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... And your stamina is just off the charts. Mindblowing. Awesome man, Ole' TK
Grisha your video really captured a capital performance, with simple but elegant images and a spell casting sound. Your recent work dispels any reservation that you deliver an impeccable yet mechanical performance. This was an infectiously passionate video which had me irresistibly sleepwalk back to my (forsaken) blanca to revisit a few falsetas. Beautifully done.
Woow! That was ridiculously well played. Good drive in the rhythm and just stellar all around. A gem this video, well shot and high quality.
Grisha, I notice you're not sitting crosslegged. Are you using a footstool here or is it classical flamenco position with both feet on the ground? I'm interested in what you find to be different in this position compared to crosslegged, especially concerning the angles and positions of left and right hands. I'm having problems with my left wrist. I need to find a way to keep it more straight while playing. I've tried a classical flamenco position but I'm very clumsy at it so I can't tell if it's worth learning well, or if it will end up being better for the back but heavier on the wrist. Would be greateful for your views.
Tank you so much for all your comments, my friends! It brings me a sense of relief to read the positive reactions to this performance. I changed the way I practice a couple of years ago. I decided to do almost no technique and concentrate on expressiveness, simply trying to pinpoint what do I want to say with each composition I play. It's all about story telling, and character and expression rises above the beauty the voice and clarity of diction. I also found that practicing technique excessively, especially scales, takes away from the freedom of expression, making everything you play sound one-dimensional.
gj, I am very glad that you changed your mind about my playing! I have always loved playing this music, but I have to agree that my inherent perfectionism when it comes to guitar playing took away some of the human element, the drama and struggle that make people relate to flamenco.
mrMagenta, I am sitting with both feet on the floor, usually raising my right foot a little. I use a guitar support now because my back was killing me a couple of years ago. Now I have no problems with my back and it feels very comfortable to sit straight with the support. One added benefit is that guitar sounds louder because there is less contact with your body that potentially dumpens the resonance of the guitar.
On a side note... I just tried to sit in a classical position a couple of days ago. It never worked for me without the support, never felt comfortable... but boy, does the support make a DIFFERENCE! All my tension disappeared, just gone. The guitar needs no clinging, no holding, it just sits there neutral relieving both arms from the duty of holding it in place. And it's stable, too! Amazing stuff!
One critique, however, is I can't be as musical with the classical position, because the guitar feels a bit isolated from my body, so I cannot use the same range of nuances in vibrato. It just feels disconnected from me, objective rather than personal. Strange...
Tank you so much for all your comments, my friends! It brings me a sense of relief to read the positive reactions to this performance. I changed the way I practice a couple of years ago. I decided to do almost no technique and concentrate on expressiveness, simply trying to pinpoint what do I want to say with each composition I play. It's all about story telling, and character and expression rises above the beauty the voice and clarity of diction. I also found that practicing technique excessively, especially scales, takes away from the freedom of expression, making everything you play sound one-dimensional.
It's amazing when I hear basic compas played over and over by someone musically talented, and then when I play the SAME compas over and over (with similar, if not the same, nuances) it's boring to hear...! But it's the same thing!
Later I learned it was about dynamics...and it is exactly as you described. Two people playing the exact same compas, but one person does it in a way that sounds more expressive. Adjusting the volume of certain strokes, emphasizing the clarity/color of one note in the beat, and even extending/shortening one of the phrases a bit earlier/later or changing the tempo at certain parts give the entire piece much more character and is very entertaining and interesting to hear.
Ricardo even mentioned that too, when he said:
quote:
Actually, I just checked it out again, it's not really short any number of notes, it's just that you pushed the tempo way up and then the remate (finally strummed A chord) seemed to be early since you then resume the tempo you had before the alzapua launched. It actually has a lot of drama that way, it's cool.
Thanks for the reply btw. I used a 'gitano' support for a while, but stopped because I didn't get my right hand in a good position for thumb playing. I probably didn't find the right way to use it, must try it out again.
I hear you're coming to Germany, that's a step closer. I hope to see you at the guitar festival in Uppsala, Sweden some day. :-)
I used a 'gitano' support for a while, but stopped because I didn't get my right hand in a good position for thumb playing. I probably didn't find the right way to use it, must try it out again.
try moving where the support attaches to the guitar. you can get the guitar more or less where it would be if you sat cross-legged, or more like where it would be in the "traditional" position. either way shouldn't be a problem for right hand.
.... and while i'm here, superlative playing as always Grisha