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JasonMcGuire -> RE: **CANTE CHALLENGE ENTRIES** (Oct. 8 2009 1:34:26)
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Perca --------------------------
Score: 22
Comments------
Intro : A safe and unobtrusive way to start..... That can work in your favor or against you when accompanying. It can be an opportunity to really inspire the singer or at least try to. This intro says, I am here to serve you sir and not get in your way. It gets the job done. One comment here on technique.... rasgueados need work. It seems like maybe the up stroke in the pattern you are using is a bit weak or hesitant. I would recommend doing lots of slow grunt work with a metronome to clear it up. The remate to call the cante for the salida wasn't strong enough for my tastes. The chromatic descending chords are typically done with a triplet type of rasgueado instead of just down strokes. I think thats what I am missing.
Salida: Once again it got the job done and the compas was steady and easy enough to follow. There are 3 places, that I would have changed the harmony in some way to move with the melody felix is giving us. First... at 0:38 (after the initial "ayyyyyy") you return to the A chord when Felix has not resolved it to A. It would have been better to stay on the Bb chord and wait to resolve at the end of the next compas. You have to get used to letting the cante dictate your moves more. I know why you resolved there. You let up for moment in the relentless tracking of the melody that is necessary even to pull off a traditional performance. Its not that what you chose was wrong, but it could have been more WITH the cante. Next point...
Felix is VERY clearly emphasizing a C note and it really commands the guitar to respond in some way. A C major chord or a C7 would have been great to hear there. Other choices could be "Amin7" or "C phrygian" AKA "Cmaj(b9)". The Amin7 choice wouldn't really work here because of the intensity in which Felix gives the C note warrants the use of something a bit "harder" sounding. Last point for the Salida.... Felix hints at an Ab (this is of course Ab adjusted for the capo, not concert Ab). He doesn't give this note very strong, but its there and it would have benefitted from you in the very least adding an Ab to your Bb chord to make it a Bb7 chord. Typical accompaniments would make use of a Bb with an Ab in the bass AKA "Bb/Ab" When my performance is posted you will see how I decided to treat this situation... ;)
Oooppps... one last nit picky comment... You gave a really cool remate here BUT YOU DIDN"T STOP. After that succession of downbeat chords which sounded great, you really needed to resolve the A chord and stop or just let it ring out until Felix started the letra. Give your singer space to do his thing. When you do that it lets him come in relaxed and makes the beginning of his letra more special and more intimate.
1st Letra: You got the chords right. Thats great. Now learn to give a LOT more Aire up for the cause.... The C chord for the "Cambio" is a little funny sounding. You repeat that voicing so I am guessing you have a fondness for it. It works but other voicings may work better here. Sometimes a voicing like that can sound better even if moved over a half a beat in either direction. In accompaniment "timing is everything". The F chord in the second "Cambio" is early. Felix delays the resolution and the guitar needs to do it as well. If Felix had sung this "normal" you would have been right, but Felix chose to be a bit fancy and its your job to accommodate him when he chooses to do things like that. This does show that you completely understand the changes for a common Solea por Bulerias letra. Now its time for you to begin to shade and ornament your accompaniments. Keep listening and it will come. You are doing great.
Falseta: Cool. I love it. Nice remate bit once again YOU DIDN"T STOP. Let the guitar ring and do some of your work for you. Stopping at or around 10 and letting the guitar ring is a warm invitation for your singer to come in. Listen to some recordings and check it out and see how many times that is the case. You kept that groove going and its like maybe you needed to keep strumming to keep your place or something. This is a simple way to improve your accompaniment right here. When you want the singer to come in.... give the remate and towards the end look him or her dead in the eye, give a clear chord at or around 10 and let it ring and wait..... come in at 3 of the next compas ....... even if he doesn't come in. If he does you will be GOLDEN and if not you will still be playing dynamically and it will work great.
2nd Letra: Good job holding the A7 out and waiting for Felix. The G minor you played fell with the melody and resolved nicely to D minor right with him. Well done.The response (respiro) really needed that "walking bass line" though. More rasgueado seems like it was an after thought.... You are going to need lots of little "responses" for various different chord resolutions. Start building a library of them. You will be doing more of those than falsetas in most situations. The compas got a little messy in the first Cambio (2:53)... That C chord voicing is nice here though. Fits better than in the first Letra. A nice strong ending.
