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Showing posts with the label guitar

Raphaël Feuillâtre: Latin Passions

california, concert, guitar, sf bay
While developing my SF Bay Area Events search program, I discovered Raphaël Feuillâtre was playing at Stanford's Bing Concert Hall. I listened to him on YouTube and looked up his program, and it matched my interest in classical guitar. Born in Djibouti in 1996 and raised in Cholet, France, Feuillâtre trained at the Paris Conservatoire. He attracted international attention in 2018 by winning the Guitar Found…
Raphaël Feuillâtre: Latin Passions
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International Guitar Night at Villa Montalvo

california, concert, guitar, sf bay
For Valentine's Day, Inna decided to treat me to a fun evening of guitar music at International Guitar Night at the Villa Montalvo . International Guitar Night (IGN) is a celebrated touring acoustic guitar festival that showcases some of the world’s most inventive and expressive guitarists. Founded in 1995 by Brian Gore, IGN brings together a rotating lineup of virtuosos from diverse countries and mus…
International Guitar Night at Villa Montalvo
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Kasia Smolarek at De Anza

california, concert, guitar, sf bay
Inna decided to purchase tickets to  Kasia Smolarek's Classical Guitar concert at De Anza College's Visual and Performing Arts Theater (VPAC).  When we arrived at De Anza College, we had difficulty finding the VPAC because I had programmed 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd. (instead of the  Visual and Performing Arts Theater ). Even though we arrived at 19:21 for the 19:30 opening, we still had to drive another 9 minutes. We w…
Kasia Smolarek at De Anza
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Classical Guitar Lessons with Daniel

guitar
Lesson notes — July 17, 2026 Music Village — Daniel Yarritu Repertoire :    The Cornerstone Method for Classical Guitar - Grade 1 — Malagueña (p. 123); Duet: Strange Things (p. 119) Practice notes Pay attention to playing very softly while the harmonics play for a good balance. Tasto playing and buzzing. Lesson notes — March 6, 2026 Music Village — Daniel Yarritu Repertoire:  CGC Graded Repertoire Grade  2 — Graded R…
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Sonicake Travel Guitar QGT-01

guitar, tech
To enable practicing guitar while traveling, I purchased the Sonicake Travel Guitar QGT-01 . It was 30% off during the Amazon Black Friday sale ($209.99) and seemed like an excellent alternative to the Yamaha SLG200s series of silent travel guitars. It had received positive reviews on YouTube and was worth trying. I had tried two Donner Travel guitars previously: Hush I Pro and Hush C, but was not satisfied with their handling or sound. …
Sonicake Travel Guitar QGT-01
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Donner Hush C Travel Guitar

guitar, tech
For silent practice and travel, I decided to purchase the Donner Hush C Nylon Electro-acoustic guitar  from Amazon. This guitar can be easily disassembled, fit into a minimal, thin travel case, and be brought with me on flights. It has a built-in headphone amp, powered by a removable 9V battery. I ultimately returned it: the classical playing position felt uncomfortable, the amplified tone was brittle to my ears, and the tuner was not …
Donner Hush C Travel Guitar
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Suzuki No. 34 Classical Guitar

guitar, personal
As I started playing more classical guitar music on my Yamaha FG830 acoustic (metal-string) guitar, I ran into difficulties with the narrow string spacing common to most metal-string acoustics. Compared with my steel-string Yamaha, classical guitars generally have wider string spacing and nylon strings, giving my fingers more room for plucking. I decided that to perfect my classical guitar technique, I really needed to lear…
Suzuki No. 34 Classical Guitar
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PRS SE CE24 Electric Guitar

guitar, tech
PRS SE CE 24 – Overview The PRS SE CE 24 combines elements of PRS’s USA-made CE line (notably the bolt-on neck) with the affordable SE series; the purchased Standard Satin belongs to the solid-body SE range made by Cor-Tek in Surabaya, Indonesia. It’s a modern take on a classic PRS workhorse—versatile, playable, and elegant without the Custom 24 price tag. Key Specs Body: Mahogany …
PRS SE CE24 Electric Guitar
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Donner Hush I Pro Travel Guitar

guitar, tech
For silent practice and travel, I decided to purchase the Donner Hush I Pro Electro-acoustic guitar. This guitar can be easily disassembled, fit into a tiny, thin travel case, and brought on flights with me. It has a built-in headphone amp powered by a lithium battery that lasts up to 8 hours. According to Donner: PLAY WITH STYLE - DONNER breaks the mold and lets you explore. 1 HUSH I PRO Guitar=18 effects (5 Modulat…
Donner Hush I Pro Travel Guitar
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Learning to play guitar

guitar
After some deliberation, I decided to learn to play a new musical instrument - an acoustic guitar. I researched available guitars on Craigslist but found nothing worthwhile. I purchased a brand-new (and highly rated)  Yamaha FG830 acoustic guitar from Amazon.com for $349. Although I used to play the piano, I have no prior experience playing guitar, so I decided to find the best available online lessons. I received the gu…
Learning to play guitar
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