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How to Write for Classical Guitar

Saturday, 12 May 2012 Blog Archive

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How to Write for the Classical Guitar

About Me
Preface tomasodurcain

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Introduction

The guitar often finds itself on the periphery of the modern classical
music scene, and the repertoire for the instrument often reflects this. Much the
music for the guitar is written by guitarist/composers and could be described as
‘Gebrauchmusik’, that is, music which is well written for the instrument, and is as
such useful for educational purposes, but has little artistic value and is generally
not recognised by the mainstream classical music establishment.[1] The other
main chunk of the guitars repertoire is taken up with arrangements of music
written for other instruments. It is possible that, in general, most composers tend
to shy away from writing for guitar as they are unfamiliar with the limitations of
the instrument, and the rewards of writing an opera or a string quartet are much
greater.

For this project I wanted to outline the possibilities for guitar writing and
explain the mechanics of guitar music in such a way as someone who was
completely unfamiliar with the guitar would be able to understand. To do this, I
commissioned two composers at Trinity Laban Conservatiore of Music and
Dance, Mike MacLennan and Declan Kolakowski, who had not written for guitar
before, in a hope that their pieces would allow me to look through their eyes, and
see my instrument as if I had never seen it before.

It was important to me that they had not written for guitar before not only
as I needed to see how someone with no knowledge of the guitar would
approach writing for it, but also because historically the most unique and
interesting music for the guitar was written by people who were unfamiliar with
the instrument. Examples include Benjamin Britten’s Nocturnal and Alberto
Ginestera’s Sonata for Guitar, and the works of Heitor Villa Lobos and Manuel
Maria Ponce written for Segovia in the early twentieth century. This is possibly
because they were not allowing worries about playability limit the flow of their
musical imagination, as Britten has said about the writing process for Nocturnal.
[2] I wanted them to think this way, so I tried to only answer direct questions that
they had, and not suggest any particular tricks or ideas, lest I unwittingly lead
them down the road of writing a reworked collage of music from other pieces.
This I think is unfortunately common, and in some modern guitar music, you can
almost guess which pieces the composer was listen to while conceiving their own
piece. For instance, the final movement of John Buckley’s Guitar Sonata No.1
contains many of the same harmonic and rhythmic ideas which are found in
Alberto Ginestera’s Sonata for Guitar.

It is my hope that this manual, and the music created in its cause, will
inspire other composers to write for the guitar, as the guitar will only be able to
rise in stature in the classical music scene if it has a repertoire comparable to
other solo instruments. Julian Bream wrote a similar article in 1957, and it is safe
to say that no one in the late twentieth century inspired more great composers to
write for the instrument than he did.

Initial Music to Listen to

When I first met both Mike and Declan, I gave them the same list of
pieces to listen to. My goal was that they would give a flavour of what the kind of
guitar music I enjoy sounds like, but I was quick to stress that I was looking to
avoid the kind of writing where these pieces would form a kind of scaffold on
which the composers could place their ideas. I wanted them both to feel free to
write whatever they liked as I wanted pieces that were personal to them and in
their own style, and it would be my job to assess the workability of those ideas,
rather than they play it safe. Nonetheless, I was careful to pick pieces that I not

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only liked, but thought were well written for the instrument. That list was as
follows:

Nocturnal after John Dowland – Benjamin Britten

Elogio de la Danza/Sonata – Leo Brouwer
Duo Canzoni Lidie – Nuccio D’Angelo
Guitar Sonata – Alberto Ginastera
Suite Compostelana Mvts 1-3 – Federico Mompou

The Nocturnal I paid particular attention to, as I feel it is one of the

best examples of modern classical guitar music, and one of the few pieces where
it could be argued that the composer didn’t worry about the playability of the
music, rather wrote what he felt was right and left it up to the performer to find
the right way of making it work. Leo Brouwer is arguably one the best living
classical guitar composers and possibly the only one to find the right balance of
perfectly written music in a technical sense, while still being able to maintain a
sense of interest and innovation. This is because he is both a trained guitarist
and a trained composer, a relative rarity. Alberto Ginastera’s Sonata was one of
the first avant-garde pieces written for the guitar, and its influence can be seen in
many modern pieces, such as John Buckley’s Guitar Sonatas and much of the
work of Nikita Koshkin, in particular The Prince’s Toys. The sheer range of
advanced techniques utilised in the music meant that I felt it would be a good
idea to make its presence known to show some of the guitars other capabilities.
The other pieces don’t hold any special significance in the guitar repertoire;
however they are very comfortable to play both musically and technically, so I
included them.
It should be noted that in his article ‘How to Write for Guitar’,[3]
Julian Bream suggests the following reading list:

