata K32

    Scarlatti sonatas are frequently transcribed for the guitar. Here is one that is fairly easy to play. I definitely recommend listening to it on harpsichord and piano as well, as it is so beautiful on those instruments.

    Although written in D minor, the versions I've heard on guitar have transposed it to E minor. I decided to record it in E minor and D minor. I'll let you decide which one is more effective on the guitar. I have included Scarlatti's score, a score for guitar in E minor, and a tablature for my version in D minor.

    In addition, I also decided to play it on the lute. Please bear in mind that I am not a lutenist (at least not yet). I'm really just doing it for fun here. With the tuning I have on my lute, I suppose it sounds like it's in Db minor. To my guitar hands and brain, however, it feels like B minor. (BTW, in a few weeks, I plan to cut my nails and give a serious go at learning the lute more properly. This is my first time saying this publicly, so I guess I'm at least semi-committed to doing it. I will be playing guitar for a small group on January 19, so I prefer to wait until after that is done. Yikes!)

    • Paul Kennedy Sorry, I didn't take the time to write it out.

      Like
      • Olli
      • Mr. Pizza
      • Saitenzwirbler
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips Oh my God 😬

      Please don't do that: I plan to cut my nails and give a serious go at learning the lute more properly. This is my first time saying this publicly, so I guess I'm at least semi-committed to doing it.

      I often had nightmare-dreams - cutting my nails short on the wrong Hand and woke up sweated , but happily - it was just a bad dream...😄

      While studying guitar my second Instrument was the Renaissance-Lute...and I promise you - it is not necessary to cut the nails.... shortening the "end" of the nails a little bit ( the longest part of the nail, that in fact never hits the sting ) is everything you need for playing "thumb inside" ...

      On later periods, adding more and more strings, the lutenists played thumb outside - like on the modern guitar...and this is absolutely possible with "short" guitar nails.

      Owning great sounding guitars I stopped playing the lute - but I love to play lute repertoire on the modern guitar with capodastro - or on the "Lito-Forte" that i also love to play...

       

      I compare : Lute = Windows ( windows 95 🤣 ) .... modern guitar = MAC ( macOS 10.14.6 )

      But these are just my thoughts about this - you have to trie it out .....

      Best Regards 🍀

      Like 1
    • Olli Thanks, Olli. I'll give your words some thought. My guitar is actually cheaper than my lute (and my lute is not expensive).

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

      Eric Phillips This is a very nice Scarlatti sonata. Very pensive and quiet. Very well played - each time! BTW I was listening to a piano version of this  on YT and noticed  Martha Argerich performing K141 in the sidebar. It was jaw dropping. I can't imagine what it would be like to have that kind of musical ability!

      Like 1
    • Jack Stewart Thanks for letting me know, I'll have to check it out.

      Like
    • Eric Phillips you play this sonata really very nicely. I can’t say which version I prefer. You’re doing such a great job on so many pieces, none of them really easy. Chapeau 🎩

      Like 1
    • joosje Thank you, Joosje. With this one, I feel more like I'm just playing around for the fun of it. Music is just so much fun to me!

      Like
      • Derek
      • Derek
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips you never cease to amaze me as to how much you can do in such a short time. Another nice piece well played (on two instruments)

      Like 1
    • Derek Thanks, Derek. Not that I've played a lot of Scarlatti's sonatas, but this one seems more accessible for intermediate guitarists like me.

      Like
    • Eric Phillips I really like this sonata, good to know it is not that hard. I think I prefer the E minor one, but the D minor sounds nice too. It's great that you can play it in different keys and on the lute as well. Good for the brain, and for our listening pleasure :) 

      Like 1
    • Olli
    • Mr. Pizza
    • Saitenzwirbler
    • 2 yrs ago
    • Reported - view

    "Jesu bleibet meine Freude" BWV 147 

    This piece I started practicing one week ago and I think, it fits great into this challenge.

    There is much work to do and this is my practice-recording for today.

    https://youtu.be/CyiMotftl7Y

    Like 6
    • Olli Good work, Olli! This is not easy. I'm glad to see you still have the pizza on the couch! 🍕

      Like
      • Olli
      • Mr. Pizza
      • Saitenzwirbler
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips I put the Pizza there for David 😉

      Like
      • Emmanull
      • Emma
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Olli beautiful piece on the guitar

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

      Olli That was great Ollie. This piece is deceptively difficult. It flows so gently but requires constant legato despite the many shifts and changes.

      Great job!

      Like
    • Olli great start Olli. It’s really not easy, but you are on the way to a great performance.

      Like
    • Olli Great start!

      Like
      • Derek
      • Derek
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Olli after  a week that's great progress Olli. Sounds good!

      Like
    • Olli Very nice Olli, I have seen so many transcriptions of this piece; some easy, others quite difficult.  I really like the one you are playing

      Like
  • Schubert Adieu (trans Tarrega)

    I think that Tarrega may have had a gift for guitar transcription (in addition to composing and playing). Here is one I found in Edson Lopes' files. The score is attached. As it says at the top, the level is intermediate, so no big hurdles.

     

    Update 1/4 - I made another recording of this below. Unfortunately, I permanently deleted this video from YT, so it is no longer available here. Sorry for the eyesore.

      • Jack Stewart
      • Retired
      • Jack_Stewart
      • 2 yrs ago
      • Reported - view

      Eric Phillips That was beautiful both the music and the playing. It took me a couple of listens to get past my persistent aversion to beautiful romantic music. Once I let go I found this to be wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

      Like 1
    • Jack Stewart Thanks, as always, Jack. I always love it when I find a new piece that I enjoy that is a quick learn. I may want to go back and polish this one up a bit, but at least I'm confident about the technique.

      BTW, isn't Chopin in the "aversion" category?

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

      Eric Phillips He was, but some of his music has managed to slip out.

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

    I am reviving a valse by Chopin, op. 69.2, that I worked on a while back but never got it to performance level. This is the first section (of 3).

    Chopin can be a bit quirky and he slightly varies his repeats which can be difficult to keep track of.  His use of chromaticism is challenging - especially after Bach and Sor. They both can be chromatic but I am more familiar with their harmonic logic.

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

      Jack Stewart Chopin Valse op. 69.2

      This video was supposed to have been with the original post.

      Like 6
Like1 Follow
  • 1 Likes
  • 2 yrs agoLast active
  • 255Replies
  • 434Views
  • 22 Following

Home

View all topics