帕肯宁大师班笔记（1996年）

wangjianguo

Christopher Parkening Master Class Notes
February 24, 1996

Jeff Kenyon (jkenyon@indra.com)



Feel free to link to this page. However, please do not reprint or copy this to another WWW site without permission.

DISCLAIMER: I wrote this off of notes I took during class, and off of memory. I take FULL responsibility for any and all mistakes in this account; if something is obviously wrong, I probably misheard, or misinterpreted what I heard.



On Saturday, February 24, 1996, I was able to audit a master class given by Christopher Parkening at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. The previous evening, Mr. Parkening performed a solo recital at Boettcher Hall.

My prose here is somewhat clipped and terse, but I should point out that Christopher Parkening was very enjoyable and engaging as a teacher. We were in the room for four solid hours, with no breaks (probably a real challenge for those who had opted for the second cup of coffee at breakfast); despite having had only five hours of sleep the night before, not once did I find myself bored, or my attention wandering. I'd definitely recommend attending one of his master classes, should you have the opportunity.

There were nine performers. Each one played their piece, followed by approximately fifteen minutes of commentary by Mr. Parkening. I've added no criticism of individual performers (and in fact, I've ommitted the names of the performers).


Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Tarrega)
Parkening (hereafter referred to as CP) began by stating that Segovia did not like tremelo, feeling that it was too gimicky, and that (in Segovia's opinion) this was the only good tremelo piece. It should be played very warmly, especially on the first string. CP commented on hearing nail clicking, and examined the student's nails (which turned out to be fake; ping pong balls). CP felt that fake nails could not achieve the proper result. He suggested that in nail emergencies, one might try a "silk wrap" from a manicurist, but that you must (obviously) shape and finish the last 1/16th of an inch yourself. Two coats would be best.

Let the left elbow "fall" from the instrument, rather than letting it stick out. To cure that particular problem, CP's father attached a weight to his elbow!

Tremelo technique: Pepe Romero hung the fingers directly over the tremelo string (knuckles directly over the tremelo string). Thumb plays; "a" finger goes down; there is always a finger that is secure. If you watch John William (who CP referred to as probably the greatest technician), he always has a finger down. As a practice device, from flamenco technique: try p-i-a-m-i. Slightly angle wrist, to bias to "a" finger.

In slow noteplaying, he could hear nail click. Solution is that the finger touches the string at an angle. Use fingertip as a "shock absorber," traverses to the nail without clicking.

CP described a few of the sounds that could be obtained. For a ponticello sound, one would (1) play with all nails (risking buzzing), (2) play by the bridge, (3) pluck strings up, and (4) finger instrument in first position. For a more dolce sound, one would (1) play more toward the soundhole, (2) with a combination of nail and flesh, (3) "pluck" the strings laterally, back, "like unscrewing a jar", and (4) play in the upper positions. The standard right hand position would have the index finger over the lower part of the rosette. It's important to use a variety of sounds and tonal colors in a piece.


Missionera (Bustamente)
CP pointed out that this is a very rhythmic piece, and that it is important to keep the rhythm, syncopation. Make sure rasgueado is very clear, and not muffled. Watch for nail clicks.

The student's guitar had a thigh brace attached (using suction cups), and he used this brace in lieu of the traditional footstool. CP asked why, voicing a rather negative opinion of them. This opinion was based on aesthetic grounds, and, more importantly, on the grounds that it doesn't secure the guitar as well. He went over the points at which the guitar is secured in place: (1) against the left thigh, (2) right forearm resting on the top of the arc of the upper bout, (3) the right leg keeps it from moving from side to side, and (4) the top back edge of the instrument anchored against the chest, the instrument tilted slightly up (imagine a right triangle, with the guitar back being the hypotenuse).

This was another student with ping-pong balls on the nails, and CP again said that these will never sound right.

His final comments were that every time you touch the string, make sure you attack at an angle; record yourself, listen to the tape; add dynamics and color changes where appropriate.


Verano Porteño (Piazzolla)
There was a lack of dynamic changes in the piece (performer ignoring the dynamics in the score). A lot of buzzing on the bass strings, which he felt could be addressed either by higher tension strings, raising the action, or playing more laterally. Make sure the 16th note sections are very even.

