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Excercise #12 WALTZ, "CUENTO AZUL”
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Ok, we’re gonna learn our first song,
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It’s a very simple waltz,
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Which is called “cuento azul”,
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The first thing we’re gonna do,
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Is to hear it so you can know how it is,
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Here, the bellows technique that
I’ve taught you is fully applied,
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About sound stopping,
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Check how it is, and then,
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I’m gonna explain it
to you step by step,
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So you can play it…
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That’s the song,
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how do we study it?
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This is very important,
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And this goes for all songs,
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Whether it’s a simple song,
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Or concert songs.
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The first thing I do,
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Right hand,
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E, D, C, E, D, C, F, D… ok?
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Then I open the bellows…
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I stop the sound…
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The same when we close…
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sound stopping, ok?
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Once more…
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and closure…
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done.
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Then, part 2…
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F, E, D, F, E, D, G, E…
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Open…
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see how the hand doesn’t move…
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ok? Part 3, the hand is still there,
C, D, E, F, G,
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It’s a song with 5 fingers only,
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So we don’t have to move,
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That’s why it’s easy,
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It’s very simple.
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G, F, E, G, F, E, F, D,
It would be…
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stop…
The same when closing…
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Stop.
And part 4 would be
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F, E, D, F, E, D, E, C…
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Open…
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cease it with the bellows and…
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Perfect.
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So, we’re gonna check,
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Part 1…
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that part 1 is a “1”, ok?
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On the musical score we write down “1”,
part 1,
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Part 2, part 3, and part 4,
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So part 1 would be…
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done. Now part 2…
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done. Part 3…
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done. Part 4…
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done, ok?
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Now, when I get it,
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-look how I haven’t even
touched the bass- Ok?
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I’m gonna play it all at once,
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It’s supposed that depends on difficulty,
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How many times are, the important thing
is for it to turn out well,
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Part 1 has to turn out well,
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If it’s hard and I have to
review it 30 times,
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Til I get it right, it’s ok,
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If I get it by the 4th time, it’s ok,
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Because this is not something so complicated, ok?
In this first instance.
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So, now I’m gonna play the whole part A,
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Which would be, part 1…
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It’s really important this ceasing
that I’m talking about…
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Otherwise hear how it would sound…
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Get it, right?
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So you have to be really,
really, really meticulous with the endings,
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Because that’s what gonna
put the final “touches”,
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It’s like getting to a new home,
beautiful and everything,
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But it misses windows, doorlocks,
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That destroys all the beauty in the house,
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This is the same, always
be careful about endings.
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The bass, the bass accompaniment,
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There are different ways
to play the bass section,
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There are different ways,
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And there are ways to use
it that are more popular,
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It’s not that one way is
worse than the other,
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But there are some that sound better, ok?
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For example,
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I’m gonna play the bass…
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And the chord…
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2, 3, 1, 2, 3… ok.
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How is this supposed to be?
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The bass, the bass doesn’t last
the whole quarter note,
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Because it’s 1, 2, 3,
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the bass, the bass,
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Because this is the chord…
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This is the bass.
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So the bass get til halfway only,
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It would be… ok, right?
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So, the bass is long,
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But it doesn’t get to be tied
to the 2nd quarter note,
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It’s not…
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“and why, dear teacher?”…
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Because the natural
-always look for the natural thing-
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The double bass sounds…
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It doesn’t sound…
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But…
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And neither…
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The natural thing is to sound…
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So I have to emulate that…
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So I play… silence and chord,
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And if you see,
I play the chord shortly,
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It’s to give it some swing.
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You have to play, ideally,
With swing, with flavor, with elegance,
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If I play the bass for too long,
Hear how it sounds…
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So if I play…
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vs…
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So, long bass, ok?
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It’s a little longer,
without tying it,
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And the chord is really small,
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And for it to sound “small”,
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I can’t sink it till the bottom…
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But is the tip…
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So that remains hidden,
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That’s how it sounds good,
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And it’s what really works,
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And it doesn’t mess up with the melody.
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So, together would be…
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Longer bass, short chord…
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What I have to imagine,
It that here is red,
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It’s like the metal was red,
Hot, melting,
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So I have to…
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It’s like I burn with an iron,
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I have to take my hand off immediately,
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If it stays more, I burn.
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So 1…
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ok?
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So, that’s the right way to play the bass…
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Right?
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There are some books that recommend,
That you play everything staccato,
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which would be…
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And that for me, is a no no,
I find it has no body,
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It sounds like empty…
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And if I play it too long
it sounds very full
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So, the balance is between,
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Playing the bass a little longer,
And the short chord, would be…
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ok?
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So, part 1…
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G…
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part 1 closing…
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C
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part 2…
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G and C…
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I close part 2…
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Opening part 3…
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G…
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Part 3 closing, C…
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Part 4 open with G…
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closing…
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Now, with the nerves on the stage,
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From people who’s coming to see you,
At some concert,
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And it’s your first presentation
and everything,
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The most probable thing is that,
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Imagine you forget,
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and you confuse the bellows,
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When it was open, we’re closing,
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And when it was close, we’re opening,
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That produces, first, you get
nervous and make mistakes,
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So make sure of studying it,
Opening and closing,
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So you know how to react when it’s opening,
And when you’re closing,
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Because if you look,
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If I have my hand more stretched here,
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I’m playing the bass, ok?