All in All there is a whole lot that is "right" about this performance. A few little things can really make the difference. You are ready to start making those special moments. Stay focused and never take for granted what the singer is going to do next even if you think you know him well..... especially if you think you know him well... always assume he is going to screw you up with fancy stuff and you will always be on your toes ready for anything he gives you... Once again, GOOD JOB!!!!!
Salmonete-------------------
Score: 25
Comments------
Intro : Killer. The falsetas in this performance are killer. But I fear you gave more importance to them and less to accompanying your singer.... BAD DOG!!! Down boy!
Remember this... its better to find this out here than in a more important situation. That said I love the sound of your guitar and the falsetas are super flamenca. One critique is the way you hop the bass notes around in the remate before the salida. You do that in other places in the performances as well and it bugs me a little every time. Its like you are trying TOO HARD to be unique.
Salida: you didn't get the C chord (0:50) or the Ab (0:56) either.... see the above comments on Perca's Salida. Its not wrong but its also not quite "tuned in" enough for my tastes. Sharpen up that radar!Also your choppy remate (0:58) at the end of the salida was a bit in the way of what Felix was doing. Its played well, but its not the best thing to have played in this particular moment. It would have sat better in the following compas after the Salida was completely finished. And also there is that hop around Bb, G, Bb , A thing again...(1:04) don't like it sorry. Connecting those notes with ligados around the Bb note would work great though... maybe just a pull off to A in between the first Bb and G there... just an idea.
1st Letra: Yes! you held your ground and stuck to that A chord. Good Dog!...It really works here. You could have dipped into G minor for a bit (1:17) at the end of that elongated first line, but the persistent A chord works good too. Glad you knew to stay there. Ouch.... (1:31) a Bb chord when he resolved to A. You gave him the opposite resolution than the one he gave you. Bad Dog!... First "cambio" was great, a nice decending walk down to the F chord.....classic... but the problem..... you did it again in the next cambio...... Bad Dog!... Its too repetitive. Too calculated. Practice 15 different ways to resolve a C7 to F cambio. The "cambio" is about bringing the idea of the letra to an apex. Repetition doesn't push that sentiment across very powerfully. If you "FEED" your singer here, he will give you some pleasant surprises in return. Still its a good job, but I didn't like that "choked" A chord at the end of the letra either.. (1:50)
Falseta: Killer. You are a jerk.:) That was cool. I'm stealing it, but when I do it... I am going to GIVE A KNOCK DOWN DRAG OUT SUPER INSPIRED REMATE THAT SOUNDS LIKE PIECES OF WOOD ARE FLYING OFF THE GUITAR... because thats what i like. And also when I do that I am going to STOP and let the guitar ring out or cut it and let the reverb tail whirl around like a duende in the air before the singer comes in... ;) I was taught that a falseta is only as good as its remate. This was a SMOKIN' falseta with a wimpy remate... Bad Dog!
2nd Letra: You could have held strong and firm to that A chord here too and really prolonged the tension before dropping the Dminor Chord. What you did worked though, so I will leave you alone about it... "Cambio"..... hmmmm Bb to F without a C7 chord.... and that same decending walk down as before.... very bad dog! You should know better. You are a player at a level high enough to know not to be that calculated.... right? Well now you know.... Yes!!! A cut and a whirling duende reverb tail... finally (3:01)... but yet again the same descending lick and OUCH, DAMN, SUPER DOOPER OUCH.... out of compas! BAD DOG!!!! (3:07 to the end)
To sum up.... you have a great sound and great material. You need to tighten up the accompaniment a bit and don't rush like you did at the end. I rush a tiny bit in my performance too so you all can bang me over the head with the shortcomings of my performance once its made available. I had to knock off serious points for the out of compas and repetitive cambio thing though.... could have been a home run with just a little more love given to the cante. You are a fine player and I enjoyed listening.
Lubina--------------------------------
Score: 15
Comments------
I can't really get into to the details because this one is a mess. Its all out of rhythm......
