Group 2
We’re thrilled to introduce our upcoming Two-Week Intensive (TWI): "Avoiding Exponential Left-Hand Tension" with guitarist Arturo Castro Nogueras! This interactive, online course is designed to help you identify and manage left-hand tension, equipping you with techniques that will elevate your playing to the next level. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned player, this TWI is packed with valuable insights and exercises tailored for all skill levels.
Sign-Up: October 1st - October 6th
Course Dates: October 7th - October 18th
Where: Our community forum
What You'll Learn Over These Two Weeks:
- How to Spot Tension Build-Up: Learn how to recognize early signs of left-hand tension and how to relax your hand before it impacts your playing. Arturo will provide practical advice on maintaining a relaxed approach to your technique.
- Exercises for Continuous and Active Relaxation: We’ll explore specific exercises that promote ongoing relaxation, helping you stay mindful of your hand positioning and tension levels during your practice sessions.
- Mastering "Position Zero": Discover the concept of "position zero" and how to use this foundational technique to keep your left hand relaxed, improving your overall control and sound quality.
How to Participate:
- Join the course discussions on our community forum.
- Watch Arturo’s video assignments, and share your progress.
- Receive feedback directly from Arturo Castro Nogueras throughout the two-week journey!
Ready to relieve tension and unlock smoother playing? Mark your calendars and get ready to dive into this intensive learning experience. See you on the forum! 
Assignments
Hello everyone!
It's great to be back with a new TWI. This time we are going to focus on left-hand relaxation!
Exercises:
1. Observe your relaxed hand. Play simple notes or chords and in between always consciously relax your hand. This first part of observing your relaxation will be very important for our next exercises.
2. Record a couple of bars of a simple piece you are practicing right now, returning to "position zero" in between of every position change.
Looking forward to your questions and comments!
Exercises for the second video:
1. Identify the structural sequence to design a practice pattern
2. Practice the three steps to change between positions. (relax - prepare - play)
The music examples are in the comments. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Exercises for the third video:
1. Practice the first line of Estudios Sencillos No. 2 and apply the 3-step system for relaxing (relax - prepare - play)
2. Count five seconds between each step so you take time to feel your hands and observe the process.
I'll post the excerpt of the etude on the comments.
(Sorry if the video is a bit longer than usual, I got exited with the subject. Pinky promise that the next one will be shorter :)
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Hello ! I'm from France near La Rochelle. I almost got to the point of stoping guitar because of recurrent back and arm pain when playing (right shoulder / arm since I'm left handed..!). After some years i've started to take guitar classes again and we've been focusing a lot with my teacher on playing with less tension and in a more relaxed way so i am very interested in this course !
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Hi My name is Michelle and I am from Australia. I have only been learning guitar for about 15 months, so I am looking to learn as much as I can. Especially how to play more relaxed and with good technique.
Cheers
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Greetings. Ernest from Ottawa, Canada, here. I have been playing for several decades and I used to build up so much tension in my hands, arms, and entire body during recitals, especially when performing demanding pieces (Koshkin, Rak) that I would be exhausted by the end. After careful self-observation over the past few years while practicing, I have solved many of my issues; however, there is always room for improvement. I'm reminded of Pablo Casals' response when asked why he still practiced four to five hours daily at the age of ninety. He replied, "Because I think I'm making progress".
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Hello everyone. I'm from Farnham in the UK. I've been playing the guitar for a long while, but now as an older player I find I suffer a lot from unwanted tension which certainly affects my ability. Anything that will help me to be more relaxed will be very welcome!
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Hello Tonebase Students. I’m Jose from Florida. Self-learning classical guitar for several dacades. I’m currently learning with a teacher that has taken me from a beginner to early intermediate. I’m hoping to gain better tension control from this course.
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Hello everyone. My name is Mark de Beer, I live in The Netherlands. I am 60 and have only seriously begun playing the guitar 2 or so years ago (having had lessons when I was in my twenties). So I am by no means an accomplished player. Right hand, left hand, I have lots to learn. I am aware I should be less tense in my left hand, but achieving this is not easy (of course). I hope to gain helpful insights from this TWI that I can work with going forward. I am currently travelling, with a shaky internet connection, so I don't expect to be posting any videos myself. I do look forward however to Arturo's instructions and the discussions in the forum.
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Hi I'm Jasmine, from the UK, I'm really interested in this topic so looking forward to maybe gaining some fresh insights
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Hello everyone. I am Gordon from near Manchester in the North West of England. As an older player I am increasingly conscious of the need to keep my hands as stress free and as supple as I can. I start pieces in a relaxed state but I tend to tense up as I progress. So looking forward to learning some techniques that will help me play better and for longer.
