Giuliani, Mauro; op.107 Variation on a theme by Handel

[robb]

Dear Delcampers

I've been trying to do a demo recording. A recording I could send out prior to my actual application to a university. I've been recording this piece by Giuliani over the past 3-4 days average about 2 hours each session. I didn't expect recording to be so stressful and tiresome. As of yet, I think this is my best take even though my breathing was obnoxiously loud accompanied by several major mistakes.

Would you be kind enough to listen to my playing and tell me;
1) Am I qualified for college level study in the US?
2) Should I do a new recording? ( AHH I already know the answer to this but...what the hey)
3) Any advice (should I just smash my guitar and call it quits?)

I'm planning to send the final recording directly to the professors/teachers that I'm interested to study with to seek their opinion. Is that what people normally do? I am unsure of the steps one should take before apply to a university in the US. My plan is to send out demo recordings to teachers so that they can tell me whether I am suitable for the courses. Is that appropriate?

Thank you.

Regards
Robbie

(The file has not been edited in any way.)

[Non Tabius]

Hi Rob .I wont say that I am an authority on wether your recital is good or not up to standard for any particular purpose.I am sure there are others here far more qualified in that aspect than I could ever hope to be.I am also doing this piece and not as well as you do it though .If I may speak from the stands ,where its a lot easier ,I have the following to say:1.I think you could lift the overall volume of the recording a we bit because I dont here the dinamic
markings clearly.2.I would suggest starting a little slower mayby because there is a almost drastic drop in tempo
between variations 1 ,which you sound confident with and 11 which could have been a wee bit slower to sound more clearer and relaxed in my opinion as well as playing the grace notes on the beat and not off as I hear them in your rendition.I would bring the tempo in line with Varition 111 which is the most difficult section I think with those accidentals which came off nicelywith the slargandosi on the 2nd time round.The other sections are great I think espesially the last Variation where I could almost hear you saying thank goodness I am out of the woods as you struck that final A chord.Thanks for sharing and good luck with audition which I am sure will be a successful.

[robb]

Hey Non Tabius
Really, thank you for listening. The funny thing was when I was playing at a slower tempo I kept losing focus. On the other hand, I think its more of a fluke this time round actually. Sometimes I'm worried that if I play the theme(variation 1) too slowly it would sound boring but I guess having a logical? transition between variation is more important.

Regarding the volume dynamics, I suspect that it is my playing that is lacking not the audio file. This is one of the feedback that I've constantly been getting. I'm glad you could hear my relief at the last chord. At least one idea got across, lol.

Thank you for your feedback. I'll keep them in mind.

[Vesuvio]

Hi Robbie,

I really enjoyed that!

I think you seem to be doing very well—if you would like a really delightful professional recording to assist you with your studies, you might have a look on Eric Hill's website:

http://www.erichillguitardownloads.co.uk/classical.htm

Eric Hill has most generously made all his old recordings available to download free of charge,

Best wishes, V

[dmcharg]

Nice recording and playing. I agree with the above comments, i think you need to watch the tempo but excellent playing. Your breathing i actually find quite funny, it sounds like some is having a good old snooze . Thanks for sharing.

Don't smash the guitar. Its quite an achievement to record this sort of piece. Well done.

Cheers
David.

[mjbindy]

Yeah, well done! You seem to have a handel on it... so to speak.

I enjoyed it!

[robb]

Thanks V, for that link of great music. Its amazing the stuff you could get for free!

Thank you all for listening and the encouraging words.

[charlesivey]

Thank you very much for this one. It is not played often but I really enjoyed your intrepretation.

[stansby40]

Thanks for this I am trying to play this piece and wanted to know the tempo people played it at.

Mark

[robb]

Hi Mark

The tempo indicated on the score is 88 quarter notes per minute. However, I feel that is a little slow. The theme and first variation might sound dull at that tempo. On the other hand, the second and last variation might be too technically difficult at faster tempo.

Rob

[lagartija]

I enjoyed listening to you play, very much Robb.

I didn't think that your breathing was too distracting.... Anyway, I would think that with a piece this long, the professors who evaluate this recording will be happy that you kept breathing!

[CaboVerde]

Good job! While there are a few issues that need to be addressed such as have already been mentioned, I don't think you will have any problem getting into most guitar programs in the US. There are a few elite schools which might be more difficult to get into due to the level and quantity of competition, but I don't think you have much to worry about. I would suggest to record it again, but this time practice with a metronome REALLY SLOW for a week and try to feel comfortable with your fingering - then record it again. In order to fight against "boredom," consider changing color and or phrasing on the repeats (ie...on the third variation, you could try doing slurs on the repeat). A clear change in dynamic and articulation can also be used to vary a repetition. Overall, great job - bravo!

Here is a recording I made recently of this piece. Although my playing is not without faults, I hope it might give you some ideas as to what you can do to vary repetitions a bit. viewtopic.php?f=20&t=57777

[robb]

Thanks lagartiga.
Good news. I've send a couple of demo videos to professors and have received good response. Better than I'd expected.
Thanks for listening!

Hi CaboVerde
Thanks for the advice and encouragement! I shall try your suggestion of practicing really slow.
I've watched your video, and I thought it was really good! Its really different, full of ideas. It inspires me to experiment more. The problem I have is that I find that when I am changing tone colour just for the sake of being different, I find that it's very superficial and I don't believe in it. Hence I wouldn't be able to give a convincing performance of it. I hope that made sense. I guess the only way is to experiment more and listen more.

Rob

[lagartija]

The problem I have is that I find that when I am changing tone colour just for the sake of being different, I find that it's very superficial and I don't believe in it. Hence I wouldn't be able to give a convincing performance of it.

I know exactly what you mean, Rob! One thing that helped me was to sing the piece and whilst singing think: "question and answer" or "sound and echo" or "fat guy and skinny guy" and see if that suggests something for the repeats. Sometimes if I have such an idea in my head, the change of tone color suggests itself to me and feels real and not contrived, because now it is a "real" part of the music as I imagine it. I hope I've explained that well enough....

[CaboVerde]

Rob I understand what you mean. Using color takes practice and does not often come naturally. I did not begin using color effectively until several years after I began playing - this was mostly due to poor instruction. Just as Lagartija pointed out, think of it in terms of type of call and response. Color can be used for much more than this, but this use is the easiest to "hear" right away. It might just seem gimick-y to you because you are not used to using it, but you might actually sound better than you think. Try recording just one variation where you play normal and then repeat it sul pont or tasto...listen back to it and see what you prefer and or what you feel should be changed. It takes a while to develop, but if you tend to listen to alot of music (not just classical guitarists) then I think your ears will eventually steer you in the right direction.