Week 3: Waltzes and Whirls 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the third week of "Song and Dance" practice challenge!
Choose a piece that is inspired or transcribed from a song or a dance. It could be a lively south-american danza, a passionate tango, a serene romantic lied, or a poignant aria transcribed for the guitar. You're welcome to explore pieces from unfamiliar composers or challenge yourself with a complex work.
Commit to daily practice and share your journey with the community. Aim to practice every day and upload at least two videos each week to illustrate your progress. This will not only help you stay committed and encouraged but will also allow you to share your musical voyage with our tonebase family.
Share your favorite piece or recording that embodies the theme of "Song and Dance." Your submission will serve as an inspiration to others and create a vibrant pool of potential pieces for other members to delve into.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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Gymnopedie No 1 section 1
Apparently it means an annual festival where man dance unarmed and naked. But doesn't sound like a happy festival if Satie had this mind when he composed it.
I just got this music. It's arranged by Christopher Parkening from his Parkening and the guitar. It seems pretty straight forward enough for me to get to the first section pretty quickly.
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don Wow, such a great piece Don. I knew the piece but did not know the name. Thanks a lot, this will be my next challenge
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don Sounding great, Don. Your prolific output is really impressive. As is your progress.
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don Very nice start to this one Don!
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Gran Vals
I've removed the repeats for this. Also made some changes to the fingerings. I think it is getting a bit better.
Need to work on the slurs in section 2 where it sounded a bit too metallic. Still missing a beat in section 3's ending measure. Hopefully gets better.
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don Nice performance and spot on with very regular waltz rhythm. Thanks Don for sharing
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don This is sounding great, Don., especially section A. Your leaps are very smooth and your upper register control is great (I am very envious - that is something really struggle with).
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don This is getting smoother, don! You can definitely make it your ringtone!
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Wai thanks! I actually changed the harmonic at the end for that Nokia ringtone!
Jack Stewart Andre Bernier thank you!
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Lob der Tranen
have a habit of speeding up in the beginning and I think I manage to fix it.
There is a mistake during the middle part and some tempo issues to fix in section 2 but overall quite satisfied with the progress.
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don Great work Don. You have all the reasons to be satisfied of your progress, Thanks for sharing this nice piece.
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don This is coming along very well, Don. You have all of it solidly under your fingers. I think you are ready to really hone in on phrasing and dynamics.
Great job.
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don Beautiful! Nice job Don!
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don good work you did on this one Don... not an easy piece at all
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Blaise Laflamme Jack Stewart Steve Pederson Andre thank you!
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This is my first post/ comment in any way on this platform. Hoe do these challenges work? Do we work on a piece for the week and then post a video of it towards the end or post our progress? Thanks. Looking forward to posting some work.
Does Vals Venezolano No. 3 count for this challenge?
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Jinsoo There are no rules, Jinsoo. Some people like to post 'finished' performances only, others post their 'work-in-progress', still others post nothing at all, offering only commentary from the peanut gallery. Do whatever you feel comfortable with. Take a look at what's already been posted - you'll soon get the idea. As for repertoire, Lauro's waltzes are definitely appropriate for this challenge. Actually, pretty much anything is appropriate, because the real point is to share your music.
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Jinsoo you can take a look at the READ and FAQ of the challenge for a guideline, but as David says you can do and participate whatever you want, I hope to hear and see you in the challenge! And yes Lauro's Vals #3 is spot on!
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David Krupka Thank you, I appreciate this. I am glad and welcome the input. I like challenges like this because it gives me a reason to finish pieces like this one. I cannot count the amount of music I really wanted to master but I just simply stopped because it got tiring or I decided to play some other thing.
Can't wait to see how it goes, I will try to post something here by the end of next week! -
Blaise Laflamme Perfect! I am interested to see what people say.
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Sor – Andantino Op 32 No 1
Okay, this is a bit of a stretch in terms of fitting this challenge. I always like to be working on something by Sor. I just finished up Op 47, so now I’d like to move on to Op 32.
My musical goal in this opus will be to play the rhythms accurately, crisply, and gracefully. Each piece in this set of six little pieces seems to have some rhythmic challenges in it. In this Andantino, Sor does something very typical of his style. He adds these little flourishes to an otherwise very simple piece. Each flourish is a little bit different, and poses a separate technical challenge.
The score is attached if you care to follow along.
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Eric Phillips Well done Eric, around 0:48 I was thinking you were playing his Mozart variations!!
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Blaise Laflamme You’re right, Blaise. It’s the same key, and virtually the same harmonic progression, I think.
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Eric Phillips Hey Eric, I am sure you saw this, but in case not, Eduardo Fernandez is doing a live-stream on Wednesday on Sor. As you may know, Eduardo is an amazing guitarist and one of Abel Carlevaro's most successful students.
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Dale Needles I did not know that, so thanks. I can’t watch live, but I’ll be sure to watch the recording.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
