Trinity College Classical Guitar Grade 8 2020-2023 Phantasia in A minor by Kellner

This is a lot of fun to play but has some very tricky bits requiring careful attention. The opening sequence - I have interpreted the slur lines to mean "leave the top notes ringing as long as possible". It is an interesting exercise to treat them as pull-offs instead; obviously it is not possible to do them all this way but it is a nice challenge to play as many as you can with just the left hand (this is not what I did in this performance and I do not believe it is the original intention but it's fun). Bar 13 - I changed some of the left hand fingering but followed the right hand fingering, enabling a very quick sequence here. Once you get the fingering settled this run is easier than you might think, no it is not in strict time. The sequence beginning bar 29 is a change of fingering from the previous bars and will bring its own issues. Bar 31 is a big stretch and a different right hand fingering requiring some careful attention, more so than the start of the B section. This can easily disrupt the fluid sound you create up to bar 29 so give it more practise time. Bars 44/5 - work out a right hand fingering and stick to it. I followed the left hand until the end of 44 where I moved the G sharp to keep me in 2nd position. Bar 47 - I changed this as I didn't like the sound of the open strings. I played with the dynamics and tempos with this piece because I wanted to bring more of "me" to the performance and I felt the piece was more enjoyable to play and listen to as a result. I may keep this piece in my bag of "performance ready" pieces! As always - slow, careful practise is the way forward. Play the tricky bits slowly and correctly every time, they will speed up, and your time will have been well spent. Find the errors, don't make them yourselves and have fun! If you like what I do, please subscribe and comment