Mastering Tricky Passages with Martin
Welcome everyone - Martin is back to help you! Do you have questions about your playing, fingering, challenging passages, or musical hurdles you’re trying to overcome? Whether it’s a simple query or a complex issue, every question matters, and every solution makes a difference! Join us live today for real-time advice and solutions from Martin Zimny—your guide to mastering music, one finger at a time!
57 replies
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Hello ... it's 10 minutes past the hour. Is this event still going to happen?
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I got a reminder in my email about the event starting at 9am Pacific. I have been waiting for it to start as well. However, on this page, the event is supposed to start at 8:00 AM PDT. I think there is some issue with the system. Maybe Martin doesn't even know that he is hosting it today.
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I don't think we missed it. Most live streams start at 1:00 pm eastern. Announcing the early time in the email might have been a mistake. I'll assume the stream will start an hour later at 1:00 pm eastern.
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Hope Martin is okay. This never happened before...
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I wonder if will start in half an hour, although the app does say live now!
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Hi Martin! I have to work Spain time 7pm so I might miss most of it but I will come in right away after and hopefully catch some of it.
I'm working on Sor Op. 6 no 11 and I think some passages are just impossible. The shift from m. 37 to 38. How do you land cleanly? Very tough to get that pinky to land on the g! The other really tricky passage for me is mm 59-60. I don't understand how anyone can stretch that far to get 3rd finger on C# on the 5th string, the first finger on the g# on the 3rd string and the second finger on the c# on the 2nd string. I'm even trying it on a short scale guitar and struggle!
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Hi Debbie, please add a screenshot of the passage!!
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Hi Martin! Here are the screenshots! Sorry, I thought everyone in the world has this music LOL
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Hi Martin! I want to thank you for your solutions. Both are quite good and helpful to me. Especially the second one. I had a feeling the 4th finger was the right move but going to it early in the measure like you did works perfectly for me. I don't have a stretching issue due to lack of flexibility - I actually used to be able to do this! But I have nerve damage which has caused muscle atrophy right at the 3rd finger. It has no strength and collapses on me and is very painful sometimes. Because of it, I now play on a 630 scale guitar and am even considering a Sor model 610 (Siccas has one) so that I can continue to play repertoire I love. But that sometimes also means finding workarounds for fingerings. So now you know WHY I need different solutions sometimes. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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Hi Debbie thanks for asking about fingering on this one. It's always been one of my favourite Sor studies and I used to play it decades ago without any problems, but now I find some of the stretches challenging. I hadn't thought of using a smaller scale guitar, but perhaps that's something to consider! I also have no feeling in the tip of my middle finger on the left hand which can sometimes impact use of guide/ghost fingers. Look forward to hearing how you get on with the fingering!
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Hi Ron, I agree this study is quite special. I think it's so poignant. To me it holds its place as one of his best compositions even though it's "only a study." I think it gets overlooked as a repertoire piece for that reason which is a shame. It deserves to be played more. The key change in the third section is especially lovely.
I've been using a smaller scale guitar for a few years now. I first went to 640 but didn't notice much of a difference. Now I'm using a 630 but I think I should even go smaller to say a 610 like a Torres model 77. It wasn't until Segovia and his big Ramirez guitars (665!) that 650 became the standard. Torres made lots of different sized smaller guitars. The classical guitar was mostly played in parlors, smaller rooms, until Segovia brought it to the concert stage. Then volume became the main concern. But some of these smaller guitars have more volume and such a sweet sound. I mean, listen to this link I attached. That's the one I'm trying to find.
In any case, we all have different sized hands, age related issues (not everyone has but many do!), injuries, and so on. You can do stretching exercises until the cows come home but if you have a hand issue you can injure yourself further. I continue to do some to keep as much flexibility as possible but I know my limits and when I feel any kind of discomfort, I stop.
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It's worth remembering that Sor (according to Coste, who knew him fairly well) had an unusual capacity for left hand extensions. Coste considered most of Sor's concert works to be essentially unplayable on a standard instrument, and suggested using a 'terz' guitar (tuned in G, with a scale length of 530-550 mm) instead!
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that’s very interesting and a very small scale guitar that would be! I have a Kremona 580 that I sometimes warm up my hand up slowly before I grab my 630. Even the 580 feels too small so I can’t imagine going smaller than that otherwise I’d be playing a ukulele LOL
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I agree Debbie there are so many lovely moments in this study. Thank you for the link - I was surprised at the volume such a small guitar can create and such a lovely tone as well.
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Hi, everyone, what's going on? Just read the comments. I hope all's well. Perhaps, someone from Tonebase should inform us if the event's been cancelled or rescheduled in case Martin can't communicate that due to some emergency.
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I sent an email to the Tonebase admin team . Hopefully we'll have an answer.