However...... you got the harmony correct.... the chords change with Felix even though you are COMPLETELY out of compas.... I don't know how in the world you accomplished that.....bravo!... Still compas is compas..... I gave you 15 points because you got things half right. Get your compas together and you'll be awesome. What the heck is that OTHER knocking sound? Its a mess, but I am amazed at the chords changes being right. Rhythm is a unifying factor and when it is adhered to at even at an elementary level it enables all kinds of analysis as is the case with the above submissions. There are many other benefits too..... like people being able to follow along with you and vice versa.
Normally, I encounter lots of players who can play in compas but can't get the chords right with a singer. This is the opposite... All you have to do is fall into time.... go with the flow... technique and everything else thrives in a rhythmically accurate environment. I would recommend you take some sort of percussion lessons... learn to hit stuff in time with music and then things will start to fall in rhythm better on the guitar. Its as if you aren't hearing the rhythm of what's there and because of that there is no unity between the different elements...... except for the harmony that is..... but thats just one part of your job. I think you can overcome this, but I tell you..... its going to take a lot of hard work and perseverance. I'm rooting for you.
You may feel like you are taking huge steps backwards to do something as elementary as beat on percussion instruments in time, but believe me it won't be taking steps backwards. It will be filling in some blanks that for some reason were not established earlier in your musical education. Get a metronome and just tap your finger exactly with the beats at 100bpm. Now set it to 200bpm and do the same thing. Go back to 100bpm and play what you played at 200bpm.... those are "eighth notes".... they move at twice the speed EXACTLY of "Quarter notes" which is what you were tapping at 100bpm.
Think of this..... fold a piece of paper perfectly in half.... Now fold the folded paper in half again perfectly...... and again.....etc..... unfold the paper and you will see that you have created a matrix or a grid...... THAT IS WHAT WE DO WITH SOUNDS. If your "folds" aren't perfect the spaces in the grid are all out of whack and the pattern is convoluted. This is the problem with your performance. The folds are way off. Not just a little bit......If you can visualize music like the paper metaphor, you should be able to produce sounds in the same manner. One other quick thing... in music as far as basic rhythmic structure is concerned.... things get "folded" either in half (compound) or on thirds (complex).... in half is "eighth notes".... in thirds is the concept of "triplets"....
It gets much more complex than that but its a start. I think you just need to find a way that the concept CLICKS in your mind... sorry for the pun. Good luck and I truly feel that you can certainly accomplish this.... I have seen students overcome the very same obstacle. Get to work!
Merluza-------------------------
Score: 20
Comments------
Damn! I hat to have to get into this again, but rhythm is really off here... but there are some fantastic things about this performance too. If this person gets their rhythm together everybody needs to look out. There is a great accompanist lurking behind the the veil of bad rhythmic skills here... It sounds like it may be a hair too fast for you, but in the other hand you are doing some VERY classic and wonderful things in your accompaniment. The choices you made were very classy and to be honest.... had they been in rhythm better, I would have given this a near perfect score (intonation was bad at the beginning)and also, one chord in the last "cambio" of the second letra is out of place. I scored you high because of how much I like your sound and your ability to choose the good things to do that sound very flamenco.
Now get the rhythm together get on with the show. Please... You have too much going for you not to fix this one issue. Its a huge issue though. Without conquering this..... you can't get to the next level.
Intro : The guitar is a little out of tune.... Rasgueados aren't crisp enough, Arpeggios are behind... everything is a little behind.... is there a latency problem with your recording device... are you hearing yourself late in the headphones? I wonder if that may be the problem.... Once you get going the arps get better in time (0:13). At (0:32) there is a flubbed ligado, but the thing you are playing there is very nice. The falseta led really nicely into the Salida. It was well thought out.... if it weren't for that shaky rhythm... damn!