J.S. Bach – Complete Lute Works

Heitor Villa-Lobos – Complete Etudes/Preludes
Fernando Sor – Complete Studies
Mario-Castelnuovo Tedesco – Sonata
Manuel De Falla – Homenaje pour le Tombeau de Claude Debussy
While by Breams own admission this list is rather conservative,
there is still something that can be learned from these pieces. In particular, the
Bach lute works which are excellent representations of the possibilities for
counterpoint on the guitar, and the Villa-Lobos Etudes, which are probably the
most exhaustive collection of studies written for the guitar, as they cover almost
all possible techniques and ideas for the instrument. I feel it is worth noting as
well that two of the pieces I suggested, Nocturnal and Brouwer’s Sonata, were
written for Julian Bream, and it is possible that this list was the list he gave to
these composers prior to writing.

The Pieces

Declan’s Process

When I first met Declan after giving him the above list, I played him
Nocturnal and Elogio de la Danza, and then answered some questions he had
about the guitar. I was wary of volunteering too much unasked for information, as
I didn’t want to inadvertently steer him in any direction. About the Britten he
mainly had questions about notation, such as the pieces unusual stave layout,
and some of the more guitar specific notations for frets and right hand finger
indications. I told him he need not worry about these too much, as I would work
them out in my own time. He also wanted to know about the possibilities and
limitations of harmonics and how repetitions on a single note may be played,
both of which I will go into in more detail later. The main reason for playing the
Brouwer was to show some of the tonal and percussive techniques on the guitar
which if felt he may not be too familiar with.

The first draft Declan sent me, Dances of A Very Cemetery

Cockroach, was envisaged as a parody of nineteenth century dance suites, and
contained a few issues with range and slides, but was generally playable.
Eventually this idea was scrapped as Declan felt that he would be unable to
properly do it justice in the short time of the piece. The second draft, Marsyas
Lies, was altogether a more complete work, and was inspired by the Greek myth
of Marsyas, a flute player who loses his flute and is condemned to the
underworld after losing a bet with Apollo. Thus the piece takes the form of a
lament which chronicles Marsyas’s decent into the underworld and the realisation
of his greatest fear; the public’s endless, mindless listening to his music. The title
comes from Marsyas’s need to lie both about his own abilities and the impact of
the gods on his life, and is also a play on the word ‘lyre’ a Greek plucked string
instrument. Thus uncertainty forms a key component of the pieces harmony and
structure. Declan also told me that he tried to write some sections of the pieces
as if he was writing for a flute, to keep the connection.

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Technically, asides for two problematic bars at fifty-five and fifty-six,

there was very little that I had to make changes to, and even then those were
quite minor and will be gone into in detail later. In those problematic bars, the
ascending thirds where to fast to cleanly articulate, so I substituted them with a
tremolando slide, to give a similar effect of approaching climax. I will elaborate on
the exact nature of the technical issues and my solutions for them in detail later
on.

Mike’s Process

When I first met Mike, his main concern was with the sliding effect on the
guitar. Most of the guitar music that he had heard was littered with audible slides
in many places, and he wondered was this something that was inherent and
unavoidable in guitar playing. I explained to him that, in most cases, sliding is
actively avoided on the guitar as it can be noisy, and if it is a specific effect that
he desires it should be notated in the score. Unfortunately the pressures of time
meant that I was unable to play for him, but I gave him the same list of pieces
that I gave to Declan, and I outlined some of his concerns and issues that had
come up, such as the number of workable voices in harmonic playing and issues
with range and spanning. I also had to explain to Mike about the notation of
guitar music, as he had expected it to be across two staves. He commented to
me that the look of guitar music on one stave is to him very crowded. In this vain
he wondered also if repeated chords are notated literally, as in a series of clumps
of notes. I explained that this is usually the case, however some composers may
use a type of shorthand, such as rhythm patterns with the chord just notated
once, if they so wish.

The first draft that Mike sent to me was generally quite playable;
however there were some problems with the playability of the harmonic chords
(Ex.1).

Ex.1, MacLennan, Untitled (Draft), Bars 1, 4 and 11, Harmonic Chords

In the final version, Bipolar, this problem was solved by playing the
A-flat in the first two chords as a fretted note, while having the others as open
harmonics. This produces a similar effect, while also allowing me to add vibrato
to the note. For the final chord, Mike thought it best to play the whole chord up
the octave, and use harmonics for the A and G while using a closed note for the
E-flat in the same way.

