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Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to jonc)
quote:
I have no dancers or singers to accompany, or cajon players or really anyone else at all. When I play, I like to be outside on a nice day, in public, playing the songs that I love. Sometimes I play them as rigidly in compas as I'm able, other times I take my own time and see what happens without the structure.
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to minordjango)
I'd say playing other things has definitely helped. Playing songo, tumbao, etc. patterns on drums helps with rhythm, and fingerstyle bass really strengthens the fingers for picado cuz the strings are thicker. However, learning flamenco from day 1 is also good cuz you get all the correct habits right off the bat, but it's probably harder to diversify. I've always played a lot of stuff. I'll never be a true flamenco master because I have my foot in so many doors, so to speak, but I'm okay with that. I've always been a jack of all trades. I do really enjoy learning, playing, and listening to it, though.
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to at_leo_87)
I don't even really know.....what is the self perpetuated impression of the self, ability, or even self esteem? But I am with your joke florian, listen to nothing, play it the way you play it then tune it up when you have the capacity, such as playing a cd, studying scores, playing with people, or even just watching, or working with a teacher or other guitarist or a dancer. Go to Juergas.
Imagine what it was like before the record player even existed, people got along, and they went out of their silence and tuned it up. That's how it all began, and yet I think that it is the best way. And when you explore your guitar you become one with it. Call it year 1 and do this and then answer the poll, because I think that you need that silence to conquer, and it is the only way to really go about it if you want to carry on the thread and tradition. And I mean that. The rest can ultimately become a self defeating crutch of over exposure and really can be the cause of a lot of confusion. Gary
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to Ricardo)
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ORIGINAL: Ricardo
I would say for the folks that keep trying to get better and study or learn more about the art, always digging deeper, it takes about 10 years to feel accomplished.
What?? Pff, i cant wait another 5 years. I want it NOW!
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to minordjango)
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just $39.95, two pills to be taken every morning
theres also the organic way... mushrooms
quote:
I'd say playing other things has definitely helped. Playing songo, tumbao, etc. patterns on drums helps with rhythm, and fingerstyle bass really strengthens the fingers for picado cuz the strings are thicker. However, learning flamenco from day 1 is also good cuz you get all the correct habits right off the bat, but it's probably harder to diversify. I've always played a lot of stuff. I'll never be a true flamenco master because I have my foot in so many doors, so to speak, but I'm okay with that. I've always been a jack of all trades. I do really enjoy learning, playing, and listening to it, though.
Yes ofcourse its a greate advantage...i cant really think of any great disadvantages..maybe..hard to tell, you would be a better judge of that.. the only thing i could think of that might, be a a slight disadvantage.. if any ..is yeah the more you know the less room there is for new stuff, or are so set in your ways or so confident in your abilities that try to change flamenco to suit you rather than change yourself to suit it..
I know a jazz dancer who is very good at jazz...been dancing about 15 years jazz, he started dating a flamenco dance teacher and they do shows togheder (shes quite a decent dancer but must be so blinded by love that she sees what she wants to see)...now hes been around the scene about 9 years...and he dances...his version of flamenco
its AWFUL...embarasing, hes done nothing but trying to adapt some flamenco turns and caricature manarisms to what he does and bad cliques of how he sees when he sees a male dancing and what it means ..the sad thing is that hes been around for 9 years...had he not had all that confidence and bagage from beeing good allready at jazz he might have actually just learned flamenco and gotten decent at it...
theres people who were beginners or not even in the scene when he started who now are quite good and perform the real thing..while he will always be seen as a joke to flamenco by those that study it..
and its got nothing to do with his personaliity cause hes a nice enough guy..i am sure the guys in adelaide know who i am speaking off
You cant pretend to dance flamenco ..you either dance it or you dont...
but i am sure u are not in any of this categories cause as you say you love learning respect to that..(excellent way to be) my story is not in anway related to you.. just a rare example where what should have been an advantage for him turned into his worst disadvantage..but thats just one case..majority of good guitarists i know played other stuff before flamenco and they made it work for them and used the experience to their advantage
quote:
I'll never be a true flamenco master because I have my foot in so many doors, so to speak, but I'm okay with that. I've always been a jack of all trades. I do really enjoy learning, playing, and listening to it, though.
thats all that counts...and who knows...u might just have the perfect ingidiants
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to Ron.M)
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From there on, the more I learned, the less I knew
Thats a sure sign you are improving!!
From my perspective I thought as a teenager that to get "good" would to be able to play Cavatina. Once I could do that I set my goal as Asturias by Albeniz. As an older teenager I thought, if i can do that then I will be happy with my playing. I suppose by the standards of most people that would be considered a good level to reach. By the time I left England I considered myself a good player but after seeing the kids in Spain I realised that being good meant something else and so my benchmark went higher. Now I'm more frustrated with the guitar then ever. If I stop practicing for any length of time my technique goes back 3 steps. It takes longer for me to learn stuff than before and I forget material really quickly. Also the material that i try to tackle is way beyond anything I would ever have considered 10 years ago.
