Re: Tiempo de Zamba
- From: JonLorPro <JonLorPro@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2009 16:00:24 -0800 (PST)
On Feb 24, 7:47�am, "Steve Freides" <st...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
One of the pieces a student is working on (in Sagreras, book 2) is
marked 'tiempo de zamba' - anyone care to suggest a metronome marking -
the piece is in 6/8 - and offer any other comments on this? �I assumed
it was a dance form, and Wiki confirms that, with origins in Argentina.
-S-
In the realm of "...any other comments..."- this one, as all the
Sagreras studies, in spite of being simply written, can give a student
and teacher more to think about than is entailed just in learning the
notes as indicated. These studies tend to be overly burdened with
prosaic and obvious fingerings. This is good for basic instruction, I
suppose, but then they can also serve as introduction to the state of
affairs for fingerings as encountered in the world of guitar editions
generally, and become studies in assuming authority to oneself in
adapting them. There is room for a lot of improvement much of the
time. Not so much here, but you could try replacing jumping the hand
all the way up to bar with the 1st finger on the last chords of m.s 8
and 13 with the leaving the 3rd, 2nd, and 4th fingers from the
previous chords in place on their strings and sliding them up to the
fifth and tenth frets, respectively. The hand moves less distance,
and it introduces the frequent efficacy of reverse fingerings (3 on
third string, 2 on second on same fret). One can also retain the 1st
finger in its half-bar configuration from m. 14 through to the last
measure, even though a bar isn't called for in m. 15. But it keeps it
in place for the bar in m. 16.
But then, once this orientation towards greater technical efficiency
has begun to be explored, there is room to question whether that
orientation should always be primary. It would be more efficient to
finger m.s 10 and 12 in one position- barring in m. 10 and obtaining
the "E" on the fifth string, locating the "F" in m. 12 on the first
string to avoid the jump- but in these instances, would something be
lost in that pursuit? The release of the "A" in m. 10 to sound the
open string on the very next beat seems in keeping with the character
of the piece, and bothering to move up and back to get the "F" on the
second string in m. 12 speaks volumes- in one note!- about the
possibilities of coloristic registration.
Once the piece is learned to a rhythmically precise rendition,
specific techniques of interpretive can be applied. A piece that
consists of units of rhythmically severe profile like this one, can
begin to sound like a series of beads on a string, unless something is
done in the rendition to parallel the phrasing inherent in the
composition. The two phrases of the first period suggest an
increasing urgency culminating in their cadences- this can be made
more dramatic by applying crescendo, acelerando, gradually moving to a
more brilliant tone, increasing the strength with which the
syncopation of the last chords are delivered- making sure they are
simultaneous, and increasing the rigor with which the eighth note rest
is literally realized- and letting the delivery of the characteristic
8th-two 16ths-8th rhythm pick up some rubato on the way, evolving from
a mathematical precision towards a delivery in which the sixteenths
begin to take on an aspect almost like double grace notes. On a
technical level, though I am not an enormous fan of incessent
planting, it is a useful device here as the sixteenths become
foreshortened, to collate the three notes of the figure into one
gesture towards the final rest stroke on the "A" finger. With this
sort of growth wrapping up each phrase, the measures become one thing
rather than four things in a row.
In order then for the two phrases of the first period not to become
in themselves two things in a row, the phrase long interpretive
profile can be subtly applied the first time, then the whole wad not
having been shot, more overtly and exaggeratedly for the second
phrase. This allows for a "macro-growth" to occur over the course of
the whole period.
After the overt character of this opening, the phrase of m. s 9-12
has something with which to contrast itself, and it benefits from a
softer realization. Moderate the tone, roll the chords a bit- then
allow the original character to return over the course of the last
phrase. Lesson 39 of this volume, which I thought could have been the
"Zanbra" you meant until you specified which one it was, offers even
wider contrast between sections- also the possibility of redressing
what may have been some compositional compromises made in deference to
the assumed abilities o aprt of the student.
These are all techniques that can be put to deliberate use in more
developed works later on; the compact form of these concise studies
are ideal for inculcating them on a conscious level in initial
study.
With this sort of approach, many pieces in the first volumes of
Sagreras can be rescued from consignment to the pile of "learn 'em and
forget 'em" exercizes which at first glance they may seem to be. One
won't find David Russell or Manuel Barrueco programming them, but
they can be productively active repertoire for intermediate players
for some time.
Further considerations affecting interpretation would include the
social setting and purpose for which the intermediate player would
essay a performance. In the case of the "Zambra", one might want to
consider that it is a dance piece. Some of the suggestions I have
made could be indulged in at the expense of a consistent rendering of
the dance rhythm. If one were actually to play it for dancers, then
one would have to adhere to a strict style. Many people have to make
the discovery when first accompanying dancers that dancers can't jump
slow. But one doesn't always play dance music for actual dancing; to
play as if one were, for listening purposes, might result in a
performance that sounds too mechanical and rigid. The tension that
exists between the characteristic demands of a genre and the
particualr composotional exigencies of a piece written in that style
are like the tension at each end of a tuned string. Which polarity
emerges as most pre-eminent in ones rendering is a personal decision,
that can be affected by whether one is playing for an audience of
Argentinians, or the motley habitues of a lounge or cafe; by what
pieces with which it is being contrasted, by ones mood, and, of
course, if one is actually in a dance setting.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: Tiempo de Zamba
- From: Steve Freides
- Re: Tiempo de Zamba
- Prev by Date: Re: Easy pieces that sound impressive
- Next by Date: Video: Bream Masterclass
- Previous by thread: Re: Tiempo de Zamba
- Next by thread: Re: Tiempo de Zamba
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
Loading