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I have a lot more stretched my hand there,
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But when I’m here… it’s different,
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I shrink it a bit,
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So it’s the whole feeling
of playing like this…
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And playing like this…
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That’s why it’s studied like that,
Opening and closing.
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The 3rd step in order to study,
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Would be putting our hands together,
put our hands together, So…
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and it ends, closing…
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That’s part 1…
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and it ends,
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I studied, I review it many times,
And now with part 2…
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Y repeat, part 2, closing…
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Part 3…
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closing part 3…
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Part 4…
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close, the same…
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Part 1 and 2 now only, 1 and 2…
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I close…
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stop, repeat…
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close…
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stop!
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Part 3 and 4…
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Now full 3 and 4…
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ok?
Now, when I’m getting to master this,
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-I’m playing it faster-
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But it supposes that till you get it,
You progress,
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If part 1 doesn’t turn out well,
I can’t move to part 2,
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If part 2 doesn’t turn out well,
I can’t move to part 3,
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As you’ve been studying,
With no mistakes,
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because you haven’t made mistakes, ok?
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Because, as it is an easy melody,
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This thing about opening and closing,
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You haven’t been studying with mistakes,
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If you had studied all of this-let’s say-
All of this song at once,
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you would have been wrong,
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“oh gosh again, I closed the bellows”
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“oh gosh, it was opening, closing”
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As this has been so fast and meticulous,
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You’re gonna realize that in a few minutes,
You’re already playing a song, ok?
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And the right way.
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So, what do I do now?
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I grab the whole part 1,
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-it’s supposed that I already studied that,
I practiced that-
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I grab the whole part 1, it would be this…
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2…
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3…
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4…
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done.
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I’ve got the song, right?
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But obviously I’m pulling the bellows,
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I’m confident because I know how to play,
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You’re gonna be with your fingers
all shaky yet, or too week.
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Exercise… we’re gonna play the same,
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But, when it’s supposed that
we don’t know the song-
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We’re gonna play it in 4 different ways,
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So we can study well,
And then we’re gonna play it fast, ok?
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First, staccato,
The staccato is short…
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And the staccato goes…
it’s not just the finger…
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But the forearm…
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So, I play it once with the bass
and everything with staccato, It would be…
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“And, why with staccato, teacher?”
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“why?, what is it for?”
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Because the staccato “exposes” the hand,
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As I take it out,
I’m afraid of making a mistake…
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I can do this, see…
So when I lift,
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That gives me… when
I pass that insecurity,
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When I play it normal,
It turns out very solid, ok?
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So I have to do things that
Give me insecurity,
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So when time comes,
I’ll be able to respond.
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So, staccato,
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I apply staccato, it’s
gonna sound different,
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It’s supposed to be an exercise,
It’s not that the song sounds that paused,
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I play it with staccato…
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I play the full thing, done…
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It’s gonna be hard, it’s gonna be hard,
But it’s a really good time investment,
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Because then, I’m gonna play it like…
“hey, play the accordion, play something”
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And you play something solid,
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Not something that “I sort of studied” or
“it doesn’t come out well” or
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“wait 2 or 3 more weeks”,
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This can work.
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Then it comes the tie,
The same but tied,
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Which is, like it’s the song,
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It would be more normal…
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close…
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Open…
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close…
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I applied staccato, tie.
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Now it comes the staccatissimo,
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Staccatissimo?
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The staccatissimo,
is the same that staccato,
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But It’s more abrupt, it’s…
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More confidence it gives me,
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Because I’m more scared of
making mistakes, ok?
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So I play it…
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Lifting…
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lifting…
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Gaining space…
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It’s supposed that if I
play the staccatissimo,
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And I don’t make mistakes,
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I can move on to the next one,
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If I keep making mistakes,
I have to fix it.
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And the last one would be the legatissimo,
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Which would be, pressing the keys,
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Pressing them using deadweight,
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It would be…
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I’m pressing there…
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So, what do I do there?
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I’m forcing my mind and fingers,
sending the signal,
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Forcing them to pass there,
Between those notes,
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When I studied them,
I play it normally,
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I can speed it up a bit,
I can speed up,
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because it’s already mastered,
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This is already mastered,
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So then I loosen up,
I relax, I go to the beach,
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Under a palm tree,
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By myself, and I play relaxed,
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I’m not in some class, no,
Full relaxation…
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Ok? That’s how it’s done.
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Now, this part,
Is the same system,
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I’m gonna play the other section,
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And you are gonna have to split it,
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So we don’t explain it step by step,
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You know what you have to do,
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The last part would be letter B,
it would be…
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Close…
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open…
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close…
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Here, the logic that I’m using
for the bellows is each 4 bars…
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1…2…3…4…
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1…2…3…4… sorry,
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1…2…3…4… close
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1…2…3…4…
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And I play the whole song once,
As a wrap,
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And you have a first song,
Well played, studied,
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And in a short time,
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What this video has last,
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Is what’s gonna take you
To study a song of this kind.
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Complete…