March 2021

  • Guitar Tip of the month
  • Mirabilis Student Solo/Duo Recital
  • Easter Holiday
  • Mirabilis Nuñez Guitar! Part II
  • Mirabilis Studio Calendar

Wow, what a month! I am so glad everyone survived the crazy weather.  There were many missed lessons, so we’ll have a chance for make ups the week before Easter.  More info below.

Guitar Tip of the Month: Slow down!
All of us get inspired by music we hear. Sometimes the exhilaration of hearing fast passages urges us to want to do the same. It’s exciting when we realize that we might be able to imitate those sounds!
But the fastest and smoothest players almost always are very good at playing slowly first.  In our drive to play fast quickly we loose the ease and certainty that comes from playing slowly. The key to fast and easy playing is to learn those passages at a pace that feels slow.
How to do it:  Choose a song or passage that you want to master. Set a metronome to half the speed you hope to play at.  Play one phrase at a time until it’s easy and you can mentally prepare for each note or chord as it comes.  Once you have a feel for it you can turn off the metronome. Don’t be in a hurry to get up to the full tempo.  Enjoy the slow and easy pace and never allow yourself to feel like you are “rushing” to reach a speed.
Over time your comfort with the fast sections will become so natural that they won’t feel fast to you at all. And you’ll have the confidence to play those passages at any speed you like.
Mirabilis Student Solo/Duo Recital

Savannah Potucek and Mary Cornett, both veteran Mirabilis guitar students from hailing from the Fredericksburg area, will perform a solo and duo recital this spring.  Savannah is currently studying music and biological science at Schreiner University.  Mary is a senior at Fredericksburg high school and has plans to study biology as well.  They will be performing solo selections by Fernando Sor, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Fernando Carulli, and more as well as a newly discovered duo piece by Spanish classical-era composer Fernando Ferandiere.

The recital will be performed on Saturday, March 27th at 2:00PM at Rails in the pavilion area between the restaurant and the Sweets shop.
Praying for good weather, it will be a nice outdoor space for a delightful afternoon.
Easter Holiday & Make up Lessons
We will have our Holy Week holiday (the week before Easter), as usual.  I had planned a slightly different break, but the ice storm created a need for lots of make up days.
So I will be offering make up lessons from our ice storm week last month.  You can schedule a lesson Monday (29th) – Wednesday (31st) and early on Thursday (Apr. 1).  If you want to use your regular time slot just let me know, but we can find any time that works.
Easter Holiday
Monday, March 29 — Friday, April. 2
Lessons resume on Monday, April 5.
Mirabilis Nuñez Guitar: Part II
Maestro Lucio continues his work on the Mirabilis Nuñez Guitar and it’s really taking shape. So here are some photos of the build.
Soundboard and Rosette
The top/soundboard has been cut and now formed. Mr. Nuñez then routed out a wide but shallow groove to make space for the rosette. The sound hole will be cut later. Notice that the rosette is not a compete circle because the fingerboard will cover about 1-1/2 inches on either side of the center line.
 

The Back

The back is also cut and shaped with a pinstripe added down the middle.

The inside of the back has an extra piece of wood that secures the seam between the two halves.

Neck and Headstock

The neck is made of Spanish cedar and has a deep groove cut down the center. A reinforcement strip will be placed in the groove to keep the neck straight. The clamps at the top keep even pressure on the decorative top plate for the headstock.
 

Once the top plate is nice and dry the outline and holes are cut…like this!

The Sides

The two sides have been shaped using heat and water to bend them and then finally a mold to give them the complete set of curves. Now they can be joined together using a neck block and tail block to secure the seams.

After the blocks are solidly in place, linings are added to the sides to strengthen them. The linings also give the back and the top a wider surface for secure attachment.

And a groove is cut into the neck block so that the neck can be attached.

Three braces are added to the inside of the back to give it further stability.

Almost There

And there it is! Well, not quite yet. But those are the four main parts of an acoustic guitar: the top, the back, the sides, and the neck. The neck still doesn’t have a fretboard on it and there is still lots of work to go, but it’s starting to look a lot more like a guitar!

CALENDAR

MARCH
Mar. 1 – 5 Regular Lessons
Mar. 8 – 12 Regular Lessons
Mar. 15 – 19 Regular Lessons
Mar. 22 – 26 Regular Lessons
Monday, Mar. 29 – Friday, Apr. 2 EASTER HOLIDAY (make up lessons available from ice storm)

APRIL
Apr. 6 – 9 Regular Lessons
Apr. 12 – 16 Regular Lessons
Apr. 19 – 23 Regular Lessons
Apr. 26 – 30 Regular Lessons

MAY
May 3 – 7 Regular Lessons
May 10 – 14 Recital Prep WEEK
May 16  STUDIO RECITAL
May 17 – 21 Regular Lessons