Martin Classical Backpacker

I purchased a Martin Classical Backpacker from Muscian's Friend for travel and camping. I haven't decided whether to keep it or not. I'll probably write my thoughts down after I've evaluated it over the next couple of weeks.

My first impressions are that it's definitely an instrument which sacrifices tone for portability. With that portability comes the need to adjust to its shape and small size.

One thing's for certain, flamenco 4-finger and 3-finger rasgueos do not sound that great on the Backpacker. Delicate fingerstyle or classical play seem to be what it's best suited for.

Set-up seems to be okay out of the box. The 12th and 14th frets are just a tiny bit high on the treble side. Action at the nut is near perfect. Action at the 12th fret is 0.14" for the 6th string and 0.12" for the 1st string which is probably a little high although the very light tension of the strings makes it very playable. Neck relief is minimal with about one index card of space at the 7th fret.

Lesson Ten: Sight reading and counting guidance

Today's lesson was different, and that was good.

Dale had thought I should work on counting tempo after I had emailed him for assistance on Black Orpheus. He brought in a sheet of counting exercises. We also discussed how to best use Benedict's sight reading book. More than half of our session was spent running through exercises and the other half was spent trying to properly count through just the first two measures of Black Orpheus. We barely spent time on the other materials from the previous lesson so I need to just carry on from where I am.

I'll probably integrate Dale's guidance with some of the advice I received on sight-reading from this topic on delcamp.net.

Take-aways from today's lesson:

• Dale has told me that I must learn to recognize the notes and that I should, at this stage, recite them out loud before playing. I have known but avoided this. He also said that I should drill myself by trying to recognize notes randomly.
  
• Dale also emphasized that I must count my notes in tempo (even if ever so slowly) after I have learned the notes. This too I have known and avoided.
• Learn to recognize chunks and patterns. Examine the measures for a moment before playing.
  
• Sections of measures 29-34 of the Carcassi study are played with chord patterns which I should learn to move up and down the fretboard. Move these patterns one fret at a time until I can make larger movements.

Practice Objectives: June 18, Thursday - July 7, Tuesday

Lessons

• Carcassi's Opus 60, No.1. Polishing and use of movable chords.
  
• Fandango de Alosno. Page 38-39.
  
• Measures 1-4 of Black Orpheus with proper counting.
  

Exercises

• Sight reading: Target 25 minutes per day (10 and 15 minute blocks)
  
• Counting
  
• Practice rotary strum (P-AM-P-P)
• Tremolo exercise

Repertoire

• Guardame Las Vacas
  
• Sevillana
  
• Alegrias en Mi
• I Saw Three Ships/Good Men Rejoice

Daniel Turner's guitars

Daniel Turner is a Canadian luthier who specializes in flamenco guitars. We were having a discussion on delcamp.net about guitar wallpapers and I had suggested screen-captures of Mr. Turner's instruments.

Below are three samples of his photography. They are reduced from the original image sizes on his website.

Hannabach's new flamenco strings?

Hannabach has released a new set of flamenco guitar strings, series 828. The trouble is that I can't read anything in its description that explains to me how these are different from the series 827 strings.

Hannabach followed the increasing demand
for a more modern Flamenco string range.

We took our proven bass strings from our
827 Flamenco range and made some minor
modifications. Then we added the beautiful
sounding and perfectly rounded black nylon
treble strings to create a perfect match for
the modern Flamenco player.

These strings are especially suited for the
player who wants something different yet
who wants no compromise on the optical
impression, quality and on the sound.

Strings and guitars sell on a good amount of hyperbole. I'm wondering if that's the case here.

Note to self ...

There are always two types of beginners in [enter preferred style] guitar: those with absolutely no experience in guitar at all, and those with prior experience in [enter some other style] guitar.

Practice Log V1.50

I redesigned my practice log this evening and you can click on the image to enlarge it. I thought, "Why should I be flipping pages between my objectives and my log? Why not have both on the same page?" The old log design had them on separate pages.

The new log design has six rows in three columns at the top of each lesson week. The three columns are for:

• Lesson Items
• Exercise Items (Scales, Sight-Reading, Technical Exercises)
• Repertoire Items

Each row is numbered for cross-reference: Lesson item 1 can be identified as L1, Exercise item 3 can be identified as E3. For brevity, I can just write into each practice block the corresponding identifier and there's still space to write any short notes if I want.

Nails: With or without, and how long?

I had hoped to play without long nails when I started learning classical guitar. I gradually came to realize that I enjoyed the tone and versatility that comes with long nails; so I grew them, but not by much. In the photo above, you can see that they extend just a bit beyond the nail bed. The pinky has the longest extension because it helps with flamenco rasgueos. You can see that the thumb doesn't have that much nail either.

The nails of the index and middle finger have a slight ramp. In other words, the nail is shorter towards the side of the thumb. I do this so my fingertip flesh will make first contact with the string to mute it. It also allows the string to more easily slide from the flesh and along the edge of the nail.

The ring finger nail is barely ramped. It has a more pronounced curved so ramping the nail would create a "hooking" effect on the string. The pinky isn't ramped at all.


