This one took a long time to nail down. For me repeats of
passages are more stressful than playing new material - maybe because if
you did it once its just extra annoying when you screw up the second or
third time because then you have to start all over again to get a good
take. So many barre chords. Thanks to the Bach I did 2 uploads ago, my
tone has really improved, and I think I really have a good handle now
on how to reduce right hand "nailiness" on the guitar. I'm not happy
with the dynamics, but I guess at this point I'm still just trying to
develop a command of the left and right hands to go where I want them to
on time and accurately - once I'm super certain my fingertips are going
to get there and on time I think I'll focus more on dynamic variety.
I had to record using the sheet music in front of me. I'm not really
focusing 100% on classical guitar and there is just too much repertoire
to try and memorize everything in a short amount of time so I read.
Plus I get confused when I have to take multiple takes of recordings, so
if I forget where I am toward the end its really annoying to have to
start all over again.
Each time I record a classical piece I'm dying to get over with, and its
always a major struggle to get it recorded and finished so that must
mean I'm challenging myself?
Recorded on a solo Rode NT5
Take aways
- relying on the sheet music = OK
- Used the Compressor a fair amount in the software to bring up the
total volume - although this really makes it honk out that my
performance was really loud the whole way thru.
Waltz #3 is significantly harder than #2 and even gave me wrist injury after practicing it every day. I took a break for 3 days, and when I came back I started a new technique that I call the "telephone technique". Instead of trying to crush the strings into the neck to guarantee at least some kind of sound would come out of the correct fret, I started "leaning" into them at a upward angle which really needs the shoulder and elbow to get involved in order to apply enough pressure. I call it the Telephone because instead of thinking that your hand and fingertips push down the strings, I imagine my fingers like telephone poles holding the strings up in the air against the neck - and this image is just much less physically charged than squeezing as hard as possible and holding on for dear life. Because waltz #3 is so fast whenever I'd get stressed I'd always go back to grabbing at strings because its what has worked for 15 years but thats when my wrist would start hurting again. The downside is that you have to be way more accurate because if you don't hit the string dead on the fingertip, you're not going to send enough pressure to get a clear tone - must a muffled buzz or even a muted thump.
This is where the next break thru happened - over time my left hand fingertips had become hard and callused with dead skin that even has built in horizontal impressions where the strings go. This is troublesome however when you have an awkward or strange fingering and the indentation can make the string glance off the sweet spot. But then I figured, if I'm not applying as much pressure as before, maybe I don't need calluses because its the dead skin that protects your pain receptors and allows you to practice longer. I eliminated the calluses, and it doesn't feel bad at all because I'm not squeezing like crazy anymore and instantly I became 1,000% more accurate.
Then serendipitously because my left hand is so much less stressed out grasping at strings and crushing bar chords, my right hand also became much more relaxed and I'm flicking strings way faster all of a sudden. Overall volume is lower, but I think I can develop that back up.
And finally, I was having trouble creating the optimal angles with my elbow and shoulder to access only the needed amount of pressure for this Telephone technique until I actually tried sitting in the classical style posture - and much to my surprise it really helped.
Have you ever seen anyone sit this way playing guitar? This is the way my teacher in college would have us sit, and I just never liked it because I'd always have my neck cocked to the left for long periods of time - plus it just looks ridiculous. Anyway, sitting this way really gave my left arm the best scooping shape to allow my fingers to "lift up" into those strings.
Take aways
- Don't crush the strings in the left hand, "lift" them up into the fretboard
- If you're not crushing the strings, you don't need hardened calluses on your fingertips
- A relaxed left hand creates a relaxed and faster right hand
- The classical posture is actually good for something
Ishida (Walz #2 Andreina)
For those of you who've heard me plink this one out casually for years, well I finally hammered out a lot of the impossible parts of this piece. I mean its still impossibly hard, but wow it took me a long time. This one just has to be fast because its just a folk song that was transcribed for guitar, so I mean you can learn the notes and play it slow but its just not the same. Its loaded with ridiculous barre chords and slurs and varying tempos per the goddamn Adam Holzman recording I've listened to for 10 years...more than that wow 15 years.
Also it was a major hurdle just keeping the hands independent yet interdependent! What a guitar paradox?? Your hands influence each other, so if your right hand wants to play fast, your left hand will tend to squeeze harder which means slower movement and less accuracy - which then makes your right hand want to go faster to compensate which then makes your LH squeeze harder aaaaand it just gets worse and worse. So you have to keep your RH light and loose while keeping your LH firm (but not tense) but also ready to completely empty when it comes to the fast parts.
I'm still not happy with some of the buzzed notes, but of 5 sections consisting of 2 repeats there were only 3 noticeable ones that I've smoothed out from a 90% chance of buzz to maybe 30 or 40%.... anyway. I played the other 3 walz in college but this mother fucker was always the most ridiculous and impossible one and ironically its the most fun / light / gay sounding (as in gaiety) of the bunch. So even though its supposed to be a fun dance - its actually a brutal dictator that will turn your hands against each other!!
Ishida