Stringshift Exegesis Publication
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STRINGSHIFT Solo Guitar Improvisation: Process, Methodology and Practice by Anthony Lamont Garcia MMus (University of Queensland) Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music Performance) Tasmanian College of the Arts - Conservatorium of Music University of Tasmania September 2014 ii Declaration of Originality This exegesis contains the results of research carried out at the University of Tasmania Conservatorium of Music between 2011 and 2014. It contains no material that, to my knowledge, has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information that is duly acknowledged in the exegesis. I declare that this exegesis is my own work and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where clear acknowledgment of reference has been made in the text. Statement of Authority of Access This exegesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Signed: Anthony Garcia Date: 5 March, 2015 iii iv Acknowledgments I am extremely grateful to my principal supervisor Glen Hodges for posing the right questions at the right time, encouraging me to be forthright in my convictions and affirming the novelty of my approach. To my long-time supervisor Dr. Anne Marie Forbes for scrupulous editing and overall narrative guidance throughout the writing of this exegesis. My guitar teachers, James Lloyd, Julian Byzantine and Isolde Schaupp for their unique insights into the art of Classical guitar performance practice. Nicholas O’Brien and Peter Freeman for their contribution to the video and audio documentation of this research. Annie Boyd for her artistic inspiration. My students, past and present, for enduring my endless pedagogical experiments and inspiring a passion for learning and sharing. And finally, my eternal thanks go to my wife Jennifer and sons Ruben and Gabriel for their patience love and support throughout my candidature. v vi Abstract The study and interpretation of ‘fixed music’ remains the predominant mode of practice for most classical guitarists. Despite this, an emerging body of literature highlighting the historical significance of improvisation in guiding developments in performance practice and composition beckons a reinterpretation of prior methods and practices and offers conceptual guidance for a contemporary reimagining of this neglected art form. In building on this research, I have examined the process, methodology and practice of solo guitar improvisation and outlined a personal method developed from an amalgam of experimental and historically informed practices. In conceptualizing my approach I have reengaged with the classical guitars performative lineage, examining methods and practices whose origins date back to the seventeenth-century Spanish Baroque guitar methods of Francisco Corbetta, Gaspar Sanz and Santiago de Murcia. My approach builds on the important work of Dusan Bogdanovic and Ralph Towner, whose instructional methods offer technical, theoretical and psychological insights into the process of solo guitar improvisation. The parameters of my approach are defined by an evolving vocabulary of materials and practices garnered from instructional methods, a range of plucked string instrumental techniques, procedures and forms from early music, flamenco, Celtic and Latin American guitar practices along with incorporated materials from jazz, ethnic and contemporary experimental musics. This research chronicles the evolution of my unique form of practice, outlining the interlocking processes and methods that informed a series of performances featuring improvised music for solo guitar. A folio containing a series of recorded performances along with a selection of preparative scores is accompanied by an exegetical document that explains the applied research methodology, the conceptual and philosophical framework underpinning my approach, with an analysis of selected performances. vii Contents Declaration of Originality ........................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. v Abstract ................................................................................................................................... vii List of Examples ...................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ xiii Preface ................................................................................................................................... xiv Research Methodology ........................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1: Literature Review ................................................................................................... 1 I. Improvisation Process .................................................................................................. 1 II. Reengaging with the Guitars Improvisational Heritage ............................................. 8 III. Solo Guitar Improvisation: Method and Practice .................................................... 17 Chapter 2: Improvisation Methodology ................................................................................. 47 Chapter 3: An Examination of Selected Improvisations ........................................................ 81 Chapter 4: Shifting Perspectives: Reflections and Observations ......................................... 114 Chapter 5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 121 Appendix A: Scale Shapes ................................................................................................... 124 Appendix B: Melodic Variation ........................................................................................... 127 Appendix C: Chord Shapes .................................................................................................. 132 Appendix D: Rhythms, Accompaniment Patterns and Ornamental Apreggios ................... 139 Appendix E: Contrapuntal Shapes ........................................................................................ 147 Appendix F: Extended Techniques ....................................................................................... 149 Appendix G: A Guide to the Folio ....................................................................................... 153 Appendix H: Biography and Ancillary Projects 2011-2014 ................................................ 158 Appendix I: Selected Scores ................................................................................................. 161 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 194 Folio Recordings ................................................................................................................... 206 viii List of Examples 1.1 Muting in “New York, NY,” from Some Towns and Cities by Benjamin Verdery ............. 16 1.2 Melodic Improvisation Over a Sustained Bass Note ........................................................... 17 1.3 Counterpoint Exercise .......................................................................................................... 18 1.4 Excerpt from a Transcription of Españoletas by Santiago de Murcia ................................. 19 1.5 Españoletas Deconstruction ................................................................................................. 19 1.6 Scale Development with Bass .............................................................................................. 20 1.7 Guitar Dances by Ross Edwards (1st Movement, Bars 71-95) ............................................ 21 1.8 Distinct Fingerings in Melodic Phrasing .............................................................................. 22 1.9 Towner Unaccompanied Melodic Run ................................................................................. 22 1.10 Chord Scales ......................................................................................................................... 23 1.11 Falseta Passage - Interpolating Melodic Material ............................................................... 23 1.12 Sor Scale Shapes .................................................................................................................. 24 1.13 Bogdanovic Scale Shapes .................................................................................................... 25 1.14 Root Position Triads in Four Voices .................................................................................... 27 1.15 Diagram of Chord Shapes, “The Guitarra Espanola y Vandola”, Juan Carlos Amat .......... 28 1.16 Horetzky Cadences ............................................................................................................... 29 1.17 Towner Chord Sequence ...................................................................................................... 30 1.18 Conceptualising Right Hand Fingering Patterns .................................................................