This is of one of the songs I played for JGC OM 18. I provided an English translation of the lyrics that is not intended for singing along, it’s just for complementing the musical feeling of the song.
I first learnt it during my in person lessons about 40 years ago. Despite having played the introduction for a long time I still hit the wrong notes, or mute them, or even get lost of where I am at it more often that I would like. I even played it in the dark during the blackouts of the nineties in Colombia and still it hasn’t got automated in a way that I can play it without mistakes over and over. One of the issues is that it has become more muscle memory than actual conscious playing. If I get out of sequence I have to start over. For the OM I practiced individual bars to regain more control of the playing and being able to start in any bar. Best thing of Justin Guitar lessons is that they provide tools to look for yourself what you need to do to improve your playing, or how to approach a new song, or how to play differently a known one. For this cover I followed the song structure of the Garzón & Collazos recorded version and because of that I had to learnt a second introduction/interlude (verse 2 fingerpicked instead of sung) that I was not aware of it before.
I named the topic Latin Songs because I want to leave it open for songs in Spanish as well as other Latin languages. No compromise on which songs and when. Spanish speakers don’t get too excited about me playing “salsas” or “sones” soon. I still have to work in my “clave”.
Edit: I reuploaded the video to fix duplicate words in the translation and updated the link
Really enjoyed this. I thought it was a great little interlude of latin america flavour during the OM. Love the rhythm that I can hear in the song and your voice sounds really pleasant to my ears.
I also like your ?poncho. Is this of some significance, I may of missed hearing during OM.
Hi Alan, thank you for watching and commenting. I’m glad you liked my rendition of the song. The poncho is a traditional part of the clothing to deal with the cold weather in the Andean mountains. The one I am wearing is more a fair thing themed with the Colombian flag and a coffee plant (still getting too warm wearing it during the OM). The actual ones are made either from cotton for mild weather or from rough woven wool for higher in the mountains colder temperatures (5 degrees Celsius average in the páramos [kind of moors]).
Edit: In Colombia the poncho is called ruana. There is a traditional song called “La ruana” (The Poncho).
Hi Andrés,
Your guitar playing and the atmosphere this style radiates I really think is the ultimate summer feeling … of course not if you live there and hear this every week of course , but for us Dutch people this is holiday music pur-sang , thanks for that, it would be nice if more people would like this to attempt.
Greetings
Hello Andrés & thank you for an enjoyable post!
I live in Albuquerque New Mexico where at many of the restaurants live entertainment is provided - I’m not positive but I believe that a similar version of Pueblito Viejo is performed by a mariachi group at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants! It’s a great song that my wife and I enjoy listening to! They do a solo on a requito while the rest of the group is playing very, very softly in the middle of the song that always gives me chills! Your version is very beautiful too! Thanks!
On another note - I recently saw a post about muscle memory in @SILVIA learning log that could help with the issues you say you’re having. I’m going to try to copy the link & post it here.
Only it was in an original post by @SILVIA , not her learning log (which is a worthwhile read - if only I could get so organized!!!)… and I think it may address what you’re talking about with muscle memory!
Hi Andrea, I like fingerstyle songs of any type and I really enjoyed your performance. The guitar sounded great and your singing compelled it very well.
Cheers
Hi Tod, thank you for watching and commenting. Good you have enjoyed this song before. It looks to be a nice arrangement the one the mariachi group plays. Lead play on the requinto is a distinctive sound of many Latin-American songs. Even some people refers to playing an ornamented solo as “requintear”.
Hi Tod. Thank you for looking for the information. Yes, muscle memory is a flaky friend. Good advice to apply for this one and other pieces I’m learning and future pieces I’ll learn.
Hi Andres! This is a nice spanish style piece you’re sharing , I didn’t know it and enjoyed listening!
The way you describe you’re playing is very relatable I’m afraid, check the article that @CATMAN62 linked…thanks Tod!
In my experience it’s very hard to re-learn a piece more properly when it is so strongly automated, it’s a constant struggle to go slow when your fingers want to go fast…it has been frustrating for me and I’m giving it up for the moment…But being aware of this means I’m now learning new thinghs by training my aural memory and that’s very fulfilling!
Hi Silvia, thank you for watching and commenting. I’m glad you liked it. For Pueblito viejo I have aural and kinesthetic memory but I am working in gaining visual memory. I do not have enough musical theory knowledge to help me with the theoretical memory. For me theoretical memory would something like it cannot be that note because it’s not part of the chord or something like that.
This is the second song I played for JGC OM 18. I provided an English translation of the lyrics that is not intended for singing along, it’s just for complementing the musical feeling of the song.
After my in person lessons about 40 years ago I was for some time collecting a guitar magazine in Spanish and this song was one of the songs I liked to play (and sing) from the issues of that magazine. I play it with a finger style pattern that I know as arpeggiated ballad and that I learnt first during my in person lessons.
With the help of Justin Guitar lessons I’ve bee able to revisit the song and polish it in a way that I can say to myself it’s a good version of it, either for playing it for myself of playing it for others. In this case it was mostly about better sounding chords and better synchronization of the chord changes with the bars. There is still a rough spot at the end that I have to work on it. The other huge progress was being able to listen to the recorded version and spot changes of the accompaniment that could be good to replicate with the guitar and find a way to do so. In the recorded version after the lyrics end, the orchestra goes back to what I think is playing again the introduction before fading out, but for my version I preferred to finish the accompaniment together with the lyrics. I may try the other way later and see how it works.
Andres, I enjoyed them on the night and I’ve enjoyed watching them again today. Wonderful playing and singing> it is also nice to be able to read what you are singing.
… of course not if you live there and hear this every week of course 
, but for us Dutch people this is holiday music pur-sang 
, thanks for that, it would be nice if more people would like this to attempt.
