We haven't had one of these threads for a while. what are you playing at the moment?

I'm working on Leo Brouwer's Una Dia De Novembre, which is drop dead gorgeous. I'm also half way through sorting out the fingering for Capricio Arabe, which is the first of my grade 8 selectioins (hoping to enter for grade 8 next summer).


What are you up to?

I'm learning prelude from Bach's cello suit no.1, trying to work on getting my playing of it smoother, and Melancoly Galliard by John Dowland, I find this one much harder than the Bach piece as my hand really hurts from all the bar chords in it. Unsure what grade either of these pieces are, I think they're around grade 7, am I right?

Ooo, Capricio Arabe great piece, one I'd love to learn!

Currently learning exam pieces for exam next month (Dance Des ÃŽles [A3], Waltz [B2] and Menorca [C3]).

Car Expert

Good for you, CE - what grade are you heading for?

Lisa, I'm really glad you're having a bash at the cello suite prelude. It's a very satisfying piece to play, I'm sure you're going to love it.

Grade 1. I was going to do the exam in July, but I'm going on holiday, so it has to be next month. My teacher is planning to give me two 15 minute lessons between now and the exam.

Car Expert

Thanks, it was your encouragment that made me feel confident enough too give it a try, and I have to say, it's going really well. As you said, it is very satisfying to play, and I do love playing it. Any spare time I have I find myself play this piece over any other!

I can play it all the way through, which sounds like a banal statement to make, but I thought it would be much harder to learn than it has been...it seems the difficulties in this piece aren't in fingering, but playing smoothly and gracefully, and really making it sound as beautifull as you can, so that's what I'm trying to do, and well, I'm getting there, even if it is, very slowly!

It is the smoothness and the sustain that's the trick. And it's no mean feat to get the fingering sorted out to play it through, so well don't for that! It took me an age to get it under my fingers (as Felix will tell you - he heard me murder it at Bath last year!).

CE - no way!! Two 15 minute lessons? that's a bit scary! I'm sure you'll be ok though. You've got plenty of music experience behind you. I hope the exam goes really well for you.

Best of luck!



Thanks, there are some parts I find a bit tricky though. I find the end, getting to the half bar at 7th, a bit hard, buzzing notes and such - but apart from that I'm not find it too difficult! I think I've played it so much I kind of programed the fingering into my fingers!

Sustaining the note is definatly the key though. It's great being able to play it all the way through, but I know I mustn't rush it, I still need to take in slow and focus on tone and the over-all musicality of the piece.

What about Capricio Arabe, how are you finding it? It's a piece I really want to learn at some piont, but think it would be way to hard for me right now!

I'm getting on alright with it. There are challenging bits, but most of it lies fairly easily under your fingers. Some of the stretches are a bit, um, stretchy!

Oh, I'm having a terrible time with stretches. I never thought I had small hands, but now I've started learning harder peices the stretches are getting bigger and my hands are seeming smaller...!

Yep. My teacher said we can't fit in the pieces, scales and sight-reading all in 15 minutes, so I have to have one lesson at 10:15, and one just before lunch. I've done the aural tests before in piano, so they should be OK .Thanks

Car Expert

I've been spending months on Cardoso's Milonga. It's a lovely piece, one of my favourite's but I just can't execute the mordents crisply. I'm also working on Dowland's The Right Honourable Lady Clifton's Spirit. I practise either late at night or in the morning when it's still dark and everyone's asleep. For some stupid reason, I sometimes like to scare myself and imagine that a headless Lady Clifton, in fine Elizabethan dress, will float across the room.

They're both for Grade 7.



I'd love to learn both these pieces (should I ever get to the dizzy heights of Grade 8).




Wow, good luck Car Expert.



I've got big hands Lisa-Guitar but don't wish for big hands. I tend to 'trip up' over my fingers. I wish I had shorter more agile fingers! Fingers will get 'longer' or more precisely, stretch more with practice.

Lowering the level considerably - but you've got to start somewhere! - I'm working on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star I've now done four of the variations that the Suzuki method starts with, and I can play Twinkle theme. I'm feeling very pleased with myself, and look forward to the first milestone I've set myself, which is to get to the end of Suzuki book 1. Longer term I'm looking forward to playing the Andante in C major by Giuliani, which I remember from my childhood (theme tune to Tales from the Riverbank, if anyone else is old enough to remember this), and which at a very early age made me long to play the guitar. At last, at 40-something, I've finally got started!

That's great, keep playing!



Thanks, that's good to know!

you must be doing something right if you're managing to scare yourself with it!! Must be atmospheric

I'm learning three pieces at present.

Capprichio Arabe. I used to play it but didn't like some of the voicings so I decided to change fingerings. Big mistake - now I can't play it any more.

De Falla's Homenaje (to Debussy). Fabulous piece!

One of Lauro's Venezuelan dances - Natalia which is good fun (and flashy)

Oh - and I'm trying to memorize the Prelude from Bach's Lute Suite (BWV998) but every new bit I memorize pushes the previous bit I thought I'd memorized out of my head.

GWU - I didn't know Cardoso's Milonga so I looked on YouTube - it's a wonderful piece. This version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-hLvHpp_Go by Petar Jankovic gives a pretty good view of his hands.

How do you get on with the muted notes near the end?

As for the ghost of Lady Clifton ... Hmmm!

I'm glad we agree on the beauty of Cardoso's Milonga. It's one of those pieces that makes me lose all track of time when I practise it. Needless to say, I always schedule it as the last item in a practise session otherwise if it were first, nothing else would be done.

Your link shows a guitarist that's embellished Milonga with many personal touches. The muted notes at the end being one of many. I personally prefer this version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiKD9OrRU1U...ted&search= which is closer to the composer's intententions.



....you flatter me, thanks! It's actually due to a lack of concentration and watching too many horror films.

Nah, go with the atmospheric playing giving you chills thing

Someone getting ready for grade 8???

Just found out the date of my exam - Tuesday 1st May, at 13:48.

Car Expert

Well, now I have a problem because there's no doubt that your version is more like a milonga and the rhythm is superb, but as Sarah F says - the other version does send chills down the spine.

Maybe you can get the best of both in your interpretation?

No! Definitely not! But looking at the syllabus I can see why you might think so. Looks like I might need to keep an eye on my teacher.

Well I've just had my last lesson before my exam. I'm glad the third piece has improved during the course of this week, and I hope nothing goes disasterously wrong on Tuesday.

*tries to think positively*

Car Expert

Goodluck!! You will do great

Thanks

Car Expert

Good luck, CE

Best of Luck.

Working on lots of bits and pieces at the minute:

Castelnuovo-Tedesco - Concerto in D
Britten - Nocturnal
Bach - Suite no 4 in E (been playing around with for absolutely ages. )

And now that my wrist is finally getting better I'm thinking about trying to sort out a decent programme for my DipABRSM, 18 months after I first intended to do it!