- Trail Mix for 7 String Guitar
Composed from 2007 to 2009. This is my first piece specifically written on and for the seven string classical guitar. It started out with ‘5000 Miles of Dirt’ in the Fall of 2007 after returning from a short trip to Europe. I would describe this as a sound poem of sorts, a frozen improvisation. It started out with the two chords from the beginning and just kept developing – but not along the lines of functional harmony instead going for what sounded nice and interesting. Only this movement has been recorded so far.
For two years I was trying to gather material for additional movements to create a little suite. Nothing would surface. In the Summer of 2009 some small sketches finally set things in motion and within a few weeks I completed the five part suite.
The titles of the movements express the sequence of what happened on that walk through the woods in southern Germany in 2007 on which I got lost for a few hours and finally came back to grandma’s house with lots of dirt on my new boots.
Includes standard and TAB notation.
- F.Q.R.D. for guitar
Ten pieces for six string guitar. Inspired by John McLaughlin’s writing and playing on the early Shakti recordings. These can be played with a pick or finger style.
Compositionally this music developed out of a page of small musical “cells” (almost like LEGO blocks), and a lot of improvising. F.Q.R.D. stand for “Frozen Quasi Random Doodlings”.
Includes regular and TAB notation.
- Bach Well Tempered Clavier for 7 string guitar, volume 4 (94)
Re-release of volume four of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier for 7 string guitar. Standard notation & TAB. Updated fingerings, better TAB, optimized page layout.
This is the final volume. Originally all of these were done in Finale. Everything has been moved over to Dorico, which is incredibly helpful in making good TAB notation (among many other things) – but it is still a lot of work.
As in the first three volumes there are many revised fingerings. A few of the pieces now come in two different keys. The original version also had very tight music spacing, making it often hard to read extremely low or high passages because ledger lines were so close. More generous spacing means more page turns but it is better for reading.
- Bach Well Tempered Clavier for 7 string guitar, volume 3 (94)
Re-release of volume three of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier for 7 string guitar. Standard notation & TAB. Updated fingerings, better TAB, optimized page layout.
I am slowly working through the original editions. Originally all of these were done in Finale. Everything has been moved over to Dorico, which is incredibly helpful in making good TAB notation (among many other things) – but it is still a lot of work.
As in volume 1 and 2 there are many revised fingerings. A few of the pieces now come in two different keys. The original version also had very tight music spacing, making it often hard to read extremely low or high passages because ledger lines were so close. More generous spacing means more page turns but it is better for reading.
- Bach Well Tempered Clavier for 7 string guitar, volume 2 (94)
Re-release of volume two of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier for 7 string guitar. Standard notation & TAB. Updated fingerings, better TAB, optimized page layout.
This volume has grown in size because after working through this material over its first incarnations, I found better fingerings and for some of the pieces better keys. Many of the original versions tried to keep the range as close to Bach’s original, resulting in sometimes extremely wide intervals and notes high up on the neck.
I come to realize that this is an ongoing project with occasional updates, more like a software program than a book.
- Bach Well Tempered Clavier for 7 string guitar, volume 1 (94)
Re-release of this collection of Baroque “hits” for 7 string classical guitar. Standard notation & TAB. Updated fingerings, better TAB, optimized page layout.
- Hommage to Villa Lobos for Classical Guitar (54)
First official release of this collection of six pieces for classical guitar. Composed late 1981 and inspired by the guitar music of Heitor Villa-Lobos. This revised version comes in standard and TAB notation.
- Climate Changes for Seven String Guitar (95)
New release for seven string classical guitar. Standard notation & TAB.
The music of the fusion group Weather Report had a huge influence on my development as a musician. Several bands I have been in covered material from “Heavy Weather” and “Black Market”. Such great writing and playing.
A few years ago I had this idea to work up some of my favorite Weather Report tunes for classical guitar. After years of playing and editing this collection of three pieces condensed out. The core of each piece is clearly drawn from the original composition – with lots of stuff added. Not easy to play!
