Week 1: Setting Sails! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of the "Music YOU Love" practice challenge!
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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After several failed takes, I was starting to get a little frustrated. I hit record again, just as my daughter was encouraging me from the other room that I can do it!
Listen for that at the beginning of this recording. This is just to show I've been working on the song "Down by the Salley Gardens". I'm making progress, but still nowhere near where it's going to be. The most difficult measures are 11 into beat one of m. 12, especially the G+9 chord into the C#o chord.
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Steve Pederson That is coming along really well, Steve. It is a lovely tune and McGuire's arrangement is very nice. In spite of being a knuckle buster.
Kudos to your daughter for her support. (My wife supports by " I can just block it out.")
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Steve Pederson This is really beautiful music, Steve. It's a fairly dense and lush texture, and I imagine it's hard to get it legato, but you are getting there. Hearing your daughter at the beginning was pure gold!
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Steve Pederson That's awesome. Tough arrangement, but it's really coming together. And having a good support system is so great. A friend of mine can only play at certain times since he says the noise bothers his wife. I'm pretty fortunate that my wife is very encouraging even when I played drums. Her only thing is that she points out when something in a song reminds her of another song. Things like showing me that Lauro's El Marabino starts with the melody from "The More You Know" PSA's and now I can't unhear it, lol. Nice job, Steve.
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Steve Pederson could you please send me the score! please
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Finally recorded the first part of Choros no 1. It is still messy and out of tempo. It was as hard as I was expecting, and my left hand thumb is aching a little bit, so I will rest a couple of days before jumping into the B and C sections.
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Bruno Calixto Good work, Bruno!
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Bruno Calixto That was really good, Bruno. I can see what you mean about a tired left thumb. A well deserved rest.
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Bruno Calixto Great start Bruno! Look forward to hearing the other sections wheh the thumb has recovered!
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Bruno Calixto Yeah Bruno! This is fantastic! Way to go! This is coming together very nicely!
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Simple Gifts (arr. Frederic Hand)
It does not get any more traditional American folk music than this. Simple Gifts is a song coming from the Shakers, an early American religious sect. The melody was very famously used by Aaron Copland in Appalachian Spring, but I mostly remember it from singing it in church since my youth (and no, I am not a Shaker
). Here are the lyrics:'Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.This arrangement is by Frederic Hand, whose music I have been exploring recently. I love the introspective introduction and conclusion. They sound so modern, yet they work so well with his treatments of the melody in between.
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Eric Phillips This was beautiful, Eric, both the piece and the playing. You seem to have found a kindred spirit with Frederick Hand.
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Eric Phillips that's a fantastic performance, Eric. I don't think it gets much better than that. Beautiful arrangement, too. He loves those tight intervals. Now I know of two versions I can't play, lol. I have the music for Christopher Parkening's arrangement which includes detuning the sixth string from d to c on the fly mid-song.
Really well done.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. I really love the lush chords he uses, even if they are difficult to play.
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Steve Price Thanks, Steve. I have heard the Parkening, but I haven't seen the score. I assume it is wickedly difficult, like everything he plays. Hand's arrangement is really not too difficult. Seeing what you play now, I'm sure you could handle it. If I can, you can.
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Eric Phillips Hauntingly beautiful!
Amazing harmonies, and you played it so well! Thanks for the gift!
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Eric Phillips love it simple, need no complications;-)
thank you for that
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Hand - Elegy for a King (Mar 14)
Here is another update. I feel like I am plateauing a bit on this piece, but I do still love playing it.
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Eric Phillips I haven't compared this version to previous postings but this is still beautifully played. You may have plateaued but at a very high level.
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Jack Stewart Thanks, Jack. There are a few sections where I still feel uneasy, but hopefully that will come with time.
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Eric Phillips Eric this sounds really good to me. Not familiar with the piece but I love the phrasing and colours and the harmonics are really clear. Beautifully played.
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Ron Thank you, Ron!
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Eric Phillips I agree with Jack Stewart - it sounds like you've plateaued on top of the mountain!
I can see why you love playing it - such a beautiful piece with so many interesting different components - harmonies and harmonics. -
Steve Pederson Thanks, Steve!
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here's my first attempt at recording G. Sanz Las Hachas
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