Salida: Rhythm is going okay here. The rasgueados are again not controled enough. You need to fold some paper too and examine it and apply what you see to your music. At (0:52) the rhythm falls apart again. Golpes are off a hair in many places. What you did where others missed the C chord that Felix hints at (0:49) your choice is wonderful... the standard old 1,2,3 cadence. It goes SO well with what Felix did.... but its slightly out of time. Damn! Listen VERY CLOSE.. at (0:56) Felix is NOT giving you a G note. Its a G#... one fret higher. Make a G minor 7th chord barred at the 3rd fret. Add your middle finger to the 4th fret 6th string (Ab or G#)... strum it... that is the tone he is giving you... The chord is called Bb/Ab or read out loud in English as Bb over Ab, or Bb with Ab in the bass. Its essentially a Bb7 chord with the 7th in the bass... At the ends of many phrases in flamenco singers give this tone in many different palos. You need to learn to differentiate between that tone and the G that singers sing which would be calling for a G minor chord. The more you KNOW what's going on the better you will make choices...
I am not going to pick on your rhythm anymore for this critique, but you really need to work on it. Its keeping you back, when you could be way ahead of the pack. Not through pyrotechnics, but musical taste and sensitivity. But you really can't have musical taste and sensitivity when your rhythm is a mess. I hear a diamond in the rough here. Please fix your rhythm whoever you are!
1st Letra: Everything is good here harmonically speaking. You also repeated the same lick in the second cambio like I mentioned with Salmonete. Don't do that. Learn 15 other ways to do that change C7 to F. I even like how you stop and let chords ring.... that rhythm though...ruins it. Please Dooood!!! You gotta fix that.
Falseta: It could be a great falseta. I like the chords, and when I hear in my head in rhythm what you attempted to play..... it makes me give you a nice jaleo.... but.... when I listen to what is actually there.... I want to kick you for not spending more time on your rhythm... I know I said I wasn't going to mention it again, but I can't help it. I really want to like this performance, but as important as compas is.... most will not take the extra time to hear the tastefulness that is hidden behind the lack of rhythmic control.
2nd Letra: Good Stuff. I love the little ornament on the A7 chord at(2:46). But at (2:51) you get to the F chord too soon. Felix is falling slowly to the resolution and you brought the ground right up to him and cut him off. What need to happen there was either to play another passing chord or two...Gminor11, Gb7(b5) or just the Gb7(b5) after your C7 chord. The other option would be to STAY on the C7 and wait for Felix to fall onto his A note so that you line up the F chord better with that A note he is singing. The ending break would be SO MUCH MORE powerful with stronger rhythm. Please work on your rhythm. You have something very good going on, but it will be hard for others to get on the same page with you if you don't solidify your rhythm. Its not really compas thats your issue. Its rhythm.... tempo. If you get that your compas will be great. I hope you can understand that there is a difference in the two concepts. You have compas, despite your imperfect rhythm.
Chicharro------------------------
Score: 28
Comments------ Well accompanied, very nice falsetas. A couple of small rhythmic problems, but not huge... you still need to work on rhythm so those things don't happen. At least not on things yu are submitting for critique..... ;)
Intro : Great Falseta and it sets up the Salida well.
Salida: Yes!!! you got the C chord. Congrats... you have "radar"... and I really like the playful trip you did with the Gmin7 chord at (0:52)... and double YES!!! you added an Ab note in the middle (3rd string) to you Bb chord to match up with Felix at the end. GOOD DOG!
1st Letra: You didn't repeat the same lick both times in the "cambio".... Good Dog!
Falseta: Cool falseta (not as cool as the opening one but still nice), nice rasgueados in there, they have "aire" ... I really would have liked to hear a "double" alzapua to finish it though. It sounds like you can do it. It would certainly up the anty if you could whip out the old double alzapua when necessary. Everyone notice the clipped A (2:26) note at the end of this falseta with 2 taps... this is a well delivered invitation for a singer to enter...
A little messy rasgueado at (2:30) you lost a point there.
2nd Letra: Okay here is where you lost the other point..... you didn't hold on to that A7 chord long enough. Felix did NOT give you the Dminor tone. You just jumped to it because you have heard others do it that way. Felix went back UP before resolving and you really need to stay inside the A7 harmony there... or as an alternative given a series of passing chords that fall into D minor gradually. Waiting for the singer to give the tone is a big deal once you have proven that you have compas and ears for the tonos, which you have. You had the "radar" at the begining, but you lost it here. You have to stay focused 100% when a singer is singing to deliver a polished accompaniment. This was very good despite one little rasgueado slip up and the D minor thingy. Also a tiny bit of rushing at (2:56) The ending is sort of uninspired, but almost like an old anthology recording. I don't know about you, but when a singer sings his heart out, it makes me really want to dig in at a place like that as to sort of ask the question to the audience.... did you get that? did you hear what my compadre just said? Its all about support..... right to the last note. Nice Work.
