More info at www.guitarhamilton.com or (905) 807-4792.  Register early for a reduced rate!

As Palmer points out in his introduction, the method is intended to supplement an already well-established technique and is therefore a method aimed at the intermediate to advanced player. Essentially, the method conveys the study and application of ami fingerings which enable velocity and agility displayed in Palmer’s formidable technique. However, the ability to execute ami passages is more complex than right hand technique alone, it requires a solid understanding of appropriate fingering, string crossing, and left hand technique.

What I admire most about the method is its clear and thorough delivery of the topic at hand. The 82 pages discuss the technique in a structured and comprehensive manner. Not only is the technique dissected and discussed on micro levels but it is also put into practice with appropriate repertoire excerpts presented to display the application of ami in action. It is clear from the way in which Palmer writes, that he has not only spent many years developing his own facility but also teaching it to others. Palmer addresses problems that will inevitable arise from practical applications of the method and his step-by-step approach to building up the technique points to a writer who has put a lot of thought and time into this method. The presentation of the publication is of a high quality, and is laid out in a style reminiscent of the ever ubiquitous Pumping Nylon.

While the method has a narrow focus, I believe it is indispensable for any advanced guitarist or teacher to include in their library. It presents a consolidation of ami technique, that while not revolutionary, has been distilled and delivered in an easy to understand and elegant manner.

Kudos to Matt for raising the bar!

Purchase the book at:

http://www.mattpalmerguitar.com

Milos Karadaglic, a 27 year old musician from Montenegro, has recently taken quite an extraordinary path for a classical guitarist. Signed by Deutsche Grammophon, Milos has been traveling extensively promoting his newly released CD “Mediterraneo”. Additionally, Milos has been popping up in several mainstream publications such as The Economist, New York Times, The Guardian etc.. I have observed some curious reactions to Milos’ recent publicity and I will address that later in this article, but first I will tell you about the concert last night.

Having attended countless classical guitar concerts over the past couple of decades, I was really delighted to experience a concert that stood out from the rest. The Poisson Rouge is a trendy new venue on Bleeker Street in Manhattan that built its reputation by presenting contemporary classical music to the New York audience. The layout of the venue is more akin to what one might expect for a jazz club. Dim lighting, tables, and a bar with food and drink service throughout the evening. Even before the performance began, the surroundings had created a very different mood and ambiance compared to a more conventional classical concert. The staff and audience were very respectful with ambient noise throughout the performance, but with the powerful house amplification of the guitar, it was never an issue.

Milos performed a single set of works without intermission, in between pieces Milos shared some insights with the audience and in general exuded a very calm, collected charisma that added greatly to the overall effect of the performance. The repertoire selection was largely taken from his newly released album and consisted of: Villa Lobos Prelude no.1, Asturias and Granada by Albeniz, Spanish dance no.5 and Oriental by Granados, Prelude and Fugue from Bach BWV 997 and Koyunbaba by Carlo Domeniconi. While to fellow classical guitarists this repertoire selection has been well worn in both recital and recording, I can only imagine that to the full house that was attending, much or all of this music was brand new.

Throughout the entire performance Milos played with impeccable accuracy and command. The interpretation of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue stood out to me in particular but his excellent musical phrasing and clear melodic lines were consistently of a high standard. Milos plays a particularly beautiful Smallman guitar, and he managed to coax out some of the most beautiful high notes in Asturias, that I have ever heard.

Following the performance, the audience showed their appreciation by calling Milos back to the stage three times (without an encore – which may partly be because of the Koyunbaba tuning!) and then proceeded to form a large queue to have CD’s signed.

Milos is a world class performer, and he possesses a charisma and presence that will serve to further his already blossoming career. I thoroughly enjoyed this performance and I am very excited to watch the progression of his career.

-

Apart from the performance itself, there were many larger issues that were brought up by the concert last night and by the discussions that I have witnessed on the ever positive internet.

Many readers of this site are well aware of the increasing pool of phenomenal performers that are in the world today. One simply has to go to a big guitar festival to encounter not one but several guitarists that are really exceptional and gifted. Therefore, when reading article titles such as ‘The guitar has a new hero’ and comments that suggest that the guitar has been dead or dormant since the heyday of Segovia, Bream and Williams, I can understand that some people might find these ideas and statements grating, if not offensive. Similarly, the repertoire selection for the album may come across as redundant, given the ubiquitous recordings that already exist containing the same pieces.

A few months ago, when the promotional material started flowing, I was dismayed to read several vitriolic discussions on the internet regarding Milos. As we all know, the internet is particularly adept at fueling anonymous hatred, but I was saddened to see people lashing out at Milos for the amount of exposure he was receiving. In Australia this phenomenon is called ‘tall poppy syndrome’.

The fact of the matter is, a large part (a very large part) of the societies we live in have no familiarity with the classical guitar at all. I cannot tell you the amount of blank faces I have stared into when I tell people what I do. Then, suddenly their faces light up and say, “Oh! Like the Gypsy Kings!”

