Improvisation is a component of a guitarist’s arsenal just as deserving of attention and practice as performance, composition, and arranging. But it is somewhat conceptual and ephemeral, and can therefore be challenging to teach and learn. However, with a few strategies and exercises, you can develop the right frame of mind to begin improvising confidently.
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Before the whole world went all upside down, I had hoped to go back into the studio to do some recording this summer or fall. In the "turn lemons into lemonade" department, I decided instead to work on my home recording skills and set up. I invested in a few decent mics (Rode NT2A, matched pair of Rode NT5, and a Sennheiser e906). Taking advantage of the rest of the family going on a road trip during the first week of July, I spent the week turning the living room into a home recording studio.
Read MoreI’m honored to be interviewed on the Tactical Guitarist Podcast, Episode #39. Host Jesse McCann, a guitarist and university professor living in the Pacific Northwest, interviews me about a number of topics and tactical areas including approaching a music career part-time vs. full time, writing and publishing for guitar, composing, goal setting and much more. Listen for free on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and at www.tacticalguitarist.com
Read MoreBefore the coronavirus crisis struck us all, I had not attempted performing a live-streamed classical guitar concert. The thought had never occurred to me, and, frankly, I had not done much in terms of music videos either.
I've been performing house concerts frequently over the past few years (and in years past, less frequently), especially with the Groupmuse organization, and I have been collaborating with the amazing Bruno Lucini, who brings his remarkable Brazilian and World percussion to the mix. Latin American and Brazilian guitar music goes very well indeed with live percussion. We had lined up a great series of shows this Spring, looking forward to dates in Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Boston. This, of course, changed, like all our plans.
This is also a time, however, when we all need music in our lives; thus, I decided to attempt a series of noon “House” concerts, streamed live from my home, for those who would enjoy some live entertainment, some “Songs of Comfort,” as Yo-Yo Ma has eloquently put it, or, as my daughter Katrina put it, “Quarantunes.” Those of us who are fortunate are working from home, hunkering down with our teens, kids, and loved ones, and many people are of course struggling more than imaginable just a few months ago. A bit of culture and live entertainment may be welcome. Instrumental guitar is good for working, coffee or lunching, and even napping (don't worry, I certainly won't mind if you nap).
My first attempt at this was on Friday, March 20. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous to be live-streaming for the first time. I’m very used to performing before a live audience, but this is much different. So, as Kate Bush said, “Be Kind to My Mistakes”:
My first live streamed concert included a program of music from Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, and two of my original compositions.
Repertoire for Friday, March 20:
Drume Negrita - Eliseo Grenet
Sons da Carrilhōes - João Pernambuco
Trémolo - Eduardo Falú
La Noche Triste - John W. Warren
Nana da Lua - John W. Warren
‘Drume Negrita”—also frequently called “Canción de Cuna” is an Afro-Cuban lullaby composed by Eliseo Grenet arranged by Cuban guitarist Leo Brouwer. I enjoy performing this piece and I often open my concerts with this arrangement. It includes a bit of improvisation in the middle and an interlude, which I composed from one of these improvisations. “Sons da Carrilhōes” (Sounds of the Bells) is a Brazilian dance, a choro, popular in the salons of Rio de Janeiro in the nineteen-twenties. “Tremolo,” by the late Argentine guitarist Eduardo Falú, is reminiscent of the popular piece “Recuerdos de la Alhambra.” Two originals: “La Noche Triste” evokes the tragic night of conflict between the Aztecs and Spanish in Tenochtitlan, while “Nana da Lua” is an original, Brazilian-flavored lullaby which employs the use of harmonics throughout. (I really miss Bruno’s percussion on these pieces!)
My second concert turned to electric guitar. I’ve always been primarily a classical guitarist, but back in my late teens and early twenties I played a bit of rock and roll, blues, and soul in a couple of bands. Lately, I have turned to performing some classic rock instrumentals, Brazilian, and classical music on my vintage electric guitar.
