John Williams talks about the Classical guitar Part 2

[ritardando7632]

music is how to expres our self,.not to impress others..

[bigloner]

@ritardando7632 That's only true if you take the business side of music out. If you want to make a serious living playing music, there better be enough people who are impressed with what you intend to express.

[themetalgod21]

@joorgeee22 please!!!!!!!!! paco destroys segovia.

[Boggoranthius]

@Chuichupachichi In my humble opinion, Segovia was a wonderful guitarist - no question about that - but very much a man of the 19th century.

[Boggoranthius]

@Chuichupachichi In my humble opinion, Segovia was a wonderful guitarist - no question about that - but very much a man of the 19th century.

[lukeclassicalguitar]

Does anyone know the name of this documentary? and also is there a full video of that performance of sonatina by Segovia on youtube? thanks in advance for any help :)

[darthvapir]

huh discarding segovia as dated is a bit like discarding a vintage (say '52 Dom) bcs/ now it's too old. I guess you're talking about the recording q.

[Chuichupachichi]

The thing I hate about John Williams is that often times when you type his name into a search engine you get a movie score composer & nothing of John Williams

I also hate the fact that somebody swiped one of my John Williams-Inti Illimani cd's

Maybe I need to stop hating so much & search engines will be good to me

[MrOliversc]

oh and if anyone is going to say something rude....JUST GO AWAY!

[mishasita]

@MrOliversc I DO really just "listen to the music". How else do you think I formed my opinion? I heard a version of Asturias one day on the radio, without knowing who the performer was, & I thought to myself "This sounds like an uninspired student, an imitator, not a creator." Then I learned it was JW. I was basing my opinion on having heard many other fine, graceful, nuanced, passionate versions. JW's was, and is, rather heavy handed & plodding with the RHYTHM, the most important part! Listen!

[MrOliversc]

@mishasita Okay I see:) glad we could settle this. In your previous comment you said quite a few things about JW which I understand now that I must just leave as your own opinion of this guitarist.

Thanks for the discussion!

Best regards.

[MrOliversc]

carrying on with what I just posted (ran out of characters): Beautiful and magical which some people may prefer ( I love it ) but this is a matter of your own likes (opinions) so what you said about John was very wrong because firstly because he obviously loves to play the classical guitar and is very passionate and when you combine love+passion then you get beauty and magic. Secondly because he simply does play with beauty if you really listen to the MUSIC.

[MrOliversc]

I just read what this mishasita person said further down the page and all I can say is: go AWAY mishasita, you have no idea or reason to say what you said, it is very important to look and your technical wrongs or rights so that you have the ability to go from there and focus on the beauty and magic of the music. Mr williams may not be like Segovia but this does not mean that he plays with no beauty or magic, you see Segovia was playing with a romantica style which comes across as very beau.....

[mishasita]

This Williams dude is such a dry, tedious, pasty dullard. He plays like a dry, tedious, pasty, Protestant with very little soul. If you fixate on technique and precision, then you're missing the magic, the beauty. He is so uptight and superficial, it's stupefying. Segovia must have taken him on as a favor to a friend or maybe he lost a bet. It really baffles me how this paper thin impostor got so much acclaim. He can handle only basic emotional expression but is lost with the sublime stuff. Dork

[Ettoreks]

@mishasita

This is really stupid to say.

[wafertheen]

ahhhh segovia had a magic no one has been able to match, except maybe hendrix.

[seoreb]

what piace is Segovia playing at 0:50.

[maccalennonstarr]

What DVD are these clips from?

[poupee58]

John Williams is wonderful ,has beautiful hands and nails .

[dpapaioannow]

@Soulfree2008 yes yes good evening boy...hush hush now,go play with your little black metal retarded "music" and have fun trying to play real music that requires skills from DECADES of discipline by reading a tablature *face palm* ROFL...oohh and dont forget to nail your hand to a wall while you're at it too ROFL...OWNED N' BURNED

[NO11YOU]

@dpapaioannow You sound like a 12 year old, please refrain from slamming your head on the keyboard in a attempt to use a computer as it is not meant for the clinically retarded such as yourself.