CP commented on various strum types, which he referred to as "pad of thumb" (gives an intimate sound, e.g., opening of Adagio of "Aranjuez"). John Williams comes off of right side of thumb, Segovia off the left side; it's important to be able to play off of both sides (I confess I'm having a difficult time visualizing how one would come off the right side of the thumb, in a natural manner -Ed.). The other type of strum he referred to as "callused" thumb; a little coarser, more raspy.

Again, record yourself, listen to get the tempo down, to get the feel of the piece. CP thought the ending came as a surprise (not because of the composition, but because of the lack of foreshadowing or "building" in the performance). Vary the pizzicato, the technique offers a wide variety of sounds; CP used Couperin's "Les Barricades mysterieuses" as an example (in the opening, the technique is soft, more note than effect).


Ojos Brujos (Brouwer)
CP didn't get a sense of where the piece was going, and felt it meandered about; needed to clear up rhythmic problems, bring out melody more. The guitar position seemed awkward, with the top in the crook of the elbow (rather flamenco-ish), and the hand directly over the soundhole. The vibrato seemed too fast, uncontrolled.

There are two ways of generating vibrato; back/forth, or up/down (which he jokingly referred to as the "Jimi Hendrix" method. Practice at the 9th fret; use metronome; four "waves" per beat. The general rule is frets 1-5, use up/down, frets 6-up, use back/forth, but this rule doesn't always apply. Vibrato should be varied for the piece. Many guitarists only have one vibrato speed.

He pointed out that the up/down vibrato can only be used to take the note sharp, while the back/forth could take the note sharp or flat. This latter style of bending a note can be used to compensate for sharp or flat notes


Etude No. 11 (Villa-Lobos)
CP mentioned that certain things were being left out, and that the timing was not quite correct; he cautioned against memorizing too soon, although with Villa-Lobos, this is easy to do. He also commented on the lack of color changes in the playing; he said that the piece needs to build, culminating with the arpeggio section (helps to plant in this section). This is a good piece to work on vibrato (all the 4th string work), however, he would use less vibrato if he re-recorded it now.

The playing was somewhat soft, which led CP to the topic that the #1 criticism of the classical guitar is that it is too soft, and that we must work to overcome its deficits. We need to learn to play the guitar loudly; he recommended that the student play the etude twice as loudly as he had been, go back to the score, and play in time. He told an antecdote about his father being made to play the clarinet twice as loudly as he usually did for a week.

Regarding slides; if you don't do the slides right, you hear every half-step (during his days at USC, CP was criticized by Piatagorsky and other cellists for not being fluid enough). Use moderate tension at the start of the slide, then let up. Sliding on the basses causes squeaks.

Play the rasgueados on high section with all thumb.

Don't get off the two-finger chords too soon.

CP went into some general information about sound quality as a function of construction. He cited the experience of Paul Jacobson (a Kansas City luthier), who was testing some of his own guitars which were identical except in length; Jacobson noted that the 650mm was much warmer than the 640mm. The primary disadvantage of the greater length is in reaches. When you capo up, you lose tone; he mentioned an amusing story recording the "Ave Maria" with Kathleen Battle, where he'd play it and she'd want to try it in a higher key, so he'd capo up...and she'd want to try it again, higher...and finally he wound up with the capo on the 5th fret! Parkening prefers the long string length and cedar (he feels that spruce has a "dryer" sound).


Interlude: The Music Critic
CP had, in advance, asked the music critic for the Rocky Mountain News (the name Mark Shergold sticks in my mind, but I'm not sure that's correct) to say a few words about what he as a critic looks for in a performance. The gist of his talk was that for him, the best performances came from performers who were able to use their knowledge and life experience to transcend the notes on the page. For example, CP had been on a fox hunt (in the foothills west of Denver); the critic felt that that came through in his performance the previous evening of Bull's "The King's Hunt."


