Blog Archives

Bulerias Month

6/17/2017

I decreed June bulerías month in order to sand down some of the rough edges I've accumulated in my practice.

Imprecise rasgueos
no command of speed, always feeling like I'm catching up
no confidence in falsetas
no confidence in picado
relying too much on the base compas, not approaching the palo with much inspiration

Some ways I've remedied that.

warm up with metronome and palo seco rasgueos (albañico, three/four finger, controlling wrist movements for maximum power and precision, periodically testing sound by playing some chords
focused on playing one falseta in progressively faster speed using VLC player
finding the more difficult parts to play and playing them as per the recording of teacher
marking the compás to grasp the feeling of the falseta in time
playing the falseta with solo compás, to test being in time
rinse and repeat

6/17/2017

Hardened practice schedule, with guidance from book The Musician's Way.
Returned to PM study from Master of Project, to eventually understand the principles of traditional project management and how it can be used successfully with Agile method.
Sang in front of people for the first time with guitar accompanist.
Booked a trip to Japan in August -- let's see if I understand Zen Buddhism any better!
Attended meditation at the Zen Center in SF
Booked massage for Monday - would be great to have one every week
Tabla class strengthening my feeling of the rhythms, internalizing them with slow practice
Recognizing my limiting beliefs and how they bring worries that are not grounded in anything real.
Recognizing my unique ability to understand and listen to people, and bring creative solutions to the table to make human work more productive, meaningful and impactful in any area, through design for efficiency, aesthetics....