Rogier…Eh…did you make a zoom on those flying hanging notes from up above 
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Ha ha, yes , but I also saw them hanging without zooming in… I almost always look at the laptop because when I look at the phone I hardly see anything , I forget a post or a like and much more very easy then … .no idea how people could live with such a small screen 
…
But yes the stage is COOL and looking again close to the place ,And I would give a lot to be there and have a glass of lemonade with you and the kids . 
Greetings
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Rogier…you certainly would have loved it…and also some extra fun as toward the end of the day we were just there chatting and probably some kid, we don’t know though, opened the sheep fence which is in the surrondings there and one of the sheep run away and scared us because she was quite big and ran as she was crazy 
Now I’m a bit concerned though as she might be dangerous for vehicles 
Now it’s too late to disturb anyone but tomorrow first thing I will ask if the sheep has come back home …baaaaa 
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…
Ooo …Silvia ,I literally did that as a child 
, but not at school but at a party of the Athletics Club and next to it was a small sheep farmer…where not much later I started helping with all kinds of things on his farm as a volunteer 
, which was really great. was… oooo this brings back fond memories…Thanks
Greeeeeeeetings… 
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Hi Silvia, what a great surrounding for a stage! I can imagine how much fun the parties must have been! I remember the great times we had as kids during the last weeks of school, ready to head into summer break!
Funny story with the sheep, too.
Where I live, sheep and cattle are all out on the pastures until they go up in the mountains. I love that time of the year, when you can hear their bells everywhere 
.
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Hi Sylvia, what a great stage. Glad you are at the stage now where even though the adrenalin kicks in, you can still enjoy the performance. Mind you with the skills you show on your guitar, you have nothing to worry about!
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Hi Silvia
Well done for getting out there and putting your skills to the test. Awesome!
An actor, Lawrence Olivier I think, was once asked whether he still got nervous before going on stage. He replied “I’d better be”. His point being that if you didn’t get nerves you wouldn’t give of your best. The key is to use that energy, not to be overwhelmed by it. The more you do public performance the more used to it you will get. Having no nerves shows you don’t care enough, or that your not human!!
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@roger_holland …sweet memories 
sheep is still lost, they told me it’s likely her destiny is the wolf 
Only when we go on summer holidays we see them up in the mountains… I find they are very musical!
Thank you @TonyHS and @ziggysden
Somehow I didn’t get much nerves before, or more likely I wasn’t aware of them…like I wasn’t worried because we had prepared a lot those two songs. But when I sit down and took my guitar I had a look at the scene before my eyes I felt the emotion for all of it and that energy came out in a very positive way!
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Wow, well done Silva 
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Thanks Dave 
This is really nice, I think you are getting there pretty fast. This piece is easily within your reach.
I don’t think it matters at all at this stage. I’m moving my jaw when I practise something intense. It all eases out as you keep clocking hours on the piece. At the top of it there are good and bad days. I’m also very critical about my appearance but there is not much I can do, it needs to naturally settle down.
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Hi Radek! Thanks for giving it a listen a commenting! It’s not my appearance I care much but how I feel while playing…but you’re right about the clocking hours, probably not on this same piece, but I really need to develop a better fretting technique and also more self-confidence to let the music flow.
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Hi Sylvia, I see you are practicing a composition for the classical guitar that is more advanced than the Werner Method grade 1 and 2 songs. When your practice in the Werner method gets to this level, then I am sure you will be playing this in a very relaxed way as you have in earlier videos. You are certainly playing at a much higher level than I ever reached in the past. Perhaps in a few years I will get to this level.
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Thanks Steve, you’re right this is more advanced…while watching the pro videos I thought this first section, which is actually the main theme of the piece, would be doable…no harm in trying I was very happy at seeing how some of my skills are quite well consolidated and I also love the challenge “how I get to it the way I want it sound now?!”
You’re a dedicated learner and I’m sure that you’ll reach your goals in …just the right amount of time…your time, the time you need…and I guess it’ll be less than a few years! I’m now almost at the end of my second year with Classical Guitar…
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Sylvia,
Another beautiful & inspiring video - very well played & as usual, your video production is very good! I am really interested in learning some Classical pieces that are a bit intimidating… I keep putting off the start because of the work involved in memorizing them… Thank you for posting… it’s pushing me to get going!!!
Keep it up!!! You have come so far in your journey!!!
Tod
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Hi Tod, thanks for listening and your kind words of appreciation!