This piece proved to be difficult musically as there were no

dynamics marked in the score. I made a decision early on to let the notes ring
across one another as much as possible, while still recognising the rests. This
had the effect of thickening the texture, while also making the harmony clearer.
Unlike Declan’s piece, where I added in slurs myself in most cases, Mike had
notated slurs in his music which I made a point to observe. The slur from an A to
an E in bar forty-six stretched the limits of my hand, but slurs of this size can
have an interesting character so I decided to leave it in and endeavour to play it
correctly.

Structurally, Mike told me that the piece came about when he

noticed that most modern atonal music also had rather abstract and disjointed
rhythms. Thus the rhythms from bars one to twenty-five are identical to those
found in bars twenty-six to fifty. The first half is overall quite dissonant, while the
second half is altered slightly to use more conventional harmonies while keeping
the exact same rhythmic structure as the previous section. Again I will elaborate
on the exact nature of the issues with this piece and my solutions to them later
on.

Orchestration

Range

The tuning of a standard guitar is, low to high, EADGBE written as

shown (Ex.2).

Ex.2, Tuning of a Guitar’s open strings, Low to High.

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It is important to remember though that the guitar is a transposing

instrument, and that those written pitches will actually sound an octave lower,
thus giving it a range quite similar to that of a cello, however with higher pitched
resonances and overtones giving the illusion of an overall higher range.[4]

The range of the guitar is actually the sum of the ranges of all the strings as
shown (Ex.3).[5]

Ex.3, Ranges of the notes on each individual string.

The high note for guitars varies, in that it can occasionally go up to a C

(which mine does) however a lot of guitars will only go up to a B so it is safer to
work within these limits unless specifically told by the performer that this C is
possible. This can be seen in early drafts of Marsyas Lies which at its climax go
up to the C-sharp above this, which is a semitone too high for my guitar. Upon
meeting Declan for the first time, in order to explain to him the range of how to
write for the guitar I used the analogy of writing for a one handed pianist. In
retrospect I feel that this is not as accurate a description as I thought at the time,
however there as still some truth to it as the range of notes that can be played
simultaneously on a guitar is limited to the span of one hand, rather than any
combination of notes on the fret board. Indeed this was a concern that Declan
voiced to me prior to writing, particularly in larger chords.

The lower strings do not sound very good high up the fingerboard, so I
advised that it is unwise to do six string chords very high up the neck. The overall
range of a guitar is three octaves and a fifth, however the notes above the high G
on the first string are of a lower quality, and high complicated passagework can
sound thin and unconvincing here, so thought must be given when placing notes
here.[6] An example of this is in bar 30 of Declan’s first draft, where there is a
close harmony counterpoint quite high up the neck. Although this is technically
possible, it is very impractical as this high up the neck the body of the guitar gets
in the way of the hand, slowing down the overall speed of movement (Ex.4).

Ex.4, Kolakowski, A Very Cemetery Cockroach (Draft), Bar 30

I met Mike for the first time after Declan’s first draft, so I voiced these
concerns to him, and explained that contrapuntally middle range diads (thirds
and fifths, tenths and twelfths for example) are very easy, however as you move
in either direction with the notes (seconds and octaves, anything with a span of
two octaves or above) this kind of passagework becomes very difficult at speed.
That isn’t to say that these intervals are unplayable, but great care must be taken
with the context of their use. In general very large intervals should be avoided
unless one of the open strings is involved.

Span

The span of the left hand on a guitar is generally about 5 of 6 frets,

however this amount will increase as the hand moves up the neck, and high
chords can be played with open basses easily (Ex.5)

Ex.5, Approximate range of notes which can be simultaneously played in right hand

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The climactic chord in Marsyas Lies is wider than this, spanning an E-flat to a B,
however it just about works in this context as there is time to get in and out of it. I
play the chord at the end of the above video, and as you can see it is a massive
stretch. I would be very careful to think of the context of using a stretch this wide,
and only use it if it is absolutely unavoidable. Issues with spanning can be seen
in early drafts of Marsyas lies, where in bar 55 there is a large gap between the
low F and the high A-sharp’s and D-sharp’s in the chords, (Ex.6),

Ex.6, Kolakowski, Marsyas Lies (Draft), Bars 55 and 56

as well as in places in Dances of A Very Cemetery Cockroach where

the same problem occurs (Ex.7).

Ex.7, Kolakowski, Dances of A Very Cemetery Cockroach (Draft), Bar 17

A similar problem is encountered in bar 46 of Marsyas Lies where the C

is indicated to be sustained over a low F-sharp. This is unfortunately not
possible, so the C must be cut short in order to reach the F-sharp in time (Ex.8).