[dpapaioannow]

@Soulfree2008 yes i dont upload videos..know why?cause i dont see the point,where's the proof?on the net?i mean you think you prove something by uploading wannabe videos?i like your little editing skills very inspiring *uuhhmm cough cough ROFL*i prefer proving myself on real life ;)*whispers*...go go practise now with your little ears and tablature boy,dont forget to trim those little retarded new age dark metal mumbo jumbo bullshit nails...HI5 ROFL

[dpapaioannow]

@Soulfree2008 *tablature*....RRRRRRRROOOOOOO­OOOOOFFFFFFFFFLLLLLLLLLLL well...good luck son,hush hush now little fairy RRROOOFFFLLLLL

[dpapaioannow]

@Soulfree2008 ROFL..are you some kind of new age wannabe?please you pathetic little fool try to sell your irony somewhere,you're like a mosquito in front of me ROFL..tsk tsk tsk poor little bugger ROFL

[dpapaioannow]

@Soulfree2008 ROFL...stick to your dark metal boy ROFL

[dpapaioannow]

@Soulfree2008 Federico Moreno Torroba-sonatina and i've seen people 40 years younger from the age he was here perfoming it 10 times better and what do you mean by learning it?do you even play guitar?or any instrument for that matter?just be satisfied by hearing it and leave the critism for people who actually know a thing or two about music both practically and historicaly to be able to say that segovia was a major asshole,or you can just shove this last piece up your tight sphincter if you like

[newislandguitar]

this is a good post...good information.

[sormu16]

@dpapaioannow

"racist"?

Leon Atkinson, a black classical guitarist - a rare thing at the time - speaks about the great support and encouragement that Segovia gave him in person.

Are you sure that your other adjectives are better founded?

[dpapaioannow]

@sormu16 watch?v=9efHwnFAkuA read my comments there...also do a little research on your own and find out,plus you dont have to support black people to not be considered a racist,so your previous argument is irrelevant,to me segovia was a miserable narrowminded idiot with awesome classical guitar skills but an idiot non the less...plus he was a fascist rightwinger

[tom6612]

The Chaconne took over my life. It became so time consuming that i couldn't really devote sufficient attention to mastering other technical aspects so i gave up on it about half way through and went back to Sagreras ( I'm almost into book 6).

Sagreras is the ultimate teacher. To be able to create all those beautiful melodies that steadily and surely advance you is pure genius. It must be one of the greatest methods for any instrument

[ditman333]

0:00

[ditman333]

whats the name of the song in the beginning hes playing 0:01

[cihad2003]

wich song is segovia playing?

[alexxx111111]

@cihad2003

Sonatina in A major, I. Allegretto (Federico Moreno Torroba)

[Patriot3332]

@cihad2003 F.M.Torroba - Sonatine 1st movement

[LutenistDeMari]

The guitar did NOT always lack status. The Sun King played baroque guitar.

[4tt1]

He was saving the guitar from the noisy flamenco guitar players? What the fuck hahah i mean i love classical guitar music but wtf

[guyfromBR]

Hey, Tremolo234

Thanks for posting, it seems like a very good interview, out of the ordinary, with such a beloved Master of the Guitar.

Please, could you post the rest of this Docu?

Otherwise, please, could you mention the source, is it a DVD, a TV Special, etc.?

I really would like to watch the whole program.

Cheers!

[Yimmery]

Nails are definately faster, i.e for the tremolo of Maleguena. The small tip of a petruding nail has less mass to get behind the string before plucking it, whereas the soft rounder end of the finger needs to go some way behind the string before it can pluck it. I do slap and pop on the bass as well though so all my classical practise is with finger tips, no nails. It's a relief to see here that its feasable (all be it with different merits) to play classical with fingers.

[willy1986tralara]

@BenMurrie what? in spanish guitar, you always have to hit with nail and flesh. always. i f you dont do that, it sounds like crap. this count for classical and for flamenco guitar as well. you can have longer or shorter nails, and hit the string in a variety of forms, but always with the two parts. thats what i think and what i learned.

[psychopathtoine]

what song is Segovia playing?

[lubik2323]

@psychopathtoine

Torroba - Sonatina 1St Mov

[psychopathtoine]

@lubik2323 thank you! :)

[ZikrieX]

Wow, and here I just bite my nails and it still sounds good....

[giboneal]

i think all of you fags with your nail theory suck cock. Play the guitar, it's great!

[mad199109]

Soon enough these techniques will be forgotten because of the invention of the pick and its different gauges; simply put, in a couple of years : without a pick the guitar will seize to exist. By the way, I am personally a metal head, and sadly i love traditional playing which I could never possibly master.

[mad199109]

There is one major flaw in your argument as well, when using finger picking, the player does not use only 1 finger, he uses all 5 to their maximum capabilities. Now, talk about speed, precision, and sound; there is no competition between traditional playing or new age playing.

