Group 4
This Two Week Intensives will cover the essential techniques of staccato, portato, and legato for guitar players. Staccato involves playing notes in a short, detached manner, while legato involves playing notes smoothly and connected. Portato is a style that falls between staccato and legato, with slightly detached but still connected notes. The class will also delve into the development of left-hand technique that you need for proper articulation!
Sanel Redžić is one of the most promising and virtuoso guitarists of the younger
generation, who has created an important name on the international scene, having a wide
repertoire from baroque to modern music.
Sanel currently teaches at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Weimar and at
the University of Erfurt in Germany. He is also artistic director and founder of Tuzla Guitar
Week in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Repertoire:
- Scales (major with parallel melodic minor scares)
- Leo Brouwer - Etude Nr. 1
- Agustin Barrios - Mangore - 3rd movement of La Catedral
- Fernando Sor - Etude Op. 35, No. 22 (Segovia No. 5)
- Any other example by participants
Assignment Videos
I compiled a playlist with 5 Videos! More Videos will come :)
- Video 1: Intro
- Video 2: C Major scale with i-m
- Video 3: C Major scale with p
- Video 4: Arpeggios
- Video 5: Brouwer no.1
Assignment:
- Submit a video containing either one or several of the exercises. For example, start with a simple C major scale playing once as legato as possible, repeat with portamento and then one last time with staccato. Please tell us what articulation you were aiming for!
- Feel free to apply the learnings to either Brouwer Etude no.1 or your own repertoire!
Feel free to ask questions in a written reply and/or add them to your video!
Assignment Week 2:
- Read and play through the piece provided by Sanel and play the basses staccato and the upper voices legato!
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The Dwarfs Dance. I id a first read through and recorded parts of it. It's not an easy assignment.
The sound in my recording is weird. I had to do this in the kitchen (we had another event in the house)
What I find difficult: where the bass is coinciding with syncopated chords, it's hard not to mute the chord together with the bass note. I'll practice more slowly on that.
The ending of the piece is tricky. To play the bass legato and the m and i staccato (at very short distance from the the thumb). I didn't even try to record it yet.
Funny thing is that I can't add the YouTube links as usual, now that I'm working on my phone. You can see the links but without the 'preview'. I hope you can open them
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Very good joosje ! Congratulations! You are getting there!
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Good luck Nora Torres-Nagel !!! :D
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joosje bravo! It sounds good already! Very clean sound …
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I gave it a second try after a new day with a little practice on the Dwarf's Dance. Getting used to the first movement (p staccato). The ending ( i and m staccato) is driving me crazy, so I dont insist too much. Short impressions below
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joosje sounds great!
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joosje This is really impressive, Joosje. In fact, all of your work here has been really good.
This workshop has given me a very difficult time. I think I'll be able to post in the next day or 2 but I don't know if I'll ever get control of the Dwarf assignment.
Great work!
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Woow joosje ! Very good! Especially the ending. I know very well how difficult it is. Congratulations!
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joosje bravo Joosje !!!! both voices so good separate ... great job
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Hi all!
I send now the first lines of this funny and sardonic dance..it is a difficult task for me !
I am applying it also on a piece I was already working on but I am not sure if will be ready for this week. In any case thank you very much Sanel for this clear explanation of why "articulation" is so an "imprescindible" element in music. It has changed my way to hear music...
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Nora Torres-Nagel Great start Nora. Very clear and clean staccato! I know how hard it is to keep going the whole piece, (at that tempo!) but you're getting there. Very useful exercise don't you agree?
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joosje Thanks Joosje ! Extremely useful....I feel my hands like two instruments....the 2 voices....I like that feeling... I would like to learn to separate each of my right hand fingers , the control of them I mean... to have one instrument in each finger if necessary...this is the beginning .
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Nora Torres-Nagel This is great, Nora. You have a very legato, melodic upper voice and while maintaining a solid beat and a distinct staccato bass.
I was never able to achieve anything near what you have here.
Great job.
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Jack Stewart thank you Jack.I am practicing this effect a lot. Also with the Carlevaro exercises.
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Hey Nora Torres-Nagel , really amazing!
I am so glad to hear the result of what we did here. It makes me very happy. And I am also very glad to hear from the other members that they are having a great time doing this.
This is a very useful and important tool, which should be used in all pieces that we are working on.
Congratulations! -
Sanel Redzic
gracias !
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Well..... There are some bright moments - perhaps. I feel I start off with fairly good bass staccato but I can't seem to maintain it. The first half suggests, reasonably accurately, I think, how I am trying to interpret this. Once again, though, it kind of falls apart in the second half. (I inadvertently add a repeat at the beginning of the A return). I also don't think I have a very clear transition to the return of the A section.
I think this has been an excellent topic that I really need more time to absorb. I kept trying and hoping to have more to present but this has been a very slow slog for me. I have enjoyed, and been very impressed with, everyone's submissions.
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Jack Stewart I enjoy how you are playing this Jack, the stacattos are clear to hear and you have got the sense of the articulation in this study, the little mistakes will be over if you practice it longer. Congratulations and keep trying, as you say !
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Nora Torres-Nagel Thanks Nora. If I can get a cleaner, more refined version I'll repost.
However, "the little mistakes will be over if you practice it longer" - I don't think I have ever experienced that.
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Hello Jack Stewart ,
you are getting there! The most important thing at the moment is that you understood what it is about and how does it work. Keep on working on this and don't give up!
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Jack Stewart that was a good start Jack. Thank you for sharing. In this video your ideas are clear and the staccato is nice and clean. I agree with you it's not easy to keep the consistency when you're not used to play it this way. Thanks to this TWI I am now applying it to my pieces in repeated phrases
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Sanel Redzic Thanks Sanel. I have continued to work on this piece as well as incorporating these articulations into BWV 996 Courante, a piece I started just before this workshop began. I have the A section reasonably under control (by my standards!).
This has been a very good and valuable workshop. Thank you.
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joosje Thanks Joosje. I have made some more improvements since but the consistency is still a challenge - better though.
I have also started applying it to BWV 996 Courante which I started learning just before this workshop. I have the A section somewhat under control (just not in time for submitting to this work shop.) I'll post it soon in the Dairy, as well as my reworking of the Allemande.
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Jack Stewart o yes, looking forward to hearing your interpretation of the courante. I find it very difficult, especially to keep the voices clean and coherent.
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Hello Sanel and everyone,
My apology for posting this late.
I only managed to do the first few bars. Nevertheless, I am please that I managed it as I had struggled in the first few exercises when I couldn’t control my fingers to allow separation of staccato bass from the melody.
I made two attempts up to Bar 16. I need more practice to get the transition from bar 10 to bar 11, and generally from bar 9 onwards.
Attempt 1:
Attempt 2:
It is an interesting piece and I like it. I will continue to work on it until I can play it. Thank you for introducing this new piece to me.
Vincent
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Great Vincent Tam ! Thank you for sharing with me and with us your version. You have it! All the best with this piece in the future. Keep up working on it.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
