Is anyone here into REALY difficult stuff?

HI!

I was wondering if some of you are playing .. letz call it "unusual" things too. Like experimental stuff or 20th Century Classical stuff. Most of this stuff is quite difficult to listen to, and even more difficlut to play.

I personally am a metal guitarist, but in order to improve my skills and to collect new, unusual ideas i try to play real difficult stuff. Like:


- Benjamin Britten´s "Nocturnal"
- Christobal Halffter´s "Codex I"
- William Walton´s "5 Bagatelles"
- Villa Lobos Etudes
- etc..

I am not realy a big fan of that kinda stuff (that means i´m not the one who realy likes to listen to this music) - although Walton and Britten are cool - but from the educational point of view, it is the best thing you can do. Because those scales, runs, chordprogressions are so SICK and UNUSUAL that you do get to play things that are EXTREMELY difficult.

For guitar there (at a university) there are 5 levels:
1. very easy (beginner stuff)
2. easy (more advanced beginner - common music)
3. moderate (most popular accoustic songs belong to that)
4. difficult (these are very challenging pieces - example: "Leyenda" or "Classical gas")
5. very difficult(extreme section)

All the above mentioned pieces belong to the last category.
To get an idea of what i´m talking about listen to this one here: http://www.midiworld.com/cgibin/x.cgi/mid/c3/walton1.mid

This is the first of Waltons "5 bagatelles" - i´m still trying to play it - and it almost breaks my fingers.

So - is there anyone out ther who takes the challenge? *L*

Cheerz

-=[Azrael]=-

I spend a lot of time figuring out Primus tunes. Not on the same level, but I myself have actually been focusing on grooving and playing with more feeling lately. Right now I want to be more of a Juan Nelson than a Victor Wooten.

I've been working on Paganini's caprice #5 for about 2 months, almost got it all the way there.

The paganini caprices really take the cake when it comes to diffaculty, I know some professional violin players who won't touch the stuff. Caprice # 5 was the only one i would attempt on guitar.

Originally posted by Azrael
http://www.midiworld.com/cgibin/x.cgi/mid/c3/walton1.mid

That's one of the worst things I've ever heard. It sounds like some outtake from a cheap Japanese video game.

Originally posted by chris mood
I've been working on Paganini's caprice #5 for about 2 months, almost got it all the way there.

That's a really fun one. I learned it a long time ago, and then forgot it. You should check out #16.

By the way, are you doing it classical style or shredder style?

Originally posted by Christoph
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Azrael
[B]http://www.midiworld.com/cgibin/x.cgi/mid/c3/walton1.mid

That's one of the worst things I've ever heard. It sounds like some outtake from a cheap Japanese video game.


*LOL*!! Well - infact its one very famous and highly decorated piece of music :D - don´t forget that it´s only MIDI - you should hear the orchestral version of it with Christopher Parkening on the guitar - sounds very beautiful.

But as i said - the reason why i posted it was not because i wanna persuade anyone to listen to it and like it - its because if u try to play it you will improve yer guitarplay ALOT! :D

-=[Azrael]=-

Well I'm not using distortion if thats what mean. I'm using a pick though.
By the way, did you make it through both pages when you learned it, or just the opening section that repeats?
I'm about half way through the 2nd page at this pt., it's really tough!
I'll have to check out #16
Have you seen the music for all 24? Some of them are really insane. Apparently this classical guitar player (Fisk?) recorded all 24 of them, I don't know how he did it, I would love to hear the disc.
Paganini is EVIL!!!

I have some Paganini stuff for guit.. i think i never tried the 5th one - only the 24th and the "moto perpetuo".

Paganini´s cool - and so is Andrés Segovia (without whom the guitar probably would not be a solo-instrument but only a rythminstrument used to accompany other instruments)

Have u ever tried "Ciaccona" by J. S. Bach?? what a helluva piece!

What i got from Paganini is the "Grand Sonata For Guitar Solo" - it´s got a "Very Difficult" rating too.

Need any transcriptions? I got heaps of stuff!


-={Azrael)=-

Elliot Fisk.. voted top classical guitar player in a number of polls.