Prelude, from Prelude, Fugue and Allegro BMV 998 (Bach)
This piece is actually more like a fantasia (according to a Baroque specialist at USC). He prefers (not surprisingly) Segovia's fingerings ("well-nigh faultless"). He alluded to a set of John Williams fingerings as well (can't remember what opinion was expressed). On fingerings, he told a story of playing the Chaconne for Segovia at a master class when CP was 15, in which he was using fingerings given to him by his teacher at the time (who was nameless in the story)...as he was playing, he was unaware of Segovia becoming more and more angry, until Segovia finally exploded, thundering "Why have you changed the fingering? You change it back for tomorrow!" CP did a nice Segovia impression.

Bach altered pieces for specific instruments; this was used as justification for Segovia adding chords, slurs, etc. Great musicians are more flexible than we might think they'll be in making their music sound better on the guitar.

Performance had no slurs; CP felt that slurs give fluidness to a piece, keeps it from being choppy. Performance just sort of plodded along, didn't give the sense of going anywhere. He made a general comment that while most master classes played too much rest stroke; this one was playing too much free stroke!

He again suggested that more dynamics be used, and that the student tape record their own performance.


Usher Waltz (Koshkin)
CP commented about all the effects in the piece, and mentioned that it was an exception to his advice on slides earlier; in this piece, you do want to hear every half step. Mentioned that the fast sections needed to be faster (although he said the student had chosen a good tempo for playing cold!). String snap volume should be in proportion to the rest of the piece; not too loud.

He mentioned that the guitar needs to be temper tuned, which involves compromised. Octave tuning means that the guitar will be out of tune. As an example, he used "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"; it has a C in three places, so his tuning on that piece is primarily comparing the C's. Tune quickly and quietly if you're on stage. Learn to correct tuning during a piece (reaching up quickly to change tune), or pull string sharp if you can't. Tempo may suffer a bit, but he feels that it's worth it.

Piece needs to be rhythmic, fast. Make sure enough of the rasgueado chord sounds before letting off.


Saudade and Allegro Solemne, from La Catedral (Barrios Mangore)
A tough piece, especially the Allegro. In the prelude, the high note has to be just gorgeous. Performance just sort of plodded along. Sound gets brighter as you go up the fingerboard; need to compensate with right-hand technique to keep it warm. The piece needs to "sing", to transcend the physical difficulty. How would a non-guitarist, say a harpist, hear it?

CP had never heard anyone play this piece where he liked it.

The performer's hands were quite cold; he mentioned that one of the Romeros keeps a hand warmer in his pocket.

In the Allegro, don't "gallop." The piece sounded a bit mechanical, like a study; needed more dynamic interest and variation. The piece needs swells, needs to go someplace. Practice the piece slower, gradually increasing the speed, till you are practicing it faster than necessary (so that when you perform, you can pull back a bit).

He suggested a slur study, up the fingerboard on each string. The pattern was 3-1-3-1-4-2-4-1, up a half-step on the last note. Do with rest stroke on the left hand. Also suggested the pattern 1-2-4-2-1-3-4-1-1, up a half-step on the last note. Strive for making the time and sound even, and as loud as possible. It's tempting to pull off louder than one hammers on.

He mentioned that playing a piece for recording is different from playing it live; in a live situation, you need to play louder, need to project, and need to keep the piece going (for example, his opinion is that if you play the Villa Lobos Prelude #4 as written, you lose the audience, letting the notes die).


Tarantella (Castelnuovo-Tedesco)
Piece needs a fast pace. Performer should revisit Segovia's fingerings, and not do rasgueado quite so much. This piece is in David Brandon's repetoire, and CP asked for his comments (Brandon had come with Parkening to the class); they were (a) more life in the piece, (b) more rhythmic variety, and (c) bring out sections more. CP suggested that the performer go back to the score, and compare to recordings.

He briefly returned to nail dynamics, saying that if you start out with all flesh, then go to nail, you get a click.

He suggested keeping the left hand close to the fingerboard, basically parallel; when going up the fingerboard, the neck rides on the palm of the left hand, the fingerboard acting as a handrail. Can't really do it playing on the 1st string, hard on the 2nd string, but works quite well for all others; gives tremendous accuracy.


Q&A
I didn't take great notes in this area...just jotted things down as they struck me.

One question was on whether Segovia was truly self-taught. CP said that he believed Segovia had taken a bit of cello when very young (there's always room for cello! -Ed.), but was essentially self-taught. A Segovia quote: "Teacher and student got into many arguments."

