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Diego Alonso Music
United States
Приєднався 17 лис 2012
I help classical and flamenco guitar students understand and play their music confidently with proven strategies that minimize challenges and accelerate progress.
How Your Practice Time is Causing Major Problems!
I remember when I was in college I would often have only 15-30 minutes to practice between classes or school work and I would practice as much material as possible in that time no
matter what. The result wasn’t pretty.
My hands, arms, neck, and back would feel stiff from tension and I would almost always end my practice sessions feeling like my brain was just on a hamster wheel set to turbo speed!
Of course, being pressed for time is extremely common, especially for full-time students and full-time professionals. So wanting to pack our practice sessions to the rim and hit the gas is quite normal.
But practicing like this would be similar to doing 4 loads of laundry in
one standard-sized machine with the spin-cycle set to FAST. Your whites will turn pink, your washing machine will fly through your wall, and 3/4ths of your clothes will still be dirty.
In our practice sessions, it’s always best to prioritize our tasks, but when we're pressed for time, we need to be even more specific and strategic about our practice goals. For example, today I'm working on preparing a piece for a recording and I only have an hour to spend on the
piece.
An hour isn’t enough time to cover everything I want in my piece so my plan is to work through my technical challenge spots rather than focusing on expression, phrasing, or anything else. Being so specific will allow me to go through my practice session in a relaxed state, and with plenty of time to make improvements. Then when I finish my practice session, I'll feel
good about the work I've done and know that it will stick for the next practice session.
Here are some tips to help you keep you from rushing through practice:
• Schedule your practice time in your calendar and make sure that you will not have any interruptions. This might even mean that you need to wake up 30 minutes earlier to practice (e.g., I wake up at 6:00 so that I can start my 1st practice session at 6:30).
• Write down your specific goals for your practice session.
• Be efficient, but take your time and stay relaxed. Remember that rushing and practicing with tension will breed mistakes and stagnation. Just do what you can in your session and leave what’s left for next time. As long as you're efficient and consistent, you will improve.
HAPPY PRACTICING! 👍🏽😃
➡️ FREE PRACTICE GUIDE ⬅️
www.diegoalonsomusic.com
matter what. The result wasn’t pretty.
My hands, arms, neck, and back would feel stiff from tension and I would almost always end my practice sessions feeling like my brain was just on a hamster wheel set to turbo speed!
Of course, being pressed for time is extremely common, especially for full-time students and full-time professionals. So wanting to pack our practice sessions to the rim and hit the gas is quite normal.
But practicing like this would be similar to doing 4 loads of laundry in
one standard-sized machine with the spin-cycle set to FAST. Your whites will turn pink, your washing machine will fly through your wall, and 3/4ths of your clothes will still be dirty.
In our practice sessions, it’s always best to prioritize our tasks, but when we're pressed for time, we need to be even more specific and strategic about our practice goals. For example, today I'm working on preparing a piece for a recording and I only have an hour to spend on the
piece.
An hour isn’t enough time to cover everything I want in my piece so my plan is to work through my technical challenge spots rather than focusing on expression, phrasing, or anything else. Being so specific will allow me to go through my practice session in a relaxed state, and with plenty of time to make improvements. Then when I finish my practice session, I'll feel
good about the work I've done and know that it will stick for the next practice session.
Here are some tips to help you keep you from rushing through practice:
• Schedule your practice time in your calendar and make sure that you will not have any interruptions. This might even mean that you need to wake up 30 minutes earlier to practice (e.g., I wake up at 6:00 so that I can start my 1st practice session at 6:30).
• Write down your specific goals for your practice session.
• Be efficient, but take your time and stay relaxed. Remember that rushing and practicing with tension will breed mistakes and stagnation. Just do what you can in your session and leave what’s left for next time. As long as you're efficient and consistent, you will improve.
HAPPY PRACTICING! 👍🏽😃
➡️ FREE PRACTICE GUIDE ⬅️
www.diegoalonsomusic.com
Переглядів: 37
Відео
This is what PROS do instead!
Переглядів 1884 години тому
I was very much a perfectionist in the first half of my music career and it was terrible. I often doubted my skills and abilities as a musician, I never thought I was good enough, and I would constantly push myself really hard - too hard - to get unreasonably better. Perfectionism, in my opinion, comes from our misguided ideas that the recordings we hear of professional musicians, and the conce...
Are You Struggling With Guitar? THIS Could Be Why?