Repertoire for Wednesday, March 25:
Sleepwalk - Santo and Johnny
Serenata de la Sirena - John W. Warren
Albatross - Fleetwood Mac > Gymnopedie no 1 - Erik Satie
Here Comes the Flood - Peter Gabriel
Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen
This second live-streamed concert, on electric guitar, includes some songs that are relatively new to my repertoire, as well as one debut. “Sleepwalk” is a classic guitar instrumental from 1959 (originally performed on “steel” or “slide” guitar) by Brooklyn, NY-born brothers Santo and Johnny Farina. (I think my parents may have dated to this song.) It was a #1 Billboard hit back in ‘59. I didn’t realize until after I started performing the song, but Fleetwood Mac’s instrumental “Albatross” was inspired by “Sleepwalk.” I guess it sounds obvious, but that bit of trivia had escaped by notice until my pal Chris Kelaher pointed it out. Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac’s guitarist, knew how to pull out some unusual notes, melodies, and harmonies. This is originally an instrumental with two guitars, bass, and drums, so pardon the solo instrumental. (Again, these pieces are really missing Bruno’s touch!). I mash-up “Albatross” into Satie’s “Gymnopédie No. 1,” normally performed as a an atmospheric, even mournful, piano solo, but here I perform it with a touch of the blues. I think it goes well with “Albatross” (which, I should note, in turn inspired the Beatle’s “Sun King”). I have no evidence for this, but my thought is that Satie’s “Gymnopédie No. 1,” published in 1888, may have been the inspiration for “Sleepwalk.” No way to know, but it would not be surprising to me.
Peter Gabriel’s “Here Comes the Flood” is a piece I have always loved; I remember listening to Gabriel’s first solo album, on vinyl, over and over, shortly after graduating from high school, along with Robert Fripp’s first solo album, on which the song also appears. My version follows closer to the version on Fripp’s album, which includes Gabriel’s vocals and which he evidently also preferred over his own album’s version. My solo guitar arrangement of “Here Comes the Flood” is new—something I’ve been working on this Winter and Spring, and performed here live for the first time. “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, is, of course, a classic, and on one will ever remotely come close to Jeff Buckley’s version of this song, but here it goes anyway. “Serenata de la Sirena” (Mermaid’s Serenade) is the title track to my first (and so far, only) CD, where it was performed on classical guitar, but here on electric.
For my third live-streamed "House" concert, I go back to classical guitar.
Repertoire for Friday, March 27:
Consolação - Baden Powell
Julia Florida - Agustin Barrios Mangoré
La Catira – Antonio Lauro
Berceuse a Jussara - Baden Powell
The Frog Prince - John W. Warren
Berimbau - Baden Powell
Adagio from the Concierto de Aranjuez - Joaquin Rodrigo
Baden Powell was an amazing Brazilian guitarist, composer, performer, and improviser. He wrote many of the classics of Brazilian bossa nova, with the poet Vinicius de Moraes writing many of the lyrics. “Consolação” and “Berimbau” are two of Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes’ “Afro Sambas,” evoking the African heritage and culture of Brazil’s Bahia region. “Julia Florida” is a wonderful piece by Paraguayan composer Agustín Barrios Mangoré. My former guitar teacher, back in the early-70s to early-80s, Richard ‘Rico’ Stover, was an expert on Barrios and Latin American music, and published the first popular anthologies of his music. My version of this piece is a bit more folkloric and improvised, but I don’t think Barrios would mind—he was reportedly a master of improvisation and rarely played the same piece twice, something I appreciate. “La Catira” is by the Venezuelan composer Antonio Lauro. This is one of my mother’s favorite pieces, and here is dedicated to her. “Berceuse a Jussara,” also by Baden Powell, is another piece on my CD, as is my original “The Frog Prince,” which evokes English folk songs (or, at least, I think it does.) Finally, the “Adagio” from the “Concierto de Aranjuez” is my work-in-progress arrangement of the famous concerto by Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. This was written for guitar and orchestra, and has been performed innumerable times. My arrangement is a bit loose and improvisational (and, I repeat, a work in progress) and truly needs Bruno Lucini’s percussion… but there we are, anyway. (I can’t wait to perform live with Bruno, once again, but nevertheless I need to wait…)
Repertoire for 4/3
Saudade - John W. Warren
Norwegian Wood – Lennon and McCartney > Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix > Malagueña - Ernesto Lecuona
Nature Boy - Eden Ahbez > Prelude No. 1 - Heitor Villa-Lobos
Floresta do Amazonas: Melodia Sentimental - Heitor Villa-Lobos
Serenata de Adeus (Farewell Serenade) - Baden Powell
My fourth live-streamed “House” concert is again performed on electric guitar. I’ve been calling this new style of mine “Electric Spanish.” It seems appropriate. Why not? For one thing, my vintage Gibson is an ES-330, and the “ES” stands for “Electric Spanish.” I start out with “Saudade,” another Brazilian-flavored piece written many years ago, on a trip to Brazil. My friend Juan Gras has a house in Camburí, on the coast outside of São Paulo, and I either wrote this tune there or shortly thereafter with nostalgia for the place. The Portuguese word saudade is one of those words that is perhaps untranslatable, at least so it’s said; it’s very Portuguese, a bit mournful, but not entirely so, a sort of longing or nostalgia. Lennon and McCartney’s “Norwegian Wood” here blends into Jimi Hendrix’ “Little Wing,” which in turn blends into the Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona’s Spanish-sounding “Malagueña.”
