D01 Classical guitar lesson 02

[Mark_Steed]

Here is my first attempt at C major and Frere Jack.

Pity about the bum note right at the end

[Mark_Steed]

Hope nobody hears this:_

[HÃ¥vard.Bergene]

Well done Mark. Nothing to be ashamed of! You have improved since last lesson:-) I suggest to focus on the damping when playing open strings. Try playing the marked passage of Frere Jacques slow, and take care to damp the E and B string by leaning your 3. and 2. finger when playing the D and G...

[Robert Goodwin]

Hi Mark,
You are definitely showing major progress. Good tempo and nice clean tones. Keep it up my friend.

The only suggestion I could offer is to think about holding the notes out for their full count. By that I mean it's tempting to begin to shift your fretting fingers early in preparation for the next note. That results in the current note being cut short. The more you can 'snap' from one position to the next the fuller the sound will be. It takes a lot of practice to get used to this and it takes time to became familiar with the fretboard so that you can generally do this but if you start thinking about it now, it will already be ingrained as you get to the more complex music.

Best regards

Bob G.

[Mark_Steed]

Thanks Bob and Havard - very helpful feedback from you both - I shall work on these points. Cheers friends

[RaphaelPazos]

Hello gents!
My lesson 02 videos.
Some discoveries were made. The room I practice needs more light if I want to record in it at night. Sound improved just because I closed windows and doors around me. I need more practice....
Anyways here they are:

Youtube


Youtube


Youtube


Youtube


Please comment!
Thanks

PS: Exercise 19 is a nightmare! It's funny to watch....

[Robert Goodwin]

Hi Raphael,
That was very well done. You kept a good tempo and had a good grasp of the music.

I noticed your plucking fingers tended to produce a clicking sound. I did pretty much the same as I started out. it clears up if you trim your nails to a 'nailless' configuration or if you grow your nails out long enough to avoid plucking with the fleshy part of the fingertip. You would still contact the string with that soft tip. Contacting a vibrating string directly with the nail often produces a buzz. The diferrence is that with nails, the tip of the finger is just used to soften contact with vibrating strings. It may take some time for you to decide which way you prefer to go. Both methods are considered valid. There are several forum threads that discuss the alternatives. Just do a search on the forum for 'nailless'.

One other thing that can reduce that click is to angle your hand slightly more parallel to the strings. The fingers then slide over the strings at an angle instead of raking straight across. This prevents that little 'pop' as the string is released from the flesh and strikes the nail. The thumb should cross the string as straight across as possible since the wirewound strings produce a scratching sound when the thumb slides along the length of the string while plucking.

Hope this helps.

Bob G.

[Vincent_Pera]

Hi Guys,

First of all would like to say good job to Raphael!

I agree with Robert. Based from my experience in Lesson 1, I realized long finger nails and apoyando makes unwanted "twacking" noise.

Furthermore, D01 page 59 Damping excercise no. 18 and 19 was really hard. I realized I have a lot of work to do for my RH finger independence.


Anyhow, here is my videos for Lesson 02

C-Major Scale

Youtube


Damp Exercise No.20

Youtube


Anonyme: La Tete Bizarde

Youtube


Anonyme: Frere Jacques

Youtube


Thanks and looking forward to your feedback.

Best regards

Vincent

[Mark_Steed]

Really very good Vincent - I particularly like the relaxed way you are holding the guitar and your left hand fingering seems smooth and easy.
Well done

Hi Raphael - nice post you are doing real well too - not as easy as it looks this game

[ShaneSingleton]

Nice work Vincent. You've got excellent tone and control there. You're doing very well. I wasn't reading along with score but I'm wondering if you may have had some rhythmic abnormalities in la Tete Bizarde.

[Vincent_Pera]

Hello guys!

@Mark: Thanks, I am happy you like my posture. I actually use a foot stand to raise my left leg to support the guitar and help my left hand to be more free and relax.

@Shane: Thanks, you're definitely right. I was only looking at the sheets and didn't really study the video of Mr. Delcamp. I didn't noticed the bouncy rhythm of the piece and I had errors on the vibrato of E and B at the second part of the piece. I'll try to practice it again and will post a video later.

Thanks once again!

Best regards, Vincent

[ShaneSingleton]

I personally wouldn't worry about vibrato. It's great if you can add it in but don't focus on it too much at this stage. That is definitely one skill we can allow to develop gradually and organically. These early lessons are best to focus on rhythm and damping. The damping is probably the toughest thing to learn.

[RaphaelPazos]

Hey Bob!
Thanks for your inputs on my lessons!
I'm gonna try going nailess and 45 degrees angle towards the strings. I'll soon post another try on some videos and my 03 lessons, with the now the new method.
Thank you
Raphael Pazos

[ShaneSingleton]

I personally go mostly nail-less for safety reasons (I rock climb) and find I prefer the tone anyways. Another problem I've had with nails is that I've split the nail bed so often that I frequently have to do emergency trims. Then I'm stuck having to readjust my technique for a new nail length. Sticking with only 1 to 1.5mm nail length has really helped me this past few months because it is always consistent. I didn't want to waste precious practice effort just adapting.

Another thing that helped me with rest stroke was by envisioning the motion as if my finger was falling through the string instead of plucking. Not sure if that helps or not.

[Vincent_Pera]

Hi guys,

here is my second try of La Tete Bizarde. It's not like in the video of Mr. Delcamp but I tried to follow the sheets, especially the timing. I still find measure 22 to 24 not easy to play.
Anyhow, here is my second try


Youtube

I personally wouldn't worry about vibrato. It's great if you can add it in but don't focus on it too much at this stage. That is definitely one skill we can allow to develop gradually and organically. These early lessons are best to focus on rhythm and damping. The damping is probably the toughest thing to learn.

I think I understand what you mean. In Lesson 03, I experience a lot of difficulties with my timing and damping. It's like Mr. Delcamp arrange his lessons, so we can always learn gradually and learn things which we didn't see in the previous lessons.

My videos for lesson 03 will be up shortly.

Thanks and best regards!

Vincent