A friend of mine said that to get to a good level there has to be a time in your life when you are prepared to devote 2 to 3 years to practicing 6-7 hours a day. If you can do that you make a jump from a technical point view to being able to really play your instrument. Its hard to get from an amateur level without that serious chunk of study.
I guess if you consider being good as being able to give an enjoyable performance to an audience then I would say that 5 years of work and you will sound competant. However if you consider being good as playing like some of the guys on this forum then its probably going to take the rest of your life!!
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to Guest)
Man that's a tough question, what's good? Compared to many of the members on the foro i'm not too good yet compared to some others I'm not bad. I feel i'm ok after 7 years of playing Flamenco and I just started seriously accompanying a dance class about 6 months ago. I'm nowhere near good enough to condsider myself accomplished but I can play several Sevillana's, Tango's and get throught a simple Bulerias and Solea arrangement with a dancer. Dance class accompaniment in a mere 6 months has done more for my playing than the past 6 years sitting in my room playing against a metronome. I have had the opportunity through my guitar teacher to practice with dancers over the past several years and it really opens your eyes to how complex yet beautiful this art form really is... What is amazing is I can hit every accented beat in Bulerias when playing against the metronome, but when it comes to playing live with dancers, all bets are off! You'll understand if you ever have the opportunity to accompany and I strongly encourge you to do that if possible; you won't believe how much your skills will improve. Sig--
Posts: 33
Joined: Oct. 24 2008
From: New England, USia
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to at_leo_87)
quote:
jonc, where in new england are you? im in mass.
I'm in Western Mass... Amherst area. It's very beautiful this time of year, and in July/August I may spend a few extended weekends playing on the Cape (and then another couple weekends learning what I can from Grisha!)
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to at_leo_87)
florian you destroyed my money earner!!! ok organic mushrooms 19.95!!!$$$
i love your idea about the dancer esspecially in old OZ, Jazz gets a good blasting then sometimes someone decides to dance a sevillianas, and they are the best flamenco dancer in the world!!!.
miss old Oz great place.
we can practice 5-7 hours a day or more , yet we just feel music and think it all day im sure we can have some inspirational moments, but its true the more expierence we get on some level things are harder to achieve , ie on a technical level, i remeber i improved my picado by 20 beats in a month then i can improve them by 2 beats now!!!
igets harder m but the more expierence we have we can forget what our fingers do and we can observe ourselves while we are playing, then we can get depperinto the music well i hope !!!.
maybe i had too many muschtooms of the organic variety !!! .
hey florian who are some of the players down your way ?? i meet a few dudes 10 years ago , some cool players they had been learning classical with julian byzantine.
Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to jonc)
quote:
I'm in Western Mass... Amherst area. It's very beautiful this time of year, and in July/August I may spend a few extended weekends playing on the Cape (and then another couple weekends learning what I can from Grisha!)
i used to go to school in amherst. it's very nice there. i might take lessons from grisha as well. i'm near boston. if you're ever in the area or if im ever near amherst, let's meet up and trade some falsettas.
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to Florian)
Re: florian with that jazz dancer...
i guess the same goes for some guitar players, and all others. I have a theory, that the worse you play/dance/whatever, and the less feeling you have for the music, the more you have to pretend being "not advanced BUT...." at least "solid" (or something), and, no matter how bad you play or dance, that flamenco is about nothing but cante jjjjjjjonnnndo anyway, which means deeeeeeeeep singing.
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to XXX)
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have a theory, that the worse you play/dance/whatever, and the less feeling you have for the music, the more you have to pretend being "not advanced BUT...." at least "solid" (or something)
Sure, that is the standard publicity material for professional guitarists with mediocre techniques (or worse).
"I don't play fancy cold technical stuff...just the true Gypsy passion straight from the heart.."
I've been reading that sort of stuff from folk over the last 40 years.
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to minordjango)
quote:
hey florian who are some of the players down your way ?? i meet a few dudes 10 years ago , some cool players they had been learning classical with julian byzantine.
in adelaide theres.. Sal , Aloysuis, Mark, Vincenzo, Werner, Peter, myself
RE: How long did it take for you to ... (in reply to at_leo_87)
This is probably in the wrong place (please excuse) on the forum or has already been covered someplace else, but, I had some reflections in my sunroom by accident enlighten me too seeing my technique as I see everyone else's and I have found that working with a mirror helps with all techniques including - esp "picado". Has anyone else found this to be true?