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There has got to be some sort of limit to how big it can get, isnt there?
I know for a fact he has turned several late comers away, only to promise them "next year" and then had to deliver, while at the same time being loyal to his regular students. That is why it is so big I feel. I think his limit is 40 guitar students, which he may have exceeded because he was being "nice". I never counted. I just know that if there are more than 10 guys it can be hard to take for yourself all you want. The last day of class there were only 8 guys I think in the advanced class. Very fun.
Gerardo speaks broken english. He doesn't like to converse, but he can address certain things in english. It is not important, because he has a couple of translators always present. There are people from countries that don't speak spanish, but know english. If you speak either spanish or english, you will be ok.
I hope he breaks the class apart one day, to have have two weeks so there are less students each time. But he admits he likes teaching, but only one week is quite enough! I recommed going to Tino because he can really break it down easier than Gerardo, because he is learning it himself.
So wait... Does Tino go to the intermediate morning class and then try to regurgitate what Gerado taught that morning?
I don't think I would make it to Gerardo's class that early. I Would definitely be too hung over, tired from exploring, and from chasing around all the ladies. LOL!
So wait... Does Tino go to the intermediate morning class and then try to regurgitate what Gerado taught that morning?
I don't think I would make it to Gerardo's class that early. I Would definitely be too hung over, tired from exploring, and from chasing around all the ladies. LOL!
He does not "try", he does exactly that. But the morning class is advanced actually, the slower class at noon. You just have to get used to life style there, that is all. It is like you party all night after dinner (10pm), then you take "nap" for a few hours before class (all hung over), but it is great. Then you eat a bit and go to bed (siesta) for several hours if you want. So the real sleep is the siesta. I have seen Gerardo out with us till 5 Am, then he is driving his bike with a coffee and guitar on the back, 9:30 am. No problem. He has never been late, but I have missed class twice!
Do u go every year Ricardo, i would like to try and make a gaol to go in 2008(too late this year) and maybe try and learn a little bit of conversational spanish in the meantime. Whats the go with the accomodation, can u find a cheap place for a month or so? What sort of motorbike does Gerardo ride into class.
hey guys , its sounds really cool doesnt anyonbe have any speciafic webaddresses or emails , dates and or prices? ill be in madrid in a few months very keen.
especially for Entri, (His video is cool!!!)ramon, jesus-his son, viejin, david cerreduela and of course G Nunez.
also anyone know of a site which shoes a giging list for people f\going through madrid , love to see tomatito and well anyone .
This photo really shocked me... 30 students fiddling around...and Gerardo sits just 10 meters away so that you can barely see the small movements which he does whith his hands... And Gerardo doesn't play very loud,.. I guess its mostly hard to hear and see him in a class with 30 students.... Well, I went to a lot of workshops and still do. I learned that more than 5 students at a time can really be annoying. The second bad point is, you learn one or two falsetitas in 4 hours and the obligatory exercises for "warming up" (=time killer) and the repeat of the stuff which you learned at the day before (=time killer no.2). In the end it is nice to see closely how advanced players mover their hands but the falsetas and exercises are not worth the money.
Here the photo:
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I attended the gerardo course last year 2008 and I thought i was the best thing i have ever done and as such i am now booked onto the one this july!! But i will address some of the concerns put forward here. Firstly the number of students is addmittedly a slight problem but even if you are not fast enough to follow the class there are always at least a few licks or even just points that you can grasp and actually just sitting and playing guitar with someone as great as he is really improves your guitar playing no end and also there is the exchange of material between the students during the week and the fiestas every night which are both very very educational as well as brilliant fun! With regard to sound gerardo is always amplified so hearing him is never a problem and of course when he is explaining something there is a respectful silence anyway! the only issue with that is present at every course with many guitarists at one time which is everyone trying to work out what he just showed us at the same time!
That's a beautiful room/hall. Where exactly is that?
I suppose the worst lessons ever were by Davey Graham the Folk/Blues guitarist who would get a bunch of students together at this house and put on a Ravi Shankar LP, say "listen to this carefully" and then go round the corner to the Pub, returning half an hour later to turn the LP over and then go back to the Pub.
