On NOT speeding up, immediately after you can play it slowly... Maria Luisa in progress

I have to admit it.  I'm not a patient person.  Despite my best intentions, I'm always speeding up a piece before I can really play it.  Not to mention running the whole thing instead of just practicing the difficult bits.  I know this is not the way to do it, and indeed for the last few pieces I've made a definite attempt to get more focused, stop, and slowly concentrate on the bits that are eluding me.  I'm still only partially successful though. I practice it slowly until I get it, then speed it up and sometimes it works at tempo, sometimes it doesn't.  Last week my guitar teacher pointed out a part I had practiced slowly but it was still hit or miss on the play-through. He gave me the instruction to practice it slowly and NOT to speed it up for the whole week.  Well, a whole week is a long time (!) but I did manage not to speed it up for several days, and lo and behold, I can now play it quite reliably.    So this was something of a revelation - (Duh, you might say).  I actually needed to continue to play it slowly for many more repetitions before speeding it up.   Hmmmm.  So maybe that's why my slow practice isn't working so well.  So to test this theory I'm going to go back to some of the problem parts in Maria Luisa by Sagreras (as evidenced in the video - there are quite a few of those!) and run them slowly until they are thoroughly ingrained... and when I can finally play the notes reliably I will be able to start adding the dynamic variations - I know,  experts say they should be there at the beginning, but I'm still at a stage where one thing at a time works best.

My new favorite guitar-oriented objects...

These may not look much like guitar accoutrements, but nevertheless they are on my list of necessities.  Having alternately ignored, nursed, therapized (is that a word?) and even stopped playing in the hope of defeating tennis elbow, I had been prepared to consider anything!  It turns out yet  another benefit of classical guitar summer school was meeting with other amateur guitarists and swapping stories.  One of those came from MC, who told me the incredible story of having cured a painful case of tennis elbow in 6 weeks by diligently exercising with these rubber tubes.  I was somewhat skeptical, having been trying to conquer it (admittedly mostly while still playing the guitar) for the last 9 months, but as I said, as needs must, I'll try anything.  Accordingly I purchased the 2 easiest tubes (yellow is the softest) and started to follow instructions, which involve gripping the tube so it is twisted then slowly releasing the twist with the affected arm.  More instructions  here.

One of my concerns was that when I first started to do the exercise, even though the tennis elbow had settled at lot, doing the exercise was painful, and in the aftermath my arm was definitely aggravated.  And at the physical therapist I had been instructed to protect the arm - in fact, I was told not to reach out for things or put extra strain on it in any way.  Yet here I was doing the exact motion that stressed that common extensor tendon.   I checked with MC and with one of the professional guitarists at the summer school (how common is this injury, anyway?) and they both said - "yep, it hurts to start with, but persevere".  So I did.  It's now been 2 weeks, and surprisingly, things have started to improve.   My arm is not yet healed - it is still stiff when I take it off the guitar after holding it in one position for a while, so I make sure I stop every 10 minutes or so and stretch it out (using active stretches, as instructed by the PT).  But now I can grip and use my arm in ways I haven't done since before I damaged it with very little pain.  And I've graduated from the yellow tube to the red tube.  Yes it still hurts when I do the exercise (probably 2 or 3 on 10-point scale) but after stretching the soreness settles down quickly, and in fact it usually feels better after exercising.

Not that I'm just doing the exercise - it's a no-holds-barred effort to get totally healed before orchestra season starts again.  In addition to doing the tube-twists,  I make sure my arm is well warmed up before I start practicing the morning  (literally- I either dunk it in the hot wax bath and wrap it or use a microwaveable heat pad while I eat breakfast), I take frequent breaks to do active stretches (dorsal and ventral flexion), I don't practice for more than 45 minutes at a stretch, and I ultrasound it with a cheap but effective unit before retiring for the night.   So if all continues well, in another month or so....I'll be done.  wish me luck!

Classical Guitar Summer School for Adults: a Review

I've now recovered (and more or less got over withdrawal symptoms) from attending my first Classical Guitar "camp" (so named Summer School) organized by Simon Powis of ClassicalGuitarCorner.com

What a fantastic experience!  I've spent vacations at folk camps, acoustic guitar camps, and even a catchall crafts/social conscience/arts camp in pursuit of my guitar hobby before, but this was my first classical guitar camp.   Actually that's not surprising - I'm not sure there are many are available for adults as opposed to summer camps for kids.   Other folk camps are arranged around workshops or seminars that are either on a one-off basis or repeated daily with the same teacher over the course of the camp;  in some ways classical guitar camp was the same, and in others entirely different.