Ex.8, Kolakowski, Marsyas Lies (Draft), Bars 46 and 47

Notation

Guitar music is usually written on a single stave, which a lot of

composers seem unfamiliar with, certainly Mike and Declan were. Britten also
frequently notates his guitar music across two staves. Although Mike thought that
one stave looked cluttered, it is by far more common and most guitarists will not
be used to reading on two staves, thus the learning process will be slowed, as it
is not really practical or useful to practice the two staves separately. Chords are
also usually written out in full even if they are repeated; although some shorthand
is occasionally used if the chord is static while the rhythm changes. Again I
wouldn’t be too worried about having the score look crowed in comparison to
piano scores for example, as guitarists will be well used to reading them.
Arpeggiation of a chord, as opposed to the chord being played all at the same
time, is indicated in the same way as it would be on a piano, with a wavy line and
arrow indicating the direction of the break.

On a guitar, the fingerings for the left hand are indicated with the
numbers one to four for the first to little finger, while the letters PIMA indicate

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thumb, first, middle and ring fingers on the right hand respectively. These
indications can be left to the discretion of the performer if the composer is
unfamiliar with the guitar. The position of notes on the neck can also be show by
indicating the desired fret using roman numerals, III for the third fret for example,
or by indicating which string the note should be played on with a number from
one to six in a circle.[7] This is something which a composer may like to give
thought to, as most notes on the guitar can be played in several different
positions, each with a different quality to the others.

Barring

Another important part of guitar playing to take into account is the grand
barre, where the performer covers all or half of the span of a single fret with his
first finger in order to create an artificial movable nut. This bar is indicated with a
capitol C, so a barre on the third fret would be indicated by CIII. A half barre
would have a vertical line through the C. Some performers are able to use an
angled barre, where the first finger covers the higher strings, but is still able to
fret notes on adjacent frets on lower strings, however this is a very specific
technique that many performers (myself included) will not be able to do and as
such should not be used unless the performer shows himself able to do so.[8]
When using a grand barre, the remaining fingers can fret up to four frets higher
than the barre itself, and barres should be avoided above the tenth fret, as above
here the body of the guitar prevents the hand from being able to get into the right
position to perform the barre.[9]

Musical Writing

Harmony

When voicing harmony on a guitar, it is important to remember the

limitations of the left hand. It is advisable not to go beyond three notes for
contrapuntal playing, as four notes or more will just sound like a succession of
chords, however if this is the desired effect then it is perfectly acceptable to do
so. If this size harmony is absolutely necessary, then tempo should be taken into
account as this kind of playing is not possible at fast speeds. It should be noted
however that all five or six string chords on a guitar will be slightly arppegiated,
as the right hand only uses four fingers to pluck strings.[10] If repeated and
rapid chord changes are required, then it is best to keep to four notes, or even
three if very fast, to avoid running into problems, and if a tremolando effect is
required then the notes of the chord must fall on adjacent strings or the click of
the muted middle string will ring out.[11]

Counterpoint

Two part harmony is generally comfortable and quite common in guitar

writing, however exclusively parallel or contrary motion is very difficult as you
quickly run into spanning problems. It is acceptable in most cases to simplify the
accompaniment, and have a discreet and occasional third middle part to
punctuate the harmony.[12] This was a technique which Declan used in the
middle section of Marsyas Lies, and he also informed me that to avoid issues he
restricted himself to three part writing as much as possible throughout the piece.
It is a good idea if writing multiple part lines that the bass is far away from the
remaining notes, as the major third between the second and third strings
facilitates easy triadic playing, while the gap between the bass and everything
else gives the chord certain richness.[13] Triads in the low positions can also
sound quite rich, however in chamber music these can get lost very easily so
they are best to be avoided in this context.[14] Julian Bream advises looking to
the works of Bach for instruction of how to write harmonically for the guitar:

A Detailed study of the unaccompanied violin sonatas would serve

admirably as a guide to the application of harmony and counterpoint to
the guitar; better still, compare Bach’s own lute arrangements of the G
minor fugue from the first Violin Sonata or of the whole C minor cello
suite, and one will notice that with the added advantage of extra strings
he has slightly elaborated the harmony and in some cases developed
the counterpoint.[15]

An example of good harmonic writing for guitar is the arrangements of Bach’s

Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, which when moved from its original key to D Major,
provides a strong example of what would be the limit of complexity for harmonic
writing on the guitar.[16]

