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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Hello Sanel and everyone,
Here is my attempt on the exercise.
I have attempted all the exercises in Exercise 1 and 2 below in the following order:
a Legato using i and m
b Portato
c Staccato using the left hand
d Staccato using the I and m fingers
e Staccato using the thumb
I find it difficult to maintain legato when shifting position. I guess this is down to practice.
Below is the arpeggio exercise.
I find this difficult to do. After many hours of practice, I think I am getting some passable results. I can do the majority of the staccatos, and many I missed particularly when the thumb has to make a large movement, e.g. moving from D string to the E string, then I sometime missed stopping the D string.
I have not posted my attempt on Brouwer Etude no 1 as find it very difficult to play it with staccato bass note. My difficulty is that my other finger automatically come to stop the other strings when I come to stop the bass note with my thumb. I am trying to figure out how to overcome this.
Vincent
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Sanel Redzic Thank you for your feedback. Will continue to work on this. Vincent
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Nora Torres-Nagel I mean your Giuliani, not Brouwer. enjoy it.
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Carlevaro arpeggio, I am happier with the descending half. I have been practicing daily, it will become better
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Emma Hi Emma ! it sounds very even....!! very good! I was doing it different, but I do not know exactly now...what Sanel said...
Anyway I think you are stopping the first bass when coming to it again the 2. time. I understood that the idea was to stop the 1. bass with the G and the 2. bass with the E (1st string). I am not sure of that but that is what I was trying to do...
Anyway my brain analyzes these movements very slowly ...I am not sure which is your pattern of movement but it sounds even....always the same.
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Emma , the thing is that you are playing first bass connected with the second (legato) and the second one non legato. Try to make both non legato. You have to stop also the first bass before playing the second.
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Sanel Redzic I see thank you!
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Hi everyone. I am glad to be here. I have answered already to the first three groups. I will continue answering here in a few hours. I have to do now some private lessons. I will be back tonight. :-)
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I wasnt able to make good recordings yesterday and today. But I did manage with my phone to record parts of my practice work on the arpeggios. Forgive the poor video adn sound quality.
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joosje
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Very good joosje !
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And here is the scales exercise, do major. Thank you !
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Emma very nice Emma !
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Great Emma !
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Emma That was great, Emma. I find the portato the most challenging but you nailed it.
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Jack Stewart thank you! I think Portato is how I play if I don’t make attention to play legato…
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Dear Sanel thank you very much for your comments. I' continue working on scales and arpeggios and try to apply these techniques more consciously to my repertoire. I have a question regarding the reoertoire pieces you suggested.
For me the Sor op 31 nr22 is a very legato piece all the way. That's at least the way I play it. Are you suggesting to vary the articulation for practice purpose?
Then the Barrios allegro (I never really played it, but I started trying to read and interpret). You could play the basses in the repeated chords at the first section somehow portato or staccato., but that feels very uncomfortable and difficult at the tempo. The B section also allows for the repeated bars to be played with echo and staccato effect,. Could you enlighten us on what you suggest to work on with these pieces?
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Hey joosje ,
you are welcome!
About Sor's Study Op.31 No.22 - for me it is very important to have the basses very articulated. It is another great example of having two different articulations in two different voices. Basses should be played shorter and the melody legato!
About Allegro Solemne - you are right. I would suggest the basses in repeated chords to be shorter but it is not an easy task. Sometimes it is just fine to practice it in a slow tempo like that because when you play it normal again, it will work much better in the right tempo. So finally, you will maybe change only the dynamics when repeating. -
Sanel Redzic thank you for explsining. This Sor study is one of my old time favorites. I leave the first B in the bass to sound longer, following Sor's notation.. I guess you mean the f sharp should be muted in every measure (so it won't sound too 'ostinato') also the following notes in that voice... I noticed that I do that most of the time (.I stop them at the third beat) but I'm not consistent That's my problem. Thank you for awakening my awareness. I'll pay more attention..
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articulation 4
Please find the Link for the Zoom Check-In here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81989847038
We will meet on Monday, January 23rd at 11 am PT
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martin thanks Martin! I will be there.
Are there other videos or exercises from Sanel for this 2. week? Gracias.
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Nora Torres-Nagel Coming today!
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martin
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Hello everybody, here is the link to the TWI Check-In: https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/FlyI5OTHLwiErYmDHHdDxRFZcYVmbGP49oy0YjIQUtjPuTNmOyxbxtfmr3QPp4MX.yZuyg8MX0Bxz0xM5
articulation 4
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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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joosje you are doing very well Joosje ! I do not think I will get all the piece in such a short time ! Yes it is very difficult! but I also like the piece...sooo "sardonic" ...I will send at least one video for sure...you give me courage !!! also the rythm, the syncopated chords!!! oh la la !!!
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
