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Posts: 2007
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
recovering tremelo as an old dude
I started studying flamenco when I was 26. After a few years I had a pretty good tremolo. It was at that time better than my teacher's, who was then in his sixties. I saw how he struggled with it and thought it was probably old age. I had heard recordings he made as a young man and his tremolo was super solid. Arthritis perhaps. After a number of years I started playing for dance, and tremolo became unnecessary.
I just really stopped practicing it, and that combined with surfing in cold water, it became impossible. At a class 18 months ago, the teacher asked me to play one and I couldn't. I mean not at all. I used to play Recuerdos de la Alhambra at solo gigs no problem but 18 months ago not even the easiest ones.
Since then I've tried to recover it. Really took it apart and tried to develop it correctly, all notes even, and with the pause after the bass note. I've made a lot of progress but no way I could perform a tough one in public at this point. 18 months.... I'm 62 now. Not ancient by any means but wondering if I'm fighting a windmill. Still surfing in cold water, and have on average two hours practice time four times a week. Thoughts?
Posts: 3497
Joined: Jul. 12 2009
From: Washington, DC
RE: recovering tremelo as an old dude (in reply to Mark2)
You're still young, Mark2, and you will be able to recover the tremolo.
For what they are worth, a couple of observations on my experience with the tremolo follow below.
I learned the flamenco tremolo from the beginning and nailed it down well. For some reason I find the flamenco tremolo much easier to maintain steady control over than the classical tremolo. If you want to regain "Recuerdos," you will probably go for the classical tremolo, as the extra stroke in the flamenco tremolo makes for a slower piece.
My flamenco guitar maestro, Paco de Malaga, taught me to develop a stronger tremolo on the trebles by stroking the basses harder with the pulgar. Stroking harder on the basses with the pulgar automatically strengthens the iami strokes on the trebles.
Go for it and enjoy.
Bill
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Posts: 3487
Joined: Jan. 20 2004
From: Austin, Texas USA
RE: recovering tremelo as an old dude (in reply to Mark2)
Mark2-
I'm 82. I may practice a little more than you do, since I probably have a freer schedule. I had to give up working ten years ago, because it was taking up too much of my time.
My problems were with pinched nerves from a bone spur in the neck that affected the left hand. The bone spur went away. Steady work has pretty much overcome the problems. Initial progress was slow, but I can play now, and I'm still improving. Tremolo is not a problem.
I notice a wide variation in physical abilities among people of my age. Segovia, Bream and Sabicas concertized publicly well into old age. But I have friends in their seventies who have been highly skilled and successful artisans, but who are beginning to be limited by problems with their hands. Years ago i knew the influential teacher Eddie Freeman, once an accomplished flamenco player, who was unable to play at all in his early 60s due to arthritis. He finally found a medication that worked, and got back to playing.
Age itself is not a barrier to tremolo, but the effects of age vary sigificantly from one person to the next.
Ten years ago my left pinky wouldn't even go to the right string. These days I'm working on bulerias, thinking I will probably be able to get up to a reasonable speed.
Once I began to progress after starting over, my chief obstacle was impatience.
The only way to tell whether you can get your tremolo back is to give it a shot.
RE: recovering tremelo as an old dude (in reply to Mark2)
Why dont you try pimi as alternate 3 finger tremolo. I learnt this from my teacher in Spain a few years back. Sounds extremely even and is indistinguishable from pami
Posts: 15725
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC
RE: recovering tremelo as an old dude (in reply to Mark2)
quote:
Really took it apart and tried to develop it correctly, all notes even, and with the pause after the bass note. I've made a lot of progress but no way I could perform a tough one in public at this point.
I would have to hear an example of that. Are you making 4 even notes i-a-m-i at the speed you want or need, or is that the main problem? How is your basic p-a-m-i arpeggios? If arps are good then try the tremolo as an arp pattern before doing it on one string.
Last thing to try is play the i-m-a-i using staccato stops. Of course that slows you way down but as you increase speed you learn to feel a nice grip.
Posts: 2007
Joined: Jul. 12 2004
From: San Francisco
RE: recovering tremelo as an old dude (in reply to Mark2)
Thanks everyone for all the advice and encouragement. I have never used the four note tremolo. My teacher taught me Recuerdos with the flamenco one.
I'll try to upload a video after I've warmed up. I practice with all five notes evenly spaced and more often with a pause after the bass note, then the iami. I have also practiced just doing iami on one string staccato without a bass note to try to develop speed. My arpeggios are ok, but just ok.
Once warmed up I can do tremolo on the high e string ok, but b string melodies, and when the melody note changes before the bass note really slow me down.
I'd say it takes me about an hour to reach a place where I'm at what is my current best effort. And some days the results are much better than others.
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