This second photo gives you a bit of an idea how far beyond the tip of each finger the nail actually extends.

I based my nail length and nail shaping ideas from three books: Celino Romero's "The Art of Spanish Guitar", Gerhard Graf-Martinez's "Flamenco Guitar Method", and Scott Tennant's "Pumping Nylon". All of these can be found in the product carousel shown above.


This image (which can be enlarged by clicking on it) shows you the length of Celin's and Celino's nails. The book also shows photos of Pepe Romero's nails. You'll notice that these are not very long at all although the pinky has the longest extension. The Romeros play both classical and flamenco.


Sr. Graf-Martinez's nails are optimized for flamenco. They are about the same length as those of Celin Romero. Sub-picture 5.14 show how far the nail extends beyond the finger and sub-picture 5.15 shows the "ramp". The pinky also has a longer extension.

Experimenting with a new practice log

I came up with a new practice log design that may better suit my style. I based it on Chris's "lazy" method of practicing in blocks and on Daniel Roest's general ideas behind his Guitar Organizer. Clicking on the image above will show you the details.

Based on my first logging experiment, I spend an average of 1.6 hours practicing each day and I could probably be more efficient in using that time. I decided to divide my practice into these time slots:

• Three 15-minute slots for the week's lesson assignments.
• Two 10-minute slots for working out specific problems in my repertoire.
• Two 10-minute slots for sight reading, exercises or scales.
• Two optional slots for any extra practice. These are assumed to be 15-minutes each.

That establishes a base practice time of 1.4 hours per day which can be stretched to 1.9 hours if I wish. With the new log design, I just enter short notes into each box to specify what I practiced for that time slot.



The log's use is guided by my lesson objectives that I set after each class with Dale. I typically write them into my blog (as I did for June 3rd) but will jot them into my notes from hereon.

Limiting my practice into short segments works well with the Casio "referee" watch that I bought. It's built-in preset timer periods allow me to stay within my allotted time.

Using Audacity to slow down your music

Audacity is a free, open-source audio-editing tool. It can also be an invaluable tool for guitar study.

I use the Beta 1.3.7 version. Under the Effects menu, you can use the Change Tempo option to slow down an MP3 without affecting its pitch. I usually will reduce a file's speed to 1/2 that of normal which is a setting of -0.50.

This allows me to hear the details of a fast passage and compare my accuracy and timing at a slow speed.

Lesson Nine: Fandango de Alosno and Bossa Nova

Thanks to the start of summer vacation, I'm Dale's only student at my town's studio for the entire month of June. Dale teaches at 2-3 other studios. He asked that we meet twice this month for one-hour sessions.

Take-aways from today's lesson:

• Dale asked me to keep my hand a bit more compact in the triplet rotary strum. It's okay for my thumb to momentarily place itself on the 6th string before it follows the M-A downstroke.
• Juan Martin uses a different accent for the falseta in the Grade 1 Tangos. Dale found it unfamiliar but he seemed reassured that I also knew the traditional accentuation.
• Dale showed me a 4-chord progression for the Tangos that was more traditional and also simpler to execute. He suggested that I try substituting it in the Juan Martin Tangos.
• Started on Fandango de Alosno. Dale said that my hammer-on seems to hesitate at the last minute and that my pullback is too far. He wants me to keep my hammers smooth and to start closer to the fretboard. He also wants my slurs to sound like even notes and less like grace notes. He asked me to move as far as I can on page 38.
• Dale introduced me to Bossa Nova with the melody on rhythm arrangements of "Black Orpheus" by Louis Bonfi (aka Manha de Carnaval or "A Day in The Life of A Fool"). The video below gives a bit of background on this piece and one arrangment of it. My arrangement is simpler.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Practice Objectives: June 4, Thursday -June 16, Tuesday

Regular

• Sight reading: Target 2 tunes per day
• Tremolo exercise

Lesson

• Carcassi's Opus 60, No.1. Measures 21-30
  
• Fandango de Alosno. Page 38.
  
• Practice rotary strum (P-AM-P-P).
• Try chord substitution for Tangos.
• Measures 1-6 of Black Orpheus.
  

Repertoire: Problems & Transitions

• Guardame Las Vacas
  
• Sevillana
  
• Alegrias en Mi
• Ashokan Farewell

Lunchtime casual practice

• Silent Night
• Good Men Rejoice

Bossa Nova?

Dale can only meet me for two 1-hour sessions this month so I suggested that we expand the lesson to include Bossa Nova. Dale's also a specialist in Latin rhythms.

I thought I should have a look at what was available on YouTube. The above video was helpful.

A deal for you from Sam Ash Direct

Juan Martin's La Guitarra Flamenca was recently re-released with its videos on DVD. The complete package (book plus two DVDs) retails for $59.95.

Sam Ash just recently relaunched their online store Sam Ash Direct. The have two deals going on through Wednesday:

• All books and sheet music are 10-20% off.
• Any purchase over $50 gets $20 off with coupon code SADIRECT.

Combining the discount and the coupon code and adding $5.95 for shipping, I got Juan Martin's method for $37.91

Of course, you can use those discounts in any other way that you like. Have fun shopping.