What was the same?  It took place at a college (the picturesque Endicott College)  during summer recess, and the accommodation was in the dorms.  However in this case we had the choice of a private bath, which was nice even though the dorms were the usual variety of basic. Meals in the college cafeteria were included - and the food was actually pretty good, with lots of options that included real vegetables not cooked for hours and choices that didn't include "fast food" franchises. Another similarity was great concerts given by faculty in the evenings, and it was especially nice for early risers because they started at 7pm allowing time afterwards to socialize without burning the midnight oil. There were also a daily seminar - topics appeared to be largely determined  by the teaching faculty  - for instance there was a great presentation on guitar music written by contemporary Australian composers (including excerpts of the pieces) given by one of the teachers, Janet Agostino.   Speaking of teachers,  there was an outstanding line-up of teachers including Raphaele and Janet Agostino from Oz, Ben Verdery and Gohar Vardanyan from New York, Dave Belcher from N. Carolina and of course, Simon Powis from New York.  They expended an enormous amount of effort coaching us in our ensemble pieces and working with us in our individual lessons, in addition to giving us great concert performances.

What was different?  Well it was classical guitar after all - not so much jamming, more sight reading.😳   We were all assigned to ensembles at one of 5 different levels on the first day,  and spent the 5 days learning 3 ensemble pieces and 2 pieces for the entire orchestra, none of which we had seen before, for a performance on the last night.  In other words, over 3 hours of rehearsals a day plus a lot of practicing (!)  We also got 2 private lessons with the teachers where we could present a piece we were working on.  All in all we were playing or practicing many many hours every day - (perhaps not the best thing for a recovering tennis elbow - but you only live once...).   And did I mention the student "open mic" night?   What a blast!  This was not a 'seriously let's present a classical piece'  such as you might find at your local classical guitar society open mic night.  Indeed, people not only played classical pieces, but also presented their other guitar lives,  and my were there some great performances!  There were original compositions, singing, duets,  other guitar genres...  you just didn't know what to expect but it was all good!  About half the attendees presented something, and I think it might have been my favorite evening except I was on edge all night because I was almost the last to present.  (Of that, we will say little, except that I didn't collapse and it was a very very long way from perfect.) Despite the stress,  many of us were talking about getting together to play duets so we could perform them at camp next year... I've already got a piece picked out and a new guitar-buddy to practice with.    Other great things?  We had a guitar-oriented stretching seminar given by Simon's wife, the Lindy Hop dancer, Evita.  To be honest, we would have liked that every day given the amount of practicing we did! And Simon arranged a special BBQ next to the beach right after the final performance. Simon also arranged a Q and A session - from the students to the teachers - that everyone can hear in a podcast.

What did I like most?
When I got back, I was asked by my guitar teacher what I liked most about the camp.  The short answer is that I really liked meeting, interacting with and working together with other classical guitar learners towards a common goal.  Most of us are not so young, and maybe the last time we had such an experience was way back when in college.  Learning classical guitar is after all so often a solitary hobby.  However none of that would have been possible without a wonderful camp framework and committed teachers recruited by Simon, and the mutual support and encouragement of a camp attendees - we see it on Simon's ClassicalGuitarCorner.com website and it was amply demonstrated when we met in person.

What, if anything, would I change?
I will sign up again in heartbeat if it's exactly the same as this year.  Personally I would prefer fewer ensemble pieces to learn, and maybe more technique-oriented workshops.  Although there was no scheduled down-time, I wouldn't change that - I personally skipped one of the talks to take a break, but that was when it fit my schedule and interests.

Goals for next year?
If I wasn't convinced before, I'm convinced now.  I need to learn to sight read.  I'm on a mission. Also this year wasn't the best for me for presenting a piece either for a lesson or a performance - my enforced rest beforehand meant I really hadn't prepared, and of course the stage fright was there in force.  I'm determined next year will be different.  I'm definitely going to start taking opportunities to perform in addition to practicing in my room.

BTW if you want to see what we managed to make of 5 pieces in 5 days - Simon has posted them, plus many pictures,  on his CGC facebook page.  And if this kind of experience appeals to you, I couldn't recommend it highly enough...  already can't wait for next year!

