Practice diary 2023 - Andre Bernier
Well this is a start. This diary is covering only the work I am doing on or with ToneBase. I also have a practice diary with TrueFire (acoustic guitar work) and one with MusicalU (general musical training)
So far I January I decided to participate in the January challenge and work on the Lanslogh #1 piece. In order to do that I had to go through the ''Reading music on the Guitar module. It was easy and helpful.
I decipher the score and start to practice on a daily basis.
I posted my first video yesterday when I felt I was able to go through the full piece at slow speed despite many mistakes.
I will keep the process for the 2 other weeks challenge and post a new video at the end of every week. This way I hope I will be able to see the improvements.
January 14, 2023
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It is inspiring to see your commitment to improvement and learning! I look forward to your posts!
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric. You call it ''Commitment'' my wife calls it ''Being stubborn''
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January 21st:
This week, I attended the masterclass with Alfredo Escande on the left arm Carlevaro techniques. this was a very interesting class and I learned a lot on how to use my left arm in a more efficient manner.
Kept working on Landslög I and was able to increase the speed to 120 bpm from 85 bpm. I can now remember and execute the chord changes without the music sheet. This is helping a lot.
Next week plan is to attend another masterclass and keeping working to improve on all aspects the Landslög I piece.
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Finally, here is my last video of Landslög I
This is the third video taken on January 31st 2023.
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Andre Bernier Well done Andre. You have progressed well with this piece. Congratulations.
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Jim King Thanks Jim, I really enjoy the format of the challenge and the piece itself. It helps a lot when you can enjoy practicing.
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February 5th, 2023
This week was mostly returning to practice my repertoire of 15 finger style short pieces on my acoustic guitar. I also practice Landsög 1 a few times over the week. I want to remember it and keep improving it. This is my first official piece of classical guitar repertoire.
I also joined the February challenge. working on a more complex version of Greensleeves.
I will post my progress weekly on the challenge forum and here. It will be interesting to see the progress achieved over the month.
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February 13th, 2023
This week I started to work on the new Greensleeves version. This will be a stretch for me but I don't give up. For now I have a good understanding of the Intro. I also started working on the first line of the Verse 1. I would like to be able to be comfortable with this line this week.
We will see the progress in my video #2 next Friday.
I also did some work on the course : Beginning guitar course Part 1- Daniel De Arakal.
So far it is very easy but it forces me to read or decipher the score which is a good practice for me. I have completed 43% of the course.
I did not use my acoustic guitar a lot this week and I am starting to miss it. I will try to allow some practice time on it next week.
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February 26th, 2023
The last 2 weeks, I kept working on the Greensleeves piece. I can now play the intro and the 2 lines of the first verse without the need of the score. However, I still need to increase the speed and work on allowing the melody to take more room. I will keep working on that but also spend some time to analyse the verse 2.
I also made some progress on the course: Beginning guitar course Part 1- Daniel De Arakal.
I have completed so far 54%.
Finally I also worked and made some good progress with my acoustic guitar course.
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May 14th 2023
Well I guess that I forgot for a while about my commitment to fill my diary on a regular basis....
I did not participate in any challenges or activities on TB over the last few months because I wanted to concentrate on finishing the Beginning guitar course Part 1 - Daniel De Arakal.
I can say it is mostly done
but I just need to polish up my playing on the last exercise (Practice room 15) Andantino on C major (Carcassi) that I intend to keep in my repertoire for some time.My next step will be to start working on the pieces listed in the TB level 2 or listed as for beginners in the TB score library.
For now I started to work on Menuet in A Minor - Johan Kreiger using the TB course by Peter Graneis. This will be the piece that I will use in the " Song and Dance Challenge"
I also signed up for the "Interpreting Spanish Repertoire" two weeks intensive. I am not sure yet what I will do there but this will be a new experience.
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May 14th 2023
Here is a take on the (Practice room 15) Andantino on C major (Carcassi)
I still need a lot of polishing but it is improving....
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Andre Bernier Good work, Andre! Both hands are doing the movements fluidly and effectively.
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Eric Phillips
Thanks Eric for your comments. I am happy because I learned this piece by reading directly from the score (no written notes or any other help) which is a big, big, big win for me. This will help me a lot in the future.
The piece still needs a lot of polishing but I have all the time for that. I will also need to eventually get rid of the metronome...
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August 29, 2023
I am now back to my practice diary.
Here is a recording of a piece I have been practicing in the last couple of months.
Ferdinando Carulli - Andantino in A minor Op.241, no 19
Based on the Tonebase course by Bokyung Byung
I still need to keep working on it on a regular basis but it is starting to sound good.
At the same time, I am starting the courses:
- 120 Right Hand Studies - Joseph Palmer : I will work on 1 to 10
- 10 Sketches - Sergio Assad : I will work on no.1
This will keep me busy for a few months
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Just a bit over a month since I posted my last progress.
As noticed the last time, I am working slowly through the 120 RH studies (M. Giuliani). So far I am practicing the numbers 1 to 10. I can feel this is very helpful and planning to keep working on them progressively.
I also started to work on the Sketch no. 1 of Sergio Assad. I am not doing too badly on the first part of the piece. Here is a short video on my progress. I also started working on the second part but this is not ready yet for a recording