I think Milos is bringing the classical guitar and some of its most treasured repertoire to an audience that would otherwise be ignorant of our six stringed world. For that, I am grateful. If your particular taste in repertoire or performance is different, there are a multitude of performers out there that you can choose to support instead. In terms of the publicity that is being generated, I believe that in a media saturated world, publicity sometimes needs hyperbole. Just walk down broadway in New York city and count how many signs say “Best Coffee in the World!” (and I can tell you right now… the US does many things well, coffee is not one of them).

I have always been vexed by peoples tendency to bring down others that are in the same boat. I believe that if the guitar community shows support for others that do well, everyone will benefit. I can only imagine that our own guitar heroes in the past had their detractors, but I think we all know how much gratitude we owe them now.

In the end, the ultimate critic, time, will have the final say to Milos’ legacy, but it is my hope that the guitar community will encourage the success of anyone who is fortunate enough to have it.

To end, I will leave you with a joke:

How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb?
100, 1 to change the bulb and 99 to say “I could have done it better”

- Simon

Thanks everyone!

Simon

Dear Sir/Madam,

By Laurence Peter BBC News

Classical guitar virtuoso David Russell explains why his choice of instrument is helping to revive and spark new interest in the music of composers such as JS Bach and his contemporaries

In today’s crowded music market the classical guitar sometimes struggles to make itself heard alongside other guitar genres.

But this versatile instrument is helping to introduce new listeners to the music of Bach and other outstanding composers of the Baroque period, such as the Italian Domenico Scarlatti and Bach’s German friend Silvius Leopold Weiss, who was a celebrated lute player.

David Russell is a leading exponent of Baroque music – one of a few classical guitar virtuosos who are rediscovering masterpieces from that period and transcribing them.

Read the full article at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13229108

Raffaella and Odair are in the New York area because they are taking part in a Leo Brouwer tribute concert that is being held on April 23rd at the 92Y in New York City. The full fare of guitarists include:

Benjamin Verdery, Odair Assad, Canadian Guitar Quartet, Ricardo Cobo, Eden Stell Guitar Duo, René Izquierdo, and Raphaella Smits.

And the program is:

• Paisaje cubano con lluvia for Four Guitars
• Canticum 1968
• Elogio de la danza
• Estudio sencillo No. 6
• La Espiral eternal
• Un dia de noviembre
• El decameron negro
• Ojos brujos
• Per suonare à due for Two Guitars
• Cambio el ritmo de la noche from Canciones remotas (arr. Canadian Guitar Quartet)
• Estudio sencillo No. 7
• Hika, “In Memorium Toru Takemitsu”
• Sonata del caminante

If you are in the area I hope you will come along to what will surely be a very entertaining concert. Ben Verdery will be giving a pre-concert talk at 7pm. I will surely be at the concert, so if you are a reader, please come and say hello!

Buy Tickets Here

by Simon Powis

For the majority of classical guitarists, income derived from performances and CD sales is far from sufficient to pay monthly bills. Teaching, administration positions, and jobs unrelated to music are often the pillars of a classical guitarists’ financial base. These facts are hardly revelatory for many of us, but they are important to understand and accept.

In the United States there are two institutions (that I know of) that offer full tuition scholarships to all of their guitar students. Yale School of Music (which offers graduate programs) and the newly minted guitar department at Curtis. Wonderful as they are, Yale and Curtis represent a small sliver of the ubiquitous guitar programs around the country and many of the students in those programs would be very lucky not to graduate with a substantial amount of debt.

With yearly school fees ranging from $5000 in state to $30,ooo and up, for out of state and private institutions, classical guitar graduates are left with often staggering amounts of debt. So the question is: are these expensive degrees worth the large amounts of money we pay for them?

Universities can offer a wide range of services and an invaluable educational experience, however, if the goal of any given music school is to prepare their graduates for a career in music performance, how can they reasonably grind their students into decades of debt? Debt that will prevent these young musicians from taking many opportunities that are vital to their career, that often necessitate travel, financial investment, and above all, time.

Graduates are not only hindered by financial woes after they graduate but also from a universal watering down of degrees. Doctoral degrees are becoming more and more common, (in my experience), and if one of the country’s coveted teaching positions do happen to become available, there is a wave of CVs that get sent in all bearing the regular fare of acronyms… BMMMADDMA

Can I buy a vowel?

In the end, a job appointment will depend on the quality of the applicants musicianship, teaching experience, and above all, industry connections and reputation. In many respects the same can be said for any given performance/teaching opportunity.

So really, we are back to square one. You need to play well, teach well, and have good networking.

Do we need to go to university to get these skills? And do we need to fork out 100k+ for these skills?

by Simon Powis

Part 3

The benefits of good sight-reading

The guitar community has survived, even flourished, in the last decades, and it has done so without a good level of sight reading.  Why, then, is it important to usher in a new level of sight reading in the guitar community?  In fact, due to the dominance of solo repertoire there is seldom a need for sight reading in the professional life of a guitarist so why should it assume an importance equivalent to the practice of technique or repertoire?  These questions are valid, but they are posed with a narrow view of sight reading and its possible functions; the fact that sight-reading is underdeveloped means that guitarists have little choice but to remain in a soloistic mindset.  The inability to read well prohibits quality interaction and participation in an ensemble setting or at the very lest makes the process difficult and drawn out.

