There are several subjects on this page: The fun Malaguena project, a variety of project diaries and most recently, the wonderful Playing For Change You Tube series is embedded below. In addition to this song, check out the whole series. Thanks to PFC for the embed.
CINCO DE MAYO WORLD WIDE YOU-TUBE MALAGUENA GUITAR PROJECT FOR BEGINNERS
The song: Malaquena
composed by Earnesto Lecuona.
Here is a fun project for beginners (myself included) now learning this wonderful song, to perform it using the world wide medium of YouTube. Simply learn the song, play it on guitar, add improvisation if you like, record and upload your best performance to YouTube the week prior to May 5, 2017. Participants have 6 months from now 11/2016 to master some form this piece.
A fun event suggested by taowriter5000.com
A website devoted to history, writing, and now, music.
taowriter5000.com is a non commercial experimental website.
LEARNING
MASTERING
ON CINCO DE MAYO 2014 (week prior)
See the two lesson YouTube tutorial on Malaquena offered by lessonsbyjames
Download his excellent PDF tab score
Carefully listen to all of the masters play this song.
Once you know the piece begin mastering it by playing it many times.
You might budget your time to a month of picado, a month of strum technique, the chords and intricate note improvs.
Your final performance might include hints of hard work on all of these things.
upload your performance to YouTube using the following title line:
"Beginner Malaquena Performance {user name} {class Z} or {class E}"
Class Z -never played and instrument
Class E-some music training
From your study, try to emulate their feeling and style into each note you play.
There are several YouTube lessons on Malaguena. From the original version in 1923, many artists have added improvisation and interpretation. Yet, the song rings as a recognizable and timeless powerfull melody. I used YouTube-"lessonsbyjames" but there are other tutorials and PDF tabs on line. Tomas Muchaud also offers excellent Spanish guitar and other instruction.
Getting Started
I began only over a year ago studying the many forms of guitar genre. I settled on Blues and Classical then set out, taking YouTube and other lessons, to fill my tool box with guitar skills. Learning Malaguena is my challenge to myself. Working a bit each day, I see an improvement and feel I can do it. All beginners can enjoy this same progress with work and good instruction private or YouTube.
What if I'm not ready by May 5?
As a beginner like you, I found I did not know the song well enough. So I keep practicing with a new goal of next Cinco de Mayo 2015. See you there!
You Tube performances on this page begin with the John Clarke. Certainly no beginner he is a rising star in the guitar, Classical and Flamenco world. Playing with the great masters looking on, his many classical sessions on You Tube signal exciting new blood emerging in the world of Classical Music. Among giants like Sor, Parkining, Segovia, Montoya, Williams, Bream and Volk, Romero, the young concert seasoned comet Ana Vidovic, Michael Lucarelli; the names Lebosse',Clarke and Goryachev promise to dominate the future stage. Classical Guitar master teachers like Marcelo Berestovoy offer a door way into classical guitar for young promising beginners. To these beginners I send out this web page invitation. Cinco de Mayo...You Tube 2015...we (I) shall try again to make music!
Here is a slide show story of a guitar reconstruction. Along with learning basic guitar, I apprenticed myself to the volumes of You Tube lessons in the old art of Lutherie. The first project is the restoration of a destroyed Thirties Arch Top Guitar found road side. It turned out to be the ideal learning tool for several builds planned over the winter.

I'm better than I was. Not as good as I wish to be.













Here's one of many fine songs in the Playing for Change - Song around world series. Very moving and a very powerful example of music raising the voices of the people world wide. Thanks to Playing for Chang for this embed.
On Learning Music- Here expect some new music tracks: I've started a number of music arrangements on my Digital Audio Workstation, Mixcraft. Certainly not ready for prime time, I wanted to put up some of these sketches as a starting point for improvements to come. The first is "Foggy Dew" for Oboe and Strings. Work on each file is on going so bad sections of each track will eventually get into shape. All music is good. Enjoy.
In addition to the Archtop Restoration here's my new photo diary page for a Flamenco style 1909 Guitar Project Part 1 This project was on hold for other house work over the summer 2015. Fixin' up muh digs. Now Fall, back in the shop here's Part 2 The project finish.
Here's an excellent You-Tube piano series by Julian Bradley: "Playing By Ear" Struggling with the why of chords and melody on guitar or piano? Julian's fine series covers music theory in many crystal clear lessons. You will get his fine sounds on your instrument in no time and know why it's happening. Check out Julian's "Jazz Theory Explained, Once and For All".




New book by Brian Forbes

Here's a new book by Brian Forbes of Six Gun Guitars. Brian teaches technique in guitar building on You Tube and now in his new book. Brian's instruction has vastly accelerated my shop set up and learning curve. Thanks Brian. Brian's book is on sale at Amazon Books.




Moon Light Sonataa classical delight. Sit back and enjoy this recent performance of Moon Light Sonata played by John Clarke.

Here's a shot of my "studio". My Digital Audio Workstation is Mixcraft 8. Various Synthesizers are installed along with Garritan Personal Orchestra. The extra monitor displays the Synthesizers while Mixcraft 8 records various experimental tracks. Elsewhere in this box is a link to a growing list of sketches produced from this rig. The three MIDI keyboards you see can be programed to play a drum or orchestral chord track while a piano melody track comes in on the larger 41 and 61 key midi keyboards. The Korg nano Kontrol2 can be programed to manually operate any of the Mixcraft or Synthesizer controls. Time is divided between learning music and creating various sketches. I take You Tube lessons on the large CRT Monitor and Vista Tower. And it all started with these guitar builds and restorations. (I prefer piano)