ESSAY ON THE TRUE ART OF PLAYING KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS By Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)

This is the second post dedicated to the Art of Interpretation/Performance, but this time from the perspective of the  keyboard which has a lot of similarities with the classic guitar. I previously posted Casals and the Art of Interpretation http://christianlaremont.blogspot.com/2015/05/casals-and-art-of-interpretation.html on May, 15, 2015. This treatise was written by C.P.E. BACH and was translated and edited by W. J. Mitchell under the editorial Norton & Co., 1949.

The Essay's main goal, according to Mitchell, is to raise "the art of performance, through teaching and practice to its perfection." Even though this was J.S. Bach's second son only extended theoretical work,the translator and editor states, "The most notable feature of this book is the attention given to artistic accompaniment, and it differs from all previous manuals on thorough bass."

Mitchell points out, "C.P.E. Bach was a musician's musician... His work is a compendium of the entire practice of music in the times of Frederick the Great (1740-1786)." Also noteworthy is the fact that, "This treatise is indispensable for every well informed musician..., pianist, singer or conductor." It's very impressive the list of accomplished musicians who have benefitted greatly from this mid eighteenth manual: Hayden, Mozart, Beethoven, Clementi, Czerny, etc.

Digital Sheet Music or Paper Sheet Music?

It's been almost 700 years since the invention of the printing press (1439) in Mainz, Germany, and we've come a long way in how we read and write books and documents of all different types. 

This post revolves around the possible transition to paperless, environment friendly music scores. Which one is better? A hard or a soft copy of my entire performance/music library?

For daily practice I use traditional sheet music. However, I've recently transitioned to a Microsoft Surface Pro 13" computer which comes along with me to all my musical events. This is where I now keep my solo guitar repertory (pdf files) which are organized in different folders: Standard Rep., Weddings, Funerals, etc. And thanks to my Microsoft Surface pen, I can write whatever might be necessary (fingerings, notes, chords, etc.) directly on the score.

In the past, having a gig was like preparing for a trip where you would have to first pack, then unpack once the performance was over. It was very time consuming to find specific scores for specific occasions and then have to return them back to the paper sheet music collection. 

Corporate Dinner Gig @ Chimney Rock Winery

Last night I had the pleasure to play for a selected group of people who work at the Chimney Rock Winery located in the heart of the Napa Valley Chimney Rock Winery Chimney Rock produces hand-crafted Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux-varietal blends from its estate vineyards in the Stag Leap District. Many thanks to Kelsie Earnest for booking me through GigSalad, and writing a five star review.  https://www.gigsalad.com/christian_laremont_san_francisco/review/291782

HARMONIC ANALYSIS: Canción from Canción y Danza No.1 A. R. Pipó

The Andante Cantabile, written in 1958, is generally a tonal piece. However the French influence, particularly C. Debussy, is present in this work through the use of the Dorian mode (B natural), modal mixture (cadence on D and not Dm in m.17) and colorful fournote chords throughout the piece.

||: A :|| B A' || The musical form of the Dance is a two part binary form where the sections are equivalent and equal in length. The harmonic content is sectional except in the B section (m.17) where we get an unexpected surprise with a cadence on D and not Dm. This foreshadows the arrival of the next and final movement the Allegro in D.

||: A :|| This section starts and ends on the tonic chord of Dm. Pipó introduces various chords from the Dorian mode ( F - G - Am, m.3-4) mixed with standard tonal chords ( E/G dim.- A dom.7th, m. 7).

The B section is used as a contrast to the previous section. The first four bars are resolved modally (IV - VII) on Dm. The next 4 bars end on an unexpected D major chord preceded by F and C (m.15-16).

The A' section is a slightly varied form of A with grace notes in m. 20-21. 

Danza from Canción y Danza No.1 - Allegro Arranged for Two Guitars

Andalusian born Antonio Ruiz-Pipó (1934-1997), virtuoso pianist and composer wrote Canción y Danza No.1 in 1958. More information on his background can be found here https://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/composer/composer_main?composerid=19939&ttype=BIOGRAPHY.

The work is a two mvt. piece and starts with a Andante cantible in D minor which is yuxtaposed to a contrasting Allegro in D major, both with a 6/8 time signature. This post includes my arrangement of the Allegro for two guitars.

The Importance of Good Posture for Musicians

This post is aimed at musicians with the important goal of increasing and/or improving both sound quality (tone) and sound quantity (volume). In order to achieve this, I will demonstrate how good posture has a direct impact on the hard to obtain "good tone production" during practice at home and live performance.

The image above shows a front and side view of the spinal column where we can see a vertical series of approximately thirty three small bones (vertebrae), which are separated by a vertical disc. It is divided into five different areas: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum and the tailbone. Our attention will focus on the first three upper parts. 

The anatomy of the spine shows the natural S-shaped curve (see side view). This curve that starts from top to bottom offsets the weight of gravity from the upper body. The spine is not designed to be straight nor C-shaped since it has to withstand weight from the rest of the body. This curve in the vertebral column allows our bodies to function properly helping our posture, balance, stability and flexibility while creating support for the arms, neck and head when in a sitting position during practice and performance.

Bad posture, whether sitting or standing, implies an “overuse' of the muscles when playing an instrument and does not help us support our bodies properly. This can have many negative short and long term effects such as aches/pain, and restricted movement of the arms which can result in physical fatigue and/or injuries.

KITHAROLOGUS: THE PATH TO VIRTUOSITY a technical workout manual for all guitarist

Kitharologus, published in 2009 by R. Iznaola, is in my opinion one of the most thorough and complete te chnical manuals around today. It should be considered as a continuation of the traditional "School of the Spanish Guitar" that has its roots in the Renaissance thanks to the Spanish vihuelists (L. de Milán, L. de Narváez, A. Mudurra, E. de Valderrábano, M. de Fuenllana, etc.). This work is continued by F. Sor (1778-1839), F. Tárrega (1852-1909), Regino Sainz de la Maza (1896-1981) to whom this book is dedicated, and E. Pujol. Iznaola and Domingo Carbajal are contemporaries who both studied with Regino at The Real Conservatory of Music in Madrid, Spain.

Important issues are addressed in the book such as time-management of practice routines, recommended practice plans and the presentation of a "complete training regimen that can be used as a regular routine for technical maintenance."There are nine sequential levels of proficiency, from preparatory to advanced with specific metronome indications for both right and left-hand training.

Exercise 38, Arpeggio Technique (cont.) from Level III found on page 38, will be under scrutiny in this post. According to Iznaola, in reference to this right hand exercise, "Indeed, ... this presents a peculiar approach to right-hand training in which positional framing and shifting and stroke type use, are combined in what may seem to some as highly unusual ways." This suggests, we as serious musicians, should endeavor to do exercises in "different" ways in order to improve our general playing ability and technique.

Professional Studio Recording

Finally, my first professional studio recording of the following six tracks:

1. Hommage- M. de Falla
2. Sonatina "Allegretto" - F. M. Torroba
3. Conde Carlos - L. de Narváez
4. The Entertainer - S. Joplin
5. Venezuelan Waltz No. 1 - A. Lauro
6. Choro J.T. Guimareas

They were recorded at Soundwire Studios located at Soundwire Studios, Suite 8D School St Plaza, Fairfax, CA 94930 and was recorded and mixed on Feb. 6, 2020 in only three hours. You will notice a few mistakes that were mostly due to a lack of recording and postproduction time.You can listen to these tracks https://soundcloud.com/search?q=christian%20laremont