Another question was on having the music in front of you during the performance (the previous evening, CP had the music in front of him during the concert). CP explained that he had it in front of him primarily as a safety net; he had it more or less memorized, but had played four different programs during the month, and some of the duets he played with David Brandon were pretty tricky in places. But, he cautioned, if having the music in front of you takes the musicality away (makes it difficult to play musically), then don't.

He concluded (either off of a question, or just as a concluding remark) by saying that you must pursue a committment to excellence (rather than success), that you must practice, do the homework, and be disciplined ("You can't presume upon God's grace" he said, rather wryly). Excellence should not be measured in relation to others; only to one's self.

He wrapped up, and was deluged by autograph seekers and well-wishers, despite the local sponsor's trying to get him out and to the airport.

All in all, a very intense four hours.

http://net.indra.com/~jkenyon/parkening.html

saka

阅！正打算练Prelude, from Prelude, Fugue and Allegro BMV 998 (Bach)中的Prelude呢！

ling

不错，就是英文难啃点。

wangjianguo

另外一些大师班笔记：http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7049/mclass.htmTips from classical guitar masterclassesOver the years I've enjoyed observing classical guitar master classes. You get to hear a variety of guitarists who may be at or around your own level play a variety of pieces. You might even hear a piece shape up in the hands of a responsive student under the guidance of a good teacher - fine entertainment. If you actually learn anything that you can apply to your own playing - that's pure gravy, in my view. Below are a few tips worth passing on from some masterclasses I've attended. Here's a quick index of the masters and their classes:
1. Jad Azkoul, Washington DC, January, 1993.
2. David Russell, GFA Festival, Buffalo, October 1993.
3. Philip Candelaria, Washington DC, March 1997.
4. Manuel Barrueco, Washington DC, November 2001. 1. Jad Azkoul. Washington DC, January, 1993. A very nice feature of this workshop - one I'd never seen before - was "mini-concerts", wherein several guitarists in succession played their pieces, complete with bows. Jad demonstrated that it is possible to play with virtually no unwanted string noise. The fundamental aspect of the idea is to lift the fingers off the string (using the arm to facilitate this) and then shift to the new position. In case you're worried about what that does to your legato, Jad showed that it is not necessary to have unbroken sound in order to achieve legato. Some noises call for other actions - such as using a right hand finger to damp a string that has just been unstopped - but the important thing is to LISTEN. When you hear noise, wipe it out. Regarding sitting position, Jad explained that by moving the right foot back - about 12 inches, say - from its flat-foot position to its toes, the upper body is naturally forced forward to the proper playing position without using back muscles. This definitely worked for me as advertised, although my right leg may get a bit cramped after a while. I've always played with nearly straight right-hand fingers 1) because it feels perfectly natural, and 2) in order to get a full (as opposed to tinkly) sound. Seeing people play with their right-hand fingers curled up in a claw always baffled me. How can they play like that? And why would they want to, what with that thin, scratchy sound? Jad threw me for a loop by demonstrating the value of the bright, clear sound one can get from a curved finger. In fact, the idea is to use a midway, compromise curvature for the right-hand fingers, from which you can either straighten or curl them more, depending on the sound you want. Jad explained that chords on three adjacent strings played with i, m and a should be played with those fingers held together, like "one big finger." Even though held together, the player may curl them individually to get whichever sound he wants from each string. Jad's demonstrations of this were quite amazing. Also, this "one big finger" will give a very tight arpeggio when twisted quickly down and off the strings. There were a couple of interesting points regarding thumb strokes. For a nice evenness when playing successive bass notes on successively higher, adjacent strings, the thumb should make a smooth, continuous forward motion through the strings involved; not pausing in between or stopping on the next higher one. Regarding quick sweeps with the thumb over 2 or more strings, Jad demonstrated how the last note can be given its own distinct sound by making a minute adjustment to the thumb angle at the last nano-second. Typically, you may want that last note sounding bright and clear to differentiate it from the lower, accompanying notes. Jad gave an impressive demonstration of his muted notes - a vastly more flexible device than your basic pizz played with the side of the right hand settled on the strings at the bridge. Jad's muted notes involve a plucking action followed by a damping action. This allows the player to give any sound quality he wants to the muted note - clear and bright to full and round. He can also control the onset of muting from near-instantaneous to any desired delay. Moreover, he can undo the muting while the note is still sounding. Jad admitted that this was the only technique presented in the class that was not simple. He gave a couple more (left-) handy tips. To avoid those half-step "bumps" during a glissando, reduce the pressure on the string. For smooth arpeggios, "arpeggiate" the placement of the left hand fingers in sync with the right hand, when possible. Of course Jad had many suggestions regarding musical interpretation One was, an effect that sounds really nice for a few