Spanish Music Mini Challenge 🔥

Hey fellow toneBuddies!! 🎶

We've got an exciting opportunity for all of you guitar aficionados out there! Introducing the Spain Mini Challenge, a celebration of Spanish guitar music that will have us exploring the rich and vibrant sounds of this beautiful country. Inspired by the upcoming recent cross stream by Magdalena Baczewska “A Journey into the world of Spanish Music”, we thought it would be amazing to show them how Spanish music should really sound like, played on the guitar! 🎸

🌟 The Challenge: 🌟

We invite you to record and upload a video of yourself playing a piece of Spanish guitar music. Share your talent, passion, and skill as we come together to appreciate the diverse and captivating world of Spanish guitar.

📹 How to participate: 📹

Record a video of yourself performing a Spanish guitar piece. Upload your video to your preferred platform (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo, etc.). Share the link to your video in the comments section below. Feel free to add a brief description of the piece you chose and what makes it special to you.

Bonus Points: Share your favorite recording of an iconic Spanish piece of Music!

🤝 Interact and engage: 🤝

Don't forget to check out the performances of your fellow toneBuddies! Show your support by leaving comments, constructive feedback, and appreciation for their efforts. Let's encourage each other to explore and enjoy the richness of Spanish guitar music.

🏆 Reward: 🏆

There's no specific prize for this challenge, but it's an opportunity to showcase your talent, receive feedback, and connect with fellow guitar enthusiasts who share a love for Spanish music. Who knows? You might even make some new friends along the way!

💡 Need inspiration? 💡

If you're not familiar with Spanish guitar music, don't worry! There are plenty of fantastic composers to discover, such as Francisco Tárrega, Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, and Joaquín Rodrigo. Listen to their works or performances by other guitarists to get inspired.

🎶 Ready, set, play! 🎶

We can't wait to see your incredible performances of Spanish guitar music. Let's show those pianists what Spanish music really sounds like when played on our beloved instrument!

Happy playing, everyone! 🎉

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  • I´m posting another Julian Arcas piece, Bolero, with such tipical Arca´s  flavour between clasical and popular ( flamenco ) music.....Arcas deserves a space in our Tonebase , It´s a pity he have none.......enjoy

    Like 5
    • JUAN ALONSO that sounds great Juan. Thank you for sharing this  music. Arcas could have his own challenge 

      Like
      • Derek
      • Derek
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      JUAN ALONSO That was wonderful Juan!

      Like
      • Santi
      • Santi
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Elena Ortega Pinilla impressive performance! Congrats! Turina could not be missed in this selection of Spanish music. Thanks for posting it.

      Like
    • Elena Ortega Pinilla Wow, so beautiful! Everything about that piece shouts out, “Spain!” Your performance was on a whole other level. Brava!

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    • Elena Ortega Very nice, Elena. Hermosa actuación!

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    • Elena Ortega Pinilla excellent playing, Elena! It’s a great piece and you have an admirable control. 

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    • Elena Ortega Pinilla Brava!.  Wonderful performance. I have not seen or heard you on Tonebase before but sure hope to see and hear more!  

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    • Elena Ortega Pinilla Great performance Elena, Bravo¡¡¡

      Like
  • Hello all, I´m posting another Julian Arcas piece , this one called "El Fagot".......in some part is trying to imitate the Fagot(bassoon) sound ....Actually is like a Vals, but all music in Julian Acas have spanish flavour......I hope you enjoy it

    Like 3
      • Steve Pederson
      • The Journey is My Destination!
      • Steve_Pederson
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      JUAN ALONSO What a lovely piece and performance Juan! Thanks so much for bringing Julian's music to this challenge. It makes me wonder - how have I never heard of him beofre? 

      Like
    • JUAN ALONSO charming. What a lovely piece. And you play it well. Nice phrasing of the melody. 

      Like
    • Steve Pederson
    • The Journey is My Destination!
    • Steve_Pederson
    • 11 mths ago
    • Reported - view

    La Caballeria de Napoles con Dos Clarines 

    Wai inspired me to post some Gaspar Sanz for this challenge. 

