WEEK TWO Updates: Main Thread - Where the magic continues!
Alright, welcome to WEEK TWO of the Main Thread for this challenge! 
Why is this thread necessary?
Well, with the initial main thread turning into a 500-post behemoth (
), it became hard to navigate.
This comes at the very end of Week 2. Therefore, very soon, I'll be making a different thread for Week 3! We're almost there, folks, just two more days to go until Week 3! 
But Mircea - I hear you say - can we still post in the old thread?
Yes, of course! Feel free to reply to others in the old thread to your heart's content. Just make sure you post any new updates (whether text or video) in this thread instead.
"Oh no, I didn't see this thread, so I posted a new update in the old thread!"
No problem at all! Just tag me (@Mircea) and I'll move your post These admin powers I got here are actually pretty cool! It turns out I can move individual replies between threads.
Where is the Week 1 thread?
Find the Week 1 thread here!
Make sure you've read the rules before replying (<- click)
Download the music:
- Exercises 1 - 12 (← click)
- Exercises 13 - 24 (← click)
Please use the following format when commenting (feel free to copy & paste!):
- Etude you worked on:
- One thing you found easy:
- One thing you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
Sample daily update:
- Etude you worked on: No. 1
- One thing you found easy: The polyphony between bass and treble flowed very naturally, I had an easy time playing each line like it belonged to its own voice.
- One thing you found difficult: I had a hard time creating enough variety throughout the repeated measures.
Feel free to make these updates as short or long as you wish!
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Etude I worked on: No 17
What was easy: Not too fast, and it's so pretty that it's a joy to practice.
What was difficult: In general, the left hand fingering has to be worked out carefully to keep the melody beautiful and legato. Also, in certain measures, there are so many options for fingering that settling on one is difficult. Very specifically, I always struggle with having to lift the left-hand pinky up to the base strings, landing it cleanly on the tip, keeping other strings ringing.
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Eric Eric I can’t watch the video. Is that only me?
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Eric Does this one work? Literally my first YouTube video!
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Eric Well done, nice playing and good mood. As for fingering, IMHO what settle the right choice is the end result, how it sounds and serves your goal.
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Eric it works (for me). Thanks for sharing this, well done.
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Eric yes it works. Great job. Sounds fantastic.
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Eric Bravo!!
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Eric thank you!!! Congratulations, the melody sounds beautiful...
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Eric Well played - a nice tone
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Eric sounds very nice. I’m going to try this one next. It might just be my favorite!
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Eric everthing works and sounds fine
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Eric *everything
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Study I worked on: No. 18
was hard to make it sound legato because of the many awkward chord changes.
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Vilio Celli https://youtu.be/1cOgchHuVB4 this is the utube link.
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Vilio Celli Bravo!!
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Vilio Celli Well done! Thank you!!!
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Vilio Celli Well done Villio
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- Etude you worked on: No.9. This study has some beautiful harmonies - I particularly like the phrase from measures 25 - 32
- One thing you found easy: Right hand fingering quite easy
- One thing you found difficult: After reading through I changed some of the left hand fingerings as some didn't work so well for me. I was also trying to take on board some of the points that Emmanuel Sowicz made in his lesson on Study No. 2 about choosing fingerings to support phrasing and some of the ideas in his excellent live stream on Saturday
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- Etude I worked on: No. 4
- One thing I found easy: Sight-reading the piece.
- One thing you found difficult: It took some time to make it as legato as I wanted and still try to play with feeling. I think m. 15 was a pain in the ...
- I like the piece and should like to record it again with a few edits. I don't know why on this take I slid my 2nd and 3rd fingers in m. 31 instead of just the 1st finger. I hate squeaks and string noise. Momentary lack of focus. But I liked this take overall so there you have it!
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Debbie Very nice, Debbie! I especially like it when you played the melody on the second string. That had such a beautiful tone to it.
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Eric thanks! I’m still getting used to the Redgate guitar. It projects more than I’m used to and gets away from me. Learning how to reign it in on the dynamics. It’s a louder guitar than I realize.
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Debbie Let me know if you'd like to trade. I still play my Hernandez that I bought for $400 in 1990.
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Eric
well it’s all in how you play it! It doesn’t matter how much a guitar costs if you can play it well! And the opposite is also true! -
Debbie Thankfully, you play your Redgate very well!
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Debbie Well done, that's not an easy piece for legato and voice separation but you did right! I understand you about squeak and noise, for myself they are not part of what I internally hear and intend to project so when they appear while I play... it hurts
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Blaise Laflamme haha! Yes it hurts. I was very careful to avoid it when I was practicing. It’s not something I found particularly difficult to do but then I did it during the recording!
smh
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