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Hello everyone. I am from the Atlanta, Georgia area in the US. I have been playing classical guitar for about six years since I retired. Looking to develop techniques to reduce tension, particularly in the more challenging sections so that I can play more effortlessly.
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Here's my attempt at Ex 2. I had to try a few times before I started to feel I was returning to position zero!
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Ron thank you for sharing your video. You are doing it correctly, that is the idea. May I suggest a follow up exercise? Try now doing it as a chord playing the strings at the same time and doing it with a rhythm of quarter note + quarter rest. Check out the picture below. You can do it slow at the beggining and speed it up to create the position zero reflex.
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Thank you Arturo - will try that this evening
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Arturo Castro Nogueras Here is my video playing chords with the quarter note rest. I started very slowly but have now increased the speed and it still feels like I'm creating the position zero reflex
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Ron Hi! I apparently missed your video. I apologize. This is much better! Also your hands look much more organized. Can you try it slower, the way I explain in my last video (PART 3)?
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Hello Arturo,
i am glad to participate in this new workshop on left-hand tension. It is all these details about left and right hand relaxation that makes the difference in our progress. This first video lesson of your brings me this "Ah" moment: it is so obvious when you tell us. But we need to be made aware of this to realize the power of this. Thank you for enligthening us. I am including a recording of the first few bars of Sor's Op44 no10. As i was practicing the opening of this study, the return to position zero became so obvious and i was able to easily feel it and understand the power in practicing. I am guessing that you might have preferred that i break the playing more and show the return to position zero in a more obvious way. However, i believe that i got it.
2024-10-07 feel the return to position zero
Michel
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Michel Giroux thank you for sharing. I’m happy to read that :)
This etude is perfect for what we are talking about. Now analyze which chords (positions) you need to do without performing the piece and find a way to return to position zero in between. Let me know if this helps!
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Arturo Castro Nogueras
ok i did not truly understand what you wanted. Following is the chords from the first four bars. I understand that you want to force us to feel position zero.
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Michel Giroux it looks good. No worries, I'll explain in my next video. The idea is to separate the hand position (or chords), think of the columns that sustain a building, from the overall interpretation of the piece.
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Hello,
I am André from Québec, Canada.
This first video with proposed exercises is very interesting. Like all other participants, I sometimes experience some pain and my playing would definitively benefit a lot being more realxed.
I will do the proposed exercises and will post a video tomorrow.
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Hello my name is John writing in from Hong Kong. I’ve always seem to have applied too much pressure with my left hand. My previous teachers have said it’s probably because I’m left handed which compounds the problem. Recently I have had issues with my hand that require me to use as little as possible to avoid straining it further. This course seems to be a good way to explore this.
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Hi Arturo For some reason I am not able to upload a video. He tells me that the file is not able to be uploaded.
I am videoing on a Macbook pro using the video function and it plays on Quicktime Player. So if there are some tech wizards who know what I need to do some advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Michelle
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Michelle Roper Hi Michelle, in a previous TWI with Arturo I ran into the same, or at least a similar, problem. Fellow Tonebase member Jack Stewart was kind enough to help me out. I have past copied his reply, in the hope it will be of use to you:
It took me a while to figure this out as well. If you sign up with YouTube you can create your own own channel. At the upper right corner of your channel page is a 'create' button. One of the options is to upload video. It will take you to a page that allows you to drag and drop your video to upload to your channel. That will then lead you thru several prompts, some of which you must answer, ie where to save your video (I have created many playlists for videos I want to save, 1 is TB Challenge), the next is whether the video is for kids (I always click no because that is easist), the next couple of 'pages are not required and I ignore them, the final page asks how to list your video. On this page it is necessary to list as either public (which means it shows up on YouTube) or as unlisted (which means ir is only available to anyone who's has the specific link.) Also on this page - on the right side , is a button to copy the video link. You will need this to post on Tonebase.
Then when you post on TB there are 3 buttons below the dialogue box for uploading 1. images, 2. videos, and 3. files. You click the middle one and paste your link.
It is much easier to do than to read (or write) how to do.
I hope this helps and sorry for a very longwinded explanation.
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Michelle Roper Jack sent me this further explanation as well, which I am also forwarding - I hope you open the attached screenshots too.
I've made some screenshots that are probably easier to follow
1. shows where to find the create button and its options
2. shows the 2 required options (where to post and for kids or not)
3. visibility Note: do not click Private as that will not show up on Tonebase. Click unlisted
also on the right side is the video link and and its link to copy
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Mark de Beer I meant to say: I hope you can open the attached screenshots
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Mark de Beer thanks so much
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