    This piece is really bizarre. It doesn't have your typical 4 or 8 bar phrases. Instead, it has two 7-bar phrases, followed by a 4-bar phrase, and then a 2-bar phrase. This pattern sort of continues throughout the piece. 🤔 

    Every interpretation I've heard is different from the next. I've heard everything from extreme ornamentation solo instrumentation in the baroque style to raucous parties with multiple instruments. 

    To me, it seems like it should be a dance with some rhythm instruments. 

    This piece sort of confounds me. I'm not really sure how best to interpret it. I played it over 30 years ago for my senior recital, and I have to say I still don't know what to do with it, but here goes...

    Like 4
      • Wainull
      • Wai_Ng
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Steve Pederson Well played, Steve! I also encountered the same problem when I learned Sanz's music, I agree with you that his music should be a dance, but it was really hard to get the right feeling. Even a simple 4-note group posed a problem for me:

      I had heard the first 4 interpretations, but in the end, I played a different one because I kept hearing it in my head. 😂 Thanks again for sharing Sanz's music, it was the first thing I heard today and it put me in a good mood this morning. 👍

      Like 1
      • Steve Pederson
      • The Journey is My Destination!
      • Steve_Pederson
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Wai that's the way to do it - play what's in your head and heart. Glad I could be a source of encouragement for you this morning - sharing in some Sanz fellowship! 

      Like 1
    • Steve Pederson Nice, Steve. Those phrases are hard for me to get my head around. Growing up where everything is in 2 and 4-bar phrases in I-IV-V progressions makes it hard for me to comprehend how music like this could feel so natural to people. I guess it would be like knowing what it was like before equal-temperament became a thing. Well done on this.

      Like 1
      • Steve Pederson
      • The Journey is My Destination!
      • Steve_Pederson
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Steve Price Thanks Steve, and you bring up a great point about remembering that this music was written well before the 12-Bar Blues! I've been teaching the ii-V-I, I-IV-V-I and 12-Bar Blues chord progressions to my students for so long that it's hard to believe the foundations of the earth were not built upon them! 

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    • Steve Pederson thank you for sharing this, Steve. I very much like your interpretation. It’s lively and playful. Well done.

      Like 1
      • Derek
      • Derek
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Steve Pederson Great job Steve. Sounds really good to me!

      Like 1
      • Steve Pederson
      • The Journey is My Destination!
      • Steve_Pederson
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      joosje Thank you Joosje! 

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      • Steve Pederson
      • The Journey is My Destination!
      • Steve_Pederson
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Derek Thanks Derek! 

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      • David Krupka
      • Amateur guitarist/lutenist
      • David_Krupka
      • 11 mths ago
      • Reported - view

      Steve Pederson The I-IV-V-I progression has been around for a while, Steve. I'm pretty sure it predates the 12-bar blues. (Mind you, the blues are probably older than we realize, too.) In any event, I thought, in view of your teaching, that you would find this publication from 1640 of some interest. (The link is to a modern edition prepared by Monica Hall.)

      https://monicahall2.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/foscarinicomplete.pdf

      This is the 'Five books of the Spanish Guitar' by Giovanni Paolo Foscarini, known in his day as 'Il Furioso' (!). It begins with a series of 'Passacalli sopra tutte  le littere'. 'Littere' (= 'letter') refers to a chord's name, although the system used here is different than our modern one: the letters represent chord shapes rather than tonalities. (So, for example, the first chord of the first piece ('A') is what today would be called 'G' - as made clear in the tablature.) Each one of these short 'passacalli' has the same harmonic structure: I-IV-V-I (or, in the minor keys, I-iv-V-i). So what we have here is this most basic of progressions in more or less every key. (It might be interesting to have some of your students try these!) One might think that such simple strummed pieces would be pretty boring. But give a listen to this somewhat fanciful interpretation of a 'Ciacona' from the same publication (the performer is the great Swiss guitarist Pierre Pitzl):

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkuBTGQmPVs

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