WEEK 4: Fernando Sor for Everyone!!
WELCOME TO THE MAIN THREAD FOR THE LAST 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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Menuet Andantino Lento Op 24 No 1 Nov 28
I feel like I have a better musical handle on this piece now, after practicing it for a few days. As short as it is, it really hurts my left hand to play.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack! I was thinking of giving those chords full-on flamenco rasgueados with golpes, but that would probably be a little out of character for Sor (just a little). Not to mention that I can't do any of that stuff.
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Eric Phillips Great playing Eric, a lot of bar chords and movements up and down on the fret board. This is a real challenging piece you learned in a very short time. Bravo
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Fernando Sor Op. 9 Variations on a Theme from Mozart's Magic Flute
I enjoyed waking this one up from a Rip Van Winkle sleep. These challenges are a great way to review old, and never quite mastered repertoire. Still more work to do on this, but here's where it is today. I omitted the repeats to save time.
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Marilyn Blodget Bravo, Marilyn! Memorizing and performing the entire piece is a remarkable achievement. Playing at such a high level is something I could never accomplish. The music itself is truly beautiful, and I appreciate you sharing it with us!
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Marilyn Blodget Beautiful, Marilyn! Very elegant playing.
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Wai Thank you so much, Wai! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Eric Phillips Thank you, Eric!
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Marilyn Blodget bravo Marilyn you have a solid foundation, thanks for sharing!
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Marilyn Blodget Great job, Marilyn. That is a really impressive start. You have a solid grasp of one of the peaks of the repertoire. Bravo indeed!
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Marilyn Blodget Such a masterpiece and you have it very well in hand. I agree that it's good to return to these more demanding pieces and discover new capacities in performing them. Thank you for sharing your Rip Van Winkle discoveries!
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Marilyn Blodget beautifully played.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Thank you Nijwm
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Rick Lord Thanks Rick. I first looked at this piece over 40 years ago. I would work on it a bit from time to time, but it wasn’t until Jason suggested some fingering changes and practice techniques that I started to really learn it. And even then I let it rest for long periods. It’s hard to balance making new friends and keeping the old. Truly one is silver and the other gold.
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Jack Stewart Thank you Jack! It is a steep mountain to climb, but I’ve learned a lot along the way.
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Marilyn Blodget Very nice Marilyn. I enjoyed that piece very much.
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Jim King Thank you Jim!
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Marilyn Blodget So beautiful Marilyn. Great performance
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Andre Bernier Thanks Andre!
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2 Sor Etudes op. 31.20 and op.6.6
I intended to make a quick revision of these 2 etudes and then move on to the op. 26 Variations (like that was going to happen). It was taking me longer to recover from a month of no guitar and the op. 26 wasn't showing much promise. On top of that my wife wanted us to host her family for Thanksgiving - 30 people! We used that as an opportunity to clean house (think Fibber McGee's closet on a massive scale). In short I am very late to this challenge with not a lot to show.
I have presented the op. 31.20 earlier this year but wanted to see if I could improve on it. I don't think I did but at least I revived it. The op. 6.6 is being revived from years od dormancy. I was feeling I was just about to get it together when my fingernails failed me - again. I was able to make a recording of it but it is pretty rough. Not much musicality in either of these.
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Jack Stewart These are spectacular, Jack! With all of your usual self-deprecation, you tried to lower our expectations, but I knew better. These are two of Sor's best studies, and you play them very well. I have tried many times to play these, but my hands just do not seem to move that fast, no matter how hard I try.
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric. I feel fairly satisfied with the technical performance of these (stables aside'). I just find my tone rather harsh and I don't think I have brought anything new to the interpretations ( unlike your and Blaise's performance to name a couple). I have also developed a blister on my 'a' finger (which happens when I begin playing nailless) which was becoming somewhat painful towards the end of the recordings.
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Jack Stewart great work on those two beautiful studies Jack, you have them right under the fingers! Playing nailless as you do is very hard in therm of sound and dynamics, that's an impressive achievement.
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Jack Stewart Wow! I loved your performance of these great studies, Jack. Living with old friends is so comfortable, even if we haven’t had a heart to heart in awhile. You’ve got these! If I were to make a suggestion it would be to play softer at the beginnings and endings of your phrases. Hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving! Hang on. Here comes Christmas!
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Jack Stewart Enjoyed your pieces very much. Hard to believe that you haven't played for a month.
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Jack Stewart My opinion isn't expertise based, but I loved the way you connected with your instrument and how you embraced it and made it dance with your fingers and hands. Sounds impeccable to me technically and musically to me as well. Loved it.
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