CLASSICAL GUITAR STUDY GUIDES
Transcript of CLASSICAL GUITAR STUDY GUIDES
CLASSICAL GUITAR STUDY GUIDES
Intermediate Repertoire Series
by
STANLEY YATES
Fernando SOR
Study No. 8 in C‐major
from 12 Studies, Op. 6
Copyright © 2009 by Classical Guitar Study Guides
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NTRODUCTION
Spanish guitarist FERNANDO SOR (1778‐1839) is considered by many to be the finest guitarist‐composer of the early nineteenth century. Trained in music as a young man at the monastery at Montserrat, he subsequently composed not only a large body of concert music for the guitar but also piano music, songs, music for the ballet, a symphony, a violin concerto and an opera. He was an established figure in the musical mainstream of both Paris and London and spent several years in ussia. Sor’s various sets of etudes, studies and exercises for the guitar are no less accomplished
is concert music and have long been staples of the student repertoireRthan h . Sor’s Twelve Studies for the Spanish Guitar…Dedicated to his Pupils, Op. 6 were first published in ondon around 1815. While there is a strong didactic aspect to these pieces they are, nevertheless, Lbeautifully crafted musical miniatures. Sor did not provide fingerings for these pieces. Nor did he provide expression markings beyond the opening tempo for each study (as was the case with most of his music). It is unclear why this should e the case. Whatever the reason, it’s inconceivable that Sor intended his music to be played bwithout expression. Each performer must therefore reconstruct this information. tudy No. 8 in C‐major is an excellent and quite challenging contrapuntal study which requires recise shifting in the left hand and control of voicing in the right hand. Sp
Y S
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TECHNICAL ASPECTS Right‐Hand Issues
his study maintains three independent voices throughout. The main considerations for the right‐and arTh
e:
• ree playing with sufficient clarity that all th voices can be heard at all times • emphasizing important notes in each voice without disturbing the dynamic level of the
other voices Hand Position The normal right‐hand position favors the production of a full, singing first‐string tone quality. This s achieved by plucking across the string at an oblique angle with a hand position that uses a fairly iflat wrist. modification to this position, taking the emphasis away from the tone quality of the first‐string, romotAp
es a more balanced sound across the strings:
• arch the wrist a little and rotate the forearm a little in an anti‐clockwise direction.
This has the effect of straightening the fingers and increasing the angle between the thumb and the ass the strings, bringing more of the thumbnail into play. The sound produced from this hand osition is clear in the trebles and strong in the bass. bp Voicing aving experimented with the right‐hand position we can now turn our attention to chord voicing H
and the ability to emphasize any finger within a chord. To accomplish this, simply press the string you wish to emphasize a little harder. This results in that particular finger having a little more tension than the other fingers as it plucks the string. Here are a ew exercises that practice this. Place the fingers indicated on the strings and press a little harder ith the finger you wish to emphasize before plucking (marked with accents):
fw
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Be sure to alternate between plucking normally and plucking with emphasis, as indicated. Also, pend some time listening to the unemphasized note(s) and make sure they are consistently soft sthroughout the entire exercise. hen this feels comfortable, try the same thing without preparing on the string before plucking.
plucWInstead, add the tension to the finger as you k. little work on these kinds of exercises will give you the technical control you need to play ontrapuntal musical textures well. Ac
Left‐Hand Issues
Fingering Since Sor didn’t provide any fingerings for this study it’s been necessary to add them editorially.
The main considerations in choosing fin rings are: ge• reliability—guaranteeing an accurate performance • smooth connection between chords—not cutting short the note before a chord change
The fingerings I have adopted for this study make optimal use of guide fingers along with left‐hand preparation and the sequential placement of left‐hand fingers. However, in a three‐part polyphonic piece such as this inevitably there are places where a finger must jump from one string to another. these situations, if we are to maintain the legato quality of the voice parts, we must take care to ove the finger(s) quickly and at the last possible moment.
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racticing the Piece P It’s a good idea to consider both technical and musical aspects together as we work on this piece and to restrict your practice to short musical sections.
Perfo mance Tempo Sor’s tempo marking for this piece is Andantino—a relaxed, moderate tempo. I suggest a metronome marking of q = c.84.
