Guest post by Bonnie Stenstrom. Bonnie is a local classical guitarist in Victoria. She currently studies with Bradford Werner at the Victoria Conservatory, plays in the VCM Guitar Orchestra, and is actively performing in ensembles. Bonnie is a strong supporter of the classical guitar scene and I’d like to thank her for this contribution to the site. – Brad
David Russell Masterclass
by Bonnie Stenstrom
Recently, I had the good fortune to attend David Russell’s concert in Portland, Oregon. It was, of course, superb and what one would expect from this world famous classical guitarist. The following evening, a master class was offered with David at the Portland Classical Guitar studio of William Jenks in Milwaukie, Oregon. There were seven advanced students performing and David offered each student approximately 30 to 45 minutes worth of comments and suggestions.
Below are some of the highlights of that evening: good posture was a theme throughout for most students; not “guitar” posture but posture that allows for comfort and alert relaxation with the least amount of body tension possible. Other general ideas were that rhythm/timing is the most important aspect of communicating with your audience. On that note, he advised not to trust other people’s metronome markings but rather to do your own, as he does.
How does David Russell approach a new piece? When he undertakes a piece for the first time, he does it as cleanly and carefully as possible. “Be picky”. Then on the third time, he’ll bring it up to speed. He talked frequently about singing the melody as one learns a new piece; he used the “fa, sol, la” syllables as he sang in demonstration. In this way, the natural breath pauses that a singer makes would be a guide as to the appropriate phrasing. He also spoke of breath exhalation while playing a phrase as a place/time for the body to relax.
A point that resonated with myself was to be “cold-bloodedly” musical and learn to do this especially when you’re not feeling calm. He also advised, in times of stress, never do a fast vibrato; slow and limp would be preferable. It has a calming effect.
Specific advice concerning rubato: don’t be afraid to use it, the audience will wait for you, if you do it well. With rubato, you don’t suddenly get faster; it doesn’t happen all at once, there is a lead period up to the goal note and then compensation in the phrase following to keep the overall rhythm even.
The class ended after 11:00 p.m.; there was so much information that he shared, but one other interesting idea was regarding slurs. He said to slur only when it’s easy; when it works well. The question to ask yourself is “does it (slur) smooth out the phrase or does it make you bump on it?” If in doubt, remove it. He qualified this statement saying that if the piece were a study for slurs, then keep them all but in a piece that is “pure beauty”…..
His musical sensitivity, depth and breadth of knowledge delivered with a sense of humour as well as a common, gentle approach made for an evening which those of us in attendance will treasure for a long time to come.