Tonality

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The choice of key is important on the guitar, and many pieces are either
written or rearranged so that they are in the keys of A, E, D, G, C, F or their tonic
minors, and the natural resonances and open notes of the guitar can be taken
advantage of.[17] Because of this atonal pieces can sometimes be problematic
on the guitar, however they are certainly workable and there are a number of fine
examples on atonal works in the guitars repertoire.[18] A technique which some
composers use, most notably Villa-Lobos, is to use chords which combine fretted
notes with open strings, so the fretted notes can move while the open strings
remain constant, thus creating a series of easily movable chords which will each
have their own harmonic flavour.[19] Thought must be given to using this
however, as it can sound a bit naive, and is a greatly overused trick in modern
guitar music. Arpeggios are possible in almost any combination on the guitar,
particularly if the notes of the chord fall on adjacent strings, as the first second
and third fingers of the right hand can handle the treble strings while the thumb
takes the basses.[20] Villa-lobos’ Etude No.1 is a good example of the kind of
arpeggio playing possible on the guitar.

Colour

Tone

Texture and colour are vital to guitar music. As Julian Bream says:

The most important thing to bear in mind when writing for an instrument
is the texture and character of its sound. The guitar is more sensitive
and intimate than almost any other instrument, and therefore demands
from the composer great imagination and feeling for colour – especially
since it is nearly always solo, and succeeds or falls purely on its own
merits of musical expression.[21]

Indeed, Declan informed me after the completion of his piece that, in the
absence of any other information to latch on to, he primarily thought tonally and
texturally when writing his music. The guitar is capable of making a variety of
different timbres and as Bream says above this should be taken into account
when writing music for it. Often the type of tone used for different kinds of music
is left to the discretion of the performer, but I feel it can help with the writing
process if the composer at least has this in mind when creating the piece. I made
sure to emphasise this point and explain it to both Mike and Declan so they could
be aware of it for their music.

In general, tone is decided by what part of the string the right hand
plucks. Closer to the fingerboard will create a warmer, fuller sound, but can at
times sound woolly and undefined, as well as making the music harder to play as
the strings will vibrate more in this position. This is indicated by writing Tasto
above the part of the music meant to be played this way. If an extreme version is
required, then you must write Sul Tasto which indicates the performer must pluck
the strings over the fingerboard. By playing away from the fingerboard, closer to
the bridge, this will have a clear, sharp but thin sound which can be effective in
small amounts. This is indicated by writing Ponti or if a very sharp sound is
required then the composer should write Metalico and the performer will pluck
right next to the bridge. If these are not indicated then the performer will use a
natural hand position, which is just to the right of the sound hole, over the
rosette.

In the above video, I play the same passage in five different positions to show
the subtle tonal differences that are available on the guitar. First I play in a
normal position, then Tasto (0.13), Sul Tasto (0.25), Ponti (0.38), and finally
Metalico (0.50).

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Dynamics

The dynamic range of the guitar is generally not a major cause for
concern on its own, though the guitar is a notoriously quiet instrument with a
small dynamic range, a fact which must be taken into consideration if the guitar is
in a piece with other instruments. It can be a good idea to remember this so that
pieces are not conceived with the idea of tremendous volume as this will
generally not be the case. Declan commented on this when he first heard me
play Marsyas Lies, as he had overall envisaged the piece as louder than I was
playing it, but he said that my more relaxed interpretation was fine by him as it
was my reaction to the piece. Indeed he later commented to me that, in his
opinion, the reason more people didn’t write for guitar was because the
instrument was so quiet that most composers won’t know what to do with it,
particularly in chamber music situations.

For safety, working within a dynamic limit of pp-ff is best as the

subtle difference between any quieter or louder dynamics will not come across
clearly on the guitar. Overall in Marsyas Lies Declan has gone for a much larger
dynamic than this, going from ppppp-fffff, however I left this in as, although the
differences between the large dynamics will be smaller than they would be on
other instruments, this way of writing clearly shows the intent and helps with the
interpretation. It is my job as a performer to put this intent across and try and
make the dynamics relative to each other. Britten uses similarly wide dynamic
ranges in his Nocturnal after John Dowland.

In the above video, I again play the same passage in several different ways in
order to show the dynamic ranges of the guitar. First I play as softly as possible,
then I play as loud as I am able to pluck (0.15), and finally I play as loudly as I
can strum (0.26). Strumming can add extra volume to chordal passages, but
sacrifices clarity of sound for this.

Harmonics

Natural Harmonics

Harmonics are part of the guitars repertoire which can be very useful.
Open harmonics on the guitar can be played at the following pitches (Ex.9).