Classical guitar camp coming up - I can't wait!

Pic from CGC Summer School

To say I'm excited is an understatement!   In a week's time I'll be in Massachusetts at the start of my first classical guitar camp organized by Simon Powis from NYC.   This is not his first camp, though I believe it will be his first in the US (he hails from Australia).  I've attended Folk camps and larger craft/music/social camps with my guitar before - and they are a great deal of fun (where else can you play along with everything from lap dulcimers to washboards?)  However this is a totally new animal, and something of a challenge to boot -  all week we get to practice in ensembles ( a small one geared to our playing ability and a large ensemble consisting of everyone) for a performance at the end of the week.  Yikes!  I'm used to having a couple of months to get proficient in ensemble music.  I can only hope that everyone else is much better at sight reading than I am and will cover for my lapses.  In addition, of course, concerts by the faculty (Simon Powis, Gohar Vardanyan, Ben Verdery, Raphaele and Janet Agostino and David Belcher), plus workshops and the opportunity to do an open stage performance.   What a treat! [Except for participation in the open stage performance, which will not include me, although I am intending to be ready to do it next year, honestly...]

Pic from CGC summer school

Naturally I'm a bit worried that I haven't been able to practice the orchestra music because of my arm,  (we don't know which parts we are playing in any case). I'm even more worried that we are supposed to have prepared 2 pieces for a private lesson.    When I signed up for this, I obviously didn't know I'd be out of action for a couple of months right beforehand.  I can only marvel at the amount I forgot in 2 short months of not playing.  It remains to be seen whether I manage to claw something back (without stressing my arm) or plead incompetence and sit that one out.

Visesnut with cover

What I am going to do is take my new guitar ...  I'm not even thinking about what a Southwest commuter hop might possibly do to it - though I do expect it will be well protected in my spiffy Christmas-present Visesnut case.  I now have guitars in 3 different sizes so it's good that the case adjusts to fit the guitar - I would most definitely not want to cart it around in the very solid but exceptionally heavy case it came in!

Endicott college dorms

I probably should be more worried about the accommodations - dorm style beds might well be great for teenagers, but I'm not so sure about those of us who have advanced quite a few years since!  And I don't even have the option of packing a foam mattress, like I did last time I did the dorm thing.   Assuming I survive the experience,  I will definitely be reporting on the accommodations as well as everything else when I get back!

In the meantime I have a couple of lectures to prepare.  Stay tuned...

My Marcus Dominelli guitar

 630's ...  Dominelli on the right

Well I managed it: a month of extremely limited guitar playing followed by an entire month without using my left hand on the guitar at all.  Quite an achievement, if I say so myself.

The most notable results of this seem to have been that I have totally forgotten anything I ever knew how to play on the guitar, and my finger-ends hurt. Oh and the pain in my arm is much improved, but sadly not totally gone.  To be honest, if I didn't have classical guitar camp coming up in just over a week, I'd probably let it sit a bit longer, but there's ensemble music to prepare, so very gingerly, I've picked up the guitar and am working on small segments.

Actually it's the perfect stuff to practice on - nothing too challenging to fret, and I can practice sight reading too.  So long as my arm doesn't get any worse, I figure I'm good for the time being.

Anyway this is the perfect time to do an initial review of my new Marcus Dominelli double top 630/50mm guitar.  Spruce and cedar top (with the Spruce uppermost) and Indian rosewood back and sides.

Really really nice workmanship - very precise understated elegance.  And the main goal - easy for me to play - is more than accomplished.   Marcus carved the neck to a profile I sent him from my other guitar and it feels just the same, only everything is a bit closer and easier to reach.

To the main question - how does it sound?  What attracted me to these guitars was the very sweet, penetrating yet full trebles - and this guitar lives up to that expectation.  An absolute pleasure to play the higher notes and just listen to that bell-like sound.  And it's loud.  And resonant - very resonant. That's before taking off the soundport cover (yes it comes with a little magnetic piece of curved rosewood to cover the soundport in case it's too loud).

