Giuliani Op. 71 No. 1: Sonatine, Minuet, Trio

[MisterMcBraineater]

One thing. I play the Menuetto section smoothly, and you play it kind of disconnected. Just a matter of interpretation, I guess. Any thoughts? I know one interpretation cannot be "right" over another, but how does everyone else play that section? Good job, by the way.

[usafjazzguitar16]

@MisterMcBraineater Thanks for the nice comment. I wouldn't exactly call any of my classical guitar playing "smooth" as I'm primarily a jazz guitar player. With that said, I found the Menuetto to be extremely difficult for me because of the dotted eighth/sixteenth rhythm that I was constantly screwing up with a swinging eighth note rhythm because of my jazz background and natural tendencies. I found myself having to really over-exaggerate to try to get it right.

[usafjazzguitar16]

@MisterMcBraineater Also, I'd recommend smoothing it out as I think that's most appropriate, but if it's something you are really interested in- I would recommend talking to or taking lessons with a true classical guitar player to get much better insight then I'll be able to give you.

[esveastu]

i love this performance. <3 Im currently learning this piece, it's very nice to play. Great job, I enjoyed the timing as well.

[usafjazzguitar16]

@esveastu Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad this video was useful to you. Best of luck, I'd love to see a video of your performance of it.

[MrChillstar]

I just learned it by myself and ok ur right - you gotta have to do a slowly tempo at the beginning because of the many variations in the rythm (e.g. the triplets at the end of the first part)..

[usafjazzguitar16]

@MrChillstar I agree, those rhythmic variations can really trip you up!

[MrChillstar]

way too slow..

[usafjazzguitar16]

@MrChillstar I disagree. Each movement of this larger work, including the second video I have playing the Rondo movement, has it's own interpretated tempo. After listening to dozens of recordings of this, my tempos fell right in the middle of the road of all the recordings. Also, like any guitarist- you can only play what your technically able to at the time and these tempos felt good to me then. The only movement that was taken under tempo is my other video, performing the Rondo.

[liosama]

I never understood this classical guitar posture, how the hell do you manage to keep the guitar up with your left hand thumb??

My teacher practically wants me to adopt this posture but for the life of me I can't, especially in pieces where I have to travel across the whole fretboard.

Well played though^^ :)

[usafjazzguitar16]

Thanks!

The guitar is not being held up by my left thumb, as my left thumb is resting on the center of the back of the fretboard.

Most classical guitarists will use either a footstool to rest the guitar on their left knee or they will use a device known as an A-Frame that will accomplish the same thing. Being 6 feet tall, both of those approaches are very uncomfortable for me and caused me discomfort. I simply use a strap to bring the guitar up to me so I can comfortably sit in the chair.

[liosama]

I too am 6 feet tall and I find that I have to lean too far forward to play thus giving me a bad bent back.

Did you purchase this strap from a store or something?

[usafjazzguitar16]

It's a standard guitar strap that you can find at any music store.

[Estonianwoodsman]

@usafjazzguitar16 i've never seen someone play like that before. interesting. having a relatively short torso, i'm happy i can use a footstool rather comfortably most of the time.

[usafjazzguitar16]

@Estonianwoodsman Playing with a strap and a A frame was causing me pain in my lower back. I tried it for 5 years or so and could never get adjusted. Personally, I'd rather be comfortable then to follow a classical guitar tradition. With comfort, I'm able to care more about what I'm doing musically rather than thinking about how much my back hurts in the middle of a piece as long as this.

[marywinmusic]

Thanks so much for uploading this piece Aaron. Never thought I'd find a good length recording of this song online. Took me *forever* to sight read hehe, playing along with your post will definitely help so thank you. I like how you made it light and bouncy in great places. Best with your upcoming performances. ***** Mary

[usafjazzguitar16]

Thanks!

[usafjazzguitar16]

Thanks!

[usafjazzguitar16]

Glad is was helpful! It's a wonderful piece, best of luck working on it! I have a video of the Rondo movement too. My video of the Rondo is a little under-tempo, mainly because it's fairly challenging and that's the speed I was comfortable with at the time.

Best of luck!

[usafjazzguitar16]

Thanks! I don't consider myself much of a classical guitarist, but I also have a video of the Rondo up if you haven't found it yet. I remember seeing other videos of some very fine players performing these pieces.

Best of luck on your final audition.