WEEK 2: Diving Deep into Sor's Style!
WELCOME TO THE MAIN THREAD FOR THE SECOND WEEK OF "Ferndando Sor" PRACTICE CHALLENGE!
- Select a mesmerizing piece from Fernando Sor! Whether it be a delicate Sor etude, a powerful solo work , or a little miniature, the repertoire is in your hands
- Dedicate yourself to consistent practice and share your musical evolution with our community. Aim for daily practice sessions and upload a minimum of two videos each week to document your progress. This will not only fuel your dedication but will also allow us to partake in your musical expedition within our tonebase family!
- Contribute your most cherished performance or recording that resonates with the "Sor Guitar Soiree." Your contribution will not only motivate but also help curate a diverse anthology of pieces for our members to discover and enjoy..
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Week 2 reading through Andante Op. 45 No. 5. Now up to measure 64 with just one more section to go. This week I will focus more on fingering decisions. There are some tricky resonances that I need to dampen. Metronome up 6bpm this week to 48bpm. Lot's more work to be done but I am loving this little piece!
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Rick Lord Nice, crisp sound. Lovely Rick.
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Rick Lord This is great, Rick. I am impressed with your process and, hopefully, will try to emulate in my own work.
I rarely use a metronome for an entire piece. It always either slows down or speeds up.
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Rick Lord You already outline most of the tonal and melodic movements and tensions, you'll have it under your hands in no time!
Do you plan to play the whole set? -
Rick Lord Another lovely jewel! It’s interesting to observe your approach to learning it. It will be fun to see where it is in another couple of weeks.
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Rick Lord Thanks for sharing your great work, Rick! The quality of your performance and video were so high that watching it was like attending a masterclass!
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Jim King Eric Phillips Andre Bernier Thank you all for listening. Eric, those ornaments are waiting for me, hence the slower tempo at this point! Andre, I agree that a metronome is very helpful in the early stages of a piece.
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Fantasie Elegiaque Op 59 measures 67-134 (Nov 15)
This is the last two sections (sections 4 and 5 in my breakdown) of the Andante Largo. I am pretty happy with my progress on section 4 (in G major). Section 5 is still very new to me. I find all the repeated notes/chords to be difficult on the right hand.
In case you are looking at the score (or are very familiar with the piece), I am not doing the double-dotted rhythms in the melody. I find that nearly impossible for me to do with the repeated triplet chords, and I honestly prefer the way it sounds without them. Also, the unfingered score I am using is missing some repeated measures from every other score I have found, so I am playing those repeated measures.
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Eric Phillips great work Eric. Bravo
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Eric Phillips Really?!!! You are going to leave us on a dominant 7!!!! You are truly diabolical. You do realize none of us will be able to sleep until its resolution.
Well, that bit of tomfoolery aside. this a beautiful performance, even the less familiar section 5, is very close to complete. Your work is inspiring.
I am really looking forward to hearing the whole piece.
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Eric Phillips Wow that's sounding already good Eric!
In section 5, as a personal choice, I would play the middle voices with «i-m» leaving the thumb just for the basses (and «a» for the melody obviously!), I find it easier and more «controllable» in that kind of passage. Great choice to leave us un-resolved! 
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Eric Phillips A very interesting variation. Nice job bringing out the melody in all its iterations.
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Eric Phillips Really coming along Eric. This is an extraordinary Sor composition (and no walk in the park)! You are capturing its evocative melodies and rhythmic variation beautifully. A pleasure to listen in as you continue inhabit and learn the notes.
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Rick Lord Thanks for the encouragement, Rick! (No pun intended there to Sor's Op 34, btw.)
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Eric Phillips Ah yes!
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hi everyone, this is my second video of Sor's Study in B minor (measure 17-48). Kindly have a listen. Still working on the technical aspects, smoothening some shifts and trying to hold down notes with the left hand fingers. Missed a few notes still, but working on it.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Great job, Nijwm. This is sounding really good. I would suggest to move the camera a little further away or use a wider angle. It is helpful to be able to see both hands.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Beautiful, Nijwm! Your phrases are nicely tapered off at the end with both tempo and dynamic. Maybe a little more tapering at the beginning in a few places would be nice. For instance, when you do the repeat, come back in a little quieter and slower, gradually swelling to the center of the phrase. Just a thought!
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Impressing how you improved over a week, the overall fluidity is sounding great. As Jack noted that'd be great to see both of your hands while you play and by moving away a bit your phone your sound will be better. Also take care of the G chord at 0:53 as the bass note should be G and not D, but possible your edition has this instead. Good job!
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary This is flowing nicely! Your phrasing has direction, and I enjoy your dynamics. You may want to do even more.
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Jack Stewart Thank you. I'm using just a smartphone for both video and audio, no editing either. I'm concerned if the audio would be loud enough. So, I had to move the phone closer, hence the viewing angle. I'll get a mic, hopefully soon.
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Eric Phillips thank you Eric. I try to incorporate variations in tempo and dynamics, but often I lose awareness of these aspects. Perhaps, it has to do with the fact that I'm trying too hard to get the technical aspects correct. But I shall try to be more mindful of the musical aspects from now on.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary it's already sounding great, good job, Nijwm!
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Blaise Laflamme Thank you Blaise, I'll try another viewing angle next time. I was worried about the volume as I'm using just a smartphone.
About the bass note, thank you for pointing that out. I'm aware of that, but I missed it played the D instead of the G. I'm still trying to be more secure with the multiple chord shifts towards the end of the piece.
I'm often too lazy
to rework certain parts and tend to become casual in accepting mistakes even though I'm very demanding and overly judgmental on myself. It sounds contradictory but I think I'm trying too hard sometimes to make up for lost time as I'm new to classical guitar repertoire.Any thoughts on this? Has someone else been in such a weird situation
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Wai thank you wai, your support is greatly appreciated.
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Marilyn Blodget Thank you Marilyn. Still a work in progress and lots more to work on. Hopefully I'll get there in the end.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