Our practice should never turn into an unmotivating and unenjoyable experience. Unfortunately, many of us unwittingly end up in this position because we prioritize the wrong things in our practice. Instead of focusing on making small and consistent improvements over time and with relaxation, we unconsciously work toward immediate “fixes“ and expect them to stick after one go. Or, we’re simply i...
How & When Practice Performance Before It's Too Late!
Переглядів 1
This one was my biggest mistake as a professional musician early on. I discovered on stage during my first performance that I wasn’t prepared for performance even though I could play my pieces very well at home during practice! I incorrectly assumed that because I could play well at home, I would have no problem performing publicly. I was thinking one-sidedly and didn’t take into account how I ...
Focus on THIS Instead Before It's Too Late!
One of the biggest mistakes many of us make as music students is to focus exclusively on improving technique first and put musical expression and sound quality off until we feel that our technique is “good enough.” Unfortunately, the result of this strategy is that by the time our technique gets “good enough,” our playing will sound mechanical rather than musical. Just like we need to have prac...
Science Reveals How THESE Distractions Cause Major Memory Problems!
This error is another close relative of Mindless Practice. The difference is that when we practice with distractions, we’re not necessarily practicing mindlessly. In fact, we could be practicing in a very focused state with clear goals and all, but... (Oh....sorry, my phone just went off. FaceBook. No big deal.) Anyway, we could be doing everything right and making progress... (Uggh!! Hold on, ...
Are YOU Expecting More Than You Should?
Переглядів 1819 годин тому
Another big mistake I used to make was to expect that my corrections to a mistake in one or two practice sessions would permanently eliminate the mistake. When it returned, albeit with fewer occurrences, I would get frustrated and wonder why I wasn’t getting better. Ironically, I was getting better; I just didn’t realize it. Oftentimes, as students, we expect faster results than what’s possible...
Do THIS To Maximize Your Success
Переглядів 21614 годин тому
Have you ever had a practice session where you repeated a phrase a bunch of times until you got it right once and then moved on to the next phrase to do the same thing? (Don’t worry, I’ve done this too!). Just a few empirical studies have looked at ideal success rates. The lowest rate I’ve seen is 70% for motor skills and the highest is 85% for cognitive skills. I want to emphasize that it is o...
This BIG (and Common) Practice Mistake Can Reverse Your Progress!
Переглядів 28219 годин тому
Most Students Make This Mistake: Mindless Practice: When I was conducting and reading expert interviews for my master’s thesis on expert practice strategies in flamenco guitar, almost every expert said that practicing mindlessly was the biggest mistake students make. This means repeating something over and over again without clear goals, good concentration, or a strategic game plan. This mistak...
This Practice Mistake Makes You WORSE!
Переглядів 587День тому
Practicing with Tension. In my opinion, the number one mistake that most of us make when playing and practicing is to do so with unnecessary tension. Whether it's in our bodies or minds, tension results in mistakes, plateaus, walls, regression, injuries, and plenty of frustration. Take a minute to think of your favorite guitarists playing on stage. Do they look extremely tense or do they look l...
La Paloma for Solo Guitar (Yradier / Tárrega) | Diego Alonso (classical guitar)
Переглядів 3,4 тис.6 місяців тому
FREE ♫ & TAB @ diegoalonsomusic.ck.page/lapaloma La Paloma ("The Dove") was written by Spanish, Basque composer Sebastián de Iradier y Salaverri (1805-1865, Spain) around 1860 after visiting Cuba. As you can see, Iradier's last name is listed as "Yradier;" the new spelling became his pen name for publications. La Paloma is written in Habanera or "contradanza" style, a popular dance style and rh...
Vuelvo al Sur (by Astor Piazzolla) | Diego Alonso (Classcal Guitar)
Переглядів 3,9 тис.Рік тому
Vuelvo al Sur by Astor Piazzolla (arr. Gary Ryan). Lesson @ www.diegoalonsomusic.com/ Other than a few minor variations, I have mostly stayed true to Gary Ryan's arrangement. The level of this piece is around Intermediate, level 1 of 3. The technique is not very difficult. What is more challenging is the expression (dynamics, tone, tempo, etc.). Please remember to click LIKE 👍🏽 and SUBSCRIBE if...
Complete Bar Chord Tutorial (PART 2) for Beginner and Intermediate Guitar Students
Переглядів 8 тис.Рік тому
🙏🏽 Please help support this free educational channel by subscribing, sharing my videos, and/or donating via the “Thanks” button above ⬆︎. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! 🙏🏽 PART 1: ua-cam.com/video/OblxrO5RyPo/v-deo.html Please watch part 1 first if you are uncertain about basic barre mechanics or if you need help with 2 & 3-string barre chords. DESCRIPTION Complete Bar Chord Tutorial (PART 2) for Beginn...
