Matthew Hutchinson - A New Voice in Classical Guitar

My First Video Clips

Since my audio recording setup is about as reliable as the postal service, I've decided to take advantage of the video capture feature built into my digital camera and have recorded my first, ever, video clips. There are two distinct advantages to this:

1) I can actually watch myself playing so I can better gauge where I need to improve performance and posture (ie, do I look stiff while playing, or do I appear relaxed?). I've read that it's a really good idea to perform in front of a mirror. Well, this is my mirror (grin), and

2) Recording and editing video clips is significantly easier to do than getting my computer to cooperate with my amplifier and my guitar.

I was completely floored by the results. I had no idea this little camera of mine was capable of capturing and reproducing audio so effectively.

That said, here are the clips!

NOTE: Video clips I post here will always be in .AVI format. Any .AVI-compatible media player will have no problem with these, especially Windows.

Exercise 21
Exercise 23

And, once again, the sheet music for both exercises. Each exercise is numbered at the top left corner of the piece:

How Do I Read That Sharp Sign Again?

The last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun, and very frustrating. Family illness hasn't left me in the best of spirits for practicing much, but I've managed to stick with it.

Mazurka's still giving me fits. It's remarkable how difficult that piece is, despite its simplistic apperance. Constantly forgetting to acknowledge the sharps in some notes isn't helping either (grin). Sainz de la Maza's still got me trying to figure out how to smoothly transition to a chord position in which my second finger starts it on the fourth fret.

Last night's lesson proved very enlightening however. My teacher was able to help me see similarities between some of the chord structures that I hadn't noticed before. He wants me to see if I can hammer out all of page one of Maza for next week.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I present Mazurka (I'm learning the page on the right):

and Sainz de la Maza/Caprichos (It's the third line down that I'm having the most trouble with right now. The subtle note changes is a bit confusing):

New Territory!

This week, I begin venturing into new territory, and move beyond the 4th fret! I also get to start mastering the art of barre chords! There's a section of notes in the Seis Caprichos piece that has me barring all six strings on the third fret while arpeggiating G on the fourth string, B on the third string, D on the second string, high G on the first string, and then finishing with low G on the 6th string. Here's a picture:

Make no mistake, this is NOT an easy chord to maintain for long. Thankfully, the music doesn't require me to, but for the purpose of taking the picture, my thumb was exerting a good deal of pressure on the back of the neck so that my index fiinger could keep all six strings barred.

The real trick is going to be learning how to smoothly transition into and back out of that chord.

Mazurka

Last Monday went well. My arpeggios are steadily improving. I've been trying to improvise exercise #23 by putting an emphasis on the third note, though I've accidently wound up consistently emphasizing the second and third notes in a manner that creates something you could almost dance to (grin). I'm working to correct that.

I also discovered that I've been playing an F# instead of an F on the latest exercise he gave me, which explains why the first measure of the last line sounds so strange. That's another nasty habit I get to break now. hehehe...

This week, I've been given two new pieces to begin studying. Mazurka - a Polish dance - and a piece titled Seis Caprichos.

He offered to get me started on a few Beatles tunes, as he was rumaging through his vast collection of music to find something new for us to start working on. Never having been a Beatles fan, I hastily declined. I suggested returning to Christopher Parkening Guitar Method Book 1, to which he replied, "Oh, you're beyond that." Shocked, I said, "I'm what?"

We'd only touched on a few lessons from near the middle of the book before he got me interested in the collection of Spanish arpeggio studies that I've been practicing for the last few months. He repeated himself, and then we discussed the progress I've made since I began taking lessons. Apparently, the Christopher Parkening book I bought earlier this year is considered pre-College level 1 material. The pieces I've been studying are something that would likely be found in a College level 1 class. By learning more challenging pieces instead of going through the lessons outlined in Parkening's book, I've effectively boosted my skill level. Such is one of the benefits of private instruction.

Suffice it to say, we were both impressed with my progress. Now all I have to do is keep myself in check, keep practicing, and not let this little revelation go to my head. lol

I'd like to end this entry with a bit of advice for anyone considering taking up guitar. If you can learn to play, then you can do anything you set your mind to. Guitar is one of - if not the most - disciplined things I have ever comitted myself to learning. It's also the most difficult instrument I've ever played, yet it possesses so much beauty , both in its form and the music you can create with one. Whether you're interested in Jazz, Rock, Blues, Country, Metal, or anything in between, I highly recommend learning how to play.