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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Mircea said:
Etude you worked on:
One thing you found easy:
One thing you found difficult:Ok I'm going to type as I read through them. I'll try to get videos but might not get too many.
number one. Easy to ready and all in first position. Difficulties are not many but the usual things I find difficult such as consistency while reading and in general finger 4 weakness (always working on that)
number two. Easy in that the counterpoint is mostly within the harmony, Difficulties are when there are 16th notes I tend to hesitate while reading.
number three. easy part is the key of A minor which is common on the guitar. Difficulties are in some of the left hand shifts like in mm 2 when you jump to the D and F etc. and changing to from the 3rd finger on the D natural to the 4th finger when the chord changes to Bb. The appoggiatura where you have to hold the D on string 2 is also difficult to execute well.
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here’s a quick video of number 3. Sorry for the poor quality I’m not sure what the buzzing is from hopefully just the bracket thing I bought to mount the phone up there
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David Chidsey Bravo David
, I have to record it, I need it as a lesson
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David Chidsey That's wonderful David. The bracket for the phone is a great idea for zoom lessons (both for teacher and pupil).
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David Chidsey Well done David!
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David Chidsey Nice recording, David.
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David Chidsey great performance
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Just read through 4 and 13. One thing in general I notice about my playing is that I make a lot of simple mistakes. Like a buzzed note or not holding true values etc.. It really bothers me a lot even though the average person would probably not pick up on it (although I KNOW classical guitarists do lol). Playing classical guitar can be truly humbling, it makes you realize your weaknesses very quickly but we are always learning!
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Hi everyone.
In number 1, quite easy to understand. I find the most difficult thing is alternating fingers in the right hand. There are some Sor´s pieces that jump from one string to another all the time. In those cases, I use "figueta" a lot.
Number 2 is not hard to play, but I can´t decide what to do in the repetitons. I´ve tryed changing color, volume, fingerings and what not, but I´m still not happy with the outcome.
Number 3 is all about phrasing. One of my favorites. Not hard to play, but Sor has a way to lift the difficulty of a piece in a single measure (19 in this case, with those fast slurs).
Number 4 is pretty straightforward. If we use good left hand fingerings, it works quite well. The most difficult part was, for me, measure 15. Quite uncomfortable until I payed heed to Sor´s indication of silence in the 2nd beat. I saw that, lifting my 3rd finger in that spot, the measure was much more easy.
Number 5 is a real challenge, as all the pieces that have the same rhythm and texture all the time. In these cases I try to find ways to make the piece "more musical". After recording it, I see clearly what Mircea said. Even if I think I´m exaggerating phrasing, appoggiaturas and so on, the recording says I could have done much better.
Here is the link for my recording of N 5. Sorry for the crappy sound.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NnaNHosYBycfevSraSOuOJzlKsy-NNVy/view?usp=sharing
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Igor Hello Igor, great playing - Number 5 is crazy to play
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Olli Thank you! Indeed, not an easy one.
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Igor Nicely played.
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Wow it's hard to keep up with this group! This is my first community post since joining. Everyone is so enthusiastic and helpful here, it's hard not to be inspired.
I have studied several of these in the past and wanted to try something new, so I've been reading through the unfamiliar ones for the last few days trying to pick out a couple for the challenge!
- Etude you worked on: 20
- One thing you found easy: It is a very simple minuet rhythm with no surprises. It was easy to identify the melody and different aspects which can be brought out. Also I could easily see the benefit that the study will have to improving tone which I very much need to do.
- One thing you found difficult: There are several 'stretchy' chords and sections that do not come easily to me since my hands are on the small side. There are a lot of open string notes to be played along with fretted notes in the arpeggios, and keeping a consistent tone with the 'a' finger especially is tough.
- Etude you worked on: 21
- One thing you found easy: The piece draws you in immediately with the first few bars. They set the player up for success with an imperative and relatively easy to play intro. There is a nice suspension/resolution in the 4th bar that is very rewarding and not hard to achieve.
- One thing you found difficult: This etude is very 'dense' and comprised almost entirely of chords and harmonic intervals. It is difficult to play without sounding choppy in places. There are challenging shifts and melodic changes that will take some reiterative practice! Also there is a section with triplets which, while not too difficult, needs to be worked on in isolation. I hope to have this ready for a video before we are through but if not, I'll probably keep playing this one!
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Sarah Pollack Hi Sarah - perhaps we are using different editions, but I don't see any triplets in Exercise 21. Which measures are you referring to? Very nice description of the challenges awaiting us in these two studies, by the way - I particularly like your expression 'reiterative practice' which I've not encountered before.
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David Krupka I'm using the Schott edition, just called 'Fernando Sor Very Easy Studies <<(yeah right) Book 2' published by Hal Leonard. It has #s 13-24 and is labeled op. 35 on the first page, so pretty sure I'm in the right set of studies ... the triplets are in measures 61 and 62.
And haha I probably should have been a writer not a guitarist! Thanks for the kind words :)
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Sarah Pollack Thanks Sarah. There is something strange here, because in the edition I'm using exercise 21 only has 44 measures, and unless I'm overlooking them, no triplets at all.
https://imslp.simssa.ca/files/imglnks/usimg/3/39/IMSLP200513-PMLP237526-Boije_482.pdf)
Incidentally, being a musician does not necessarily preclude being a writer! :-)
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David Krupka Hey, I was just about to correct myself there - it's measures 34 and 35. I was being lazy and just counting the lines and assuming (ahem) that each line had 5 measures .... (plus even with that excuse I was counting wrong :/) but it's not the case for the whole score. So, in the .pdf's that are linked to here, it's on line 8, which has measures 34 and 35.
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David Krupka Arg, but looking at it again you're probably right - they are not supposed to be triplets but simply 16th notes. I was thinking, play the eighth note as a triplet .... which could sound OK but probably not the intention. So I stand corrected (but might try that as triplets anyway!)
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Sarah Pollack Now I see the passage you're referring to. I agree, it needs extra attention, especially the measure that outlines the B7 chord over an E in the bass. An interpretation with triplets would be unusual, but why not try it all the same? I'll look forward to your video, should you wind up recording it! (Actually, this is one of the studies I'm thinking of having a go at myself.)
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This challenge is introducing me to a series of etudes I have not previously studied.
While I might not individually respond to everyone's thoughtful and generous comments of encouragement, please know that I truly appreciate each and every one!
Mircea To answer your question, my husband plays trombone. We both played our respective instruments in high school, stopped for 40+ years, and then resumed our music studies when our youngest child left for college. The house was just too quiet! Any suggestions for classical guitar/trombone duets would be appreciated.
Here is my recording for No. 2. I did not play the B section with a repeat in the recording.
I set a goal to practice the piece for 2 days, and then record on day 3.
I specifically worked on dynamics. I am learning to extend the range, both on the soft and the loud ends of the dynamic range, while maintaining good tone.
What is easier: I am using SHOTCUT for my video editor and am becoming more familiar with the process.
What is harder: It is somewhat new for me to work on a piece without specific guidance from a teacher. I found it challenging to make it interesting with the number of times phrases repeat. I am not sure that I am making the correct decisions, but I am getting more comfortable trying out options.
Martha
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Martha Kreipke Brava!!
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Martha Kreipke Nice tone Martha
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Etude you worked on: No.3
One thing you found easy: Slow and manageable piece
One thing you found difficult: From C and G complicated to get it clean
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Giuseppe Gasparini bravo
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Olli Thanks
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Giuseppe Gasparini very secure! Well done!
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