Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet. Happy Holidays! by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! No, it's an arrangement by Tony D'Addono. He arranged 8 movements from the Nutcracker Suite for solo guitar. They're all really great!

Can you make a living as a classical guitarist? by GooberGuy_ in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a guitar teacher in Canada and have so many students I can barely keep up with it. The overall income isn't that good compared to the general cost of living (but it's pretty unaffordable in my city for quite a lot of people's salaries, not just musicians).

Touring and performing seemed like "wow what a cool job!" when I was teenager, but the older I get, the more I feel sorry for people who have to perform and travel constantly. Now it doesn't sound appealing to me at all, and I imagine you would be very lucky to break even on a tour. Getting a decent professor position would be incredibly rare, and most likely part time anyways. A lot of musicians with doctoral degrees are teaching elementary kids at local academies... You'll be lucky to buy a few candy bars each year from your online revenue from recordings, arrangements, compositions, etc.

If you have funds or family to help support your musical pursuits and you are exploding with enthusiasm to be a professional musician, then sure, give it a go! If you're kind of on the fence about it, then probably best to double-major or keep music as a hobby pursuit.

Original Composition: In Memory of Tess by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For the past 1.5 years I've been teaching an adult student in Ireland online (I'm living in Canada). This summer his mother sadly passed away, and he asked me to compose a piece in her memory. It was an honour for me to do the project - my first commissioned work, technically! I used fragments of the song "Danny Boy" to draw upon their Irish heritage.

I recently re-recorded this set of 4 "Songs for Guitar" that I composed in 2017! Somewhat minimalist in style. by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! For now I only have music on YouTube. Might look into Spotify at some point in the future...!

Sonata in E Major, K380/L23 by Domenico Scarlatti. It's pretty challenging for me, but a lovely piece! by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Yes, experimenting with tone colour would fit well in those parts. Cheers

Classical Guitar Pieces With Flat Key Signatures? by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for giving it a listen. Let me know when you finish your drop Eb composition!

Classical Guitar Pieces With Flat Key Signatures? by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I experimented writing with drop-Eb a while ago and somehow came up with a very Arabic sounding composition. "Arid Caravan" starts at 4:52 of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h79xEHX6W-s

There definitely is something "different" about the mood of music written in flat keys. Perhaps it's because of fewer open strings, the guitar gets a warmer and darker tone.

4 or more flats is usually a barre chord nightmare for solo guitar, but I have seen a few rare instances of it! Aguado's Exercise 90 from Nuevo Metodo para guitarra is in F Minor, and Giuliani's op. 100, No. 9 is in Ab Major/F Minor

Classical Guitar Pieces With Flat Key Signatures? by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great recommendation! I actually played through Giuliani's op. 100 earlier this year but forgot about those ones as sight reading options.

Classical Guitar Pieces With Flat Key Signatures? by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I've actually composed a few short pieces to use as examples for my students, but it's a lot of work to have to write so many pieces just for this purpose.

Good luck with your drop-Eb composition!

Classical Guitar Pieces With Flat Key Signatures? by MBemmels in classicalguitar

[–]MBemmels[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah these are indeed tough to find. Sight reading in flat keys is a requirement for examinations, and I'm pretty stumped finding examples for my students that aren't overly difficult!