My goal this morning was to warm up on a particular Fernando Sor study that I love before proceeding to the Gran Solo, then play through some Bach that I’m working on very slowly, and then review a few other short works. Two hours later, I found that I had only been reading Sor studies and a few of his themes and variations. It was awesome. There is something so aurally purifying about only playing Sor for an extended time. Maybe pianists feel the same way about Mozart. Afterwards, Barrios sounds so rich; Bach sounds like a new language; de Falla is extravagant. Ears always open up in unusual ways.
I thought about this while I took a tea break and thought it was worth writing a bit about. Here are some reasons why Sor is so awesome.
- Whether you are a beginner, at the intermediate stage, advanced, or even professional, Sor studies are a great way to build reading and interpretive skills while enjoying finely crafted music for the classical guitar. Once your skills are to the point where you can almost play through any Sor study really well the first time, you notice how they are perfect for what they are.
- Sor studies shine in their harmonic and structural simplicity. This is a strength (and just how it was in the classical period). Because of this, it allows students to focus on the technique without too much happening UNTIL Sor provides a special musical moment that is hard to not notice. This focuses the student on doing something beautiful and musical while approaching and departing from the special moment. I often think Sor studies are a bit like wandering on a pretty forest path where you are aware that there may be something special up ahead, and if you’re fortunate, you will spot a beautiful flower, see an owl, or find a huckleberry shrub. Those are the moments to enjoy!
- Because there are few unnatural hand positions in his studies, when there are, a student is confronted with one problem to overcome and solve. Once this is done, it carries over for many other musical situations in other studies and pieces. It is very clear progress.
- Sor studies pretty much cover all the practical technique requirements to push you into intermediate territory as a student. Voice balancing, shifting, thirds, sixths, scales, Alberti bass, arpeggios, slurs, ornaments, tension, and harmonic resolution, all in the context of a musical situation.
- Sor studies force you to work on your sound. If you have a poor tone, your Sor will sound horrible. Cultivating a rich, clear, and sparkly tone will make Sor sound profoundly beautiful.
Here is a link to Mel Bay’s Complete Sor Studies (Ed. Grimes). It’s a nice edition, but I wish it were spiral bound. Here is a link to an edition that I did of a few favorites.
Do you have favorite Sor Etudes? I’ll try and post a few that I really like soon. Stay tuned (ha, ha!).
Six String Journal 