Group 2
Rhythm and Rubato - Improving Your Interpretation Of Latin Dances
Immerse yourself in the vibrant and rhythmic world of Latin American dances with our two-week intensive course, “Rhythm and Rubato”. This course is a deep exploration into the rich musical heritage of Latin America, focusing on authentic interpretation and rhythmic structure of emblematic pieces like Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Choro 1, Antonio Lauro’s Carora, and Cardoso’s Milonga.
Core Concepts:
- Rhythm and Rubato: Delve into the essential techniques of employing rhythm and rubato, learning where to take time and where to maintain a straightforward tempo.
- Understanding Rhythmic Structure: Gain insights into the intrinsic rhythmic structures that define Latin American dances, enabling you to render performances that resonate with authenticity and vitality.
- Addressing Technical Challenges: Overcome typical technical hurdles such as mastering arpeggios with ami and thumb, negotiating chord changes, and more.
Hands-on Learning:
Participants are encouraged to bring their own repertoire to the course, allowing for a collaborative learning environment where individual pieces are analyzed for their rhythm and interpretability. The course will guide participants through the process of identifying where to take time in their pieces, ensuring a broader applicability of the skills acquired.
Who Should Attend:
This course is tailored for classical guitarists who are eager to refine their interpretative skills, enhance their understanding of rhythm, and delve deeper into the beauty of Latin American music. Whether you’re a seasoned performer or an enthusiastic beginner, this intensive course will enhance your musicality and broaden your interpretive horizons.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, participants will have a nuanced understanding of rhythm and rubato, allowing them to bring out the authentic essence of Latin American dances in their performances. They will also have honed their technical skills to navigate through typical challenges encountered in playing such pieces.
Join Us:
Embark on this musical journey and immerse yourself in the rhythms and expressions of Latin American dances. This course promises a transformative learning experience, offering a rich blend of theoretical knowledge and practical skills, all aimed at unlocking the true potential of every classical guitarist.
Timeline:
- Sign-Up: October 13th - 15th
- Course Period: October 16th - 27th
- Optional check-In via Zoom: tba
Assignments
PART 2 ''Milonga'' by Jorge Cardoso
Practice assignment:
1. Try the rhythm with open strings concentration on the beat from the metronome.
2. Play the first couple of bars (first three or four chords is enough).
Part 3: Carora (vals Venezolano) by Antonio Lauro
Assignment:
1. Try to play the cuatro's rhythm very slowly, by strumming in a down and up motion six 8th-notes damping 8th-note number 3 and 6 (1 2 X 4 5 X). Don't forget it is a vals and has a 3/4 measure.
2. If you play this piece or any other Venezuelan vals you can post it, if not, you can try the first couple of bars.
Have fun!
Part 4: Choro No.1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos
Assignment:
Try to play the basic rhythm as explained in the video and if you can, add some percussion from this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYWXrkYTLOE
Have fun!
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Hello, my name is Genon. I am a physician by day and a serious advanced guitar student by night. My teacher was trained in Cuba, and we spend a lot of time discussing latin rhythms. I am familiar with these pieces except for Carora (I have placed Lauro No 1 and No 3 Valsas). I feel that I am still "rhythmically challenged" and am looking to expand my understanding and feeling for these beautiful rhythms.
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GENON Hi! Thanks so much for your comment. My teacher was also trained in Cuba so we have that in common haha. Feel free to post any videos or questions about other pieces too.
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Hi! My name is Moysés Lopes, I'm from Brazil, and I now live in Portugal. I'm an enthusiastic amateur guitarist! For this course maybe I can improve my versions of "Milongueo Del Ayer" (Fleury) and "Zamba Del Viento" (folklore - revision Atahualpa Yupanqui). Thank you, Arturo and Martin!
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Moyses Lopes Hola! Those pieces you mention are fantastic. Feel free to post any videos related to that so we can work on that.
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Thank you, Arturo! I recorded this video last year, but I think we can start with him. Thank you for your time!
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Another old video...
This piece remains in my memory, my father loved her! Thanks again! -
Moyses Lopes This is really nice. Congratulations! I think the most important part is to have a clear idea about the melody. Don't forget you are doing the part of the singer and of the payador (guitarist) so you have 2 jobs haha. try playing only the melody and imagine someone else is playing the guitar. And then the other way around.
