Steemit Open Mic Week 46: J. S. Bach BWV 996 Gigue

evoman1 (61) · 7 years ago

Hell yea buddy. Satin himself can't touch this shit.

$0.39

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

hahaha thanks!

$0.00

senzenfrenz (60) · 7 years ago

Great skills as always! Thank you!

$0.07

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

thanks!

$0.04

passion-ground (63) · 7 years ago

Always look forward to my weekly dose of the classical "Oliver." BRAVO!!!

$0.05

3 votes

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

haha, thanks!

$0.00

aryan12o (42) · 7 years ago

iamgenius (36) · 7 years ago

WOW!
I Loved it.
Beautiful Peice @oliverwaterman!

You Got a New Follower.
will check out your other posts too.

Maybe I can use your work and make some kind of Drum Fusion.

Do check out my First post:
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@iamgenius/happy-birthday-to-me

Do share your Feedback.
Your Support is what I need!

Thank You for this Post!

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! Good job on your first post too! I'm not really interested in collaborations on steemit presently, but thank you for asking. There are tons of super talented people on here who may be more interested in a virtual collab. Check out @nicklovesdrums while your at it, he does similar productions to your first post for the open mic run by @luzcypher. If you enter this info-graphic will assure you qualify for the prizes of the contest.

$0.00

drewley (64) · 7 years ago

Awesome man! Sounds great

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks!

$0.00

stanhopeofficial (57) · 7 years ago

How does this guy just keep killing it?

aaronmda (55) · 7 years ago

he's just that awesome!

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

hahaha, appreciated buddy

$0.00

carlgnash (69) · 7 years ago

You sir are a wizard on six strings. I was playing this while my wife was washing dishes, and she turned around and was flabergasted that one person was making the music (she assumed it was a duet). This is a wonderful piece, I really like the way the counterpart melody entwines around the main melody. There is an old saying in show business to never apologize, and that is definitely true here in this case - you have nothing to ask for forgiveness for. Really enjoyable watching you play, I could sit here and watch you play all day long. Seriously. You kick ass.

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks! I'm glad you and your wife liked it! Sorry for being sorry. I'm more of a wizard than a showman, after all that's what I'm going to school for. Classical music, not Hogwarts school of wizard music. hahaha, oh boy, I just woke up if you can't tell. Anyway, thanks a bunch, and stay tuned. I post something wizardy every week!

$0.00

carlgnash (69) · 7 years ago

LOL yeah I guess classical music is pretty much wizardry in this day and age, unless you are playing in a forbidden mode and it is deviltry

carlgnash (69) · 7 years ago

Hey I actually got around to entering the open mic this week and although the guitar playing is just chord strumming, I would be honored if you gave it a listen :)

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

awesome! I'll check it out!

$0.00

frayberguevara (47) · 7 years ago

Buena ejecución del instrumento.

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Mucho Gracias!

$0.00

thebigdelay (56) · 7 years ago

Wow, fantastic. How long did it take you to master that? Upped and resteemed :)

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks! I've been playing it off an on for about 13 years. This is definitely the strongest I've had it for a while, I'd say I still have a ways to go before it's mastered though.

steelygeoff (55) · 7 years ago

👏👏👏👏👏 Encore maestro!

Well, as my family will testify, it is not often I am left bereft of words!

Sorry, I just had to take a moment there. That was stunning Oliver, simply stunning. I wonder what it's like to have such an ability. IMHO being able to carefully disguise an extra finger or two on your left hand is a remarkable talent in itself. 😉 Seriously though, that was beautiful playing and I am sure any mistakes will be exagerated in your own mind. It was (they were? I only noticed 1) insignificant to me and did not detract in any way from a truly delightful performance.

N.B. My power of speech appears to have been restored! 😊

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

hahaha, thanks a bunch Geoff! The mistake count that I'd be able to smooth out over a week or two was up to 7 or ten, but I count how I play a note as well as whether or not I played it. There's a couple muted notes or misplays I don't count, but that's because they were too insignificant and any live performance will have those. We do what's called slow playing and starting from a measure or two before a tough spot to perform the riff exactly as written a few hundred times to work out kinks. You'd be surprised how quickly that can have a significant effect on your playing. It may be obvious to some people, but I didn't start using it until this year, and I've been playing for 15.

$0.00

steelygeoff (55) · 7 years ago (edited)

Only 15... smartass! 😂 There are not enough years left in me to smooth out the "kinks" in most of my pieces. 😏

Just read your comment on my offering this week, thanks man, much appreciated.

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

hahaha! Seriously though, it only took me that long to get good enough to actually play it because I slacked off on my theory until recently. Once you start doing the work it takes far less time.

Cheers! Yeah, you play the pedal steel reaeaaly well! so smooth

$0.00

dreamrafa (66) · 7 years ago

Woww thats amazing dude!

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

thanks!!

$0.00

atulmittal (56) · 7 years ago

You nailed it. Amazing fluidity and finesse. Keep sharing the classics.
Peace !!!

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

thanks a bunch!

$0.00

artashadamyan (53) · 7 years ago

Level 99 .Bravo . I know it's hard to play Bach on guitar , i want to ask you to play cello suite next time .

