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Posts: 71
Joined: Nov. 24 2008
From: St.Helens, England
Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book)
Just looking at the third and fourth 'tresillos' in Graf-Martinez book one, and there seems to be some ambiguity with the fingerings marked - those at the side of the page being different from that marked on the notation/tab itself.
Tresillos 3 is marked both p up - q down - p down andp up - q down - i down
Tresillos 4 is marked both p up - a down - p down andp up - a down - i down
I only noticed this as I picked up the book and automatically started playing the downstrokes with p, before checking the notation again. However, IIRC, on the accompanying DVD he plays the downstrokes with i.
Or is it fine to use either/both, rather than being a misprint? I can't play them properly with the i downstroke yet, so can't say whether it sounds any different.
Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest
RE: Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book) (in reply to sam_m)
Sam,
That book just happens to be sitting next to my computer. Yeah, the stuff on the margin is a misprint, and the stuff in the notation are the tresillos being described. I guess you could play them with a P downstroke, but then they wouldn't be much different from the second tresillo, the P-up, IMA-down, P-down. The last two, PQI and PAI are both very standard triplets and definitely worth learning. I think PAI is probably the most common tresillo for most people, so you'll probably want to work on that one even if it's awkward at first. It certainly was (and still is) for me. Tresillos are the technique that I feel the least satisfied with in terms of my own progress. I feel like I've got the basic mechanics down, but they're still pretty slow and pretty clumsy.
Posts: 1607
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania
RE: Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book) (in reply to sam_m)
Actually both variations are possible. So I don't think it's a misprint.
I attended a class with Gerhard some years ago, and got the impression, that he has a liking for p down on the last stroke of his tresillos. He also seems to prefer an uneven rhythm (i.e. dum, dumdum rather than dumdumdum).
Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
RE: Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book) (in reply to sam_m)
i have that book and i just interpreted as alternative ways to do it. i learned p-a-i first. p up - a - p down was weird for me because the downstroke wasn't with the back of a nail.
Posts: 71
Joined: Nov. 24 2008
From: St.Helens, England
RE: Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book) (in reply to sam_m)
Nice one chaps - I figured I'd learn both ways even if it was a misprint, then I've got more to choose between.
The i downstrokes on those last two are going to take some work, but I suppose it's the 'awkwardness' of using i that makes them sound quieter than the ima variations.
I'm not finding them too tricky to learn so far as long as I concentrate on moving the fingers from the knuckles - if I get sloppy I end up turning my wrist with my fingers rather than just with my thumb and then it's much harder to control and goes wrong pretty quickly!
RE: Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book) (in reply to sam_m)
Plenty of players do tresillos with the wrist, don't they? Myself included. I can pretty much shake my hand in front of the strings and get the desired effect. As long as the thumb is slightly straightened, I don't see how it is wrong.
RE: Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book) (in reply to sam_m)
p-x-p p-x-i
its common and useful to learn both, since the sound is different. And as far as i have heard the movement should come from the wrist, as most as possible. This way a greater speed can be achieved later. I also think that the sound will be more even. Try to get more resources, for example the Nunez DVD. For deep technical studies, the concrete movements for example, it is better than the Martinez. If not the best.
Posts: 1607
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania
RE: Tresillos (from Graf-Martinez Book) (in reply to Gummy)
quote:
Does anyone know if he is still playing? Some time ago I heard rumor about his bad health. Hepefully he is up and about and playing.
I corresponded with him via e-mail a couple of months ago; he seemed back to reasonable health and mentioned he was renovating his house ... In an interview I read, he said that he had problems with his fine coordination since an accident, but was still giving lessons.
I don't know if he is still giving public performances though.
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