20 Spanish Baroque Pieces by Gasper Sanz Book for Ukulele

I have the Gaspar Sanz book you asked about. It is written for re-entrant C tuning. I only attempted a few of the pieces before I switched to primarily linear tuning, so I have not used it much.

The pieces definitely seem like they are beyond beginner level, but skimming through the music it looks like there are some that will be significantly easier than others. I have limited experience with the book so I can't say much more about the grade level.
 
I have had the book for several years. I just found a video of Robert MacKillop playing some of the music today and the book has a CD.
I think a patient beginner could slowly follow the TAB and listen to the CD and watch the video (a lot) and over time gradually learn the pieces. An intermediate and advanced player would take less time.
The thing that even an advanced player needs to do if they want to sound as good as Robert, is to learn about Baroque music and understand what musicians of the period were up to musically. Its not just following the music on the page.
However, for someone who has made the recent posts of JohnnySmash, I think you will enjoy the book. Just don't expect to play like Robert MacKillop until you have worked on the tunes for some time and you have put in some study to understand Baroque music.

I'm not the OP, but could you suggest a good resource for understanding baroque music?
 
I have that one, From Lute to Uke by Tony Mizen, and Classical Ukulele by John King (along with Rob's 20 Celtic Fingerstyle Uke Tunes). Granted, not all are specifically Boroque, but it's nice to be able to compare them. All are specifically re-entrant and all had some pretty complex and lovely tunes along with somewhat easier ones. For me, John King's was the most finger-breaking difficult and Tony Mizen's was the easiest to follow the tab (but not by much compared with Rob). I also liked the short intros about the songs with a hint here and there in Tony's- that one is my favorite. But all are definitely worth the price if you're up for the challenge.
 
Thanks, Bill. Those are good ideas! I love baroque music so I might as well study more about it!
 
My opinion is similar to Bill—I don’t know of a single source or text on Baroque that is necessarily applicable to ukulele. I came to uke after a few years on classical guitar (I actually play a variety of genres on guitar, but everything tends to be fingerstyle). I have the MacKillop book as well as some others mentioned. There are also several web sites of uke tab with classical scores. To me the real understanding of Baroque has to do with the tempos and rhythms and particularly some of the ornamentations. For me it has been mainly listening to a lot of it, particularly the classical guitar literature.

Jon
 
My opinion is similar to Bill—I don’t know of a single source or text on Baroque that is necessarily applicable to ukulele. I came to uke after a few years on classical guitar (I actually play a variety of genres on guitar, but everything tends to be fingerstyle). I have the MacKillop book as well as some others mentioned. There are also several web sites of uke tab with classical scores. To me the real understanding of Baroque has to do with the tempos and rhythms and particularly some of the ornamentations. For me it has been mainly listening to a lot of it, particularly the classical guitar literature.

Jon

I actually wanted to play classical guitar and started lessons. But the darn thing was just too big for me to hold (I had a 7/8 size) and it had too many strings!

I have downloaded a lot of that uke tab.
 
I ordered the book. I have been putting off playing with a high G but now I guess I will be playing with high G. I put the high G back on my Tenor ukulele last night. Thank you for the help. johnnysmash
 
It's a fun as well as a challenging book, you did well!

On baroque guitars, they were usually tuned reentrant. Lots of different tunings exist, most in five double courses, but all of them with at least one, sometimes even four of the 'closest to the nose' strings tuned an octave higher than expected. They were crucial to the campanella effect: mixing as many strings as possible into a single melody line, so that notes ring out. Tablature predates baroque guitars, but the instrument was instrumental in the development of the 'letters for chords' system.

That evolution towards chord progressions is typical for baroque music: as a musician you are supposed to ornament and improvise yourself, the sheet music is only the basics. It was the jazz of its time; even the name 'baroque' means 'misshapen pearl'. It also introduced a stronger emphasis on tonality, being the particular key the piece is written in, with your circle of fifths giving tension and release; unlike the earlier 'floating' modal music which didn't emphasise the key with its first and last chord.

In addition to the players mentioned above, check out Samantha Muir and Valéry 'Ukeval' Sauvage. You're in for a treat!
 
The book is wonderful. I just received it today. Scanning through the book I found some numbers that may take awhile to learn and others that are almost easy. I think I have many hours of enjoyment ahead.
 
I just ordered another book: Ukulele: Complete Edition: Beginning - Intermediate - Mastering by Greg Horne Daniel Ho, and Shana Aisenberg. I already know how to play piano, read music, and have played guitar some. Music has been my hobby for about 70 years now, however, I want to play the ukulele seriously so I figure the best way is to study from the beginning and try to cover it all as I go. This is my second purchase from the Book Depository. I like their service and packaging.
 
If you have any questions about using my Sanz book, just ask.

Cheers,

Rob
 
Top Bottom