Rodaballo----------------------
Score: 26
Comments------ Alternate tuning... you lost a point for that.... just kidding. It is a nice sound, but too lazy for me. It would have seemed more appropriate to play in that tuning in a more aggressive manner. Its a dark sounding tonality and could have gotten downright spooky had you added some "bells and whistles" I get bored of the alternate tuning trip. But I can also see the attraction. I used them quite a bit 10 years ago. The chord at (0:13) sounds way to "Guns and Roses".... Find another voicing for that puppy. Its the MOST IMPORTANT tone in the flamenco Phrygian harmonic framework. It needs to summon a primal need that can never really be quenched, instead this particular voicing makes me hear Axel Rose..... "Every Rose has its thorn"...... Ouch!!!! Bad Dog! A chord voicing can have a huge effect on things. Change one note in that chord so that it matched the dark mystical vibe the rest of the voicings in the performance have.
Intro : Killing time.... filler.... a falseta would have been nice.. ;) I know filler when I hear it. I am the king of killing time.... you must play for dance a lot..... ;) It becomes necessary to kill time when you play for a lot of different dancers and you need atmospheric stuff that creates a mood but that it adaptable to many changes rhythmically to fit with various dancers styles. When there isn't much of a melody then you don't feel so "put out" by a dancer asking you to change your "beloved heartfelt creation".... these types of things are great for that.... of course when you want to make a dance situation really special, you can't really "phone it in" like that. Oh dear.... I have gone off on a tangent.... must be getting tired.
Salida: Rasgueados need work. (0:50) The note Felix sings deserved special attention, but you just kept chugging along as though it was an every day run of the mill situation. Bad Dog!
1st Letra: Too much strummety strum and not enough detail work. The dissonance at (1:45) is cool. It works for me. This is an exceptionally bright sounding guitar. New Strings? Soundport?
Falseta: Nice Falseta for the most part but you completely lost it at (2:20)
2nd Letra: Very tastefully done chords at the beginning of this letra. You did resolve early like others did but you jumped right back on the Dominant chord and did some nice passing tones here. To take back what I had said on the previous submission (I think)... Felix does resolve, but then goes back around again and that really is why you shouldn't stay on the D minor chord there. I hope that clarifies things for those who may be scratching their heads about my earlier comments about that section. I kind of like the late cambio at (3:05) its a bit unsure, but I think it could have been nice if played with more conviction. This person knows their harmony it seems and knows how to accompany somewhat, but more attention to detail is really what this performance was lacking.
Pirhana-------------------------------------
Score: 25
Comments------ Another wiseguy with alternate tuning... geesh...when will you guys learn. ;)
Intro : Solid good sounding rasgueado. Nice. Still this filler and not a falseta. You must be the other guitarist who plays with the guy above.... ;) Rhythm is a bit shaky throughout. Work on it.
Salida: You missed the "special tone" Felix gave. (0:50) Bad Dog! You also missed the other "special tone" at the end of the salida (0:49)...
1st Letra: all pretty good. You munched the alzapua a bit at (1:24) The cambio didn't work out too well here... (1:32) You essentially did the same lick twice for the cambio, even though its not really a lick... you need to vary those pretty much always. Make it a rule. I like the Bootsy Collins, Parlament/Funkadelic ending (1:49).... "Free Your Mind and Yo Ass will Follow"... ;)
Falseta: the Bootsy lick is back.... "stick it on the goodfoot" You need to develop this material more. Take a good bit more care when choosing material when its going to be reviewed by your peers. Take more pride in your work. Thats my advice..... You know what to do and when to do it for the most part, but you need to find a real purpose and let it show that you are 100% invested in what you are doing. These alternate tunings can scare the holy crap out of people when they are done right and with real dedication.