times can very quickly wear out its welcome. Another was to not arpeggiate harmonics, which are pretty feeble to start with. And another was to give emphasis to dissonances. "We gotta hear dissonances - they sound so good!" 2. David Russell. GFA Festival, Buffalo, October 1993. David Russell's tips on the musical interpretation of a piece seem so perfect and logical that you'll wonder why you don't think of such "obvious" things when you play. The sad truth is, though, that his performance genius is reserved for a miniscule fraction of the human race. Two pointers he gave rang a bell with me. He told one guy to leave out a note that was causing problems and ruining the flow of a piece. "Nobody'll notice!" Another one I liked, but which surprised me a bit coming from a world class guitarist, was his advice to adjust some fingerings to get the stronger fingers 2 and 3 in position for some grace notes rather than the indicated fingers 3 and 4. (Hey, I've been doing that for years, too!) In fact, David could play it just fine with 3 and 4, but this nod to the rest of humanity was very kind of him. Regarding the glissando, David said to lean the finger over to avoid using the calloused part of the tip. When a student was having intonation problems with notes above the 12th fret, David suggested masking it with vibrato. String players do it all the time! 3. Philip Candelaria. Washington DC, March 1997. Here's just a handful of things of interest - among many - gleaned from Philip Candelaria's masterclass for the Washington Guitar Society. In the Baroque - as opposed to the Classical period - the preludes were "Big Stuff." Give them all you've got. The dances in the suite are actually a come-down from the prelude. Philip used to think rest stroke was so important, but now uses 99% free stroke. He fell in love with the A-frame guitar support, but later found it too wobbly and gave it up for the foot stool. He makes ample use of hinge barres for the sake of relaxation. He even plays extended passages of 1st string notes with the bottom joint of the lh index finger when there's no reason to crank the tip around! He believes (as I have been trying to tell the world) that "the work is the fingering." If something's not working well - change it! "Fingerings are a guitarist's secret weapon!" Philip even played a piece for us - a rare treat at a master class. 4. Manuel Barrueco. Washington DC, November 2001 World-renowned guitarist Manuel Barreuco gave a master class at the Levine School of Music in November 2001. I first heard Manuel play at my college, Drexel University, in Philadelphia in 1976. I was going to brag in the guitar society newsletter about having heard him before anyone else in attendance at the master class - before many of them were born, even. (Yikes, maybe that's not something to brag about!) Then I pulled out the old program and read that he had already been active in the Washington area the previous couple of years - as guest artist with the National Symphony several times, for example. So maybe I wasn't first; so what? I went to that 1976 concert never having heard of him, and I was completely blown away. Even with being nothing of a music critic, I knew I was hearing absolute perfection. I also remember hearing gasps from the people sitting behind me. One, a violinist who had never heard a classical guitarist before, shook her head in amazement. She said she had never heard anything like that before, ever. For years afterwards, whenever the question of "who's the world's greatest guitarist?" came up, I had a ready answer: Manuel Barrueco. Even though I'm not at all inclined to get caught up in that question any more, darn if I can think of anyone obviously more deserving of the title. From the masterclass, here are some things to think about: You must place the right-hand fingers on the strings very carefully. If the string jumps from the flesh to the nail, you will lose control of the sound. In general, the right hand is not capable of playing rest strokes in the melody and bass simultaneously. You have to decide which you want more. Of course, the melody will usually get it. Decide exactly where you want free stroke and rest stroke; winging it is a recipe for disaster. It's a good idea to start working on a piece using all free strokes, and then decide where to add color. Since there's no 7th string you can't play a rest stroke on the 6th string with a right hand finger. However, Manuel has used his right-hand thumb as the stopper for a finger to come to rest on. Be aware that vibrato produced by yanking the string back and forth across the fingerboard only raises the pitch. It may make your note or chord sound sharp. On the other hand, a back and forth tug in the direction of the string raises and lowers the pitch, giving a nicer vibrato centered on the correct pitch. Whenever you make a mistake, you must consciously ask yourself what happened. Slow practice is valuable for musical and technical reasons. It ultimately gets us where we want to go faster. Practice as slowly as necessary to allow the brain to think of everything. Don't use movements of the left hand to poke the strings; make the fingers do that work. Manuel demonstrated a trill exercise for each of the left hand fingers in turn while the other three stayed clamped to the fingerboard. You want to make the melody sound like a different voice - like a different instrument entirely. Think about the line - not "chord-note-chord," or "note-note-chord," for example. Manuel admits this is difficult. At one point he said, "I think the guitar is really hard to play. I think it borders on impossible, as a solo instrument." I've been thinking much the same thing lately, but then, I'm just a hack. It was a bit of a surprise, coming from one of the world's greats. I'd be very interested to hear Manuel expand on this sometime.

