Segovia Documentary on YouTube

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Here's Michael Chapdelaine bearing the brunt......We should all have 1/1000 the talent that Michael has, not to mention the restraint.



HE

Yikes. That was brutal to watch. In the conversation afterwards he tries to put his best foot forward, but you can almost sense the PTSD (Post Traumatic Segovia Disorder) he's feeling.
That was always the big knock on Segovia, i.e. his way, or the highway. It took someone like John Williams to finally shake that up and move the classical guitar in a better direction.
Even if Segovia had a musical point, as Chapdelaine points out, it's inexcusable to treat any student that way. I've never been a teacher but, the main point should be to correct, and then motivate. Not to correct, and follow it up with embarrassment and berating. Depending on the personality of the individual, I would think an episode like that can be a fatal blow to a person's inner belief and confidence in their abilities.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Here's Michael Chapdelaine bearing the brunt......We should all have 1/1000 the talent that Michael has, not to mention the restraint.



HE

I watched this and I the first thing I thought was "this is why more people DON'T take up classical guitar."

"Why did you change my fingerings?"

All about ego.

Literally 7.5 billion people wouldn't notice while listening to the piece.

[Gitfiddlemann]

Originally Posted by TBman

I watched this and I the first thing I thought was "this is why more people DON'T take up classical guitar."

"Why did you change my fingerings?"

All about ego.

Literally 7.5 billion people wouldn't notice while listening to the piece.

Bingo.
Finding fingerings for pieces that suit your interpretation while not compromising the music, which is what Chapdelaine seemed to be doing on the Ponce piece, is considered part of the modern process now. He was sounding good, playing well, and was obviously well prepared. All those things would be lauded now by modern teachers doing masterclasses (some of whom are arguably better players than Segovia ever was).
Segovia peaked as a player back in the 20s and 30s when he made his famous recordings. One can’t deny that he brought the instrument to the concert stage and gave it a lot more respectability than it ever had, but somewhere along the way, he became an intolerant stodgy character, classical guitar’s version of the “Get Off My Lawn” man.
I saw him in concert in the 80s. He was old then but still touring. He sounded awful. You could hardly hear him, and I wasn’t sitting that far, and he buzzed so many notes, it was a little embarrassing to hear.
It’s too bad. Chapedelaine was evidently smart and talented enough to survive the take down, but the old man probably left behind a trail of beaten down and psychologically scarred players over the many years that he gave these classes. You either had to play it exactly as he saw it, or you were toast.
Not good.

[redir]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Here's Michael Chapdelaine bearing the brunt......We should all have 1/1000 the talent that Michael has, not to mention the restraint.



HE

He should have broken into 'Black Bird' to really piss him off

[Fawkes]

Originally Posted by Gitfiddlemann

Bingo.
One can’t deny that he brought the instrument to the concert stage and gave it a lot more respectability than it ever had, [...]

The Spanish guitar had successful international artists before Segovia, and it was Segovia who invented the issue of "respectability" out of whole cloth. Yes he did some good, but he also did a lot of damage as demonstrated by the continuance of the many myths he promoted.

[Howard Emerson]

Originally Posted by TBman

I watched this and I the first thing I thought was "this is why more people DON'T take up classical guitar."

"Why did you change my fingerings?"

All about ego.

Literally 7.5 billion people wouldn't notice while listening to the piece.

Hi Barry,
Many years ago I had a student who was learning The Light In The Distance. It’s in open G, capo 2, but played cross-tuned in the key of D, so the root chord is a barre up 5 frets. Anyway…..

He comes back one week after I’d showed him the churchy sounding ascending section. I stopped him cold after he did it and said “Michael, play that again, please!”

As I watched I started laughing. The economy of motion was so stupid-simple that I was dumbfounded!

You see, when I wrote the piece I was looking for the notes I wanted, and although I found them, perfectly, playing them was all I cared about, with no consideration regarding how convoluted my fingering was!

I had my student teach me the right fingerings, right then.

Best,
Howard Emerson

[Puddleglum]

Chapdelaine has some great stuff on YT. I really enjoy watching him play pieces on steel string that are traditionally played on classical. A truly brilliant guitarist.

[Puddleglum]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

Here's Michael Chapdelaine bearing the brunt......We should all have 1/1000 the talent that Michael has, not to mention the restraint.



HE

Wow, that was rough. It was pretty interesting to see how the discipline it took Chapdelaine to get that good at guitar bled over into how well he could control himself while being raked over the coals. I'd say nine out of ten people that age (or any age) couldn't have handled that the way he did. I just gained a new level of respect for the man. As far as the old fart goes, he was doing what old farts do.