Week 1: A Continent Full of Music! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of the "Music from Latin America" challenge!
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First attempt for this challenge. El Negrito by Lauro. It's a fairly simple piece but fun to play. The start of the second section is a bit tricky to get the chord shape (there is a slight pause - too long to pass off as rubato! - in the first time through). Needs a bity more work I think - the pull offs at the start of the first section are a bit weak.
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Derek great Derek, that's a nice vals from Lauro!
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Hello everyone: For this challenge I started practicing Preludio in Do menor by Barrios. It is an intermediate level piece that I think is a good introduction to playing music from Barrios. The most difficult part so far is getting used to the accents along the piece.
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After posting the previous video I had a break for my evening meal and then recorded a piece by Sagreras and Villa Lobos Prelude 4 but when I came to post them I realised I hadn't switched the mic preamp on so there was no sound - honestly I played them quite well and did the Sagreras in two takes and the Villa Lobos in one! After that I couldn't get either of them right and had about 15 attempts at the Villa Lobos, kept making mistakes in the second section!. I was going to give up but had another couple of goes and recorded this attempt. Left hand got a bit stuck towards the end of the second section but here it is anyway. Hope to improve on this (and El Negrito) before the end of the challenge
PS I'm wearing the reading glasses because although I can see well enough to read I'm finding the fretboard is a bit blurry these days - thought they may help!
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Derek Nicely done. This is my favorite Villa-Lobos Prelude. Also, if I can be so bold, I would like to offer a little suggestion. During the shifts in the arpeggio section, try using your arm to lift your fingers off the strings prior to shifting positions. This is a classic Carlevaro technique to reduce string noise which I have found really helps.
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Derek I loved it, Derek! Very musical.
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Derek Great, Derek. That is a really nice prelude. The 3rd Prelude is the only one I have played (decades ago). Looking forward to hearing your progress, and a recording of the Sagreras piece.
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Dale Needles Hi Dale - thank you - any advice is gratefully received. I shall try to work on it. Gaelle Solal has a Carlavaro left hand technique course on tonebase which I started. I tried to do the exercises every day but then I stopped over Christmas and for some reason never started again. I must go back to it!
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric
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Jack Stewart Thanks Jack
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Derek well done. very expressive. I love this prelude.
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Derek great take on that famous HVL prelude! Like Dale suggested about the arpeggios section, you can probably play the bass note half of it's duration, that'd help switch and omit the squeak sound and at that speed no one would bother, or wait and play on dead strings
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Derek I love that peace, I would like to work on it again. I like your tempo, often it is played too fast
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For my final post of the week, I will finish off with a beautiful and rarely played piece, by Antonio Lauro, entitled "Crepuscular" and in Spanish can be translated many ways, but I like "twilight" the best. The photo that I used for the background is of Maestro Lauro in his home.
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Dale Needles Very nice, Dale! That sounds rather difficult.
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Dale Needles That was wonderful, Dale. The music of Lauro, as with Barrios - I am discovering, is much more diverse than. I had been aware of.
Theolonius Monk composed a piece called Crepuscule with Nellie. I can't imagine they are related - but 'crepuscule' is such a peculiar word.
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Dale Needles That's beautiful Dale
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Dale Needles what a wonderful piece. A joy to listen. Thank you Dale.
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Dale Needles superb, so beautiful harmonies there and very well played.
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Dale Needles such a wonderful playing!
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Brouwer Pieza sin Titulo #2
Now that my concert performance is over I will devote more time to this challenge.
This (technically) simple piece by Brouwer has its challenge in creating a coherent atmosphere within its very sparse structure. I feel I am still not there. There are a few bobbles and hesitations which are more noticeable in a piece like this.
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Jack Stewart I like the piece very much and you are well on your way to mastering it. I never played it, although I played Brouwer's Pieza sin Titulo #1, which I like very much. It is more rhythmic while this second one is as you say more atmospheric. I think the two make a good pairing with their contracting styles.
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Dale Needles Thanks Dale. I agree that Piezas #1 and $2 would make a good pairing. However, #1 will have to wait I have already mapped out my (ridiculously ambitious) repertoire for this challenge. My next project is reviving Brouwer'sTres Apuntes #1 (I had worked it up partially a couple of years ago). I might be able to get to one more piece after that.
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Jack Stewart I will look forward to your interpretation of Tres Apuntes. I played them many many years ago and really like them. I studied them wirh George Sakellariou in the 1970s. Great selection!
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Jack Stewart Glad you're joining the challenge, Jack! This one is new to me, and I think you're playing it well already. I loved your Bach in the community concert.
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Eric Phillips Thanks Eric. There are moments where I forget which part comes next and this is such a delicate piece that that has a big impact on the overall piece. I think I should be able to get that cleared up within a few days.
Thanks also for the comments on my Bach performance. I still have struggles maintaining my concentration, but it certainly went better than my previous performances (a low bar, indeed).
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
