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I'm always making grimaces when I play. When I look great guitarists, they look relax almost of time while they are playing. Is this because they has interned the rythme and playing with more concentration of what they do, or something else? What do you think on that point? Christophe
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
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ORIGINAL: ChrisAudio
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ORIGINAL: gerundino63
I have once heared that flamenco guitarist suppose to show their feelings trough their guitar, not the body/face.
Peter
excellent!
Dont take it too personal. That is a quote of a Paco DVD if im not mistaken
Making faces is very important. In some certain moments. Players with no visual expression are hard to watch. Not only faces, you can also jump around. There needs to be a minimum of visual stimulation (sorry for the educated word) for the audience.
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
I dont know with which professional guitarrist you compare. F.e. Nino de Pura is a professional.. and watch his face. I think it doesnt look relaxed...
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RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to Doitsujin)
Look at Jeronimo Maya when he was a young lad. His mouth looked like he was sucking a lolly (think that's popsickle in the US). However, now you don't see it - his Daddy "ironed that out" I believe. Good thing too - he did look pretty stupid! Grimaces and facial contortions are part of an artist's expression and communication with the audience, and are ok if they aren't too pretentious. There was a period during the Nineties when almost every young budding flamenco guitarist seemed to put on the slightly overdone facial expression of Vicente Amigo where he periodically stares up at the heavens as if momentarily moved by a fleeting astronomical event.
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to d.eduardo)
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the slightly overdone facial expression of Vicente Amigo where he periodically stares up at the heavens as if momentarily moved by a fleeting astronomical event.
hahaha! Ya, some expressions of guitarists are odd and can be annoying but i think it's nothing bad really, just funny sometimes.
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
It's impossible to keep a straight face if you play with any sort of intensity. Watch Gerardo Nuñez and Paco Peña etc. They play with a fixed professional smile which is practised, to avoid looking like an idiot. (Julian Bream gets the World Cup for that He always looks like he's about to sh*t himself and bust a vessel in his head at the same time ) BTW That Jeronimo clip is pure magic, regardless of the grimaces!
cheers,
Ron
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A good guitar might be a good guitar But it takes a woman to break your heart
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
There's a difference between uncontroled movements wich look really stupid, and expressions of the face that are controlled. It's clear that uncontroled grimaces, like for ex. the young jeronimo, diminish the performance in a whole.
Of course when performing a high speed picado, I think it's quite logic that you can see the intensity of the technique on the face. But when you really enjoy the music, when it all comes natural, facial expressions will be a logic result. It's not only in enjoying music that people make strange expressions
What you don't want, altough musicly I can appreciate the performance;
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
FIND THIS REALLY AMUSING LETS ADMIT IT MOST OF US WATCHING GUITARISTS CONCENTRATE ON LOOKING AT THE PLAYERS CHORDS RASGUEDOS ETC TO LEARN A FEW TRICK FALSETTAS NOT WONDER IF THE GUYS NOSE HAIR IS GETTING IN THE WAY ETC I PREFER TO PLAY WITH A BROWN PAPER BAG OVER MY HEAD SO THAT PEOPLE CANNOT BE DISTRACTED WORKS EVERY TIME!!
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
what a great post! my problem is groaning when I play, when I am really in to it I just cant stop, sort of humming along. hmmm, how to stop, maybe one of those stop snoring things up my nose or just a rag in my mouth...
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to stephen hill)
Practice stopping Stephen !!
Play something easy,or slow, and let yourself groan. Then consciously relax and stop but try and keep your playing even. Then speed up a little and try again.
Then when you find yourself graoning in performance you will have the skills in place to relax and stop it.
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
Don't worry about it, these kinds of things iron themselves out the more you play, and you transfer your concentration from physical to musical the more natural playing the guitar becomes. Just remember that you are you, and not to try to look like other people, because when you do, that is when you start to look strange or false.
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to gerundino63)
Peter, I think that means that guitarists are to avoid theatrics while performing, and it's a kind of tradition among guitarists. This would be to let the attention be drawn to other performers on stage, again stating the purpose of the guitar as accompaniment, though guitar may take a solo performance. It's just that way.....
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
HUMAN BEINGS ALL BEING TOTALLY DIFFERENT OBVIOUSLY HAVE DIFFERENT REACTIONS BOTH PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY IN RELATION TO THE MUSIC SO THERE IS NO REAL ANSWER TO THIS POST JUST BE YOURSELF KEEP A GOOD POSTURE GRUNT GROAN MOAN SNORT SPIT IT OUT ITS FLAMENCO!! THIS APPLIES TO THE DANCERS TOO -BE UNIQUE IF YOU.R DARING ENOUGH !!
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
HI SAMWISE YES THAT IS A PROBLEM-- DUCKING N WEAVING IS A SIMILAR AFFLICTION BUT BOBBING CAN BE A PROBLEM IF YOU ARE PLAYING A RYHTMICALLY DIFFICULT PEICE- YOU MIGHT HAVE TO BRING IN CONTRA BOBBING FOR EXAMPLE !! DANCERS COULD BE DISTRACTED EASILY BY AN OUT OF COMPAS BOB-- N BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOULL BE OUT OF A JOB !! JUST KEEP PLAYING YOUR STUFF WOBBLING OR BOBBLING
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
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HI SAMWISE YES THAT IS A PROBLEM-- DUCKING N WEAVING IS A SIMILAR AFFLICTION BUT BOBBING CAN BE A PROBLEM IF YOU ARE PLAYING A RYHTMICALLY DIFFICULT PEICE- YOU MIGHT HAVE TO BRING IN CONTRA BOBBING FOR EXAMPLE !! DANCERS COULD BE DISTRACTED EASILY BY AN OUT OF COMPAS BOB-- N BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOULL BE OUT OF A JOB !! JUST KEEP PLAYING YOUR STUFF WOBBLING OR BOBBLING
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
I've just read an interview with Capullo de Jerez:
quote:
When you try and look good you can't sing well. To feel flamenco you have to pout with your mouth and with your eyes, because the quejío (lament), the jondura comes from within like a torrent a cantaor can't just open his mouth and sing, he needs charisma and strength. Flamenco has to break you.
and so it goes with tocaores imo.
cheers
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vengo de los san migueles si no me caso este año que yo me caso el año que viene
RE: Grimaces while playing (in reply to ChrisAudio)
Haven't you seen Paco de Lucia doing picados lately - he does some sort of head flicking thing with his eyes squeezed shut. Of course still manages to look cool!!
a few good ones on this live (seemingly covert) recording of camaron