Principles of Idiomatic Guitar Writing

A survey of idiomatic classical guitar composition techniques written towards composers who do not play the instrument. Topics covered include notation, fundamental mechanics, advanced and extended techniques, basic textures, harmonics, etc. Audio examples included

Bridging two worlds: baroque violin performance practices as a model for the transcription of selected movements of J.S. Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin on the modern guitar

This document explores the role of the baroque violin practices of bowing, chord playing, and slurring in arrangements for the modern guitar, of selected movements of J. S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas (BWV 1001-1006) for solo violin. This document aims to expand the range of possible solutions for all guitarists interested in playing Bach’s unaccompanied solo music by making a “bridge” between these essential performance practices of the baroque violin and the capabilities of the modern guitar. Some practices associated with other baroque instruments such as the lute and the harpsichord are also considered. The guitar arrangements included at the end of the document were conceived taking into account techniques that were intrinsic to Bach’s conception of these violin pieces as violin music. As a consequence, the musical content has a primary position in the final product. The methodology is primarily based on the study of the bowing practices, and the slurring practices of the baroque violin (both of them essential aspects of the technique of the instrument) and their realization in terms of modern classical guitar technique. These elements of violin technique are the structural pillars of the proposed bridge. Secondary to them, the way chords are played on the baroque violin and how it can promote ease of playing and good voice leading in the guitar arrangements is also part of the methodology. The rationale that represents the “bridge” is first presented and then compared to other approaches found in various published editions of Bach’s violin music arranged for the modern guitar

Solo lyra viol music of Tobias Hume (c. 1579-1645): Historical context and transcription for modern guitar.

The seventeenth century in England produced a large and historically significant body of music for the viola da gamba played "lyra-way." Broadly defined, playing "lyra-way" on the viol meant playing from tablature notation in a polyphonic style. Most players of plucked strings such as lute and guitar are familiar with tablature and, as a result, have a decisive advantage when attempting to explore this music. Other factors that make lyra viol repertory potentially attractive to the modern guitarist are its chordal textures, similarities in physical properties of the instruments, and many points of connection regarding the principles of left hand technique. The purpose of this study is two-fold: 1) to illuminate the historical and cultural context of the seventeenth-century English lyra viol music in general and that of Tobias Hume (c. 1579-1645) in particular; and 2) to present an idiomatic transcription for the modern guitar of four representative pieces from Hume's 1605 collection Musicall Humours. Musicall Humours, published in London in 1605, is one of the first and most significant collections of music for the lyra viol. The collection is both ambitious and groundbreaking, being the largest repertory of solo music for the lyra viol by a single composer in the early seventeenth century. Since the modern guitar, although not as contrapuntally facile as the keyboard, is nevertheless capable of executing two- or three-voice polyphony, reconstruction of the polyphonic implications of solo lyra viol music becomes the first step in creating an idiomatic arrangement. The differences in acoustical properties and technical capabilities between the viol and the modern guitar have to be taken into consideration when deciding on the degree to which harmony must be filled in. Generally, thinner textures of the lyra viol music, when transferred directly to the guitar, tend to sound incomplete. The arranger's musical sensitivity and intimate familiarity with both instruments must guide the final stages of the transcription process

Thinking through the guitar : the sound-cell-texture chain

Although the guitar has been part of the classical music tradition for centuries, writing for the guitar remains a formidable challenge for many composers. Where orchestral instruments have a long history of scoring guides that help composers develop their craft, the number of studies dedicated to guitar scoring remains scarce. This has led to a myriad of scoring problems in guitar works written by non-guitarist composers, often evidenced in unplayable passages and underdeveloped textures. The present study aims to fill this gap by establishing and developing guidelines for effective use of the classical guitar__s scoring potential. These guidelines are described through the sound-cell-texture chain, a model introduced in this study that identifies building blocks for guitar scoring that are believed to give the composer access to the scoring potential for the guitar. The second aim of this study is to use the findings of the research to compose a set of new guitar etudes.Research in and through artistic practic

Breaking the Matrix: Transcribing Bartók and Ligeti for the Guitar Using a New Capo System

This paper demonstrates new transcriptions for the guitar of four piano pieces from the twentieth century: “The Night’s Music” from Bartók’s suite Out of Doors and Ligeti’s Musica ricercata, nos. 1, 2, and 7. The transcriptions deploy various newly invented single- and double-string magnet capos: I describe their design and, drawing on the work of De Souza, explain how their use transforms the affordances of the fretboard. In combination with scordaturas, the capos can be used to generate a series of radically altered open-string sets. Turning to the transcriptions of Bartók and Ligeti: by observing the pitch centers within their non-tonal structures, an open- string set can be generated that makes transcription possible. Excerpts from the transcriptions show how idiomatic features of the piano originals, such as contrast in register, can be mapped onto other idiomatic features of the guitar, such as contrast in timbre. The conclusion of the paper discusses how musical intention can connect with technological innovation, opening the way to an adaptable guitaristic interface with fresh potential for transcription and composition