Week 3: Whispers of Nostalgia
As the air gets crisper and the days grow shorter, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the beauty and transition that autumn brings. We're excited to introduce our newest community challenge: "Music of the Fall"! This is your chance to explore pieces that capture the essence of this season – whether they evoke the feeling of change, a fresh beginning, or the quiet nostalgia of falling leaves.
What’s the Challenge?
Select a guitar piece that you personally associate with the change of seasons or the idea of starting anew. This could be a work that resonates with autumnal moods, melodies that conjure up images of falling leaves, or pieces that mark a new chapter in your musical journey.
Suggested Themes:
- Transition: Pieces that reflect change or transformation.
- New Beginnings: Works that symbolize starting something new, like a new season in life or music.
- Autumnal Mood: Music that captures the essence of fall – perhaps something contemplative, warm, or even bittersweet.
Timeline:
- Start: October 1st
- End: October 30th
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Hi, Martin and everyone. Hope you're all well. This is called Eterna Saudade by the Brazilian composer, Dilermando Reis. I discovered this piece on Youtube, played so beautifully by the inimitable, Xufei Yang. As soon as I heard it, I knew I had to learn it. It has such a beautiful, haunting melody that brings into mind myriad thoughts, memories, emotions.
I'm actually proud of my progress on this piece so far. Unlike my previous submissions, I couldn't find any lesson on how to play this piece. So, I kind of imitated Xufei by watching her video and other versions hundreds of times over the last few days.
Playing this piece has taught me how I could and should improve on understanding rhythm and harmony, besides of course, my technical shortfalls as is evident in many places on this performance. Nevertheless, I hope you give it a listen and enjoy it. I'll try to post another one if time permits me. Thanks.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Very nice performance, Nijwm! This is by no means an easy piece and you are playing it very well. That you've learned it without the benefit of formal guidance indicates just how well developed your own musical sense is. Bravo! (Btw, I'm particularly impressed by the quality of you tone - if you don't mind my asking, what sort of guitar are you playing?)
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary You should be very proud, Nijwm! Like David said, this is a very challenging piece. A while back, I read through the score a few times, but decided to put it into that always growing “pieces to play someday, but not now” pile. Your progress on it is very impressive.
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David Krupka Thank you very much, David. I was kind of surprised how the tone came out well. I've not been fully satisfied with my tone quality for a while, but I seem to be improving on that as I learn how to shape and polish my nails better. I'm playing a Yamaha CG122 MS. It's a cheap, factory-made guitar, but has a very nice, mellow sound. The body of the guitar is actually broken and has a hole on the underside of the body (near the part where it rests on my left thigh). I used tape to cover it up, so I'm not sure if it's as resonant as it would be if it were not broken. I've been thinking of getting a good guitar. Unfortunately, here in India, we don't get many of those and luthier-made guitars are unheard of. But it is what is, and I'm just happy to play.
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Eric Phillips Thank you very much, Eric. I actually used tabs for this one, along with the score :) Yeah, that pile of mine keeps on growing each day. I'm trying to juggle my time with technique, etudes and pieces all at the same time.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary I agree with David and Eric - you should be very proud of your performance. Bravo! I'm also loving the quality of your tone.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary Well donel, Nijwm. Your tone and phrasing are beautiful. This is a piece I have never heard before, thanks for introducing it.
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Ron Thank you, Ron. Your encouragement keeps me motivated.
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Jack Stewart Thank you, Jack. Yeah, it's a beautiful piece, played so beautifully by Xufei Yang. Btw, have you posted anything for this challenge yet? I look forward to it, if you're going to post one.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary She does play beautifully.
I haven't posted anything yet. I am trying to get something together on Piazzolla's Otono Porteno. However, it is proving to be more than I will be able to accomplish for this Challenge. I hope to get at least the first section. I also have a short transcription of Schumann that I hope to post in the next couple of days.
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Jack Stewart Looking forward to it!
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary That's a great piece Nijwm and I think you play it very well. As Martin said - his teacher used to say (translated) 'It's not the guitar - it is the hands!'
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Derek Thank you Derek.
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Hello Martin,
Not a video but a track from my album "Platero and I", November Idylle.... (Castelnuovo-Tedesco, duh...).
The autumn in "Platero y yo" stands for the transition from light to dark, life to death.
My album contains 20 parts of it and there is also a narrated version in Dutch. It can be found on all regular streaming platforms.
Thanks for listening :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbr3U9WxYDY&list=OLAK5uy_l9tExxFxtTp8_CLVMDE9dFFmJYOpAtmzw&index=16
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Jos Durkstra Lovely playing!
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Eric Phillips Thank you....
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Jos Durkstra Very nice, Jos. That seems like quite an undertaking to record such a collection from Platero and I. I have been aware of the work but I don't think I have ever heard it. It seems very different from what I am familiar with Cattelnuovo-Tedesco' s work.
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Jack Stewart Thank you. Well... it WAS quite an undertaking I can tell you that. All in all it took me two years to study the pieces, record them and after the cd was done also also the narrated version in Dutch. I am a guitarist and professional teacher for 38 years and I wanted to do something BIG to put the cherry on the cake as they say.
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Jos Durkstra bijonder mooi Jos! I was unaware of these pieces and I'm a huge donkey lover so thanks for the introduction. Earlier this year I visited the ADEBO donkey sanctuary in Rute, Spain. The man who runs it is amazing. He's worked tirelessly every day for the past 35 years with no day off.
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Debbie Bedankt Debbie! Donkeys rock!!!
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Hi everyone, here's an update on the piece I posted earlier. Slightly improved, still lots of room for improvement. Missed notes, more vibrato needed.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary It's sounding great! I like how you really take your time between phrases, giving each one plenty of space.
Your fretting hand (I assume your left hand and the video is reversed?) is moving very fluidly. Your fingers have that spider-like independence.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary It sounds great! I really like the flow of your playing, very smooth and natural. Thanks for sharing!
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Wai Thank you, Wai. Those are big compliments. I get so nervous while recording, missed a few notes and fumbled a bit in a few places. Getting a good recording in one take is so difficult, but I completed it somehow.
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Eric Phillips Thank you, Eric. About the reverse video, hmm, hadn't noticed that after posting so many videos in previous forms. Thanks for pointing this out. I used a phone camera with the 'selfie' mode (if that's an accurate description). So, it looks like I'm left-handed! I'm very much a right-handed player.
Thank you for liking my phrasing. I'm trying to improve on the finer, musical aspects. Watching you and fellow members on this forum has inspired me. About the finger movements, at the risk of beating my own drums, I was actually quite surprised how they responded to some tricky shapes and transitions with relative ease. Of course, there's room for improvement there as well. Again, I've watched and marveled the fluid left hand movements of such great players on this forum, and tried to emulate them.
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