Group 1
Improve your Left-Hand-Fitness with Slurs!
The Fitness of the left hand is responsible for how comfortable you feel on the guitar. Regular slur practice will improve your stability and agility and opens your hand for more fingering possibilities! Two Weeks, Fingers 1234, a gazillion different possibilites! Let me show you my workout tips for the left hand and let us improve together!
Fellow Participants in Group 1:
joosje
Alex Polonski
Robert
Vilio Celli
Eric Phillips
Bill Young
Kirkestopinal
Carlos Augusto Costa Silva
Marilyn Blodget
Barney
Valdir Ferreira
GALAIS
Jason Park
Helen Walker
Some tonebase productions to get you started
Martin Zimny - Left Hand Workout with Villa-Lobos Etude #3
Martin Zimny - Getting Slurs Right from the beginning
Artyom Dervoed - Slurs from Nothing
Bill Kanengiser - Padre e Hija by Garcia de Leon
How to get the most out of this course
- Start by watching the introduction video and practice the exercises given in the video.
- Write a post with your experiences with Slurs.
- At the same time, start practicing the first bars of Etude #3 by Villa-Lobos. If you are new to the piece, start with my livestream on this piece!
- Share two videos per week and help your course partners through feedback on their submissions!
Zoom Check-In: Friday, June 24th at 6 pm CET (9 am PT)
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Hi Martin, thanks for opening this group!
I think, the 2nd bullet point should not be "... tremolo" - although we should practice tremolo, too (with reference to the previous Tremolo Two Week Intensive)
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Looking forward to this slur stuff.-
Robert good catch, I'll change that!!!
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Hi Martin. Thanks for starting this up. I'll be honest, I'm not sure I have the patience and perseverance to do even the shortened version of these assignments everyday, but I'll try. Is there something in particular we should post here? Videos of us playing the exercises would be pretty boring.
Also, it says the Zoom check-in is on May 20th. Shall I go get my time machine?
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Eric Phillips Whops, it is planned for June 24th, but I might change that as Manny is going to stream on that day!
Yes, practice the exercises, show maybe a small portion of the assignments and - if you're brave enough - jump into the first bars of Villa-Lobos Etude #3!
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June 21 - Villa-Lobos Etude 3
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Eric Phillips Oh man, that sounds dangerous, haha! If you are already proficient with slurs (and it looks like you are), you can only work on Assignment #3, that is my go-to exercises for everyday slur practice!
Thank you for your feedback on my fingerings
Such a good job!! One thing: bar 2, last two 16th notes are wrong! You need to pull-off from the 5th fret on the 4th string instead of from the 4th fret in the 3rd string. I'd recommend practicing that etude in reversed dotted rhythms, to feel the shift of energy from one finger to the next more and reduce stress in the hand! That etude was my main preparation for my entrance exam!
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Martin Holy cow, you're right! I can't believe I read that wrong. I'll try it now with reverse dotted rhythms. Thanks, Martin!
I have posted my work on assignments 3 and 4 below.
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Martin I have a quick thought. One thing that your slur exercises do not cover is slurs with open strings, which can be quite tricky, especially on higher frets. Any good tips and/or exercises for those? I see that Artyom Devoed has an exercise for those, but it looks ridiculously difficult, and doesn't really discuss how to execute it properly.
I would also add that Bill Kanengiser's lessons on the studies of Ernesto Garcia de Leon (#14 Padre e Hija and #19 El Rio) give some great advice about slur technique.
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Eric Phillips That's correct! tbh, I have never practiced slurs on open strings. I have only practiced those when I encountered them in a piece! If I remember correctly there was a Sketch by Sergio Assad where a lot of open strings slurs are happening. Unfortunately it's the toughest of all the etudes if I remember correctly!
I will add Bill's lesson, thank you!
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Martin Yes, that sketch was way beyond my ability! Thanks for adding the lesson by Bill K. I might try to work on that one, just because I enjoy it so much.
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Slurs Group 1 Hey everybody, how are you guys doing with the assignments?
Let me know if you have any questions or additions! Feel free to post other slur-related questions or additional etudes! -
Quick Announcement: We're doing the Zoom Check-In 2 hours earlier than planned to not interfere with Manny's livestream on friday! Please comment if you've read that!
Slurs Group 1
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Martin Read it, and hope to be there.
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Martin +
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Martin Ok
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Martin Hi Martin, thanks for the heads up. I just rescheduled my doctor’s appointment on Friday so I can attend the Zoom check-in.
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Bill Young I like your priorities!
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June 22 Exercises 3 and 4
These were definitely challenging, especially number 4. I found that doing exercise 4, I became sore in the forearm, the shoulder, and a bit in the hand. I needed to take pauses and relax everything.
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Eric Phillips Good Job!
- Assignment 3: When I shift to the next position, I don't bother with legato and don't stretch like you do! Additionally, your pinky looks a bit flat on the first string, what do you think? The amount of pressure is more efficient if you really only hammer with the tip!
- Assignment 4: I only do these in the first position, I don't spend too much time with these exercises as they are really straining for the hand! It's absolutely fine to do them only in one position (also doesn't need to be the first position where it's quite hard.) 4th finger fixed and slurring with 3-2 is sooo hard! Don't push your hand too much!
I am so happy that you're battling through these exercises!
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Martin Thanks, Martin. Yes my pinky definitely goes flat. That's my weakness, I can see, so I need to work on it.
Good to know you don't shift exercise 4 around! That makes me feel better!
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Eric Phillips I am not THAT sadistic, haha
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Villa-Lobos Etude 3 with reverse dotted rhythms (June 22)
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Eric Phillips That was so good! Have you played this etude actually before? You're already so proficient in the fingerings and everything, it's unbelievable!
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Eric Phillips Steve Goss said something very important in today's livestream which might apply to you when he was talking about dynamic pressure. The amount of pressure in the left needed at the beginning of the note is greater than in the sustain phase, maybe that helps your find finding moments of micro-relaxation when playing a hammer on (and than release the pressure a bit after the hammer on). In order to build that awareness one needs to practice reeeaaally slow, though. Don't know if that's possible with too much coffee in your system
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Martin Thanks, Martin. I have not played any of the VL etudes before (except No. 1, but just the arpeggio pattern, not the whole thing). They are all just so darn difficult! Do you think I should just continue with the reverse dotted rhythm?
That is interesting what Steve Goss was talking about. I'm not sure I have the patience or finger awareness to get to that point.
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