A couple of things I'm still fine-tuning - on arrival the 3rd string sounded a bit dull compared to that gorgeous crystalline sound on the top 2.  Replacing the d'Addario nylon with a denser Savarez carbon string seems to have sorted that out.  UPDATE Aug 8: best yet - Hannabach Goldin HT super high carbon on the third string.  I experimented with some La Bella medium tension strings (thinking of my arm) and they work fine on the bass but the trebles lost a lot of punch, so back to HT's on the trebles - currently nylon Hannabachs. UPDATE Aug 8: back to the D'Addario HT except for the 3rd string.  I'm now pretty happy with the trebles, but may be experimenting more with the basses.  How do the basses sound?  I definitely think the spruce comes out in this guitar - I think of cedar as offering a mellower softer sound: this guitar is darker and more focused, and certainly not lacking in the loudness department.   It will be interesting to see if the cedar comes out more as it gets played in, Overall I am more than happy with it. My (admittedly non-scientific) test of a guitar is simply whether I want to go on playing it once I start and this one passes - I don't want to put it down!  I suspect it will be quite a while before my other guitar gets an outing...

Oh the exquisite pain! It's here but I can't play it!

Well maybe the title is overkill, but it certainly is frustrating.   I finally got the message that someone of my advanced age has to be sensible about practicing to avoid injury. Hence,  I decided to reevaluate how I'm going to fix the tennis elbow problem : especially since the first approach, physical therapy and toning down the practice hadn't worked.  So next step - attack the problem from several directions.

First there was rest. I'm now on week 4 of guitar (and everything else) rest for the left arm.  With the addition of heat, ultrasound and massage I can finally open a jar with my left hand again.  Yeah! Can still feel it though, so I'm not there yet.

Second - I got really familiar with the use of a timer. Rest with the LH means I can still practice with my right hand, but I've learned my lesson.   The timer is set to 15 mins.  It's a signal - every 15 mins, check for tiredness or stiffness, take a short break, switch to something else for 15 minutes or stop!  Of course I'm not spending that much time with the guitar, (there's only so much time I can keep enthused about Tarrega RH exercises as found in Scott Tennant's Pumping Nylon or the devilish exercises in Ricardo Iznaola's  Kitharalagous), so it's not hard.

Third I reevaluated my guitars.  I am really fortunate to own 2 great guitars.  And I need another guitar like I need a hole in the head, but... ever heard of GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome)?   Anyway, justification came in the form of minimizing the chance of future injury.  Why? the short scale guitar fits me size-wise but has a thicker neck than I would like and is not enormously loud (can be a problem when trying to meet our orchestra conductor's outsize volume requests).  To remedy that problem I have a full size double top that makes a truly awesome sound and has the perfect neck shape.  It's the one I play most, but is a bit of a stretch, being longer in scale and wider in neck width and string spacing.  The solution?   Obviously get a guitar that is a combination of both!   Easier said than done, but then I heard a demo of a short scale double top guitar on this is classical guitar  by luthier Marcus Dominelli in Canada.  The exchange rate is currently very favorable to the US, so to cut a long story short he built me a double top guitar the same size and spacing as my 630 but with a neck shape carved from the template of the bigger guitar.  On time and on budget, (is this the only time I wish it could have taken longer?) and despite being delayed 2 weeks by customs, due no doubt to rosewood of all types being added to CITES appendix II in January 2017,  it arrived this week.

Hence the title.  I've noodled on it, it is definitely loud! but can't actually ♫♫♫ it.  If my guitar teacher wasn't on tour I'd take it for him to play, but in the meantime, here it sits........

First seven days 😟😞😔😑 😟😞😔 of "complete guitar rest" in pictures

Day one:    Felt tempted to play "just a little bit"   Arm not happy.

from meme.com

Day two: Have the guitar on my lap?  Nope. Arm doesn't like that either.

man playing dobro

Day three:  Too much time on my hands. Check out my photo library - this one was pretty cool...

At the Borghese

Day four:   Get working on theory book again.  Eke out a couple of pages.

Day five:   Guitar lesson. Who'd have thought there was so much to do without actually playing?

Right hand position from thisisclassicalguitar.com

Day five:   Could spend the rest of my life messing with nails (but I probably won't).

image from guitars from spain blog

Day six:    Back to theory.  Tell me this is not impossible!

Time to start over

Went to the final concert of the season of my erstwhile orchestra playing with mandolins.  Look at the setting in Charlestown senior living chapel. Cool!

Baltimore classical guitar orchestra with members of mandolin orchestra

Day seven: Give up on suspensions. Spend evening at a house concert instead.  Fantastic music from the Kithara Project (Scott Borg, Adam Levin, Matthew Rohde) at the house of Yevgeny and Svetlana Kalinsky. Here's a link to them playing from the tube

On to week 2...