He'd then come back half an hour later and charge everyone a tenner.
im there a little late this year and head up from amdrid, if anyone is keen to catch up to exchange ideas and hang out see things , let me know ill be there trying to learn as much asi can as well as learning some spanish all on the cheap and have fun also.
Doit - just to explain. Firstly Gerardo is miked up. The building is like a decommisioned church and it has a sound system. Everyone in the room can hear what he does. He does explain the falsetas and fingerwork very slowly too (at least in the intermediate class) Secondly, you cant beleive the amount of material he gives you.He does way more than 2 falsetas a day. I recorded around 50 falsetas last year and at least 3 complete compositions. Gerardo rarely repeats what he did the day before ...mainly because he cant remember it. Many of the falsetas are improvised or composed during the week. For me its been one of the most amazing opportunities to spend a week with someone of that level and also to get to meet and hang out with all the other musicians. Its made me think about the guitar very differently and raised my level in a way that I couldnt even have hoped for. It feels like a reunion now when I go back.
PS. I am looking to cut costs and share a double or triple room in los Helechos. If anyone is interested can you pm me. Thanks.
last year we did alot of stuff in the beginners intermediate, the one good thing i must say is that gerardo spent 15 mins each day going over the stuff he did with us the day before and it really re-enforced the stuff.i hope he does the same this year. first year i went was a real struggle.second year was better and i picked up alot more, hopefully this year it'll be better again.
as far as i recollect last year we did, solea, solea por buleria, guajira, colombianas, a really cool alegria silencio, and on the last day some basics of tientos and malaguenas.
another thing id say with the economic downturn there will proably be less people at the course this year than others. i wonder how it's going to pan out?
Well, I wasnt at gerardos classes in past... I made these experiences with other smaller classes... Yes, to meet other guitarists is always fun. And if its for a week, it is even better.And I'm sure you can exchange a lot of material within the group. Does he allow recording with cam of the material which you bought from him? Or do you only get half for your money? I often made the experience that its not allowed to record because they fear youtube...
Does he allow recording with cam of the material which you bought from him? Or do you only get half for your money? I often made the experience that its not allowed to record because they fear youtube.
you can only record audio.
if gerardo did a thing whereby the course was recorded each year and a copy sold to only student's who attended that would be great.
el carbonero let me record both video and audio and threw in a few fasletas i did't learn saying during classes saying, "eso es para aprender hasta que próximo vez"
As the classes got bigger over the years, Gerardo started to mic up his guitar, he did not need to in the past with much smaller classes. The advanced class ends up getting smaller and smaller each day (drop outs who move to the easier class, or folks just too hung over and sleepy), so by Friday, it is usually just myself and 6 other guys or so, and it is almost like having a personal 2 hour lesson with the master....amazingly worth it.
The huge class foto is the lower level class where he teaches much slower and repetative traditional material. I don't use my guitar but just listening WAY in the back of the cathedral, I have memorized tons of great material that I use myself to play and teach....all without even having my guitar!!! And I dont' record audio or video of stuff I want to learn. I figure if I don't leave the class that day playing the stuff, I will never REALLY get it anyway.
I say for most players, it can be nerve racking to have Gerardo call on just YOU to play something in front of a small group of other top players, so most students feel quite comfortable "lost in the sea" of the other students in the larger group class.
So doit, don't knock it till you try it is all I can say man.
Its strange how everyone learns differently. I am more than slightly envious of Ricardos ability to sit in the back half asleep and memorise everything without a guitar. Its a very handy gift indeed. I have to record everything and write it down. Its only by learning material a bit beyond my ability that I improve. I rarely am able to play new material on the day he teaches it, especially if the technique is new to me, and I only really understood some of the material I recorded some months or even a couple years later. I figure that if I learn and practice it will edventually get easier and make sense.
Hey Ricardo, I found this pic of you studying.
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I don't use my guitar but just listening WAY in the back of the cathedral, I have memorized tons of great material that I use myself to play and teach....all without even having my guitar!!!
ricardo, has this come about naturally by years of continually playing the guitar or did you ever do ear training of any type?
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