Nothing wrong to try something that is beyond our level of skills, as a self-taught learner I actually find it interesting and it always keeps my mind nicely engaged in analysing a new music sheet and wonder “Now what? How do I learn it? What are the skills required in order to play it?” Then I do a list in my mind of the things I already can do,
I pat my self on my shoulders like “oh wow I can already do this and this !” and after that I start working on the single aspects that I’m not comfortable with and find my solutions for effective practice, keeping in mind all Justin’s teachings…because we don’t have a in-person instructor to give us guidance it might be a bit tricky…what I try to do is looking at myself through Justin’s eyes while practicing and then I go like “he would say I should take a step back, he would say I should try to decrease or increase bpms, he would say I’m doing nice and slow, or maybe that it’s time for a little break or simply that I’m doing just great!” 
What is important to me is to be skills oriented, because we do need skills to play, being able to eventually play the piece and let the music flow is only the cherry on top of the cake…I’m at a stage where I find more enjoyement and self-expression in the learning process rather than in the actual playing.
Tod…to conclude with…find your piece, put it in a bowl, add much love and patience and all the good teachings from Justin and start stirring
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HaHaHa!!! This pretty much sums up tackling “learning guitar” in general!!!
I have struggled (but persevered!) through pretty much all aspects of this journey… but the overcoming of obstacles brings lots of joy, the little “breakthroughs” along the way inspire me to continue. I know myself though… if I can’t seem to find success with learning a song, I’ll tend to set it aside & never return to it.
This!!!
I really like this idea & will attempt to incorporate this into my “gioia nella vita” where guitar is concerned!
Grazie Mille, Sylvia!!! You are a treasure!!!
Tod
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Me too Tod, but the time for struggling is over for me…not because there are no more struggles of course, but because now I see them as opportunities to grow and they don’t make me feel down anymore. It’s not about learning this piece or that song…well if you ask me I would love to play all of Tarrega! But that will never happen…but what happens everyday is a chance for well being and self-development and growth…that’s more than enough for me
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My LL has been a bit messy recently as really a lot has been going on here in these few past months. I loved this gave me a chance to interact with people, but now I do need to get back to some routine and after this post I’ll get back to my regular one update per month, with my videos to document and share the monthly progress and my reflections as well.
Where do I start? Sharing music with the children this year has been a most wonderful journey, from reading The Adventures of Little Do with my class and all the fun related activities and listenings…to our party that has been this year just the most colourful party ever…the kids got up on stage with all their colourful Little Do masks (like this one)
and…it still gives me goosebumps to watch and rewatch the videos…they all did great at the singing and we all were so proud of them! No matter how tiring and commiting this year has been…I’m better avoid to annoy you with that!
And they all wore these super cool T-Shirt that our cool Mums prepared for our party
They all identifed much with Little Do…and here I have to stop or I would risk to write about it for the all evening!
And the Uke project…I did 36 sessions in 3 months and at the end I was grateful they ended because I was starting to be really tired and my ears wished only for silence
Sometimes I thought it was all too much to digest, emotionally above all…
To be finished… I hit the REPLY button for accident
…the Uke project…that has been so interesting too, among other things, to observe all the children’s different approaches to the ukes and the orher instruments I brought like maracas and littke drums etc…now…there was this 3yo girl who had her forearm pendulum movement like she was a real pro 
…me I won’t get that as much as good with the countless hours practice with the metronome
The 5yo learnt to play their first chord on the uke, the C chord and noticed that the pressure of the fingertip on the string was a bit painful…so I showed them my calluses they touched them and we had a conversation on that too. As I had planned they all had a little songbook, one group painted their ukes and I guess they’ll do a lot of air strumming at home now But really I was so exhausted at the end that I didn’t even take pictures 
To add to this a lot of DIY at home with my husband who is still at home from work since April and once his condition started improving keeping him active for a few hours in the afternoon after work was a priority for me. It’b been a bit tough…and I’ve been overdoing , increasing numbers of Espresso in the day, the healthy diet I had managed to establish went to the devil and now I much need to find a new balance.
Did I find the time to practice my guitars among all this? Yes, I did…because I deeply needed it! I had to adapt to the new situation and learn to flexibly go through my items of practice and needs, I found new ways to practice and…very early practice sessions - I have a Classical Guitar at school and for a few days a week my Acoustic Guitar too for the rehearsals Visulization and playing the Carcassi Allegretto in my mind helped me so much to cope with anxiety and worries for my husband’s health…and if one can’t sleep at night silently playing some music is a way better option than keeping nasty thoughts running in your head, right? Hopefully I’ll get back to same decent night rest soon 
Ok…enough! Next update will be guitar related only, I promise!
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Hi Silvia,
What a year you’ve had 
, with all that new responsibility that you mentioned a while ago, but from what I can tell in small bits, it seems like a big festive year 
… yes, the reality is of course a bit… COUCH …different 
, but it is nice to read all the good things …
Hopefully you can rest well now after all those …however beautiful … incredible amount of effort 
,
Have fun playing the guitar for many ours to come this summer
Greetings from a happy place called Nijkerk 
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