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Moyses Lopes Ah I love Milonga del ayer so much. This is great! Just be careful to not rush it. Enjoy it more haha. That middle part you can take a bit more risks just holding it back for a tiny bit instead of rushing it.
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Thank you, Arturo, I'll try this. Regards!
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Great advice! I'll relax a bit more, trying to play a more fluid tempo, to highlight some melody nuances. I started to study Cardoso's Milonga, as soon I have a recording I'll post it here. Thank you for your wisdom!
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Moyses Lopes sure!! Thank you! Send me the video whenever you have it. Would love to see it!
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Arturo Castro Noguerasthis Hi, Arturo! Here is another video of Milongueo, these time with your advice. Thank you!
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Hello. I am Dave from California, USA. I play a lot of Latin American dance music especially Villa-Lobos and Barrios. I am a fan of the Waltz and am very interested in learning the proper tempos for these pieces. I sometimes struggle with bringing transitions between sections of pieces to sound more cohesive. I am also interested in improving my Rubato playing in this music and improving my "feel".
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David Trevors Hi! Thank you for your message and welcome. That sounds great, it is exactly what we'll talk about.
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Here is a video I recorded of me playing Choros no. 1 live. Pleas feel free to have a listen :) https://youtu.be/Y_WYCL30em0?si=l7DZWO9jEYbqqH9P
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David Trevors unfortunately I can't see it. It says it is private, can you send post it again?
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Arturo Castro Nogueras https://youtu.be/Y_WYCL30em0 try now
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David Trevors Hey! that was very good! Would you say the wine glass in the back helped too? haha.
Now seriously, I think you have done a fantastic work. The thing I can recommend the most right now it would be how can you get rid of certain accents that can potentially make the piece sound kind of heavy. For example I would do the first chord a bit shorter and precise without make it sound too loud and then the rest of the notes of that bar a bit softer and aiming for the nextz chord. What do you think?
Another thing would be (as an exercise) to put choro percussion in the background like we did yesterday and try to get a feel of the percussion? Try it with this link and let me know how it went.
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David Trevors Bravo!!!
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Hello my name is Jaime Zaldua and I work as a musician and guitar teacher near Oxford, UK.
My father is from Colombia and is also a guitarist so I have been super fortunate to be exposed to Latin repertoire from childhood. Music by Gentil Montana, Barrios, Lauro and Pernambuco to name a few have been played and loved in our home.
I played Jorge Cardoso Milonga during Covid times so I am looking forward to sharing a video of that and working on it again in better times.
Villa Lobos Choro (No.1) I played as a teenager and I have even found my original photocopy - excited to get deep into Choro and other rhythms of Brazil. Lauro Carica I haven’t played yet but have music and will get into it - like Genon I’ve played some of his other Venezuelan waltz’s (Natalia and Andreina).
Thank you Arturo for this great opportunity and fellow Tonebase musicians sharing this experience.
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Jaime Zaldua That sounds great! Thanks for joining us!
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Hello. I’m a putting a link for Milonga that I recorded this morning. Hope you enjoy - feed back welcome- I know I’m squeaky and some wrong notes.
I’ll have a go on the assignments too.
https://youtu.be/8tZoHA3Sp0Y?si=5mnuN_2DNodyz5v-
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Jaime Zaldua I just watched your video. Thanks so much! I like that you have your own interpretation and feels very personal. Congratulations. I think on the 2nd and 3rd part you can be very musical and still maintain the rhythm integrity. A nice exercise I can recommend is try first playing the melody completely a tempo with a metronome and record it. Then you can listen to it and imagine, while being on the beat, how would you like it to sound and experiment different ways. I feel your version is very good, it is just sometimes misses the rhythmic pattern that is important for any milonga. What do you think?
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Jaime Zaldua BTW your Adalid sounds very good. Nice guitar
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Hello maestro. Thank you for your supportive comments and direction. I have found it very helpful and enlightening. I have been practicing withthe metronome and it’s been a reality check. I am getting a lot of value out of this practice which is exciting. It’s serving useful to spotlight where I am losing therhythmic structure. I look forward tosharing more videos. See you soon.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
