Composing for the Classical Guitar ANon-Guitarist Starter Kit Compiled from Adrian Allan's “How to Compose for the Classical Guitar’ See entire book here ighly recommended to purchase this book! Range midaioc coane asa |(Foascoercascoercascoer cas) Trl Frances | Bass - Low C=} Notes onthe guitar's frethoard progress upwards by semitones As an example, here are the notes on string 1 up to fret 12: be Notes beyond the Twelfth Fret - the highest range be (atthe hiahest range, guitarists are more comfortable reading a) When writing for the classical guitar, treat the notes above E with caution.Tone Colour The classical guitar is capable of more variety in tone colour than almost any other instrument. The greatest exponent of varied tone colour is perhaps the guitarist Julian Bream; it is worth watching how manages to coax such a wide range of colour from his instrument. Most of this tone colour is applied intuitively by the performer, but there are occasions when the composer may require a specific tone colour. The three main regions for varying tone colour are shown below: Ponticello/Sul ponticello/ Modo ordinaro/_Tasto/Sul tasto Metallico Normale Ponticello or sul ponticello or metallico is the harsher or brash tone colour achieved by playing close to the bridge. Modo ordinaro is the term given to a normal, neutral tone colour, and tasto or sul tasto is the sweet sound achieved by playing over the end of the fretboard. There is no need to specify modo ordinaro unless cancelling a ponticello or tasto tone colour. Most of the time, the player is happy to make his/her own decisions on “POL which tone colour to use — for example s/he will play a dolce passage tasto. However, the composer may wish to leave specific instructions on the score.‘The Guitar Arpeggio Explained The guitar arpeggio is in a fact very different from the piano arpeggio, and this basic fact causes confusion for aspiring composers of the guitar. The piano arpeggio, consisting of the 1, 3, 5, 3, 1 of the scale looks like this: Guitar players will also encounter this form of arpeggio when taking grade examinations in guitar performance, as an adjunct to memorising scales. However, in reality, the 1, 3, 5, arpeggio is not particularly common in guitar arrangements. What is more common is a broken chord pattern based on a chord held down by the left hand of the player. This is essence is the “guitar arpeggio”. For example, the guitar chord of C: finds its arpeggio form as: asa3 (which is 1, 5, 1, 3) ee Abassstring 3 teble strings = Another Example: ‘An A major chord of: Can be arpeggiated as oe Which is 1,1, 3,5. ch bass string § ——mee FEE ESE The guitar is a transposing instrument. The open strings shown above actually sound an octave lower than written. LowE-String A-String D-String G-string B-string High E-string ———- S| SS & - == = = Which Key Signature to Use? The guitar is better suited to sharp rather than flat keys This is due tothe fact ‘hat there are two E strings on a guitar and a B string. Keys with two or more flats Involve run the risk ofthe guttarist hitting either ofthe E strings, or having to ‘make considerable effort to avoid plucking them. The best keys forthe guitar also ‘make use ofthe open bass strings of E, A and D. “The most common key signatures for classical guitar Key Signature Major Bb TF Key | major | major major Relative GD Minor | minor | minor minor The vast majority of classical guitar musicis in the keys of F major to E major. 8 ‘major and bh major are more uncommon, but not unheard of. Keys elther side of these guitar “extremes” can be used for brief modulatory passages, but a classical guitarist will not appreciate a piece written in Ab major, or anything far into the flat key territories,