wangjianguo

http://www.seattleguitar.org/tennant-masterclass.htmlScott Tennant Master Class, Feb 10, 2002 -- Review by Michael LeFevre

The experience of a master class affords one the opportunity to observe another aspect of a great musician's approach to their craft. While a recital displays the culmination of a lifetime of musical involvement and is a direct testament of the performer's artistry, it is in a masterclass where their pursuit of skillful music making is put into words, ideas, and suggestions. If you ever find yourself, upon leaving a recital, scratching your head and pondering, "How did they get to be so good?" check out the masterclass and some elements of this mystery may be revealed.

With regard to Scott Tennant, many classical guitarists have already become familiar with his approach to technique through his highly effective "Pumping Nylon" manual and repertoire series. Unquestionably one of the most to-the-point methods ever published for the guitar, they have helped many to make more rapid progress by focusing on root issues in technical development. While there is no doubt that Mr. Tennant has an exquisite musicianship and a great depth of feeling in his playing, it is his levelheaded approach to clearly organized practicing and problem solving that left a strong impact on me at the class.

The first performers for the afternoon were the "New Rosewood Quartet" playing Teleman's Sonata in Four Movements. It was a wonderful opportunity to hear what kind of advice a member of the world's premiere guitar quartet (LAGQ) would offer to an amateur, though clearly very dedicated, ensemble. In looking specifically at some passages of the piece. Tennant suggested to be very precise in articulating main motives exactly the same as it passes from one member to the next, being sure to also make careful gradations in volume and tone. This led to the proposing of a method of practicing scales as a group where these techniques can be honed- member 1 playing do, member 2 playing re, 3 playing mi, etc., while being aware of matching tone and dynamics.

Second up was Lloyd Myers performing the Grand Overture by Mauro Giuliani. A nice choice considering that Mr. Tennant has recorded this piece and knows it quite well. It was an exciting performance and the technical demands of the piece, which are great, seemed to be but a small hindrance to Myers. What surprised many in attendance, including Tennant, was how he could play it so well with such an unorthodox sitting position (which, while seeming very relaxed, also did not appear to be the most favorable for tackling such a hard piece). We discovered that Tennant, when practicing at home, tends to play in Flamenco style with the lower bout of the guitar resting on the right leg while the upper bout hovers five inches or so above the left leg. He therefore did not take issue with his sitting position but dealt mostly with how to practice with such a work, suggesting that musicians should always time their practice schedules carefully, using some form of timer with a buzzer to keep us on track and to not play anything endlessly and mindlessly over and over. Aside from that, some elements of arpeggio practice were discussed with the method of pre-placing right hand fingers and working very slowly emphasized.

Last to perform was Jason Williams playing Study No. 18 by the contemporary Italian composer-guitarist Angelo Gilardino. The piece had an A-B-A form, with 'A' having a restless and agitated mood utilizing a fast, repeated figure involving slurs and cross-string scales that traversed the fretboard and B providing a moody and lyrical contrast. Williams' playing was focused and clear, capturing the frantic and claustrophobic nature of the piece, which was written in homage to Manuel de Falla. Tennant's main criticism of the performance was that it required more volume in spots and also suggested some methods of left hand preparation to bring out the motive in the piece.

