Week 3: Fingers on Fire 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the third week of "The Transcriptions" practice challenge!
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying!
- Watch the kickoff livestream!
Pick a transcription that was originally composed for another instrument, like piano or violin. Don't be afraid to choose a challenging piece or explore works from composers you haven't played before.
Commit to practicing daily and share your progress with the community. Aim to practice every day and post at least two videos per week showcasing your progress. This will help you stay motivated and accountable, and also allow you to share your transcription journey with others. Whether you're tackling a complex piece, refining your skills with a piece you already play, or experimenting with new playing techniques, the community is here to support you and celebrate your achievements.
Share your favorite piece that you would like to see transcribed or your favorite recording of a transcription. This will not only inspire others in the community but also provide a rich resource of ideas for everyone to explore. Plus, it's a great way to celebrate the creativity and artistry involved in adapting music from one instrument to another.
↓ Happy Sharing! ↓
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My favorite part of Ponce's Por Ti Mio Corazon...a very short section with quite a bit going on leading to the peak of the song.
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Steve Price This sounds really good, Steve. Great job! Looking forward to your updates.
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Steve Price Very nice Steve! I found there are some rhythmic challenges in this piece, but you have this part well in hand. Very romantic - For You My Heart
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Marilyn Blodget Thanks a lot, Marilyn. You're right, I did find the rhythm and phrasing tough on this one. I chose it since I figured it was the easiest of the set, but then I realized not by much. Great learning experience though.
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Alexander Scriabin (1872 - 1915) wrote approximately 90 preludes for piano. The following Prelude Opus 16, No. 4 was written 1895 when he was twenty-three years old. Chopin's influence is very clear in Scriabin's early preludes. The following is a transcription by Andrés Segovia with a couple of edits by Abel Carlevaro.
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Dale Needles Beautiful piece, Dale! I just found the score and will give it a try myself.
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Eric Phillips
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Dale Needles Beautiful choice and great interpretation, Dale! The edits of Carlevaro are in the score or have you got them in the classes with the maestro? Thanks for sharing!
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Moyses Lopes Thanks Moyes. Carlevaro's edits are in the score which you can find in the Carlevaro online library.
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Dale Needles That's really nice, Dale. Such great progressions in such a short piece.
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Dale Needles thank you for submitting this beauty. It sounds so pure and delicate. Really beautiful playing. Expressive and transparent. Beautiful! Pity it’s so short, but it has impact…. I want to hear this over and over…..
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Dale Needles I love this piece and usually cry when I hear it. I believe I originally heard Vladimir Horowitz play it, and then Segovia. When I played this a while back (Segovia's version), I use to add some nice vibrato on key notes on that 2nd string. It is so romantic.
Thanks for sharing it and making me cry again...
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joosje Thanks, Joosje. I agree this is a little gem and a joy to play. I found a copy in Carlevaro's online library and fell in love with it immediately. I also agree that it is too short, but that is one of its charms.
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Barney Thanks, Barney. It is such an emotional piece. I also checked out the Horowitz recording and so beautiful! I like your suggestion of the vibrato and although I tend to shy away from much vibrato, I agree that this would be so appropriate for this piece. It is both very romantic ala Chopin and impressionistic ala Debussy.
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Dale Needles What a beautiful piece Dale! And you gave it such nice variance in timbre - I guess they would call that interpretation. Really wonderful!
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Steve Pederson Thanks, Steve. Looking forward to more of your Cadiz.
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Dale Needles That is really beautiful, Dale. I have not listened to much of Scriabin. I can certainly hear the Chopin connection.
Alexander Wilgos has a beautiful recording of the Op. 9.1 Prelude by Scriabin, also very Chopinistic to my ears.
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Dale Needles beautiful Dale, I now know why Eric wanted to play this piece! Your interpretation has beautiful colors and smoothness, very well done, bravo!
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Hi, friends! I'm a bit late in this challenge. I would like to bring you a piece called Paulistana, from the Brazilian composer Claudio Santoro. The piece is originally for piano, and I did a transcription last year, in April. For this challenge, I have decided to review the transcription with better documentation, step by step. The result is in the PDF I upload.
Page 1 is the original score for piano, page 2 is the version I did in 2022. To start the review I wrote down the F clef transposed an augmented second up to put in a better region for our instrument.
The result is on page 3. After that, I wrote de G clef with the same transposition. The result is on page 4. As you can see there were some problems to solve, and I did a revision that results in the score on page 5. A fresh new version, with some changes, done with MuseScore, is on page 6.
My first attempt to record this piece in 2023 is below. I'll try a duo version, I guess, and another recording of this solo version too. Thank you, Tonebudies!
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Moyses Lopes What a wonderful arrangement and beautiful piece. I was not familiar with the composer so thank you for sharing.
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Moyses Lopes Beautiful, Moyses! It reminds me of Andrew York. I tried playing a little bit - wow, that is so difficult! The left hand stretches and contortions are crazy. Naturally, however, you played it so well, and look so relaxed. Love it!
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Moyses Lopes this is great. What a beautiful piece and what a good transcription. And you make it sound so smooth and relaxed, with that touch of melancholy which works so well on the guitar. I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for sharing, Moyses.
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Moyses Lopes That's a lovely piece and it sits very well on the guitar. Very impressive.
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Moyses Lopes Wow - nice work with transcription! Pretty tune, which you nicely adapted to guitar and played beautifully. Thanks for sharing it with us!
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Dale Needles , Eric Phillips , joosje , Steve Price , Barney Thank you, friends, for your kind words! It's a pleasure to share with you and listen to you, too!
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Moyses Lopes This is SO magnificent Moyses! What a great choice of song to transcribe. So beautiful! Great performance as well. I'm curious what you used to record this or if you're using an electro-acoustic guitar. I wasn't watching the video, but reading along with the score as you were playing, and it sounded almost like a steel-string guitar.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
