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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Hello, I'm impressed to see all the posts here and how all of you manage to produce such great content! I finally managed myself to produce a video, what a consuming process, but I really hope to get better and find my way through.
Since last week I quickly read through most of the studies and then figured out I should start posting my progress on a few of them. I'll start with #4, one of the most popular among you and for sure one of the most beautiful of the set. It was an easy read but keeping the legato and maintaining a good balance between parts was an harder story.
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Emma thank you
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Robert thank you
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Blaise Laflamme very nice performance.
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david robinson thank you
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Today I read 4 studies, all of the difficult for me
number 9. Arpeggios in A major. Some awkward fingerings in mm 11 of the B section
number 10. F major. The beginning of the flat keys. Difficult 4th finger stretch in the 2nd measure. Barre chord in mm 9
number 11. I actually studied this in college over two decades ago. Brings back memories. D minor chord study. Difficult articulations watch for the switch from staccato to legato in final 4 measures.
number 12. F major again. 6th string tuned up to F (unique tuning) compound duple meter and intervals of 6ths. -
- Etude I worked on: No. 10
A very lovely piece and a good opportunity for practicing F-Major and for practicing appropriate phrasing. I see melodic material in the lower line and also in the upper voice, and the lines are parallel here and contrary there. So counterpoint aspects are interesting and require some attention. The piece appears with a broken style and variations in phrases. - One thing I found easy: RH, sightreading
- One thing I found difficult: Bring out the above mentioned lines for a good and clear sound. I see and feel most challenges in the left hand, sometimes with squeezing fingers a bit. But for me, legato playing is even the most difficult aspect in this piece. In particular the lateral stretch in m2 (and later repeated) is very hard with small hands/short fingers if you really want to play this legato. I tried also variations in fingerings (sliding 1 from f to a and building a barre there in 5th fret...; or even play m2 completely with barre in 5th fret, but then new problems are arising...). I tried to hold the left thumb loosely in order to support the 4th finger. I think, I need more practice for this part - and for the entire piece.
Since this is a "challenge" I am posting the current status of my playing and I hope that I will be able to post a further improved version later.
Further aspects: having a good sound with low F... And m17-20: also legato playing with a sustaining top line, or more focus on lower line (and legato...); depending on what I am aiming for. - YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/IUHHpfpHr54
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Robert well done - nice piece
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Robert I think it is going pretty good so far. Look forward to the next recording
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Robert thank you for the recording! Ok I’m going to go play this again now I have a better idea
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Robert Bravo!!
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Robert Well done, not an easy one to ensure legato and phrasing.
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Blaise Laflamme Olli David Chidsey Giuseppe Gasparini Derek Thanks to all for your comments! And it is so nice that we are motivating each other and that we are transporting and exchanging ideas of interpretation or technical aspects. Great challenge, great community, great platform!
- Etude I worked on: No. 10
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- Etude you worked on: Fernando Sor Op.35 No.05
- One thing you found easy: nothing seems to be easy - too many notes
- One thing you found difficult: everything - sightreading, stretching in bar 24, to make music out of this Etude ( I played without repetitions - alway in the repetitions mistakes happen and the whole recording is scrap )https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdXWbGbG-AQ&feature=youtu.be
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Olli well played Olli
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Derek nicely played! Hey I have a GuitarLift too. Don’t you love it?
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Olli Bravo!!well played
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Olli great, very secure and rythmical. Sor would be happy. Not his nicest one, though, I agree. But, remember, we are not obliged to play all 24
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Olli Well done, like the other one (#6) with infinite thirds! I think I'll work on this one next
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Olli bravo well played!
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Olli Nice! And I very well know what you mean with repetitions and mistakes...
However, for myself I try to take this as an additional aspect of the challenge, but it is a large "extra" on top to try to play a repetition a) musically interesting and b) without mistakes (and there is Murphy's Law...: the longer the piece/repetition is and the more you are moving towards the end the higher is the probability of a mistake!
Or technical problem of recording. Recently, I made a "perfect" video - at least, I thought. The record button on the smartphone was not pressed correctly... ). Of course, you can edit... but one goal for me is to play the entire piece without editing. Maybe I will relax that condition in the following two weeks...
The nice thing here is that it is a challenge but not a "competition", so we all can set our own aims. I like that very much. -
Debbie Hello Debbie, yes -the Guitarlift in combination with a footstool
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Robert Hello Robert, scrap always happens near to the end of the piece... that is Murphys law
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Hi,
I picked no 1, 2, 4 and 9. Which were in the group of the easy...
Today I am loading video link for n.1.
- Etude you worked on: no.1
- One thing you found easy: definitely easy to sight reading, I didn't spend that much time in decoding the notes
- One thing you found difficult: First I had to raise tempo up, which took awhile with the metronome. Then it looked a robotic performance, so I started researching for some dynamics to make it more pleasant to listen to. Still work to do. And also, having my personal commitment to record, I spent quite some time to improve: record, listen, record again, many many times! Which normally i don't do since i play only for my own enjoyment...
Here the link: https://youtu.be/TGQTHv5K3qc
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Luciano Bravo!!
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Luciano very nice. Well done
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
