🎶 Latin American Music Challenge | Week 3

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martin.3
4 days ago
16replies

Welcome to our tonebase Guitar Community Challenge! For the next few weeks, we’ll be diving into the vibrant world of Latin American music, exploring rhythms, colors, and styles that have inspired guitarists around the globe.

This is your chance to work on masterpieces and hidden gems by some of the most iconic composers:

Heitor Villa-Lobos (Brazil) – lush, virtuosic preludes and études
Agustín Barrios Mangoré (Paraguay) – romantic, poetic works full of soul
Abel Carlevaro (Uruguay) – brilliant studies and innovative techniques
Leo Brouwer (Cuba) – modern masterpieces mixing folklore and avant-garde
Manuel M. Ponce – sonatas, and romantic masterpieces
Antonio Lauro – famous Venezuelan Waltzes
Atahualpa Yupanqui – folk-rooted pieces
Jorge Morel – virtuosic concert works and arrangements
…and many more treasures from across Latin America!

How it Works

Pick your piece(s) – anything from the Latin American repertoire that excites you.
Introduce yourself – share what you’ll be working on and why.
Post updates – you can share progress videos, practice tips, or reflections.
Support others – comment, encourage, and learn together.

📅 When?

Start: September 29th
End: October 30th
Watch Party: October 30th 🎉

Why Join?

✅ Discover new repertoire
✅ Build consistency in practice
✅ Get feedback from peers
✅ Celebrate Latin American music with the community

💡 Whether you’re tackling a full Villa-Lobos Étude, polishing a Barrios gem, or exploring a short Brouwer piece, this challenge is for everyone — from curious beginners to advanced players.

👉 Jump in by introducing yourself below and telling us what you’ll be working on!

Let’s bring the sounds of Latin America to life together. 💃🎶

- matt.1
- 2 days ago
- Reported - view
Here's a piece from Eduardo Martin called Cancion De Junio, from his Canciones Del Calendario. I'm getting some work done on my basement and wanted to see what it sounded like with all the smooth walls, floor and ceiling. Probably too much echo but worth a shot.
- Ron.3
  
  2 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  What a delightful piece Matt. Great work - I didn't mind the echo!
- matt.1
  
  2 days ago
  
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  Thanks Ron!
- Dale_Needles
  
  Yesterday
  
  Reported - view
  Very nice, Matt. Reminds me a little of the Pujol piece that you posted last week with its fusion of popular and classical elements. Also, a taste of Cuba comes through as well. Thanks for sharing two composers that were not on my radar.
- Steve_Price
  
  Yesterday
  
  Reported - view
  Another great submission here, Matt. Well done. Hopefully, the basement work goes well, and it's a fun project, not one of those painful repairs we occasionally have to deal with.
- Retired
  
  Jack_Stewart
  
  14 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Beautifully played, Matt. You have a real affinity for this music, it shows.
- Barney
  
  1 hr ago
  
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  Cool piece and nice playing, Matt!
  
  How do you do keep the cushion so stable and not sliding around?
- Dale_Needles
- Yesterday
- Reported - view
Here is Azul y Blanco, a milonga by Abel Carlevaro. Azul y Blanco refers to the colors of the Uruguay flag and is the first piece of his Milonga Suite which was written in 1999. Azul y Blanco combines elements of Uruguayan folklore and Carlevaro's modern musical language.
- Steve_Price
  
  Yesterday
  
  Reported - view
  That's impressive, Dale. Definitely modern, but still very accessible. I really only know his Microestudios and the Preludios Americanos, so it's cool to be able to check out some of his other music. Well done.
- Dale_Needles
  
  19 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks, Steve. As I have mentioned in the past Caelevaro wrote more than 60 solo guitar works. He also wrote three Concertos for Guitar and Orchestra, a piece for guitar and string quartet, a piece for guitar and piano and a piece for guitar and guitar quartet. Quite a body of work with a style that could be very modern at times to pieces heavily influenced by Uruguayan folkloric traditions.
- Retired
  
  Jack_Stewart
  
  14 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Amazing work, Dale.This very Carlevarian (?). Its constant shifting between folk melody and chromatic elements creates a fascinating effect. Great job.
  
  (I can't believe it is already week 3 and I'm still trying to find a solution for my fingernails. Aaarrrrgggh 😠).
- Dale_Needles
  
  2 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks, Jack. This Milonga Suite is a real nice suite. I have now recorded three of the four milongas of the suite with the other two posted in Carlevaro Forum. I hope to tackle the final mlilonga, Lunera, which is the most challenging, next year. Now onto a piece by Piazzolla for next week. Good luck with your nails and see you on Saturday for the Meng Su recital.
- Steve_Price
- Yesterday
- Reported - view
The last two of Ponce's Preludios Cortos. These are my favorites, I think, but also the hardest. For such a short piece, Ponce packs a lot of ideas into the 6th.
- Dale_Needles
  
  19 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Very interesting and nicely played. I particularly liked the second Preludio, a nice combination of Mexican folkloric elements with a bit of a modern flair, not unlike some of Carlevaro' and Brouwer's pieces.
  
  BTW, here is a little trivia. Carlevaro was a big fan of Ponce and even gave a private performance of Ponce's Variations on Folias for him and was present for the World Premiere of Ponce' Concerto del Sur performed by Segovia in Montevideo in 1941.
- Retired
  
  Jack_Stewart
  
  14 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Well played, Steve. The first prelude (#5 actually) brought back memories of 60's and 70' acoustic guitar pieces, along the lines of John Fahy and Leo Kotke but not them particularly - if that makes any sense ).
  
  The next Prelude is interesting in how it sets up this rather innocent Mexican cancion and then just begins to wander off (again I am thinking of 60's and 70's influences, though extra-musical 🤪). before coming back to its origins.
  
  I don't think I would have ever guessed that these Preludes were by Ponce.
- Steve_Price
  
  2 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  I get the Kottke and Fahey vibe connection. Kottke and stuff like Steve Howe's The Clap and Mood for a Day were some of the first instrumental guitar music I ever heard that I thought was "cool," since all I'd ever heard before was folk/bluegrass/country.
  
  I agree about number 6. It does wander a bit, but returns home nicely. It's different than that chromatic run in the Brouwer piece we talked about, since I like listening to it, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off as a player. I can hit the notes, but I'm not sure I'm able to sell it musically if that makes sense.