I think what he meant by classical or shred was whether or not you're using a classical guitar (?)

are your transcriptions notated in tab or musical notation?
If there in musical notation send um my way please.
Thanks!!

Hey....nice web page!!

Chris, yeah I meant if you were playing it classical-fingerpicking style or with a pick. I always played it with distortion and a lot of palm muting.

I learned the first couple pages that repeat, but when I got into the other stuff it just got too weird. It started into these diminished scales, and I just couldn't stand it.

That's how it goes with most of the Caprices. They start out really well, with a cool melody, and then they descend into a diminished cacophony after a few pages.

I still cling to the opinion that the older stuff is all thats needed for a challenge. If you don't believe me try playing dance macabre. Or fur elise (unless im thinking of the wrong thing), or flight of the bumblebee, or just about anything fast by tchakovsky (i know i misspelled that).

I have the following stuff printed as normal musical notation:

- Richard Rodney Bennet "Impromptus"
- Claude Debussy "Two Preludes"
- Heinz Kratochwil "Triptychon"
- Axel Borup-Jörgensen "Preludes for Guit op 76"
- Frank Martin "Quatre Pieces Breves" (good stuff)
- Roman Haubenstock-Ramati "Hexachord 1 & 2" (never seen a notation like that before!)
- Benjamin Britten "Nocturnal Op. 70" (masterpiece!)
- J. S. Bach "Ciaccona" (from Partita 2 a violino solo senza basso BWV 1004)
- Nicolo Paganini "Grand Sonata For Guitar Solo"
- Hans Erich Apostel "Six Pieces of music"
- Heitor Villa Lobos "Quinq Préludes"
- Francisco Tarrega "full techincal studies" (excelent excercises!)
- J. S. Bach "Suite E-Moll" (BWV 996)
- Christobal Halffter "Codex I"
- William Walton "Five Bagatelles"

.. yupp - and maybe a few other things that i forgot *L*

You might not know the majority of it, but be sure it´s the most difficult stuff for guitar available. Most of these have been transcribed by Karl Scheit, tutor at Vienna Music Conservatory (unfortunately died in 1995 - he was a great teacher).


oh - but i´m still a metal musician *LOL*

so if u want any of these feel free to ask - i can scan em and give it to those who wanna have them.

:)

Oh btw - most of these pieces have been performed by Julian Bream - ony of my fav classical guitarists.

Cheerz

-=[Azrael]=-

Originally posted by chris mood
Hey....nice web page!!

Thanx! :)

Originally posted by chris mood
are your transcriptions notated in tab or musical notation?
If there in musical notation send um my way please.
Thanks!!

Will you ever reply to my email? *L*

-=[Azrael]=-

hey...I'm not familiar w/those works but am always looking for new stuff to play. I like stuff that is challenging (but not impossible), so please, if you don't mind send me a peice you think I might enjoy. thanx!!

But I can afford to break the rules every now and then...

I think that for any serious guitarist, we don't like to set limitations for ourselves. And that's the way I've always been, not just when it comes to music, but when it comes to everything else in my life. When I started out on guitar, I never thought that I would get this far, however, with this instrument there are so many endless possibilities, and it kind of takes on a life of it's own.

From the very beginning, I studied classical pieces (fingerstyle) on acoustic guitars, so nothing has really changed today, because I always go back to my roots. However, when it comes to the guitar, my natural feel is for the blues. Sure, I can shred with the best of them, but what truly matters is what's inside your heart. What truly matters is taking the sounds you're hearing inside your head and playing them on the fretboard. Taking these mesmerizing sounds, and making them a part of your immediate reality. :)

-Joseph

I´m just sending you a 2.5 MB mail - i hope yer inbox will take it *L*.

You´ll get Frank Martin´s "Quatre Pieces Breves"

next thingy u´ll get from me is J.S. Bach´s "Ciaconna" or "Chaconne". Prepare for the worst *LOL*

-=[Azrael]=-

dammit - it didnt go through!

552 Requested mail action aborted: exceeded storage allocation
554 5.0.0 ... Service unavailable

...

Chris - have u got any other email accounts.. or .. do you have MSN?? i could send it directly PC to PC via MSN....

.. or ICQ?
-> mine 96352286
:(