Complete Bar Chord Tutorial (PART 1) for Beginner and Intermediate Guitar Students.
Переглядів 24 тис.Рік тому
🙏🏽 Please support this free educational channel by subscribing, sharing my videos, and/or donating via the “Thanks” button above ⬆︎. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! 🙏🏽 DESCRIPTION Complete Bar Chord Tutorial (PART 1) for Beginner and Intermediate Guitar Students. This video is intended for beginner to intermediate students. All demonstrations break down the fundamental components and correct mechanics of...
Complete Tremolo Tutorial: Beginner & Intermediate
Переглядів 452 тис.Рік тому
The Complete Tremolo Tutorial for Beginner & Intermediate Students. In this video I show 3 different trémolos: 1) the classical trémolo (4-note), 2) the flamenco trémolo (5-note), and 3) a popular 3-note trémolo. This video is intended for beginner to intermediate students. All demonstrations break down the fundamental components and correct movements of this technique. I also included several ...
Performance: Op. 60, Etude No. 7 (Matteo Carcassi)
Переглядів 3,1 тис.Рік тому
Performance: Op. 60, Etude No. 7 (Matteo Carcassi)
Op 60, Etude No 7 (Matteo Carcassi) • Slow & Close Version For Practice
Переглядів 3,3 тис.Рік тому
Op 60, Etude No 7 (Matteo Carcassi) • Slow & Close Version For Practice
Beginner's Guide to the Up & Down Rasgueado
Переглядів 3,5 тис.Рік тому
Beginner's Guide to the Up & Down Rasgueado
Complete Thumb Rasgueado Tutorial: Beginner & Intermediate Flamenco Guitar
Переглядів 2,6 тис.Рік тому
Complete Thumb Rasgueado Tutorial: Beginner & Intermediate Flamenco Guitar
Alegrias en La • Slow for Practice (Manuel Granados)
Переглядів 1,3 тис.Рік тому
Alegrias en La • Slow for Practice (Manuel Granados)
Flamenco Alegrías Explained • Beginner to Intermediate • Alegrías en LA (Manuel Granados)
Переглядів 3,5 тис.Рік тому
Flamenco Alegrías Explained • Beginner to Intermediate • Alegrías en LA (Manuel Granados)
Abanico #1: How to Play a Continuous Fan Rasgueado (EASY) (P-AM-P)
Переглядів 14 тис.Рік тому
Abanico #1: How to Play a Continuous Fan Rasgueado (EASY) (P-AM-P)
Abanico #2: How to Play a Continuous Fan Rasgueado (EASY) (P-C-I)
Переглядів 6 тис.Рік тому
Abanico #2: How to Play a Continuous Fan Rasgueado (EASY) (P-C-I)
Romance Anónimo + Estudio en Mi Menor • Slow for Practice
Переглядів 1,5 тис.2 роки тому
Romance Anónimo Estudio en Mi Menor • Slow for Practice
Romance Anónimo & Estudió en Mi Menor • Performance & History
Переглядів 2,9 тис.2 роки тому
Romance Anónimo & Estudió en Mi Menor • Performance & History
Soleá by Manuel Granados • Slow for Practice
Переглядів 1,8 тис.2 роки тому
Soleá by Manuel Granados • Slow for Practice
Ejercicio No 9 • Slow for Practice (Jose Ferrer)
Переглядів 7022 роки тому
Ejercicio No 9 • Slow for Practice (Jose Ferrer)
Zapateado • Slow for Practice (Luigi Marraccini)
Переглядів 9652 роки тому
Zapateado • Slow for Practice (Luigi Marraccini)
El Vito • Slow for Practice (Jose de Azpiazu)
Переглядів 3 тис.2 роки тому
El Vito • Slow for Practice (Jose de Azpiazu)
Es bueno ver que lo estas haciendo bien maestro , que tengas un gran dia . Dios los bendiga .
Muchas gracias Adam! Igualmente! Un abrazo!
thanks a lot Diego. pls let me know if learning 2 or more diff songs in a day is ok. or do i have to master 1 before moving to the next song. TIA
You’re very very welcome! Yes, I think two different pieces in a day is perfectly fine. Personally, I don’t like working on more than two at the same time in general unless the third piece is relatively short and significantly easier than the other two. I hope this helps! Thanks so much for commenting!