Ex. 9, Possible Open Harmonics on the Guitar

Position wise, this means that the twelfth fret plays harmonics an octave
higher than the open pitch of the string, the seventh and nineteenth play pitches
an octave and a fifth higher, and the fifth plays harmonics two octaves higher.
Natural harmonics two octaves and a major third higher are also theoretically
possible at the fourth, ninth and sixteenth frets, however these not as strong or
clear and should be only used carefully, particularly not in fast passages, as it
can be difficult to get the note to be louder than the sound of the string being
plucked.[22] Harmonics are played by placing the finger over the metal of the

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desired frets on the guitar, and then raising the finger again after the note has
been struck so that it resonates freely. These are easily played on the guitar, and
rapid passagework is quite possible, as well as block chords using these notes,
though care should be taken when creating chords that the stretches between
frets are not too large.

In the above video, I play the opening section of The Shannon Suite by Ciaran
Farrell to show the kind of melodic material that can be theoretically created
using only open harmonics.

Artificial Harmonics

Most other notes on the guitars fingerboard can be played using artificial
harmonics. This is where the left hand finger frets the note the octave below the
desired pitch, and the right hand first finger hovers over the metal of the fret
twelve frets above and plucks to create the harmonic. This process is quite
awkward so the speed these can be performed at is limited, and the sound is
generally thinner than that of natural harmonics.[23] The range for artificial
harmonics is slightly smaller than the range of the guitar itself (Ex.10).

Ex.10, Range of possible Artificial Harmonics

Problems with this can be seen in Bar 60 of Marsyas Lies, where the G
is too low to play as a harmonic, and also in the third chord in Mike’s first draft,
where the C is too low. Also in this draft, there are problems with the chords, as
chords are possible using the open harmonics given above; however chords are
not possible using artificial harmonics. In this instance I decided to do whatever
notes I could as natural harmonics, and fret the rest normally, thus creating a
similar effect.

In the above video, I play a passage from the sixth movement of Benjamin
Britten's Nocturnal which exclusively uses artificial harmonics. This is about the
limit of complexity of line that can be done in this manner, however it would
be possible to play this section slightly faster than I play in this video.

Practical Harmonics

Sometimes natural harmonics can be used in place of regular notes in a

piece to make fingering easier. As seen below, I used this in Bar 35 of Marsyas
Lies, as the chord here has too close a harmony to fret and keep the campanella
effect, however if I play the D as a harmonic, then it will ring without me touching

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it leaving my hand free to fret the other notes in the chord. I did a similar thing at
bar 49 with the low E in the accompaniment.

Harmonics Notation

Notation of harmonics is ambiguous, and there is no strict rule on how it

is done. Declan chose to place a small circle above the note to indicate a
harmonic, while Mike used a diamond shaped note head. Both of these are
acceptable and are commonly used at the composers’ discretion. Pitches can be
ambiguous as well, as artificial harmonics are sometimes written at sounding
pitch, and sometimes based on left hand position, i.e. down the octave, while
natural harmonics are sometimes written at pitch, and sometimes written with the
string and fret indicated but not the pitch (Ex.11)

Ex.11, Possible alternate notation of Open Harmonics

Given Declan and Mike’s relative inexperience in this area, I took them
to mean that the pitches written were the pitches which should sound. Declan in
particular enjoyed the sound of the guitars harmonics, and made sure to work
them into his piece as he thought they were much easier to hear than harmonics
on other string instruments.

Guitar Specific Techniques

Glissandi

Glissandi on guitar are not as effective as they are on non fretted string
instruments, but they can still be used if the composer so wishes, as Julian
Bream says:

I would like to mention one other characteristic of guitar playing, known

as the ‘slide’ or Portamento. Although this technique is often abused by
instrumentalists, it can, when performed with sincere artistic ends, create a
feeling of pathos and emotional intensity.[24]

Sliding on the bass strings in particular should be treated with care, as

the steel coating on these strings can create a loud scrape when slides are used,
and on any string the sound of the finger crossing the metal frets will break the
uninterrupted note which is possible on bowed instruments. Guitarists will
generally avoid slides unless it is specifically notated as these noises are
undesirable in guitar playing. Mike in particular wondered if this was something
that he should notate or was it something inherent to guitar playing. This is
notated on the score in the same way as for other instruments, with line linking
one note to the next. Care must be taken by the composer though that the two
notes of the slide occur on the same string, as slides to adjacent strings are not
possible. Slides on more than one note are possible, however all the notes must
move at the same time and in the same direction or there will be no discernable
effect. Problems can be seen in A Very Cemetery Cockroach in the slides after
bar nine, as the slide on the G’s here are not possible when the other fingers
need to perform counterpoint, as the whole hand would need to move for an
effective glissando (Ex. 12).

