This is just some improvisation playing that will someday introduce my eclectic Solea and for now test out my new Zoom H2 recorder. Very rough with mistakes galore. In time if my hands get better and I get over the fact the recorder is going, maybe I can get the complete Solea (about 5-6 minutes long) polished up, on compas, and recorded without too much embarrassment.

Any ideas on improving recording or comments on playing are welcome. I know it is lousy, but I was anxious to get this recording system going.

NOTE: Correction made on name per Tomas's reply.

Hola Sam:

I would like to try to make a few comments although I never find it very easy to comment on how a person plays.

Ok easy things first:

As we say La Soleá which is feminine then we would normally say Prueba de La Solea Soleá rather than Prueba del Soleá . For those not familiar with Spanish language del is the contraction of de el which is masculine.

I like the recording sound a lot because it is natural without any other kinds of echo effects. I perfectly understand that flamenco guitarists do often record with added sound effects as it is required of us but it is very pleasant to hear it natural.

Of technique well as we know this just gets better with more opportunity to play and with getting more and more familiar with the falsetas that we are playing. I am not sure if there is a method that works well for all people but one thing which is quite simple is to take some time with each individual falseta and play it in different ways to get the feeling of it and of course to feel secure with what we want to express.

Last and most important for me this recording you have put here sounds like flamenco to me, very much clearly flamenco. Quickly to say but in this time that we live I hear many pieces of Spanish guitar music which incidentally I rather enjoy but they are classified as flamenco but they do not I think really are flamenco. In your case the best thing I want to say is that you really do sound flamenco and for me that is worth a lot.

Saludos cordiales


Tomás

Thanks for reply Tomas. I appreciate your attitude and understand your comment on appraising another playing as difficult.

No one likes to hear any criticism because they probably worked hard to get the recording together, but I feel it is necessary to receive constructive criticism as well as praise.

Thanks for correcting the title. I wish there was a course in Andalusian Spanish I could take online. I have no excuse for not knowing Spanish as I have been around Spanish speaking people all my life. Took Spanish in elementary school and my dad was a Spanish teacher when he was working on his doctorate in science. I have a mental block learning language.

Your statement that it sounds flamenco was one of the highest compliments anyone could give. Many "modern" flamencos don't recognize this pueblo style flamenco as sounding flamenco. Getting the good old flamenco sound isn't easy for someone that is basically self taught.

How did you feel about compas?

I want to experiment with recording. I was using the built in mics in this small recorder and in my living room with bad acoustics. Also sound was metallic because I still have on the titanium D'Addario strings. There is a lot to learn even with this simple little recorder, things like best rate to convert wav to mp3, how to divide and modify clips etc. My recorder has no reverb. I prefer using room acoustics over electronics. I really like the sound you got in that old church.

Manos Lentas,

Eso sueña muy FLAMENCO! There is something about your recording setup that makes it sound very pure and real. I'll leave the compas part to the expers but as far as aire goes...

It sounds very relaxed however some phrases are a bit rushed.

Sobre Todo (above all)... Sueña muy flamenco!

Keep posting and now I feel empowered to post some recordings to get the generous advice of our forum members.

ohjelo wrote:Manos Lentas,
It sounds very relaxed however some phrases are a bit rushed.

You are exactly correct ... when I have the recorder going I tend to rush some phrases. One in particular I rushed is a real tricky one. Also one remate is drug a little. I hope to hear your playing soon. This is a great resource we have here for free and regardless of how good or bad our playing sounds, it can be a benefit to all.

This H2 Zoom portable recorder is amazing! I just set it out on the table about 5 feet away and that was it. I was reading the book today and it has a metronome and guitar tuner in it. The whole setup fits in the palm of your hand.

ohjelo wrote:Manos Lentas,

Eso sueña muy FLAMENCO! There is something about your recording setup that makes it sound very pure and real. I'll leave the compas part to the expers but as far as aire goes...

It sounds very relaxed however some phrases are a bit rushed.

Sobre Todo (above all)... Sueña muy flamenco!

Keep posting and now I feel empowered to post some recordings to get the generous advice of our forum members.

Hola

I agree completely with you.

Please forgive me for the following observations:

Sueña from sonar which means to dream

Suena from sonar which means to sound


Saludos cordiales

Tomas

Hi Sam

A very beautiful Soleá it was too.

As you mentioned elsewhere I plan to record my playing so that the foro can give me pointers on how to improve my playing. Obviously seeing my hand positions etc will be more useful so I did plan to just record it using the movie settings with sound on a 5mpx camera.

That zoom h2 you have looks a tidy bit of tech. Am I going to need that kinda of quality for my recordings to be audible enough to tell whats happening or will my idea to use the camera suffice?

regards

garyo

Oh no! I wrote if wrong as my new keyboard is English.

Again:

Hola

I agree completely with you.

Please forgive me for the following observations:

Sueña from soñar which means to dream

Suena from sonar which means to sound


Saludos cordiales

Tomas

Gitano Escocia wrote:Hi Sam

A very beautiful Soleá it was too.

As you mentioned elsewhere I plan to record my playing so that the foro can give me pointers on how to improve my playing. Obviously seeing my hand positions etc will be more useful so I did plan to just record it using the movie settings with sound on a 5mpx camera.

That zoom h2 you have looks a tidy bit of tech. Am I going to need that kinda of quality for my recordings to be audible enough to tell whats happening or will my idea to use the camera suffice?

regards

garyo

I would think your camera's audio should be fine. Give it a try. Here is a falseta I am in a quandary over ... does it sound on compas and is phrasing acceptable for a Solea? When I play it, it sounds right, but when I listen to the recording, something sounds wrong. Then I listen again and it seems to work. I am trying to decide if I should omit this one from my Solea repertoire.

Impressive Sam! I'll go and look up that recorder.

Tomas,
Gracias. Was a bit rushing and written spanish and accents had always been my weakness.

Garyo,
I would be interested to see the quality you get from digital cameras with movie-mode features. Actually, My plan was to just use my laptop's built-in mic and webcam for the time being.