Thank you for sharing this valuable information. I can definitely relater to this.
You’re very welcome! Thank you so much for commenting!
Thank you. Exactly what I needed.
You’re very welcome! So glad to help. Thanks so much for commenting!
Thanks a lot for this one, I've been really interested in the optimal repetition rate for improvement and practice efficiency. Any chance you could share that reference about the 70% min. success rate in practicing if you had it handy?
You’re very welcome! And yes, absolutely. I just added some extra notes and references in the video description. Thanks so much for commenting!
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Thanks very much for sharing the details. Interesting to me that the optimum allows for more error than I would have thought.
👍👍
Thank you. I especially like your hammer analogy and your point about the 70% target and establishing greater accuracy. I was applying these ideas today as I work towards performance of a piece which has fallen out of my fingers.
I’m so glad to hear that this is helpful! Thank you for commenting!
Thanks I needed this
You’re very welcome. Thanks so much for commenting!
Successful
Aw crap, that's like 80% of my practice sessions. Time to bust out the metronome again
😂It’s ok! I did that for years. It’s totally reversible! Thanks for commenting! 🙏🏽
Great advice. Thank you!
You’re very very welcome! Thank you so much for your comment 🙏🏽
Tocas genial
Muchas gracias! Allí voy de camino. Poquito a poco!
En français, merci.
Bravo
Could you create an tutorial video about apoyando arpeggios, which I saw Vicente Amigo using?
and 6 stroke tremolo p-m-i-a-m-i, 3 finger picado
Great suggestion! I will put that on my list. Thank you so much!
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic i thank you 🙏 apoyando arpeggio is pretty hard
Great strategy. Thank you.
Great teacher :)
Thank you! 😃
Great. Thank you.
Melodia el Sor. Not Rubira.
Hi! Thanks for your comment! Melodía de Sor could very well be another one a very many titles given to this piece since it may have even been written by Sor himself. Musicologists Nacho Bellido (2011), Pedro Martinez Pinilla (n.d.) and Rico Stover (2013) point to either Antonio Rubira Peral (1821-1880) or Fernando Sor (1778-1839) as the probable composers.
❤🎉❤🎉❤
Thank you sir i like it🫡
So nice of you!
That's awesome explanation, but how to get to such speed? The accent should be on I finger going up? Can't make it sound continious ;(
Hi Andrey! There are several strategies to build speed. They all start with the overarching rule to keep the fingers loose and light. Avoid playing with unnecessary tension because that will slow you down. For the accents, I recommend practicing your accents on different fingers so that your overall rasgueado sounds balanced. Once it does, you can chose to accent one finger over another. I hope that helps!
As a Classical pianist this has helped me to memorize difficult peices.
That’s great to hear! I’m very happy to have helped. Thank you for your comment. 🙏🏽
I realty enjoy your lessons. What is the brand and size of guitar strings you are using?
Thanks so much for your comment! I’m glad that you enjoyed the lesson. I use a combination set that includes these bass and treble strings: • Basses: amzn.to/3yrfhDW • Trebles: amzn.to/3K4m4WO I love these strings and have used them for years! Hope you like them 🙏🏽
You can do this for the next 20 years that you wont get even close to his speed
You can do it! Focus on keeping your hands, fingers, and shoulder loose and light. That’s the key! 🙏🏽
Great content! Thanks!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Excellent work
Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for commenting!
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic Im from London UK and play flamenco guitar , wanted to brush up on my technique and your videos are perfect bro ... appreciate you
@@DiegoAlonsoMusic can you do mineras or direct me to your videos of that style please
I would love to record a Minera lesson at some point. Actually, I have a whole list of lessons that I would like to record and share but i’ve been preoccupied for the last year developing a new, live, coaching-Masterclass program that I’m about to launch. Very excited about it and will share information about it on UA-cam soon!
Great lesson !!
Glad you liked it! Thanks so much for commenting!
Excellent video.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for commenting!
Really like this Really feel like if you wanted to you could throw a few rasquedos into the strumming parts and make it more flamenco...
Absolutely! Thanks for commenting!
7 is the favourite of the 25 studies although 2 is fun too. Thanks for sharing supports info A footstool and lift ? The idea of using both hadn't occurred to me so l shall invest in a lift because my shoulder and neck get stressed with extended playing times
Smoooth rendition
There are guitarists and then there is the real deal and then there is another level of intonation dynamically projected by few Diego ticks all the above, beautiful touch , 'another ,level' ... Thanks
What a nice comment! Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video! 🙏🏽❤️
Excellent demo and tutorial.. 👌 I've been playing for years but I would guess that the teacher started before 10 years old to develop such dexterity?