Overall, I felt that this class was something of a Pumping Nylon in action. I am definitely a big fan of Scott Tennant's ideas concerning technique and his ability to effectively organize and deal with the physical difficulties of playing the classical guitar. He is a very encouraging teacher and seems to enjoy helping a student discover the root issues of trouble spots in their playing. It is once those difficulties are overcome that we may gain access to the muse that propels a performer to artful expression. In the conclusion to his method, Tennant wrote two helpful points that can help all guitarists in the practice room: 1) Always practice with a purpose, and 2) Whenever we play a note on the guitar we have two choices: to improve or go downhill.

Visit Tennant's website

wangjianguo

Manuel Barrueco Shares Insights with Well-Attended Masterclass - Review by Tamara Calkins (from the SCGS newsletter, Guitar Soundings, V.44 No.6)

Manuel Barrueco graciously shared his unique approach to music and the guitar at a well-attended master class after his concert last fall. The performers were Raymond Garofalo (Variations by Sor), Jesse Espinoza (Etude #7, Villa Lobos), J.P.Shields (Cordoba, Albeniz), Michael Partington (Prelude, 2d Cello Suite, J.S.Bach). Barrueco's approach to the technical preparation of the piece is renowned. Many have marveled at his painstaking, meticulously detailed method--dissecting the left hand fingerings and then the right. Barrueco is in fact famous for being able to play only the right hand fingering of an entire piece (an odd sounding feat but remarkable)! Nevertheless, while his technical prowess is amazing, what most impressed one at the master class was his attention to the intangible, psychic side of playing music. He focused on what it is about music that touches us personally and intimately -- connecting with why one plays music in the first place. So when he spoke about preparation, Barrueco advised replacing bad thoughts with good ones--enjoy yourself! Know and feel that you can do it! The maestro then made everyone smile as he commented, "sometimes I think the guitar is just too hard!" When working with students, Barrueco took a classic Socratic approach asking students, "Do you like that sound?" It is difficult not to find that a somewhat disconcerting question when playing in front of a whole group of other guitarists! As it turned out, it was not a trick question--simply a way to focus a student on becoming their own best teacher. Manuel offered his own suggestions (for example, feeling rubato like a roller coaster, swinging up then down) but worked the hardest on helping students to hear critically in the best sense of the term so that they were able to make changes for themselves. Manuel is a great proponent of singing everything out loud. Repeatedly, he emphasized using the human voice to understand phrasing and musicality. He also recommended working with a metronome--an excellent tool. In addition to separating the right and left hands ("it may surprise you, what you find out by doing that," he exclaimed), Manuel advocated playing scales every day. While one may want to play pieces that include a lot of scales instead of playing scales, Manuel felt that pieces don't have enough scales in them to be sufficiently beneficial. Always, the technical aspects of playing a piece should be subservient to the musical. In one specific example, a stretch worked but shifting better supported the musicality of that particular phrase. With regard to the physical placement of the guitar, Barrueco told students. "ask the body to do things that are natural." Bring the guitar to the body, for example rather than tilting the body forward to reach the guitar. Play with all the joints of the fingers in mid-range of motion. In each lesson, Barrueco urged students to have the music in themselves first. "Know where you are going in your head--don't play blind." With a gracious nod, he acknowledged the appreciable gifts of each student (and there were some lovely performances!), intending that each should have a renewed sense of confidence and love for music.

Editor's Note, Barrueco moves in wide musical circles. His CD from EMI, !CUBA!, contains works by Leo Brouwer, Ernesto Lecuona, Carlos Farinas, Enrique Ubieta, Hector Angelo and Jose Ardevol. The CD begins with the set of three short Lecuona pieces that are lyrical, gentle and lovely (and, fortuitously available in sheet music form in a new collection of Lecuona's work edited by Barrueco). A review by Peter Bates.

His CD from Angel, Sometime Ago, explores contemporary artists Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Lou Harrison and Paul Simon. A review by Jim Tosone of Guitar Review magazine.

Barrueco's own website is rich with material, for example a lengthy conversation with David Russell.