Challenge - Choan Gàlvez Fan Club

I thought it was high time we have a fan thread dedicated to the music of Choan Gálvez (@choan). Choan has composed many original pieces for the ukulele with a nod towards folk, jazz, and classical music which are collected in several books and as standalone pieces. Please feel free to post recordings of your favorite pieces and, if you are not familiar with Choan, check out his website, YouTube channel, and Patreon presence.

I'll be posting recordings of my own soon.

Best,

Paul

I posted my latest version of Tenderness from yesterday. This is at least third time I’ve worked on this etude, so here’s a fun progression…

August 2024, on Canto, my Tinguitar soprano who now lives with @GOram. I’d been playing fingerstyle for about five months and this recording doesn’t include the up the neck parts for what I assume were good reasons
View attachment Tenderness (Canto).m4a

Here’s May of this year, working on smooth consistency. This is on recently arrived Netta (my spruce/maple Oli), in I think Worth Brown strings.
View attachment Tenderness 5.12.m4a

Here’s yesterday, on Netta in Aquila B-Blacks, working on pulling the melody out of the accompaniment. This is the speedy version
View attachment Kindness Fast.m4a

I posted my latest version of Tenderness from yesterday. This is at least third time I’ve worked on this etude, so here’s a fun progression…

August 2024, on Canto, my Tinguitar soprano who now lives with @GOram. I’d been playing fingerstyle for about five months and this recording doesn’t include the up the neck parts for what I assume were good reasons
View attachment 221502

Here’s May of this year, working on smooth consistency. This is on recently arrived Netta (my spruce/maple Oli), in I think Worth Brown strings.
View attachment 221503

Here’s yesterday, on Netta in Aquila B-Blacks, working on pulling the melody out of the accompaniment. This is the speedy version
View attachment 221504

Thanks for posting these. I can really hear the improvement (and confidence) over the past 15 months. Also, I really like Netta with the B-Black strings (just lovely!).

Thanks for posting these. I can really hear the improvement (and confidence) over the past 15 months.

Thank you . And thanks for starting this thread so I went and chased down the sound samples over time on this one.

Also, I really like Netta with the B-Black strings (just lovely!).

Yes I really like them on her!

Here's my first Choan Galvez piece for the thread. I had the pleasure of studying with Choan (online!) for a couple of years, and I credit him for turning me from a total novice into a partial novice! I've always considered him the Ukulele Waltz King...a high percentage of his compositions are in 3/4 time.

Here's a fairly recent one that Choan wrote after attending an ukulele festival in Germany. It's dedicated to a couple he met there.

Kala Revelator Night Owl Tenor, High "G"

Für Woody und Leilani
View attachment Fur Woody und Leilani.wav

I just bought his waltz and astronaut lullaby books. Discovered a sale going on, so now’s a good time to pick up some fodder for this thread!

Buenas Noches on Kala Contour. I like this piece - 4/4/ and 5/4 mixed meter - sounding like clock.

Oooh, I love mixed meter! Really great use of the clock bongs in that one.

I’m on the second copy of a couple of Choan’s books. Choan’s music is so imaginative and charming. When it comes to practicing, I spend almost 100% on his music. This may be my favorite post of all time.

I’ve found his miniature etudes book just wonderful, so I’m happy to be branching out. He encourages being musical in so many different directions. Tis awesome.

I just bought his waltz and astronaut lullaby books. Discovered a sale going on, so now’s a good time to pick up some fodder for this thread!

See if you can do a decent job on “Larry’s Waltz”. I’m embarrassed to say that I still struggle with that one despite working on it for a couple of years!

See if you can do a decent job on “Larry’s Waltz”. I’m embarrassed to say that I still struggle with that one despite working on it for a couple of years!

Yikes, I can see why! I shall print it out and try a first pass.

Here's my first Choan Galvez piece for the thread. I had the pleasure of studying with Choan (online!) for a couple of years, and I credit him for turning me from a total novice into a partial novice! I've always considered him the Ukulele Waltz King...a high percentage of his compositions are in 3/4 time.

Here's a fairly recent one that Choan wrote after attending an ukulele festival in Germany. It's dedicated to a couple he met there.

Kala Revelator Night Owl Tenor, High "G"

Für Woody und Leilani
View attachment 221576

This is a neat piece - one of my fav Choan's compositions. You play it very rubato - interesting.
There is always a danger of slowing down on harder passages then breezing through easier ones.
That is why I prefer steady tempo on that piece. Last repetition ending is TRICKY - I still have
problems giving it logical flow.

PS. Just listened to Choan's version again. He is also doing rubato but same sections get roughly
the same treatment as far as tempo and dynamics. He also strums chords - quite a lot - give that
piece the that signature relaxed feel:

Here’s one I recorded earlier this year.

Here’s one I recorded earlier this year.

Sweet music - which book is it from?
Just found it on Choan's Patreon.
Wow - that is HARD music to play - structurally there is so much irregularity it is difficult
to give it flow and logic - it is a bit like day dre4aming on lazy summer afternoon - just
unstructured thoughts and clouds slowly drifting in the sky.

Sweet music - which book is it from?

“May the Low Fourth”
A collection of Low G tunes.

Sweet music - which book is it from?
Just found it on Choan's Patreon.
Wow - that is HARD music to play - structurally there is so much irregularity it is difficult
to give it flow and logic - it is a bit like day dre4aming on lazy summer afternoon - just
unstructured thoughts and clouds slowly drifting in the sky.

I feel like quite a lot of Choan’s music is unstructured thoughts and clouds. I love that, honestly. It lets me play around with my own interpretations - let my own unstructured thoughts and clouds interact with the ones in the piece. Excellent mermaid music

I'm on a roll...

Here's a recording from Choan's newest book, Fiesta Mayor, a collection of arrangements of folk songs from his home region of Aragon, Spain.

This is Péinase la Niña. Choan translated the title for me as "The girl combs her hair." Played on a James Roswold Spruce/Maple tenor (Low G).