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Posts: 377
Joined: Nov. 22 2005
From: Quepos / Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to ashod)
Yes, Happy New Years to everyone. I plan on starting this year off by winning the beginners challenge!
I have to admit that this challenge has been the best thing for me since I started messing around on guitar. I have NEVER had a goal and now realize that all of my previous practice sessions were not very productive - I was just strumming away half assed in front of the TV! Thanks for setting this up Cathulu! but I plan on beating you at the end of the month
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to lsnyman)
Isnyman, sure, jump in and give it a go! You have been lurking a while, this will give you something good to work on and focus your practice. I like your capos btw. I will include you in the list.
Mike, I think we are all using the tab, but thanks for the offer! If there is tab I don't bother with standard notation. If it is standard notation than I have to take the time to decode it because I haven't trained myself to do that well - I can only handle one note at a time, more than one note per beat and I can't play!
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
Just over 3 weeks left! I am trying to get my groove with the bulerias sixes beat, needs a bit more work to real feel it in my bones. I hope it all comes off when I record it! Hope you are all doing well on the challenge.
So, we have to decide how we are going to name our entries. Any ideas? Minerals, Flowers, Insects, Rivers, Cities, other? Our city of birth (or something nearby for maximum anonymity) might be a cool idea? Whatch think? Any strong opinions out there?
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
OK, cities it is! But lets choose cities where we wished we lived, so that it is not obvious who is who!
I hope everyone's practicing is going well! I need to take a break to give my left hand fingers a rest, my pinky in particular is acting up.
Also, don't worry if you can't play at full tempo - don't get defeated by that. With some mods I bet this would make a nice solea por bulerias falseta. So play it slow if you have to and it will be useful later. Just upload something!
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
Well, I have wonderful news for all of the challenge entrants! Jason has very kindly offered a three month account on his flamenco-lessons.com website!
Thank you Jason for that very very kind and generous offer!
So first prize is Ricardo's CD and Jason's flamenco lessons! How sweet is that?
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
Updated first post on the thread. Note minor changes to submission date and judging closing date, and instructions regarding submission of entries. Thanks everyone!
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to ashod)
I kinda want to enter, but I found this thread incredibly late and just started working on it tonight. I pretty much got it under my fingers though and despite a hell week of work coming up, I figure I can get a recording of it done before the deadline...does that mean I'm not a beginner despite me considering myself one? or can I qualify? Ricardo - looks like your a judge dude, and I don't really know the folks on this forum...am I beginner? :-) Thanks guys. Cool falseta either way!
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to ashod)
hi folks , and a friend on Here mentioned that im down for the Competition !! i cant remember signing up!! maybe i expressed some interest.
either way ill have to pull out have migrated to England , and just playing again, wish it was next month as the falseta is a must learn , im still scared with the bulerias.
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to minordjango)
Minor, you said you were interested! So now you are out, sorry to hear that. I will take you out of the list.
Villain, I am not going to police you and tell you whether you are a beginner or not. The falseta is not that hard, I picked it up pretty quickly also and I have done poorly on all the challenges I have entered! The hard part is playing it all nice and to tempo with the intro and outro compas with a compas track - at least for me.
You can judge for yourself from the past challenges whether you are a beginner or not. If you are intermediate and want to poach the pot well that isn't very nice, is it?
So please reconfirm if you are a beginner and if yes I will register you in the challenge.
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
TWO WEEKS LEFT... I better stop goofing around with my aimless noodling!
PS judges, competitors and lurkers, check the first post of this thread for contest details and who is judge, who is competitor, yada yada. I am not going to PM you until near the end if at all.
Hopefully there are no other Minordjangos who do not realize they are in the contest!!!!!
I think if we get at least 5 entries we will do good. Always a few drop out despite their best intentions - however I recommend you upload something no matter how bad, if only so I can look good!
PS, how about all the competitors reconfirming now if they are going to subit an entry or not?????
Posts: 495
Joined: Nov. 27 2005
From: North Carolina, USA
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
Yeah, that's the issue I am having. The notes are easy, I just can't get it to stay reliably with a backing track. Whether I submit or not will depend on if I can get it together. I'm not going to send something in that is obviously out of compas even to my ears.
I have been reviewing other falsetas(solea mostly) and working them into a compas track. I feel that this is helping my progress a great deal and so the challenge has been great for me.
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to Gummy)
Well, use a metronome - that might help. That is also in the rules and making progress. That way there is no contra beats that can throw you off.
Don't worry too much about the speed thing. That will come later. Some challenge entries were played like they were half speed and scored very well and the participant got a lot out of it.
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
Cathulu,
I think you are doing a great job of rallying the troops here!
Thanks!
Look guys...
The object of the exercise is not to play brilliantly.
The main idea is to learn how to come out of ordinary Bulerias rhythm strumming into a falseta and then back into rhythm strumming.
That's it!
It could have been any of 10,000 falsetas.
This one did not have any complicated LH work, so makes you concentrate more on the RH.
It also concentrates on some very fundamental Flamenco techniques, like moving the thumb backwards and basic p,a,i ras.
So what I was really meaning was is it really SENSIBLE to move on to Diego del Morao Bulerias in an altered key with lots of rhythmic arpegio and difficult chords BEFORE you can at least grasp this basic falseta?
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to cathulu)
quote:
If you are intermediate and want to poach the pot well that isn't very nice, is it?
Now I have bad conscience about it all (I'm a nice guy, eh? ). I don't know if I'm beginner or intermediate. The last intermediate challenge was beyond my abilities.
Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to Mike_Kinny)
quote:
I don't know if I'm beginner or intermediate. The last intermediate challenge was beyond my abilities.
Hi Mike,
Thought I'd chip in because I'm not in the competition so can be independent. It's so difficult, to judge because where do you draw the line. You don't just wake up one day and go "well I was a beginner yesterday, but today I'm intermediate"!!
The last intermediate challenge was, IMO, beyond intermediate. It was well difficult! Whoever set that challenge must have been crazy Kidding Anthony, but you really did push yourselves.
Listening to that columbiana I have to say I think you are edging more to the intermediate end when you play that. But maybe you play bulerias at a different standard? I can do you an intermediate Taranta, but my Alegrias is still beginner level.
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to Ailsa)
quote:
Listening to that columbiana I have to say I think you are edging more to the intermediate end when you play that. But maybe you play bulerias at a different standard? I can do you an intermediate Taranta, but my Alegrias is still beginner level.
Posts: 2277
Joined: Apr. 17 2007
From: South East England
RE: Beginners Challenge - Bulerias W... (in reply to Mike_Kinny)
Um.... it's impossible to decide! I would say you are pretty fluent, and not really in the beginner category. But to be honest, some of the previous beginner challenges have been won by people who weren't beginners either!
Cathulu I think you need to make a judgement about this - it's your challenge.
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