Villa-Lobos Prelude No.1!

LIVE
martin.3
updated 2 wk ago
85replies

Welcome to our next Study Group — a collaborative, peer-led dive into one of the most iconic pieces in the guitar repertoire.

This time, we’re immersing ourselves in the soulful beauty of Villa-Lobos’ Prelude No. 1!

This is not a course or a class — it’s a space for mutual exploration, discussion, and shared progress. I’ll be learning the piece alongside you (it’s always full of new discoveries!), and I’m excited to go deep into this masterpiece together.

🗓️ What to expect:

Starting September 1st, we'll focus on:

🎯 Left-hand shapes and stretches in the opening section

🎯 Rhythmic flow and rubato in the arpeggio passages

🎯 Tone production and balance between voices

🎯 Interpretation, phrasing, and expressive choices

🎯 Your own questions, insights, and perspectives!

We’ll also meet for two live Zoom sessions to share progress, exchange ideas, and nerd out over all things Villa-Lobos.

✅ How to participate:

Sign up through the Forum
Grab your score of Villa-Lobos Prelude No. 1
Introduce yourself below!
Join the prompts and discussions!
Share your thoughts, ideas, or a clip of your playing!

📅 Zoom Call #1 – September 5th, 8am PST 📅 Zoom Call #2 – September 12, 8am PST

- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
- Ariel.1
- 13 hrs ago
- Reported - view
And to your question

said:
btw, does my right hand /wrist look a little straighter, better aligned ergonomically, (as you previous noticed and questioned in an earlier post)?

I don't exactly remember the video regarding which I suggested that so I cannot exactly compare. I can tell you this: This piece is not the place to look for a staight wrist because the "apoyado" thumb actually requires a wrist bent upwards. Your sound is nice and full so I must say you are doing a good job. Your ima knuckles still look a little bit far away from the first strings tome and sometimes it looks like you are playing a bit too much from the more further falanges of ima instead of from the knuckles. Still you mastered that thumb jump to second string really well so, maybe it's a matter of angle of the video? I'll watch more of your videos and see about it and answer with more background. What I can say is that it sounds really nice, so your right hand must be doing things in the right direction.
- Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
  
  9 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  I've been thinking about tonal changes myself recently. Your point about changing tonal colours or timbre applies to me as well. I too have been trying to find ways to use angles of wrists and fingers rather than hand shifts to get better variations of tone.
  
  Perhaps it's common and obvious knowledge among the more experienced and knowledgeable guitarists, but I've noticed (after very careful listening) many professional guitarists changing tone colour/ timbre effortlessly and very subtly on melody lines to create different emotions or to signal anticipation/arrival/ending of phrases.
- BLaflamme
  
  8 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Also an interesting approach to colour, as opposed to use in block or all fingers at once, is to use it through music components, like bass or melody or anything else. That way any fingers contribute to the sound you create that is bound to some musical aspect, I also like to think about this as multiple layers of colours stacked one on top of the other.
- Mark.8
  
  7 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Yes, there are many timbral changes possible other than at what position you strike the string. Experiment with varying flesh and nail contact from all flesh to all nail. Speed of the stroke plays a role as well as angle of the stroke. Oblique or perpendicular strokes, sliding the finger along the string a bit a you strike are good things to experiment with as well. Thumb stroke chords are a great thing to play with in the prelude; use nail, use flesh, go fast or slow, go soft or hard, try using the boney protrusion of the thumb on the side of the tip joint in a firm fast stroke. The nuances are numerous and fun to discover. Experience and experiment will build your toolbox.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  7 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  a very detailed description of possibilities. Experimentation in this direction is often lately discarded pedagogically in favor of hand stability. Your comment is very welcomed!
- Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
  
  48 min ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thank you, Mark for the detailed explanation and possibilities of timbral changes. yeah, when I began with the guitar, one of the first things I really focussed on was hand stability, which is important of course. Generally, I manage to get a good tone, but I'm also trying to experiment with various timbres.
- Nijwm_Bwiswmuthiary
  
  21 min ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thank you for the suggestions, Blaise. Perhaps, the 5th prelude of HVL is a good example? The first section has block chords but with melodies on the high notes that need to be brought out, usually by the ring finger, while the b section like in the prelude no.1 has melodies on the bass.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
- Ariel.1
- 12 hrs ago
- Reported - view
said:
and I have to look in the mirror

This is best. Watching the mirror and also wondering if you'd hold that position without the guitar are a great rule of thumb.
- Barney
  
  10 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  Holding the right hand "straight". requires a bit more effort, because I need to hold it up, rather than letting the hand drop limp with gravity.
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
  
  Ariel.1
  
  10 hrs ago
  
  Reported - view
  that would seem like the obvious and logical thing but it is not necessarily like that. Human anatomy is designed to sustain its articulations with minimum effort. Otherwise we could not stand, walk or even sit still. If we caved to gravity all the time we'd live not very far from the floor. 😁
- Performer, Teacher @Conservatory M. de Falla and member of Nuntempe Ensamble GQ
- Ariel.1
- 10 hrs ago
- Reported - view
said:
not well trained in tonal color changes while remaining in the same position-- that is, I still need to "move" hand towards the bridge (Ponticello) or soundhole (tasto).

I can easyly point you in the right direction with a few exercises, asap. Fluidity in changes is actually complex, heavily affected the more variables you introduce. So I always recommend to try just one by one.