D03 Classical guitar lesson 06

[Duang Turongratanachai]

Thanks Carl.
I have still felt uncomfortable with the trills
Duang

[abel]

Hello:
I think that these exercices are too hard for the fingers.
abe.

[CarlWestman]

I'm doing just fine on the trills ... if you define "just fine" to mean "not all that well."

[CarlWestman]

Just looking ahead at my calendar ... I'm puzzled by the fact that Lesson 10 is released one day before the final exam period begins. This is very confusing; we are normally given about 3+ weeks between lessons to practice the material and record the selected pieces. But for lesson 10 we have but one day? That's quite a difference. It doesn't seem likely that many people will do that one, and instead work on the final exam, unless of course the final is taken from lesson 10 (in which case, why even make the distinction?).

[Marko Räsänen]

Hi Carl,

I don't really know why the timetable was made that way, but I think in the past the 10th lesson was meant to be studied during the summer months, before the next semester began, and it looks like things will return to that. There were some comments last year (by myself at least) that 3 weeks per lesson was too fast pace. On the other hand I've read comments that it has been difficult to arrange the panel of judges during the summer months, so perhaps this session's timetable is reflecting those two facts. I think it's safe to say in any case that the exam piece won't be from the 10th lesson. And even if it will be, remember that the exam piece will be announced 4 weeks before the exam date.

Marko

[CarlWestman]

Thanks, Marko. I had no idea about that "practice during summer" thing. I wonder if that was ever the case for the last couple years I did in D02 and D01. Hmm. Well, so to qualify for the final we need then to do 7 out of 9 lessons, it sounds like.

IMO 3 weeks isn't too fast of a pace, depending on what one must do. As you know, I tend to just post my submissions once, at the end of the lesson period (or late if necessary). I've heard that in other forums people post a performance after a week, get feedback, then post another by the end of the lesson period. Were I held to that standard, I'd find the first week goes a little too quick (esp. if there are many other pieces to work on but not record). If I had to post recordings twice in a lesson period, I'd prefer to post after 2 weeks and then a second attempt after another 1.

I would be more favorably disposed to the post recordings twice idea if either our second or best recording was the one saved/listed under "exam qualifying submissions." I seem to recall that there was something late last year or early this year in which the first submission was the one memorialized. Noticing that pretty much guaranteed that I would only submit once, at the end of the period, unless required otherwise.

[Haris Karachristianidis]

So finally, here are my recordings for the lesson, thank you for comments!
No video this time..

[CarlWestman]

Haris -

Well done! Kudos, as we like to say in America.

Once again (?) I think my favorite was the one that was not required - Las Hachas. It was my favorite both for it's pleasant and engaging melody, as well as for how well you played it.

Your trills are fast and clean - very impressive. The only thing that sounded odd to me in La Miñona Cataluna was that it seemed you held your trills in the first line a tiny bit long, both compared to how you played the trill in the second line and compared to the example video provided. I don't know if this was intentional but it stood out.

Similarly for ex 39, very fast compared to M. Delcamp's video example, but the second trill in each measure (just before you go to the new, higher quarter note) sounded like it was held a shade longer than the first.

I hope to record tomorrow; we have had inclement weather that has closed the schools for nearly every day of the last 2 weeks; "alone time" with my guitar has been hard to come by ... and that is my preferred situation when recording! I will say that my LH pinky gets sore after practicing these pieces, such that I am definitely not getting in extra practice. I need the rest time.

[Haris Karachristianidis]

Thank you for comments Carl.
Las Hachas is my favorite too!
Maybe you are right about the trills length in a Miñona Cataluna, though it seems OK to me. I played the piece without the trills to understand the rhythm and melody and then added the trills.

[CarlWestman]

Here are my submissions. One, just audio on the trills no. 39.

[media]https://youtu.be/9vMD9CSTxEc[/media]

As you will see, I had difficulty with the trills at times. There was one in particular that gave me fits. It was the 2131 trill in measure 2. For some reason, I could usually do it in isolation, and I could (usually) do it in measure 5, but something about coming back down the fretboard just prior to it, rather than already being there, that would give me trouble. Maybe it was the right-to-left motion of my LH rather than the L-to-R I'm used to that gave me difficulty. I'm not sure. I will concede that when I could do it, it tended to be fast, faster than the 3141 trills. It was more of a reflex than deliberate movements.

Another curious thing was that I tended to get worse at it the more I worked on it (in a given session). My LH seemed to ignore my wishes.

Oh well. Onward.

[Haris Karachristianidis]

Carl, La minona and n39 are good!Keep practicing the trills, you are almost there!
In n39 you should play 2 trills in each measure. It is 3/4 and you played it 2/4.
Are you playing with nails or am I wrong?

[Duang Turongratanachai]

Hi all, here are my recordings!

[media]https://youtu.be/LbSp-u7Tb2g[/media]

[media]https://youtu.be/PlR8U9bDRgg[/media]

Haris and Carl, I like Las Hachas too but it's not good enough to post.

Duang

[CarlWestman]

Carl, La minona and n39 are good!Keep practicing the trills, you are almost there!
In n39 you should play 2 trills in each measure. It is 3/4 and you played it 2/4.
Are you playing with nails or am I wrong?

Ooops! You're right ... I should try to re-do that. (back in a flash)

Meanwhile, yes, I did have a little bit of nail when I recorded those, I think a couple days before lesson 7 went up. Then, the day before the lesson, I tried to get a better recording but really stumbled over my RH nails. So I trimmed them - I usu. play with flesh anyway. But the volume I could get for the Sanz piece was way too quiet. My guess is that it was because I was playing these free-stroke (seemed to be appropriate for the piece). Do you think that is generally the case - that without nails, free stroke volume is harder to obtain?

CW

[CarlWestman]

Here it is in 3/4 time.

Unfortunately my nails aren't where they were on Monday. Perhaps not as big of a deal on this as the Sanz one.

[CarlWestman]

Really good job, Duang. I could really see well the "horizontal" movement of the strings on your trills. As for Sanz, you did very well slowing it down and playing it carefully. I should be more like that.

Carl