WEEK ONE Updates: Main Thread - Where the magic happens!
Hello and welcome to the WEEK ONE Main Thread for this challenge! 
Since Week 1 is over, this thread is now closed for update submissions
Feel free to continue replying to people's existing submissions, but if you would like to post an update, use the current Week 2 thread.
Alright my friends - this is the thread where we'll all be posting our daily updates.
Make sure you've read the rules before replying (<- click)
Twice a week between January 28th and February 19th, I hope to be reading your daily updates in this very thread right here!
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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Hi!
Amazing idea! Please do more of that!
Now, back to the topic. :) As a beginner, almost everything is new, so I never even heard these studies (only number 22, which I find REALLY beautiful), and my idea was to try to play it from the score without having an audible reference. After I was able to play the correct notes, I went to Youtube to listen to some recordings. And that
- Etude you worked on: No. 1
- One thing you found easy: I was able to play the correct notes/tempo without much trouble. I was able to separate melody and bass nicely using the rule of note pointing up = melody, note pointing down = bass
- One thing you found difficult: The score says Andante, so I was thinking about a tempo about 60/70, but the recordings that I heard play it much, much faster. How was I supposed to find the correct tempo? On the measures that have 3 Gs in sequence, I was playing it like it belonged to the melody, but from the recordings that I found, that's not the case. Again, what information do I have on the score to tell me that?
I'll try to make it like the recordings that I found and record it for the next update in a few days! :)
Thanks!
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Hi!
As promised, here is the recording of the No. 01. I'm still fighting with the recording to try to get lower noise levels. :)
Now, to the No. 02
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Estudio number 2. I found easy the reading, and the postures. The difficult part was the recording, I hardly ever record myself or play in public (other than my family), so I froze and did not sound as musical as I thought! But there you are, this is the challenge for me sharing my music, thank you ... I also used this study to practice the preparation of the left hand that Mircea was teaching us. This skill is new to me and although I did not need it I used it in the last two measures (hitting in many occasions the note that I was preparing...), so this was another difficulty.
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Emma Brava
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Emma I enjoyed that, Emma. Like you, I practically never play in front of others, but I found your playing to be lovely. I like the variation in tone color!
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Emma that's very nice
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Emma beautifully done, Emma! I listened to the recording before reading your text comment and was just about to praise the control you exhibit over both your hands, but especially your left hand! Realizing then that you were specifically using the etude to apply principles of preparation made me so happy!
it worked!!! I thought it was quite musical actually! Well done and keep it up!
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Emma brava! Lovely control in the left hand
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Emma You seem to have this natural musicality about you. I loved your playing. Bravo.
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Emma Sound great Emma; nice color changes!
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Emma As said above by others: well played, thanks for sharing.
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- Etude you worked on: Nos 1 & 17
- One thing you found easy: Instead of diving straight in and inspired by Giulia's workshop I decide just to work on voicing and phrasing of both today. Really interesting to do as it shapes approach to learning and fingering
- One thing you found difficult: As Walter said, with etude #1, in measures with 3 G's they look like melody notes but recordings I've got don't appear to treat them as such.
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Ron Welcome to the challenge! Great to hear you've been practicing and deriving inspiration from Giulia's livestream as well as these forums
Good catch about the Gs! I have also been playing them as part of the accompaniment. I think the main reasons for this are:
- The melody line on top has been moving stepwise for the past few measures (D-E-D), which strongly contrasts with the big fifth jump down that would result from going G -> D
- These repeated Gs are the very same note that has been used as a pedal tone throughout the past few measures
- There is a convention in classical guitar notation when it comes to notes that are obviously supposed to ring over: as long as no rests are involved, these can be notated short and still "sound long"
(see the image below for a segment of the famous Spanish Romance - nobody would deliberately cut the top voice simply because the next two notes are also commonly notated stem-up.
If you do want to play the Gs as part of the melody though, I think that's valid! Here's a suggestion: try seeing them as an upbeat to the next measure rather than a continuation of the phrase happening so far! If you cut the D before the repeated Gs short, they will automatically take on a more melodic role
try it out and let me know what happens! 
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Mircea Many thanks Mircea your comments are really helpful. I've tried it several ways and think I'll go with the repeated Gs as a pedal tone. Hopefully I'll get to video it (something I've never done yet!)
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- Etude you worked on: No. 1
- One thing you found easy: easy to sight read
- One thing you found difficult: I want to learn how to use a metronome better when practicing so this has been a good way to start
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Mark wonderful, Mark! Congratulations on joining the challenge! How has it been going with the metronome, is it working out or does it feel too restrictive for this kind of music?
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Mircea it’s good discipline and something I’ll take into pieces I’m working on (e.g. Turegano, Moreno-Torroba) to help find weak spots. I like the challenge idea and joining the community - helps freshen things up & good to hear what others are saying & playing
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- Etude you worked on: No. 1
- One thing you found easy: easy to sight read
- One thing you found difficult: The last 8 measures seem like they should be a repeat of the first 8 (possibly with some cadential material) but the addition of the E in measure 26 threw me off a bit and I struggled to get that note in while also getting the G in the melody at the same time. I have no idea why it is hard there, it just is for me.
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Kyle Throw welcome to the challenge, Kyle! Haha I know what you mean - those little differences throw me off so much sometimes!
(Especially in a large-scale piece, where the theme often comes back slightly altered at the end of a long movement, and I am so scared of playing the earlier version instead and being catapulted at the start of the piece again
) In this piece though, the tiny differences that Sor includes, tricky as they may be, add such a beautiful layer of extra spice to the music! They are probably my favorite thing about this etude. Have you found any others, looking through other etudes in this cycle?
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Mircea I have done one every day so far and there are fingerings in most of them that change the original theme ever so slightly; however, I can't think of one right now that has thrown me so much as etude one. haha! I'll hopefully post a video soon as part of my bi-weekly update next week, I think. I might do a video of Etude 3 which so far has been my favorite.
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Hi Mircea
Posted my update in the wrong thread - put it in the q & a for some reason (rushing again). Here it is again.
Great idea this. I used to play numbers 4 and 8 worked on 22 but don't think any of the others (unless in the din and distant past).
Sightvreading was fairly easy. Probably hardest was because it is easy to sight read not putting enough thought into the performance.
Recording has a bit of eq and reverb as recommended by Martin in his recording academy
Thanks Derek
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Derek Nicely played Derek
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Derek Bravo very well
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Derek nice job Derek! And the recording sounds nice
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Derek Very nicely played and recorded!
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Derek A nice light touch for a gentle piece of music! Well done.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
