Matthew Hutchinson - A New Voice in Classical Guitar

And Stretch!

I've been having fits with a chord in one of my arpeggio studies. My fingers don't have the stretch needed to form it without hurting after just a couple of seconds (a picture of it will be posted later. It's a nasty little bugger). I told my teacher about this, and asked him if he had any exercises he could teach me that would help me further develop my dexterity and and coordination. Sure enough, he had two I've now added to my list of stretching exercises. I'll tell you about them later. For now, I'll just say one of them is very painful. That will change as my fingers develop more.

Duet Eight - MP3

And now, for your listening pleasure, Duet Eight. Feel free to try and follow along:

NOTE: You may need to adjust your volume. The recording quality ain't the greatest.

Arpeggiating Chord Studies

Tonight, we did some work on this exercise:

The piece is based on a Spanish melody. I've been working on it during the last few weeks, but I've been having a devil of a time getting the finger positions from measure to measure down. After explaining this to my teacher, he suggested I strum the chords that make up each measure, first - the goal being that, by the time I've got the chords down, I can start arpeggiating them. To demonstrate, he played the entire exercise without arpeggiating the chords. The difference in the texture of the music is amazing. Arpeggios sound so much more lush and beautiful, even for a simple exercise (grin).

The exercise is my focus for this week.

Meanwhile, I'm going to start to work on a recording of Duet Eight now, and see if I can't get a decent MP3 posted later tonight.

P.S. - The chord diagrams you see above the start of each measure are mine. At the end of our last session, my teacher challenged me to identify the finger positions for each measure. Unfortunately, circumstances have prevented us from having another lesson for the last three weeks, but I finally got to show him what I'd accomplished tonight. Please excuse the fact that the diagrams are horizontal. I drew them as if I were looking down at the fretboard.

Music is Such Sweet Bliss

It always amazes me how incredibly beautiful even the most simple of songs can sound. Such is how I feel about Duet Eight, and another, nameless, arpeggio study I'm working on. They aren't even that long, but they sound really cool.

I'm back to my regular hour-long practice sessions starting tonight, now that the newness of City of Heroes has begun to fade. Tonight was especially fun. I felt a reconnection with the guitar that reminded me of just how much enjoyment I get out of playing it. I'll be making another recording soon, and will try and post it sometime next week.

May - The Month of Silence

And this time, my only excuse is a new Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) called City of Heroes.

Lessons have been delayed the last couple of weeks due to inclimate weather and Memorial Day, but I'm still putting in at least a half hour's worth of practice every night.

May was an especially challenging month. I started working on a study that has me arpeggiating chords that utilize sharps on the first four frets, going up all six strings. My fingers feel like they've been playing the fretboard version of Twister.

I've also learned how to play the harmony line from Duet Eight. I've never played past the fourth fret until now, but I now know the Am scale (grin).

My teacher told me we'll resume lessons the Monday after next. Until then, I'll try and post another update next Monday.