Emma's Practice Diary - Bach Gavotte 1 & 2
Hello, here is my first entry for the practice diary. I am learning the Bach gavottes 1, and 2 . Technically are achievable for me and if good I will enter the challenge for the concert with this piece. My goals are:
Playing it crisp, well, at the right tempo
Being able to play it with a baroque interpretation. It has always been a challenge to me interpreting baroque music. I have always played them too romantically
Improve my sound
I am planning one hour a day of technique to improve my sound and slurs: today I did slurs, chromatic scales, diatonic scales, vertical displacements, and chords. Thank you Martin for the session yesterday
Learning the piece slow.
How do we make a diary? Everyday we post?
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Hello, here is my first entry for the practice diary. I am learning the Bach gavottes 1, and 2 . Technically are achievable for me and if good I will enter the challenge for the concert with this piece. My goals are:
Playing it crisp, well, at the right tempo
Being able to play it with a baroque interpretation. It has always been a challenge to me interpreting baroque music. I have always played them too romantically
Improve my sound
I am planning one hour a day of technique to improve my sound and slurs: today I did slurs, chromatic scales, diatonic scales, vertical displacements, and chords. Thank you Martin for the session yesterday
Learning the piece slow.How do we make a diary? Everyday we post?
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Emma Hi Emma! I opened a Practice Diary for you, but will explain it in the Kick-Off-Session tomorrow! Have fun keeping us updated in your diary!
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Hi Emma, I just watched the tonebase lesson on this and what great pieces to learn for the concert. I'm working on a Bach piece too (hopefully for the concert).. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
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Brett Gilbert thank you! I am looking forward to seeing you progress too.
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I am doing approximately one hour of warming/technique. Slow practicing different aroeggii patterns to improve sound quality, slurs, and diatonic and chromatic scales. Then I pass to practice the gavottas. I have watched the videos of Steve Goss about Bach and the one baroque ornamentation by Brandon Acker. They argue against Campanella scales and two strings thrills when playing barroque music. I would like to know your opinions on this. Following my personal taste I think I like the Campanella effect at the end on Gavota 1 but I am not sure about the 2 strings thrill. I am planning to post one video a week so I can see my improvement and get some feedback from you all
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Emma I've watched these videos as well and while Brandon in particular specializes in period instruments and "historically accurate" interpretations at one point (if I remember correctly) he says that at the end of the day it is up to us what sounds/feels best. I am fairly new to the guitar, but I really like Campanella style fingerings and effects. I tend to prefer cross string trills when possible as I find them easier and more satisfying. Certainly a very interesting topic in any case.
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Emma The points Brett Gilbert brought up are definitely very important! I think the BWV 995 has been originally composed for the cello and then transcribed for the lute, but for further advises I would need to investigate a little further!
BTW, that is the reason why I stopped to play Bach in competitions. Everybody thinks they are the true Bach specialists and know how to perform it correctly. And if you deviate from their idea, you're out
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Emma I say learn all you can about baroque interpretation (I know next to nothing, myself), but then make a choice about what you like. If you like Bach with cross-string trills and campanella scales, go for it. I really doubt Bach would be in any way offended.
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Hello all,
my practice last week consisted in about 1 hour of technique warming. I am doing 20 min of open arpeggios in different shapes working only RH to improve my sound and attack, 10 min of slurs (Martin’s routine), chromatic scales tirando and apoyando about 30 min, and vertical extensions, then I either do the arpeggios routine we learnt with Mircea and Martin or I practice an arpeggios study, in the evening I play the Harmonic field in scales up and down.
my objective for this week was to memorise and play it well at a low speed, and produce a video today to measure my evolution. Well here is the video, I am a little embarrassed but it is to measure it against next weeks’s, so I will be very happy next week. Good to see that I still have not memorise it completely, and there are places were I still stumble and need to slow practice again. I still don’t like the sound a lot. Will change the strings, they are super old-
Emma Well done...I cheer for you
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Emma that’s wonderful , Emma. I ike the little ornaments. You can make more. They sound good. The slurs work really well too.
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Emma Very nice Emma! You have it well under control. Looking forward to hearing.
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Emma Very nice, Emma! That is a very impressive practice routine you described. It is obviously coming through in your beautiful playing!
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Emma very well done, your sound is consistent and well balanced, with new strings it will just be more alive.
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Emma it beautiful Gavota Emma, and you have already memorize it! all the notes are in your fingers. Guauuu you are dedicating a lot of time to technik improvement! how many hours are you embracing the guitar per day???!!!!
I hope you will have the courage to participate in the concert Emma...I am also very very scare.... but..it is not nice to be able to share your music with people that you know loves it ??!! isn't it?
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Emma thank you so much! There is so much beauty in that, I am glad that your practice routine helps you, it seems you're more disciplined than me at the moment
Playing Bach feels for me always like a shower for my mind, I can't but helping to feel refreshed (if it's not a humongous fuge that absolutely drains me mentally, haha)
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Thank you everybody! I was not very happy with the recording. But recording myself made it so much better the next day! Now working on speed and ornaments. My objective for the recording next week is to be a tempo both gavottas
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Hi Emma - really love these Bach gavottes and it sounds like you already have a great feel for them. Look forward to hearing both of them - well done!
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Second video for the Gavottas 1&2. My goal for saturday is assemble it all together with the repetitions. Work on the musicality and the differences I will make for the repetitions, different/more ornaments in Gavotta 1 and change of colour for Gavotta 2. Polish that campanella scale. And most important work on the final chord of Gavotta 1. Martin My question is should I stop now working with the metronome? I continue with the technical work/warming but 2 days this week I have slipped....
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Emma That's lovely, Emma! I'm listening to it just before I begin a day of teaching. No better way to start the day than with Bach!
I also struggle with playing a D chord like it is at the end of Gavotta 1. I have much the same chord at the end of my piece (Villa-Lobos Prelude 5). I wish I could give some helpful advice. I have struggled with that fingering of a major chord since I began playing.
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Emma Very nice Emma. They are coming along nicely. I'm looking forward to hearing these at the concert
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Emma Hi made a little video for you, I might be jumping back and forth with my ideas a bit as I'm battling with a little cold at the moment
But let me know if that helps! I think the main culprit might be the order you set up your fingers for that D major chords and the connection between the weak and the strong fingers! -
Thank you so so much Martin. I think Eric Phillips will be interested too. I am so so thankful that you made this video to help me. It is incredible how you make time to help us all. I hope you get better very soon. Here in Mozambique, the south of Africa, summer and heat are already here no more cold season.... I will start practising the last arpeggio right away
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Emma You are very welcome
Say hello to the sun, we haven't seen her in Germany for a while now! 
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Martin Emma I am indeed very interested. Thank you Martin! When I get home tonight to my guitar, I will see how that thinking and advice can apply to the D chord in the last measure of Villa-Lobos Prelude 5.
Sadly, we have had no sun here in Rochester, New York for several days.
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