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Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest
Practicing Falsetas
How do y’all like to practice newly-learned falsetas?
Playing it over and over ten/twenty times without stopping?
Play it once, full stop; play it again, full stop, etc.?
Play it with compas strumming and remates in between each falseta?
Something else?
I imagine different people have different learning styles, but I also figure that certain approaches are more effective than others in programming the muscle memory to perform such tasks in the best possible way. I’ve never been too systematic in my own approach to practicing individual falsetas, and I’m sure I could stand to be more focused in that aspect of practicing.
I don't have anything wise to offer, but the topic is interesting.
I do all of the above, but learning new falsetas or entire pieces of music is probably my biggest weakness. It might be down to a lack of structure, or that i stick to repeating the same old things for too long (i always feel there's more to be done with the material at hand.. even the most basic stuff).
I'd like to shift gears. Guitarbuddha and others on the foro have talked warmly about good music reading skills. I'd be practicing sight reading more often if i knew how to make it less frustrating! It feels like standing at the foot of an intimidating mountain - already having trouble breathing at the base camp, slipping on children's tunes, knowing that the slopes will only get steeper...
I have collected a huge load of transcriptions and videos, but I still mostly learn falsetas from taking guitar lessons, or transcribing them from records myself.
I've began learning new material over solo compas tracks. I strum a few compases, begin the falseta and go as far as i can before messing up. when i mess up i try keeping the rhythm, return to compas strumming, repeat etc. all the while keeping things relaxed, not having a hurry.. when i get stuck i look at the score again or listen to the recording. Having something other than the sound of my guitar keeps out restlessness and makes repeating the same thing many times less tiring.. it even becomes meditative.
I really really like slowing it down to ridicoulos slow speeds and analize each small portion and notes.
i have some very very slow loops wich are perfect for this.
then i find areas that dont feel natural to do so i keep repeating those until they feel more natural.
for me it dosent really matter how you practice it, the goal is to get it....and ofcourse i am human i dont always do what i know...but most times i do it that way.
When I am studying a tough new falseta, I often transcribe it into Guitar pro 5.
Its then easy to slow down and hear exactly how each note fits in with the next. this can be a time consuming activity but ultimately its very helpful. this process has also helped me learn a bit more about notation and in particular note duration, which has been very helpful.
Slow repetition building up speed. I work in sections too. I also listen to the falseta played by a pro if I can, so it gets ingrained into my head.
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