Wanted to share this video with you. As you know I am learning classical guitar. I found this video of Segovia's master class back in the day. Believe it or not something like this is very helpful to a student learning CG. It's not only the historical perspective, but as a student I can watch …
Life is Getting in the Way of Writing
Got a lot to do today. Yesterday was busy, too. More than usual. Classical guitar and photography class took up most of the day yesterday. Today I am meeting my writing buddy at the coffee shop and will push to get this edit done on the new short story. At least whip it in recognizable …
Tension and Compromise, the Charybdis and Scylla of Art
Speaking only for myself, but I find it's important to find a workable balance between perfection and compromise. I was responding on a classical guitar forum earlier tonight and it got me to thinking about this problem in more detail. Not only how it affects facets of our lives, but, since this is primarily a …
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Passacaglia and Barre Chords in Classical Guitar
My classical guitar lessons have been going well. I honestly feel I am making good progress. I've memorized the two main sections of "Malagueña" and have to work on the lento (slow) section. The other song I've been working on with my teacher is "Romanza" or "Spanish Ballad". Malagueña is the feminine form of the …
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My First Guitar Lesson!
My first classical guitar lesson went pretty well yesterday. We didn't do much. The instructor asked me some questions and we ran through some sight reading of music so he could see where I was. I played a little bit. He helped me see how my right hand was not parallel to the strings and …
Writers Come and Go, but the Story is Eternal
I've been practicing classical guitar lately. Mostly arpeggios and reading music in divisi. (See how handy I am with those terms, haha) I was lax while working on the novel, and I've been working on the novel a year and half. So my CG playing suffered. I kept up with the guitar during that year …
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I Don’t Do Resolutions, Except When I Do Resolutions
I don't do resolutions. I don't like limiting myself in that way. But there are things I want to concentrate on this year. I would be a fool not to view them and see how they might affect my life in the coming year. First, I will be taking classical guitar lessons starting next Monday. …
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Good Writing is Often a Question of Character
On the argument of Character vs. Plot I tend to side with the former. I think a story with a strong character connects faster with readers than a plot-driven story. Then again the strongest story is one in which both character and plot are very strong and work together. There are always counter-examples where this …
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I am still a writer first…everything else comes second
This morning I did some publishing work. I uploaded a new science fiction/cyberpunk story entitled "Dead Reckoning" to Kindle. I will let you know when the story goes live and give further details for it and Argo Navis Publishing. Last week was a long, stressful week for me for many reasons. I am hoping this …
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Finding Which Way to Turn in Classical Guitar
Part of the problem I run into when teaching myself classical guitar is I will bounce from book to book. What I mean is, there are many good solo books out there to learn from. I have several. I lean toward Solo Guitar Playing by Noad and Classical Guitar by Hal Leonard. They are both …
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Classical Guitar and Memorization
As I posted a day or so ago I am at present learning how to play Sor's Opus 60 No 1. The reason I mention this is because I haven't yet decided if I am going to commit this song to memory. Playing a song from sheet music is one thing. Committing it to memory …
Back On Classical Guitar: Sor’s Opus 60 No 1 and Spanish Study
I've changed the furniture layout in my room and one of the happy results is I sit a lot closer to where I keep my guitar. I say this is a happy result because I am by nature lazy. But now that I am closer to the guitar I have more reason to pick it …
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Medical Update and Publishing News
I got through the medical procedure okay today. I'm just tired and not really interested in messing around on the Internet for a while. So I am going to unplug from the Matrix, relax, read, decompress, and practice my guitar because that relaxes me as well. But I will be back to regular posting in …
I got a new guitar!
Last weekend I bought a brand new classical guitar. It's an Orpheus Valley Sofia handmade by Kremona, a small company in Bulgaria. Yes, you heard me right, Bulgaria. Kremona makes some beautiful instruments and I've got one! I've been practicing and playing with it. Wow. The sound is fantastic with deep and tonal quality. It's …
Hoover's Corner 