Thank you so much for your comment! Glad you enjoyed the video :) I actually started in my early 20s. I also have students who have started in their 50s. It’s never too late!
This is the best produced lesson I've seen on UA-cam. Concise, yet complete explanations. Time markers with proper titles to remember the topic. Proper visual cues. Clear language. Perfect video. I hope you get more subscribers someday so you can make more videos like this.
Thank you so much for such a nice comment! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
chunking and chaining. hOlistic.
Thank you MAESTRO you are a great teacher , God bless . 🙂❤
I’m glad you liked the video. Thank you so much for your comment!
Excellent lesson! Not a wasted word. Exceptional!
Thanks so much for your comment! Glad you enjoyed the lesson :)
Sehr gut erklärt!!!!
Ich freue mich, dass dir das Video gefällt! Danke für deinen kommentar!
Something I'm finding crucial in getting tremelo down is having your nails properly shaped. If they are too rough, too long, or not angled correctly, it is next to impossible to make progress. There are a lot of videos on this, but I particularly like the explanation by Bradford Werner at the "This is Classical Guitar" channel. He also has a companion webpage detailing it. I've still got a long way to go with tremelo, but getting this right made a huge difference in my progress. Note - i tried posting this with links, but youtube doesn't seem to allow it. It should be easy enough to find though.
I’m so glad this helps! Yes, Bradford Werner is great. He’s got a great collection of videos and tutorials as well. 🙏🏽❤️
I appreciated the clear concise well paced presentation
Thanks so much for commenting! Glad you liked it :)
Good explanation 👍 in this tremolo technique if we play it "Pima " method rather than "Pami" or" piami" method is that wrong? Can you Plz explain it
Glad you liked it! The standard for the 4-note trémolo is PAMI only because that is a more natural finger order than PIMA for most people. That said, if you’re able to produce the same tone, speed, and rhythmic evenness with PIMA as what I’ve shown with PAMI, are able to stay very relaxed, and are able to easily transition to other techniques when needed, there’s no reason to say that PIMA is wrong for you. However, before deciding to practice trémolo with PIMA, I would very highly recommend working with an experienced teacher who can make sure that this is the best choice for you based on what he or she sees and hears. Feel free to reach out to me if you’d like a quick 30-min lesson. Hope this helps!
Thanks a lot! for your clear explanation 👍
Love ur video 🙏 straight to the point ❤
I was about to give up at my age,65. However your approach had patience, and your variations and practice methods are helping me and I'm not discouraged. Thank you son, God bless you.
Oh my goodness, what a great thing to read! I’m so glad to be able to help you! I’m actually launching a really exciting, 6-month immersive program design to help classical and flamenco guitarists improve effectively. I’ve been working on it for about a year or so and it will truly address the biggest challenges most guitarists face. If you’d like to learn more about it please book a quick 15-min assessment call with me to see if my program could work for you! book.squareup.com/appointments/a1b0a626-e6ca-492c-ab52-06cee4bbbfd8/location/3Z4QJ21B2D2VZ?buttonTextColor=ffffff&color=ba8f28&locale=en&referrer=so&service_id=HPUU3YAIBXQP55XOTKX2VPIS
This is awesome, thanks! I fell in love with the classical sound after hearing Kazuhito Yamashita for the first time today, I was so astonished at how this guitar could sound. I am an old Las Vegas drummer but I love learning guitar, I have an Alverez RC10, can't wait to start the journey. Cheers man!
That’s great! Thank you so much for commenting. 🙏🏽
It's crazy how much UA-cam has helped access to info. 15 years ago if i forgot something i d have to wait for next week's lesson to ask. Nowadays it takes 10 minutes to find a partiture, a tutorial, a guy to explain the necessary tech and probably a downloadable program to make you coffee so you can practice harder😂
Yes, it’s quite amazing how quickly we can access information now. I remember when flying to Spain regularly was the only way to get access to to the best teachers. Things have changed for the better in some ways. In other ways, there’s just too much info out there (good and bad!). Thanks for commenting!
Do you know of the Mike Oldfield version from the Light + Shade album - released in Autumn 2005, Diego?
Hi! I don’t but now that you mention it, I’m going to check it out. Thanks!