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Week
1
(week1 mp3)
This
week I started in earnest by listening to your recording of the tune on
the website, reading through the first few measures and measure 1 in
detail.
After
carefully (very slowly!) going through all the exercises in measure 1 I
felt some guidance on LH thumb positioning would have been helpful.
I
have made solid progress with measures 2-6, and since I don’t normally
play classical I have paid great attention to RH technique. I feel pretty
relaxed in both LH and RH at this point but over time I usually flush out
more tension.
The
barre in measure 7 caused me some problems (notes not sounding and I’m
doing this on a steel string guitar) and so I reprinted your barre
techniques essay on the website. I also picked up a couple of barre tips
from this weeks newsletter!
Each
day I have revised measures 1-6 in detail and have begun to have some
success with measures 7 and 8 but not every time. I have therefore been
doing measure 8 up and down the fretboard daily.
So
far I’ve predominately focussed on no tempo and posing with plenty of
rotating attention. I like to have the fingering in muscle memory before I
find I naturally progress to the slower metronome speeds in basic
practice. I also find taking regular breaks from difficult parts more
productive than continuing to struggle.
Week 2
(week2 mp3)
This week I have really focused on barre practice (measures 7, 8, 9 and 10). The main problem at the moment with measure 7 is getting the barre down with confidence first time so that the second and third string can ring out. I have been doing a lot no tempo practice and rotating attention and following the techniques from your easy barre chords essay. I can do a barre chord with two or three fingers on the fretboard perfectly, it's only when the pinky is down alone first in measures 6/7 that I have been working with. I seem to be much more comfortable with the barre on the second fret in measure 13 and 14.
In measure 10 I'm finding the stretch to fret 11 difficult. My pinky is turned almost on its side to make the stretch and as a result barre finger rotates on the 7th fret and I lose the solid barre position. As a result I have been doing posing and stretching exercises. I have also noticed I am holding my breath in measures 9 and 10!
Half way through the week I became disappointed with my progress and I guess I reached one of the points where students perhaps put the piece to one side, never to return. Good job I had the added incentive of writing this diary! I have now worked through this phase, and yesterday I was pleased with a run through from measures 1-16.
I plan to stick with measures 1-16 for the next week and will send a new mp3 file next time.
Week 3
(week3 mp3)
Please find attached my first attempt at measures 17-32 of Spanish Romance. The main challenge for me in this section has been the fingering changes from measure 20 to 21 and 26 to 27 when trying to keep to a tempo of sorts. You'll see this in the mp3 I have sent.
This recording is very much like the first one I made for measures 1-16 - I have approached it as if sitting in front of you and you had said "Give it your best shot - just play it all the way through as best you can". Please let me know if there is anything in particular you would find useful and would like me to send. I'm planning to get the fourth report to you in a about a weeks time which will be another go at measures 17-32 - I'm going to focus on moving between measures. After that I plan to spend some time building right hand speed.
Week 4
(week4 mp3)
Thanks for the feedback on measures 1-16. I was particularly interested in the photograph of the LH position for measure 10. I have examined in detail my LH position and find that in normal playing my barre finger is indeed not as straight as yours is. I have consciously tried to improve the straightness of my 1st finger position and am beginning to have results, particularly with more reliable fretting of the second and third strings in a barre.
I do need to stop, think and straighten the finger to get the correct position (the power of muscle memory!). I have also been posing into the stretch to get my pinky more upright as you advised. Adopting these changes has caused me to review my approach to practicing measures 1-16.
Measures 17-32 (2nd half)
I have gained a lot of improvement with these and attach an mp3 at 50 clicks per minute for measures 17-32. Overall I am pleased with my progress (the tune's a "bit more in my fingers", I've added a bit more speed and it's sounding better) though a little frustrated with a couple of fingering changes which are preventing me from a smooth tempo through the whole piece. I have consequently
focused on these areas a lot.
I am still finding the fingering changes from measure 26 to 27 difficult in tempo - as you will hear I miss a beat on the change. The problem I working through is this. Placing the third finger on the 7th fret of the 2nd string effectively places it under the 2nd finger on the 7th fret, 4th string. This twist on the 3rd finger causes my pinky to resist going to the 9th fret on the 1st string - it wants to tuck under the third finger. I'm trying to develop the mobility of the pinky and the 3rd finger in this position but in the meantime fret the 1st string with a rolled over pinky. I also miss a beat from measure 28 to 29 which is down to the big LH arm movement and accurate first time placement of the fingers. I slide the pinky down the first string to maintain a reference point and control the movement which has improved things.
I attach a couple of shots of my LH position in measure 27. The first view is of an early attempt and the second view is after rereading (a few times!) the notes on page 11 of the Spanish Romance lesson. In the second shot I am trying to keep the pinky distal joint flat, and nearly making it! Am I on the right lines here?
I have delayed doing any serious speed building exercises for the RH while I make progress with your suggested improvements and sort out an even tempo for measures 17-32. Now that I've got my teeth into this problem I want to resolve it and look forward to
your comments!
Weeks
5+
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