Is this site going to disappear into the dessert like a horse with no name? ==== I've been through the desert; On a horse with no name; It felt good to be out of the rain; In the desert, you can't remember your name; 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain;

Hi, group! Almost a year ago I started writing a small "booklet" compiling the most effective tools I use and teach my students to use for solving methodologically any passage's difficulty either technical or musical. These are tools that many of us use most of the time but I never saw them all together systematically explained. The pdf was first distributed in spanish with great feedback from all over and I have now translated it into english and share it with you. The text is Creative Commons License. I'm not in the bussiness of monetizing my materials. I prefer to share with everybody, but if you think it is useful and want to contribute to the cause I won't get mad about it. Just let me know. You are free to use this as you see fit, share it with whom ever you think may profit from it and teach from it, if you think it is adaptable to your teaching process. I have posted some videos in my Facebook and Instagram pages (in spanish) about the uses and reasons behind each tool and you are welcome to look for them. I´ll probably also upload them to Youtube in a while with subs. I hope you'll enjoy them. Feedback is very welcomed!!

Excited to share a couple works by Enríquez de Valderrábano. ‘Soneto Lombardo a Manera de Danza’, from Valderrábano’s ‘Silva de Sirenas’ (1547), is a stylized dance derived from an Italian pavana. Versions of the same melody appear in German and French lute and organ sources. Valderrábano’s setting transforms this dance melody into a refined vihuela idiom, combining graceful rhythmic motion with elegant harmonic writing. ‘Fantasia 19’ is one of a number of works Valderrábano based on pre-existing vocal models. This fantasia is explicitly identified as a parody of the post-Kyrie from Josquin des Prez’s ‘Missa De Beata Virgine’. Rather than a literal transcription, Valderrábano reshapes the polyphonic source into a richly idiomatic solo work. The result is a fantasia that balances studied counterpoint with expressive freedom, illustrating both the vihuelist’s deep engagement with the most innovative Franco-Flemish repertory of his time and the Renaissance ideal of parody as a form of respectful transformation. Played on a Michael Gee guitar.