2nd Letra: Bad Dog!!! you went right to the D minor or equivalent chord..... ouch. Dude..... you have to take her out to dinner first. You just unwrapped the surprise like it was a pack of smokes..... Bad Dog!
Besugo----------------------------------------
Score: 20
Comments------
Intro : None.... you did it like me... right off the original non-extended version ;)
Salida: You got the C chord.... good ears... rhythm not as solid as I like it to be... and you missed the Ab that Felix sang at (0:28).. even if they are a bit pitchy, you have to learn what they are going for... go to a piano and play a Gmin6 (G,Bb,D,E).... now put an Ab on top of it. It should sound fairly crappy. That is what happened in your part. I know probably most people don't get so "Type A" about stuff, but the great players do even if they play it off like "its nothin'"
You were paying real close attention, got the C chord trick and dropped the ball on the Ab note that Felix sang..... Bad Dog!
1st Letra: Going good, going good, nice rasgueado, nice rasgueado, nice rasgueado, nice rasgueado, nice rasgueado,..... what's up with all of that rasgueado business. The first one (1:00) I though cool, and then a wrong chord (1:02) and then more and more and more rolling rasgueados.
Cambios are fine... good enough I suppose...
Falseta: Punched in, edited falseta without even the decency to use crossfades and level/eq matching to cover your tracks..... minus 10 points... ;) I thought I hear another edit earlier in this recording but I dismissed it as my being completely exhausted by repeating myself over and over again. ;) I love you guys and you will all get your turns to tear me apart when Ailsa puts my VIDEO up. ;) Edits and puch-ins aren't really acceptable in a competition like this you know.... Busted. BAD DOG!
Picado needs some work... F melodic minor, All modes, All the way up the neck, in 4 note sequences, with a metronome at 16th notes at least 120bpm to start.... Don't stop... all the way up the neck until the first pattern repeats and you are over the 12th fret... your fingers will feel like they are going to fall off....... but if you resist and relax, you will gain endurance and your picados won't fizzle out as much..... (1:46)
For a puched-in falseta it could have been nicer. Seems like you worried more about the picado than making a nice falseta to inspire your singer to rip his guts out and leave them on the stage. I don't want to seem like I am picking on you for your use of picado. It can be and EXTREMELY effective tool to express emotion, but here it was the subject instead of the punch line. Another bad punch-in or edit at (1:50)... I bet what was there before the punch was cooler.... I betcha it was.... and you wouldn't have been docked 10 points for it. ;)
Okay enough of that...... lets finish this one..... I am tired.... perhaps overly grumpy.... apologies if it seems that way.
Ooopps, more gratuitous rolling rasgueados.... (1:53) I am glad you are getting them together and they sound good. Now learn not to abuse them and you will be golden.
2nd Letra: One of the very coolest thing happens here.... of all the submissions, including my own... no one used this much open space..... you stayed clear of Felix and turned his elongated melisma-fest into a real event. A dancer would have loved you for this one... a redemption perhaps.... GOOD DOG! (1:55) Hats off to you for that one. I am giving you 5 points back for that. But then you go right back to the rolling rasgueados again.... oh dear.... Well, I have to give it to you Besugo, at least you made the last submission fun. I would now like to hear you accompany the whole track with no picado and no rasgueados..... you should take me up on the offer... you will learn a tremendous amount by doing so.
To sum things up....... I am very pleased that all of you learned the right chords for the most part. The details that I mentioned here and there are really the next step to becoming a better accompanist. Still, I think this was a great challenge and I wish all of you the very best, because despite the fact that I got after a few of you about some things, one fact remains... You ALL took the time to take part in this challenge proving that cante is important to you. You all did some investigation to find out what the changes were if you didn't already know them. All of you are winners. Congrats and a HUGE thanks to Felix de Lola for singing for us and inspiring to learn, Florian for misspelling lots of words and last but not least Ailsa for being the keeper and uploader of files.
My video will be posted soon for critique and examination.... also... Nigel (PacodeGarcia) has transcribed it for those who may want to learn from it. A .pdf file will be made available sometime very soon. Its already finished, so I imagine it will be offered as soon as the video is up.
Cheers,
J
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