Artists
| January Newsletter | ||||
| In this edition: Upcoming Snaufer-Garvin Harp & Guitar Events Upcoming guitar events in and around Houston Upcoming Pulling Strings Shows Practice Tips |
Upcoming Snaufer-Garvin Harp & Guitar Events
Marc Garvin: Guitar Tuesday January 25th at 7:00PM. Live performance to be aired on KUHF (88.7FM). This performance is in celebration of KUHF’s program "Front Row". It’s "Front Row’s" 1 year anniversary. Saturday February 5th at 7:30PM. Public Performance in Hughes Springs, Tx (East of Dallas in Cass County). Sponsored by The Cass County Performing Arts Society & The Texas Commission on the Arts. If your interested in going, please drop me an e-mail for directions. It’s about a 5 hour drive from Houston.
For more information, go to: http://www.guitarhouston.org Saturday February 12th & Sunday February 13th: Guitar Festival at Round Top. Featured performers include: Eliot Fisk, Quaternaglia Quartet, and the Cavatina Flute & Guitar Duo (Denis Azabagic & Eugenia Moliner). For more information, go to: http://www.festivalhill.org/GuitarFestival.html |
February 19, 2005 at 8pm: GuitaroMania 2005 Talento Bilingue de Houston
(TBH) Classical Guitarist Isaac Bustos will join my friend, flamenco
guitarist, Val Phoenix and his group, "Gitanerias flamenco quartet" in a
celebration of the classical and flamenco guitars. The Gitanerias flamenco quartet will perform music from their
upcoming
new CD, Ritmo Azul. They will also be joined by the dancers
of Gitanerias. The Second Annual Classical Minds Guitar Festival. May 31st through June 5th Moores School of Music, Texas Music Festival, University of Houston Valérie Hartzell, director and Kithara Duo, co-directors Private lessons • Chamber music coaching and Guitar Orchestra Class • Master classes • TMF Faculty Artist Concert Series featuring Kithara Duo, Snaufer-Garvin Duo, Beau Benson, Lucia y Valdemar: Gitanerias Flamenco, Randall Avers • Student Recital Click HERE for general information, more details to come! |
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Kimberly
Snaufer: Harp 
Practice Tips
Topic: Exercises for classical guitar
Most students have exercises that they have been assigned. Here’s a brief list of some of the benefits one receives from practicing chromatic exercises and/or scales:
- Strength: Both right and left hand strength are increased by playing the notes with good articulation and projection. Strength comes first, speed comes later. We don’t learn to play fast from practicing fast. In fact, fast practicing often leads to mistakes and poor technique. I prefer that students learn to play accurately and clearly first. Later, we will address speed.
- Coordination: The overall eye/hand coordination develops from practicing chromatic exercises and scales. Since the student is not having to concentrate on reading music, these exercises give him/her a chance for the eyes to train the fingers to play. After much careful and accurate repetition, the finger memory will set in and the hand and fingers will more easily reproduce what our brain has asked them to play. This is especially true when our brain is focused on reading music. If the fingers have been trained to play various patterns separately, then they are more likely to be able to reproduce the desired technique when we are reading music.
- Shift technique: Careful attention to shifts will allow the student to comfortably access different positions on the neck of the guitar. We do not want to always remain a first position player. There’s a whole lot more outside of First Position and accurate shifting will help you move up the neck.
Remember good shift technique when practicing shifts (If your left handed, please reverse the following instructions):
- Stop : Stop the string with the next Right Hand Finger
- Relax : Relax the left hand fingers and thumb
- Shift : Move left hand fingers and thumb of the left hand to the new position
- Play or follow through in the Right Hand