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks!! It's funny I've been working so much on the lute suites I haven't even touched any of the cello suites. I also want to delve into some actual guitar music. Pretty much everything I play is Bach and other transcribed for guitar music. I think I play one Tarrega piece half decent? Your really good too! Your tone and sound is very precise, I hope you keep joining the open mic!

$0.00

artashadamyan (53) · 7 years ago

I think Bach is some kind of peak in classic music , you've done great job.! Thank you , i'll keep playing.

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks! and awesome, please do, It's nice to have some company!

$0.00

digitalopus (64) · 7 years ago

Very Good!

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks!

$0.00

donatello (75) · 7 years ago

Beautiful piece! So well played! Great performance!

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thank you!

$0.00

lk666 (65) · 7 years ago

great work man

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks!

$0.00

andybets (62) · 7 years ago

That's incredible! I can't really imagine being able to play the guitar that well. Who adapted these pieces for the guitar, or did you do that too!?

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thank you! Some day I'd like to make some new arrangements of Bach. This particular arrangement is similar to one that Andrea Segovia might have done. It's possible that the first adaptation of this piece for guitar was done over 100 years ago. I learned it from about three different arrangements and sort of mixed the three. This last time I relearned it from tabs that I found at classtabs.org. I Read and write in standard notation as well, but I started reading with tabs so they're easier for harder pieces. The problem is most of the tabs I read are in text format and have no way of expressing beat value, so I tend to prefer standard notation for pieces I don't know very well. Also, with tough pieces like this unless the tabs are 100% accurate they can misrepresent how a note is supposed to be played. Bach is one of those composers who's ideas are always better than your own, so it's an endless effort to try to find the most truthful representation of his work. Luckily because I had already played this piece before and learned it correctly, I was able to make appropriate edits to the version I found on classtabs.org with minimal fus and mostly by ear/memory. I've been working on the Fugue from the 2nd lute suite BWV 997 and it's not so easy. I should have attempted to learn it from standard notation first as I've had to relearn it about 3 times in the past 6 months with different fingerings to get it right.

$0.05

andybets (62) · 7 years ago (edited)

I hadn't thought about guitar adaptations like these possibly being as old as that! You have a whole different level of effort and mastery than my involvement with music. I have sometimes wished I could play the Piano, regarding them as more versatile than guitar, but your playing reinforces the sense that if anything's holding me back, it's actually my technical limitations, and very casual approach to practise ;)

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

It's all about what your interested in doing at the time. When I started playing, I started playing because all I wanted to do was classical guitar (I didn't have a lot of friends in high school hahaha). It wasn't that hard to figure out where I needed to start, because I knew exactly what I wanted to do. The physical difficulty of the instrument is actually quite minuscule and it is very versatile, however you are right that a piano is a bit more versatile. People have been playing with the approximate technique now called classical guitar for a very long time in Spain. Francisco Tarrega and Fernando Sor were just two of a litany of amazing guitarists and composers that lived over 200 years ago. Even Vivaldi played a little guitar. It's definitely my favorite instrument. It has the accuracy and some abilities that a piano has, but also the heart and soul that a violin can have. It's not very hard to learn any of it, however it is time consuming. You can't learn more than one note at a time, or one technique at a time. It's an art of patience more than ability, but I think it's super worth the time!

$0.06

andybets (62) · 7 years ago

Vivaldi played guitar... well I don't expect many people know that!

I also think that personal characteristics play a part. My hands/fingers just aren't consistently accurate, my handwriting has always been pretty bad, and even forming a consistent signature is very hard. I watch you and other great guitarists, and see your consistent accuracy as something I probably couldn't achieve even if I spent forever practising ;)

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

I wouldn't count yourself out just yet. I have horrible handwriting, I don't even attempt to do a real signature. I just do a circle followed by some swirly things. Like the saying, Dr's have the worst handwriting, assuming that also refers to brain surgeons... Accuracy is a matter of proper practice. Playing a piece slowly even when you already know it is the key to accuracy, and my key to getting this piece to the level I want it to be. The fact of the matter is, absolutely no one is better suited than someone else mentally or physically to playing the guitar. my hand span is very small for classical guitarists, and it only slows me down a little bit.

$0.05

franciscush (53) · 7 years ago

That was so good. I really enjoyed that. Great job.

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks a bunch!

$0.00

spacebluesmillz (36) · 7 years ago

Man, you did great job

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks a bunch!

$0.00

raphavongal (56) · 7 years ago

owoowow that's awesome, I play some classical but not like this , brilliant :-) also check my entry: https://steemit.com/minnowsfaucet/@raphavongal/steemit-open-mic-week-46-girl-from-ipanema

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago

Thanks a bunch! Excellent Ipanema, gotta love the Jobim if you play nylon! Good luck in the contest as well!

$0.00

raphavongal (56) · 7 years ago

tks mate, it is nylon but it is a electric nylon Godin guitar... I will record in my Luthier Nylon acoustic later and post to you some tom Jobim that I play...also I play one song classical from Brazil called Bachianinha, will practice a little and then post later... good Luck man. :-)

$0.07

ionlysaymeep (50) · 7 years ago

meep

$0.00

oliverwaterman (57) · 7 years ago (edited)

good to hear!

Edit: the above reply was for @raphavongl, the below one is for @ionlysaymeep

meep

$0.00