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Measures 14 Measures 1‐4 consist of a repeated two‐measure ascending sequence, both ending with an ppoggiatura in the middle voice. Play each voice separately, familiarizing yourself with its melodic hape: as
ext, play the three voices together, placing your attention on the sound of one voice at a time. N
inally, playing the parts together, emphasize the lower voice in measures 1 and 3 and the middle oice in measures 2 and 4. Fv Measures 58 easures 5‐8 consist of a descending sequence of imitative counterpoint: a two‐beat motive in the ower voice is systematically imitated by the upper voices in parallel thirds: Ml
gain, play through both parts individually and make sure you are thoroughly familiar with the elodic shape of the motive, which should be as follows:
Am
Playing the parts together, give a slight accent to the first note of the motive each time it appears. his is tricky because the stressed note of each motive in one voice coincides with the quietest note f the motive in the other voice. Still, we should at least try! To
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Measures 910
easures 9‐10 consist of a chordal cadential progression which closes the first section of the piece: M
his completes the first section of the piece. You should now practice measures 1‐10 together as a omplete musical section. Tc Measures 1118 easures 11‐18 comprise a complete section and are based on a five‐note subject which is passed round between the voices: Ma
lay through each voice separately, familiarizing yourself with its melodic shape: P
laying the three parts together, emphasize the first note of each subject entry, as marked below: P
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The realization of the ornaments in the upper voice is open to interpretation: they may be played as cciaccaturas (i.e., quickly) or as measured appoggiaturas. I prefer the latter: a
Measures 1926 Measures 19‐26 consist of a repeated two‐measure ascending sequence (which also appears in the pper voice in the previous cadential measure) based on a four‐note subject passed between the ower voice and the upper two voices in thirds: ul
gain, play through each voice separately, familiarizing yourself with its melodic shape: A
Playing the parts together, give a slight accent to the first note of the subject each time it occurs. gain, this is tricky because the stressed note of each subject in one voice coincides with the uietest note of the subject in the other voice: Aq
Measures 2732 easures 27‐32 are built on an ascending three‐note sequence in the upper voice supported by a wo‐note accompaniment figure. Note the descending chromatic line in the middle voice: Mt
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laying the parts together, place a slight accent on the first note of the three‐note motive in the pper voice and emphasize the descending chromatic line in the middle voice (quite a challenge!): Pu
Measures 3339 As usual, Sor adds an extra challenge at the end of the study. Measures 33‐39 comprise a descending sequence built on the same three‐note motive as the previous section, which is now eard in the lower voice. In addition, the upper voice provides a series of across‐the‐barline uspensions while the middle voice again presents a descending chromatic line:
hs
Playing through the parts together, place a slight accent on the first note of each upper‐voice otive and each lower‐voice motive and try to emphasize the descending chromatic line in the iddle voice (again, quite a challenge!):
mm
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his completes the piece. Having explored each section, you should now feel quite comfortable laying through the piece in its entirety. Tp
ANALYTIC ASPECTS
Form and PhraseStructure Understanding the form and phrase‐structure of a piece is a great aid to memorization and convincing performance. This study is a throughcomposed polyphonic piece with five episodes defined es: by clear‐cut cadenc
1. measures 1‐10
2. measures 11‐19
3. measures 19‐26 4. measures 27‐31 5. measures 33‐39
he mak ‐u ode is as fol T
e p of each epis lows:
n imitative descending 1. mm 1‐10—a repeated two‐measure sequence followed by a
sequence and a cadential passage (cadencing on the dominant)
2. mm 11‐18—a five‐note imitative subject cadencing on the tonic 3. mm 19‐26—a four‐note imitative subject cadencing on the tonic
o s4. mm 27‐32—a descending sequence f econdary‐dominant chords cadencing on the tonic
5. mm 33‐39—a descending sequence of suspensions and secondary‐dominant chords cadencing on the tonic
Harmonic Movement nderstanding the underlying harmonic progression will give you a good idea of the underlying tructure of the piece and is a great aid to memorization and expressive performance. Us
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In the following harmonic analysis, the underlying functional harmonic progression is printed in a arge typeface, the quicker decorative surface progression is printed in smaller type. l
• large‐scale VI progressions and cadential IIVI progressions outline the overall harmonic structure of the piece
• dissonant chords help with expression: V chords create forward movement towards their tonics, especially when they contain a seventh; diminished‐sevenths (dim7) and augmented sixths (Aug6) create even more tension and forward movement as they move towards their resolution.
On the following page: facsimile reproduction of the first edition of the piece signed by Sor (London, c.1815):
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