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Ex.12, Kolakowski, Dances of A Very Cemetery Cockroach (Draft), Bars 16 and 17

A problem also occurs at bar six where there is a slide on the low F. As
this is the lowest fretted note on the guitar, it is impossible to slide any lower and
no real glissando effect is possible. Slides can be added also as a form of legato
to make fast playing easier. I did this in bar 56 of Marsyas Lies, as the rising
scale in the thirds here was too fast to cleanly articulate, so doing the whole thing
as a tremolando slide produced a much clearer effect.

The above video involves a wide variety of the possible slides on the
guitar, in terms of length, distance and size of possible chords which can be
moved.

Slurs

Other types of legato playing possible on the guitar are Hammer-ons and
Pull-offs, which are performed essentially by plucking the string with the fretting
hand. These can be used for faster and smoother passagework, however care
must be taken as with the slides that the two notes are on the same string and
are within the reach of the hand. The slur from A to E in Bipolar is just about the
limit to the distance of my slurs (Ex.13).

Ex.13, MacLennan, Bipolar, Bar 46

Slurs cannot be done continuously forever though as the string must be

made to vibrate again by the right hand.[25] Notes meant to the played in this
way are indicated with an arced line connecting them.

This above video, like the one for slides earlier, shows a variety of the
possibilities for legato playing using Hammer-ons and Pull-offs.

Tremolo

When I first met Declan, he asked me how repetitions on a single note

could be played on the guitar, as this was an idea he was working with at the
time. I explained to him about tremolo technique on the guitar, where the thumb
plays a bass line, while the fingers rapidly play one note on the higher strings to
give the impression of a sustained line. The melody in this case, can either be in
the single note bass part or the sustained higher line.[26] Although this is a nice

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technique, it should be used sparingly in larger pieces as it can get quite

monotonous.

In the above video, I play the opening passage of La Ultima Cancion by

Augustin Barrios Mangore, to give an idea of how tremolo technique is used on
the guitar.

Pizzicato

Pizzicato technique on the guitar involves plucking the string while the
right hand forms an artificial mute over the bridge, thus creating a sound very like
the harp stop on a harpsichord which can be very effective on bass notes and on
two or three note chords in the higher register.[27] Declan told me he particularly
wanted to include this effect in his piece as it was one that he was previously
unfamiliar with. He also indicated in bar twenty-one of Dances of A Very
Cemetery Cockroach that he wanted a snap effect on the note. This is known as
a Bartok Pizzicato, and is performed by fretting the note normally with the left
hand and pulling the string away from the guitar with the right so that it snaps
against the fingerboard when released. It is notated by placing a circle with a half
vertical line through it, much like the power symbol on a computer, above the
note.

In the above video, I play a number of short passages to show what

pizzicato technique on the guitar sounds like.

Percussive Techniques

A variety of percussive effects are possible on the guitar by striking

different parts of its body with different parts of the hand. There is no set notation
for doing such a thing, and if this effect is desired than a key must be done up by
the composer so his intentions are clear, but the indication that the guitar must
be struck is usually marked Golpe, and if pitches are to be held for whatever
reason, resonance for example, than using an x instead of a note head can
indicate that the pitches marked are percussive pitches rather than normally
played ones. Ginestera’s Sonata for Guitar has a number of fine examples of this
kind of playing. The most common percussive effect is Tambura, where the
performer frets notes normally, but strikes the strings close to the bridge to make
the pitches vibrate. You can listen here to how this sounds when I play Manuel
De Falla's Millers Dance entirely tambura.

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Vibrato

Vibrato is generally left to the discretion of the performer, but the

composer can if he wishes indicate that he wants no vibrato by writing Senza
Vibrato in the normal way. Vibrato is possible on chords as well as on single
notes, however not on open strings or open harmonics.

Scordatura

Though the guitar is usually tuned to EADGBE as mentioned earlier,

scordatura tunings are possible and common. The most frequent is dropping the
low E down a tone to D, to facilitate ease of creating fifths and octaves in the
bass. Other altered tunings should only be attempted by experienced guitar
composers, as these new tunings can have a dramatic effect on the playability of
the pieces, and what would normally be easy to play can become very difficult.
Nuccio D’Angelo’s Duo Canzoni Lidie is tuned to E-Flat, A, D, G, B-Flat, E, and is
a good example of how scordatura can create a whole new sound and
resonance for the guitar.