Sight-reading has a very helpful effect on a wide range of musical activities; the most obvious being in a first rehearsal or initial reading of a work.  Ensemble rehearsals, studio playing, orchestral rehearsals and accompanying all incorporate the skill of sight-reading. There are, however, numerous benefits that are not as obvious but have as much importance and impact on the musical life of a guitarist.

Teaching

The educational process is enhanced by good sight-reading on the part of both the teacher and the student.  The ability of the teacher to demonstrate a musical passage is dependant on either prior knowledge of the work or the ability to read a passage fluently.  Without an adequate level of reading the teacher loses the vital tool of teaching by example and will have to be more dependant on verbal instruction.  Similarly the student will benefit greatly by being able to play from any point in the score to work on a specific element. All too often in a masterclass setting, a student will be required to play a short passage, and the flow of the lesson is interrupted by the student fumbling through a passage as if it were a completely new piece of music. Williams related his experience in an interview: “Its staggering, I have done classes, summer classes or the odd visiting class that I do and I say ‘play me g# on the fifth string [‘A’ string, 11^th fret] and I have got to wait four seconds for them to find it!”[1] If both the teacher and the student attained an adequate level of reading, there would be a more efficient form of communication and therefore a more productive educational experience.

Rehearsing chamber music

“If you can’t sight-read well you are not listening well to the other players in your ensemble. Because you are so busy with what’s on the page you can’t go to the next level, which is listening to what the others are playing.  … and if, if your chamber music partners can tell you are not listening to them, they are going to think poorly of you and probably of guitarists in general. Why? Because they don’t get that many opportunities to play with guitarists so when they do, they are going to make a judgment about all guitarists.” – David Leisner[2]

“When guitarists play chamber music, like the Boccherini quintet, they learn their part from memory and they go along pre-practiced with the kind of fingering they have been practicing at home and their whole attitude is inflexible because they have been practicing like that. They are not used to picking up the notes and the fingering that fit into the sounds that they are listening to.” – John Williams[3]

What David Leisner , Professor of guitar at the Manhattan School of Music, and Williams are referring to here is the degree of inflexibility that guitarists display in a chamber music setting. They lack a sense of spontaneity and the ability to listen to the other musicians, which is a crucial element of ensemble music. To prepare for a rehearsal the guitarist will often learn their part to a point of memorization that renders them unable to react to the spontaneous creation of music that occurs in an ensemble setting. With a more developed sight-reading ability, guitarists would be better equipped to enter chamber groups and work on pieces as an ensemble rather than as an individual.

Learning repertoire

The process of learning new repertoire is made more efficient and facile through good sight reading.  The ability to contextualize phrasing, understand musical meaning and identify stylistic characteristics means that more time can be devoted to musical aspects of the work rather than simply figuring out where the notes lie. Without an adequate level of reading a student is forced to piece together a work slowly, focusing predominantly on playing the correct notes in the correct rhythm. This piecing together of musical units neglects phrasing and large formal structures in favor of an additive note-by-note process. One of the drawbacks of this approach is that the student does not consider the overall musical form or expression of the work and is forced to make interpretive decisions only once the work has become coherent. Far from being efficient, this process neglects musical considerations early on and can lead to mechanical renditions that are devoid of thoughtful interpretation. An adequate level of sight-reading would enable the student to attain an initial overview of the work from which a logical and considered approach to study can be undertaken. With the ability to make musical and interpretive decisions from the onset of a work, the guitarist is likely to produce a more musically aware result.

The definition of sight-reading versus reading to learn becomes blurred in the case of learning repertoire because at a certain point musical memory begins to affect the reading process. In the initial stages of learning, however, and also when isolating passages that lie in the middle of phrases (or other common musical structures) sight reading plays a definitive role in the learning process.

Access to a wider repertoire

“I play a whole lot of Scarlatti sonatas. At some stage I wrote 1 or 2 of them out but for the most part, and this includes a lot of other piano music harpsichord violin, I have never written them out at all. I work it out form the piano score, the violin score, remember it and I am happy to read it again when I need to. I can read through a lot of things very quickly and find out if they are suitable. I can tell at a glance, a couple of pages.” – John Williams[4]

With a large portion of the guitar repertoire being unrecorded and unperformed the only way to explore new areas of the repertoire is to read through them.  With a developed sight reading skill a musician can get an overview of the music and make a decision on whether or not he/she wants to invest time in learning the work.  More often than not new works are disregarded simply because they are unfamiliar and the investment of several hours simply to find out what a piece might sound like is too much of a risk compared to the same time being spent learning familiar repertoire.  Repertoire from other instruments is also made readily available through the skill of sight reading.  The guitar has a long tradition of arranging works intended for other instruments and the arranging process, both in selection of works and the process of transferring to the guitar, is expedited by good reading.  Solving technical problems, finding fingerings and deciding on chord voicings are all directly impacted by the skill of sight reading.

[2] Interview with David Leisner, New York, October 10, 2009

[3] Williams interview, Jan 29, 2010

[4] Williams interview, Jan 29, 2010