“Nature Boy” by Eden Ahbez is an arrangement by Howard Heitmeyer that I’ve been working on lately, and here it leads into an electric blues version of the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Prelude No. 1.” This is an iconic classical guitar piece. I’ve never heard it on electric guitar but I suppose I’m not the first. Another new arrangement I’ve been working on this Spring is a solo guitar version of another piece by Heitor Villa-Lobos: “Melodia Sentimental” from “Floresta do Amazonas.” This was one of the last pieces written by the great Villa-Lobos (1887-1959). Originally commissioned for the film Green Mansions, which starred Audrey Hepburn and Anthony Perkins, the composer later turned it into a suite for soprano and orchestra, entitled A Floresta do Amazonas (Forest of the Amazon). This is a new arrangement I’ve been working on, with elements of a version by Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and it’s still a bit of a work in progress. This is the first time I’ve performed it live, and it probably shows. (Oh well!) I love this melody, however. Close your eyes—do you feel the humidity and mystery of the Amazon forest, the moonlight above the trees, the green vines falling from above down to the ground? Listen for the growl of a jaguar, close by (but, one hopes, not too close). I close here with another Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes composition, “Serenata de Adeus” (Serenade of Goodbye). Goodbye!
This was a tough week. It has been a tough week for all of us, I’m sure. It feels as though life is both zooming by and standing still. I thought of putting these concerts on pause, but with the loss of the great songwriter, poet, and soul John Prine, with some of my friends (and yours) sick or recovering from the coronavirus, and more, too much more, it seemed like music must go on no matter what. I honestly hadn’t played enough this week and didn’t really feel quite ready, but… perfection is not the point. Not now, if ever. Come join me however you are....
Repertoire for April 10:
Classical Gas - Mason Williams
Angel from Montgomery - John Prine
Here Comes the Flood - Peter Gabriel
Scarborough Fair - traditional
Danza Inca - Jose Torres
Nana da Lua (Lullaby for the Moon) - John W. Warren
Canto de Ossanha - Baden Powell
Back to the classical guitar for my fifth live-streamed concert. Before this concert, I’d performed 26 different pieces without repeating any, but that can’t go on forever. I’ve been learning some new pieces but feel they are not quite ready. (I don’t perform reading music, for one thing, and memorization is an imperfect science.)
“Classical Gas” is a piece I last performed live perhaps 25 or 30 years ago. As I recently mentioned in a podcast interview with the Tactical Guitarist, I learned this piece by ear back in 1976 or thereabouts, when my guitar teacher Richard Stover refused to teach it to me. “Figure it out,” he said, so I did. Originally written and released by Mason Williams in 1968, with instrumental backing by members of the famous Wrecking Crew, “Classical Gas” has been recorded and released by many artists.
I decided to perform a simple and spontaneous instrumental of “Angel of Montgomery” in remembrance of the great John Prine. Needless to say, he was a great wordsmith, poet, and a great soul, and this version does not do the song justice, but here it is anyway. During my second live-streamed concert, I performed “Here Comes the Flood” by Peter Gabriel on electric guitar, but here it is on classical guitar. “Scarborough Fair” is of course a traditional folk song popularized by Simon and Garfunkel. This arrangement is by Howard Heitmeyer. This is the first time I’ve performed it live in decades. It also appears on my CD. “Danza Inca” is a piece composed by Jose Torres, based on a traditional Peruvian melody, which the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer used for his “Danza del Altiplano.” Another piece that I had not performed live in many years. Here, in a bit of improvisation, I also include an excerpt from the “Theme from Spartacus” by Alex North. (I have to get more into this piece, I think. Listen to the incredible version by Carlos Santana on his album Swing of Delight.) I close this live-stream concert with another Afro Samba by Baden Powell, “Canto de Ossanha.”
Join me again, Friday April 17, 12:00 pm ET for my sixth live-streamed “House” Concert.
For my article on practical matters of composition for classical guitar (Classical Guitar, Summer 2017), I interviewed three acclaimed composers and a publisher of classical guitar music. This series of posts publishes the full interviews. The first extended interview is with Stephen Goss, based in the UK, one of the most renowned composers for the contemporary classical guitar. The second interview is with Jürg Kindle, one of the most prominent contemporary pedagogical composers for the classical guitar. This third interview is with Chilean composer and guitarist Javier Farias.
Read MoreFor my article on practical matters of composition for classical guitar (Classical Guitar, Summer 2017), I interviewed three acclaimed composers and a publisher of classical guitar music. This series of posts publishes the full interviews. The second is with Jürg Kindle, one of the most prominent contemporary pedagogical composers for the classical guitar.
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