Summation
The most recurring issues I had in working with these new pieces
concerned span, harmonics and notation. Working within the ranges of notes that
I marked earlier is very important, as no amount of practise can increase the
stretch of a hand, and one would hope not to have to alter a beautiful melody for
such a small issue. Harmonics must also be used with care, as their possibilities
are relatively limited and specific. Great thought must be given to their use so
that the ideas are within the guitar’s possibility, particularly when artificial
harmonics are being used, as both pieces contained harmonics that are not
playable on the guitar. The notation is less important as long as the composers
intent is clear, however it will save a great deal of time in the learning process if
the score is laid out in a way that is similar to the guitar music that most guitarists
will be used to reading. This must be kept in mind in particular if the composer is
more used to reading harmonic music across two staves.

This process was very informative as to how a composer may look at the
guitar. Both of these composers were much happier to write for the instrument in
the knowledge that I would be able to proofread any work, therefore I can
conclude that having a guitarists perspective on the piece can improve it greatly;
as well as make the writing process less daunting. It is my hope that this blog will
be able to act as a substitute to those composers who may be willing to write for
guitar, but who have no guitarists nearby that they can call on for assistance. I
plan fully to continue to speak to composers abut writing for the instrument, and
directing then towards this site for guidance, in the hope that they will do the
same to others in similar situations in the future, thus leading to more new music
and a richer repertoire for the guitar.

Bibliography

Adler, Samuel. The Study of Orchestration, 3rd ed. New York & London, Norton,
2002

Barrios, Agustin Mangore. La Ultima Cancion, ed. Raymond Burley. London,

Schott, 1991

Berio, Luciano. Berio's Sequenzas: Essays on Performance, Composition and

Analysis. Adershot, Ashgate, 2007

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How to Write for Classical Guitar: How to Write for the Classical Guitar Page 14 of 15

Blatter, Alfred. Instrumentation and Orchestration, 2nd ed. Belmont CA, Schirmer,
1997

Booth, Wayne C. The Craft of Research. Chicago. London, University of Chicago

Press, 2008

Bream, Julian. ‘How to Write for the Guitar’. European Guitar Teachers
Association UK Guitar Forum 2. 2003. 1-9

Britten, Benjamin. Nocturnal after John Dowland for guitar, op.70. Faber, 1965

Brouwer Leo. Elogio de la Danza Madrid, Opera tres, 1964

Brouwer, Leo. Sonata para Guitarra solo. Madrid, Opera tres, c1991

D’angelo, Nuccio. Duo Canzoni Lidie. London, Eschig, 1984

Farrell, Ciaran. The Shannon Suite. Dublin, Cmc, 1996

Feisst, Sabine. ‘Exploring the art of solo writing: Luciano Berio's Sequenze and
nine other works’, Liner notes to The Complete Sequenzas, Alternate Sequenzas &
Works for solo Instruments by Luciano Berio. CD, Mode records, 161/3 Mode, 2006

Ginastera, Alberto. Sonata for guitar, op. 47. London, Boosey & Hawkes, 1978

Kerstens, Tom. ‘Create IGF’S List of Commissions of New Work for

Guitar’ in
London Guitar Festival 8-10 March 2012. London: IGF, 2012. 4-5

Kildea, Paul, ed. Britten on Music. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003

Mompou, Federico. Suite Compostelana. Paris, Salabert, 1954

Piston, Walter. Orchestration. London, Gollancz, 1978

[1] Tom Kerstens. ‘Create IGF’S List of Commissions of New Work for Guitar’ in
London Guitar Festival 8-10 March 2012. (LondonIGF, 2012). 4

[2] Paul Kiuldea, ed. Britten on Music. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003). 271
[3] Julian Bream. ‘How to Write for the Guitar’. European Guitar Teachers Association UK Guitar Forum 2 (2003)
[4] Ibid3
[5]Alfred Blatter. Instrumentation and Orchestration, 2nd ed.( Belmont CA, Schirmer, 1997). 282
[6] Bream, 'How to Write for the Guitar', 3
[7] Blatter, Instrumentation and Orchestration, 26
[8] Ibid 285
[9] Bream, 'How to Write for the Guitar', 5
[10] Ibid 4
[11] Ibid 5
[12] Ibid 4
[13] Ibid 2
[14] Blatter, Instrumentation and Orchestration, 286
[15] Bream, 'How to Write for the Guitar', 4
[16] Ibid 3
[17] Ibid 5
[18] Ibid 6
[19] Ibid 2
[20] Blatter, Instrumentation and Orchestration, 283
[21] Bream, 'How to Write for the Guitar', 6
[22] Ibid 7
[23] Ibid 8

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Posted by tomasodurcain at 05:21

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