[mad199109]

BenMurrie... you contradicted yourself and the video. The sound that is produced is not the 'magic of the guitar', its all about the style in which you play and the techniques that you use. I can very much tell you that a true master guitarist as Segovia would be able to pull out tremolo/vibrato picking and regular picking at the same rate as a metal head.

[VUandChips]

Well said BenMurrie.

[potrodsas]

The classical guitar is played with short properly shaped nails.

For me long nails are the worst choice and even if you have good technique the guitar is losing a lot from its mellower tone.

Short nails = the best sound

[brookerenwick]

@potrodsas :....I agree with you....the sound without nails is nice and mellow. Difficult to get a good tremelo without practice though....and I still am finding it diffiult to get a good p.m.p. rasguado without nails.

[potrodsas]

@brookerenwick

Without nails at all, has more problems.

You losing speed,volume,and command of the sound production.

The guitar becomes sweeter,but not more vibrant -alive.

Some pieces may be played without nails but the majority of repertoire for CG is better with short well shaped nail.

Nail shape and angle of attack are extremely important .

As for practice...eh!..everlasting struggle.

I read Tarrega was practicing his own exercises 3 hours every day before he actually play anything at all.

[TheRonzbaboy]

Callebaro technique... most say that Williams uses this technique which is a little bit different from segovias approach of playing

[cropmack]

Does anyone know what piece Segovia is playing in this vid?

[alessanco]

Sonatina, by Federico Moreno Torroba. ;-)

[guitarlord711]

both sor and tarrega didnt use nails. Furthermore, both were dead before JW was alive and Tárrega was alive for only about 20 years while segovia was alive. Lastly, Emilio Pujol, Matilde Cuervas, and Renata Tarrago were from the same period as John Williams and very likely learned technical notes from segovia. JW said the elders had no clear sound, not his contemporaries. In fact you're proving his point by using his contemporaries and not elders as examples of good nail technique.

[JuergenSchenk]

hmm, Pujol, Cuervas and Tarrago played also without nails...What I mean: it is possible to produce a good and strong sound without the nails. Pujol points this out very clearly in "El Dilema del Sonido en la Guitarra". And a few years ago I listened to a -very good-Flamenco guitarist, who played without nails! It' s just too bad that sometimes Segovia- with all due respect! -and his "students" try to give the impression that the history of the classical guitar began with Segovia

[zen234]

I've never heard so much rubbish.

[guitarlord711]

Your opinion is that no nails sounds better than nails. I can respect that, but I think its impossible to project louder without nails than with nails. It's more or less physically impossible.

It should also be noted that Sor and Tarrega used gut strings, which nails sound harsh on. Once nylon was invented, a much smoother tone, guitarists were "able" to use their nails. Furthermore, you may not like segovia, but you cannot deny his influence in bringing classical guitar to the classical world

[JuergenSchenk]

Sorry, but there are two misunderstandings: I do not think that the sound of playing without nails is better than playing with nails. Both styles have their pros and cons. But I would bet, many people who say: "nail attack is better, it's much stronger and clearer" have never listened to a good flesh player. And the second misunderstanding: I love Segovia and his expressiveness, for me he was one of the greatest players. Compared with him JW appears a little bit pale

[duxutube]

finally see his nails!

why are the tips of his nails white?

[judoka227]

I've also been dying to see his nails in any video. I met him once when i was in college and was so starstruck (LOL) that i didn't even ask about his nails. To me it looks as though he may be using pong either to lengthen or strengthen them. When I studied with David Russell in a masterclass, I did ask him however and he showed me the pong on his nails and also told me that one of the Assad brothers uses a tip constantly because one of his nails has become so thin and brittle over the years.

[restyrrr]

Can anyone please provide some information about the video at the beginning, showing Segovia: Recording location, date, original video source, etc.

Is this available on some DVD? (I'm interested in the performance by Segovia, which is trancated and cut short here. Is it available in full length on some DVD, or video?) Thanks!

[flutiste94]

hi! the recording location is in madrid, spain! as for the date it was on 1974...that s all i know...i m not sure if there is a dvd in this performance but you can find some other dvd's with segovia in a local store! cheers.......

[Y2H]

Noise of Flamenco? I doubt he said so as he himself played lots of Flamenco besides, Flamenco isnt rock it is a sophisticated music genre!!

[philomelodia]

Very nice. Where's the rest of it? It's always very interesting to hear a great player like that discuss the instrument of which he is such a master.

[bluemoon138]

Does anyone know the name of the piece Segovia is playing?

[stseanat]

Federico Moreno Torroba's Sonatina, first movement