THE PERFORMANCE/SET LIST

This performance aka set list dedicated to music from the classical time period is called  Classical Repertory (1720-1830) and is one of eight set lists that I'm currently using for most of my live performances. These are the other seven lists that I also use as well: Renaissance Repertory (c.XVI), Baroque Repertory (c. XVII-XVIII), Modern Spanish Repertory (c.XIX-XX), Light Flamenco, LatinAmerican Repertory, Miscellaneous Repertory and Easy Flamenco Repertory. Over the years, I've been constantly expanding the music I perform and I've found it very useful to organize everything into structured performance lists. Also, all of the pieces of music are easily accessible thanks to the use of an electronic device such as a tablet. I address  this novelty

in detail here 

https://christianlaremont.blogspot.com/2022/01/digital-sheet-music-or-paper-sheet-music.html

L. COHEN - HALLELUJAH FOR SOLO GUITAR

This is another arrangement for solo guitar, but this time the music is by Leonard Cohen (1934-2016). He was a multitalented Canadian artist (poet, novelist and song-writer). He's an inductee to the Rock and Roll's Hall of Fame (2008) and won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. The song Hallelujah took approximately five years to write and was completed in 1984. It won it's global recognition thanks to covers by John Cale, K.D. Lang (the 2010 Vancouver Olympics opening ceremony performance has 3.8M views on YouTube), and Jeff Buckley's interpretation is considered to be the definitive version of Hallelujah. The time signature is 6/8 and is in the key of C and briefly tonicizes the relative minor right before the chorus.

CHROMATIC SCALES

Here is the seventh of a series of technique exercises I've dedicated to the classic guitar here on my blog. It principally focuses on the left hand (LH), however I'll include suggested RH (right hand) fingerings as well. On this occasion, I'll feature the LH playing chromatic scales in a vertical direction (up and down the neck) as opposed to horizontal chromatic scales played across the strings, and all the examples can be practiced exclusively with the LH. There are many excellent examples of chromatic scales executed horizontally in Kitharologus, published in 2009 by R. Iznaola ,https://christianlaremont.blogspot.com/2020/04/kitharologus-path-to-virtuosity.html

As in previous posts dedicated to the LH, we must always remember to make sure the thumb is always opposite finger 2 (especially when shifting positions), keep finger 1 as close to the fret as possible, and always keep the other fingers (2,3, and 4) hovering above the notes that are going to be played. Just as important: leave LH fingers down whenever possible, avoid excessive pressure which can lead to fatigue, and your attitude should be as if you're preparing an important piece of music for live performance and not practicing some random technical warm-up exercise. All of these things will have as a result greater focus on dexterity, elasticity and versatility of the fingers of the LH. The examples presented here will all be on the first (E) string, but should be practiced on all six. Different tempos (i.e. speeding up and slowing down) and dynamics (i. e. p to f ) should also be employed.

B. MARLEY - THE REDEMPTION SONG FOR SOLO GUITAR

This is my arrangement of Bob Marley's Redemption Song for solo fingerstyle guitar. It's the final track  from his twelfth and last album Uprising (1980) recorded with the Wailers. It's an acoustic ballad in the key of G major tonicizing the relative minor (E) in the chorus. It has been covered by numerous artist (Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Stevie Wonder, Joe Strummer of The Clash and there are other versions for diverse small ensembles as well. The voice (cantus firmus) is independent from the accompaniment forming polyrthythm/counterpoint that always propels the music forward.

RHETORIC AND MUSIC

This post will discuss the close relationship between Rhetoric (the art of persuasive verbal communication) and Music. Understanding these two disciplines can help music performers to improve their awareness in musical composition and performance practices that date back to medieval times (Boethius c.480-524 AD, Guido de Arezzo c. 991/992-1033, Ars Nova) and the Renaissance, while providing insight to expressive and persuasive parameters involved with musical interpretation. It is noteworthy to point out that musical works often mimicked the structural outline of classical orations. Also, it’s important to bear into account that instrumentalists were encouraged to imitate speech in performance.

Of course, the art of Rhetoric dates back to the time of Classical Greece. It is well known Plato’s ( c. 428–423 BC - 348/347 BC) theories on the ability of music to have an impact on our emotions and behavior. Aristotle’s (384–322 BC) concept of ethos (the characteristic spirit of a culture, era or community), pathos (the use of emotion to persuade an audience) and logos (a rhetorical device that uses logic, facts and evidence to persuade an audience appealing to their sense of rationality) have all had an influence on musical expression.

RH EXERCISE : THE TREMOLO TECHNIQUE

The Tremolo Technique is one the most basic classic guitar techniques for the RH, yet it's arguably the most difficult to perfect. Under normal circumstances, the p -cello- plays the bass strings (E,A,D), the i -viola- plays the G, the m -violin 2- plays the B, and the a -violin 1- play the E. I consider the fingers of the RH equivalent to a well balanced string quartet.

Wether the tremolo be played on a single string or on various strings, there should be at least three things to look out for. Namely, no arm movement, no interruption in tempo, and evenness in sound coupled with correct accenting.

Guitar Recital: Musical Meditations

I will be preforming the first of a total of four recitals at the cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco, CA starting on 06-09-2024. You can live-stream the event here https://youtube.com/live/TNiJaGaomTM?feature=share

04/08/24 Concert https://youtube.com/live/bxLwhDQMWOA?feature=share

THE INFLUENCE OF THE VIOLIN ON THE GUITAR

 

This is the third post dedicated to the Art of Performance/Interpretation, but this time from the point of view of the violin, which has influenced the classic guitar in many different ways. Performance, left hand (LH) technique, and music notation are the points of interest that will be briefly covered.

Johann Leopold Mozart (1719-1787) born in Augsberg, Germany first published this didactic work in 1756, just after the birth of his son W. A. Mozart (1756-1789). The Treatise on the Fundamental Principals of Violin Playing appeared a few years after the Treatise on Playing Traverse Flute by J. J. Quantz (1752), and Ph. Em. Bach's The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753). What caught my attention the most in Leopold's Violinschule, was that it was written more for the teacher than the student, and most importantly it can be used as a guide for "good artistic performance in general.'