Richard Gilewitz for Mel Bay's Guitar Sessions - Keeping The Set Fresh

Keeping the Set Fresh
by Richard Gilewitz

During my career as a touring performer and guitar instructor, I have seen far too many players and students reach a point of stagnation in their playing, practice routines, and performances. Some even consider quitting when they either cannot find a path for their music, or lack the means or wherewithal to even determine a path.

As I continue to accumulate a great assortment of pieces of music for my sets and hone my playing skills, I am convinced that it is crucial for all players- not just professional performers or recording artists- to constantly strive to keep their love of playing alive. By revisiting a few areas that may have fallen by the wayside for lack of attention, the craft can remain healthy.

I have always felt that it is of the utmost importance for every player at any level to maintain and solidify basic technique as a precursor to improving their craft. Solid musicianship with attention to tone, attack (the controlled method of striking the strings in some fashion), and timing (ah, there's that metronome word in disguise again!) creates a sturdy base.

The significance of developing a minimal understanding of music theory, as well as sight-reading of both standard musical notation and tablature cannot be ignored. I mention tablature because there are a vast number of wonderful pieces of music written in open tunings. Personally, I can't imagine using standard notation to write a tune in open G minor tuning [low to high: D G D G B-flat D]. But the standard notation often included with open tuning pieces gives the player another route to grasp the rhythms and further understand the melodies within the piece.

One of the best approaches to expanding one's repertoire is to assemble a massive well-organized library of far more music than one could actually get through in a lifetime. This has worked very well for me. Having collected literally trunkfulls of music, I am just now - after more than thirty years of playing - getting to some of the pieces I had acquired during my early years.

Perhaps at some point in my life I did not have the technique to approach a Bach fugue or had not yet acquired a taste for this particular music. Only now have I realized that much of this music is truly exciting to learn. With much gratitude I recognize I finally have the technique to confidently master some of these tunes and add them to my current (and ever changing) repertoire.

I cannot stress enough - to players at any level - the importance of carefully expanding a repertoire of techniques and musical knowledge, as well as harvesting an exciting bag of tunes to perform and enjoy personally. When I say carefully, I mean to suggest that an initial passion of some sort must be present for the tune, or there may be no true goal in mind. Carefully select the level of difficulty of the music as well. I am all for periodically striving to learn music that may be a bit over a player's head, but at the same time I caution you not to let yourself be totally consumed by this task. By the same token, do not select only simple tunes that do not challenge, as this may send you down a path of faded desire to play music. In other words, don't settle for less and always be on your toes!

I can honestly look back and say that I have taken my own advice for a change! I have now accumulated five or six hours worth of music at performance level in a variety of tunings and styles suitable for both six and twelve-string guitar. In performances I often recycle many of these tunes over the span of my tours. I just stick a few up in the attic and bring them back down for the road each year.

Much like each of my recordings - there is often a particular theme to each set that I perform, often demonstrating in some fashion a brief history of fingerstyle guitar through time. I've also never shied away from proudly "wearing my influences on my sleeve" as they say, and have composed a number of original pieces inspired by the many great players I have had the fortune to either meet, study with, play with, or simply hear.

As an offering for your consideration as an addition to your repertoire, I have included with this article a somewhat simple original piece of music titled, "The Maison Blanche Exit Song". The piece is in dropped-D tuning and can be effective without a capo, or with a capo placed on the fourth fret for effect.

"The Maison Blanche Exit Song" is a short piece I wrote many years ago based on three simple chords and a basic forward roll picking pattern. To give the tune a bit more credibility, I attempted over the years to allow the piece to evolve and include many very subtle, but crucial variations and as I like to call them, note treatments. The tune indulges itself with glissandos, hammer-ons, double hammer-ons, vibratos, palm mutes, and a general intention of playing any repeated figure slightly different than the previous rendition.

This piece has been included in my recently released Mel Bay Publications book titled, Acoustic Fingerstyle Guitar Workshop complete with both audio CD and DVD. Oftentimes visualization plays a great role in the learning process of a piece of music, but as always I encourage the player to allow his own interpretations to flow freely. Don't necessarily change the notes, but play the rhythms or groove your own way.

The following are, as I always put it, considerations for you to apply when playing "The Maison Blanche Exit Song".

1. Use a metronome. Although the tempo is suggested at about mm=112 per quarter note you may want to start with only sections of the tune at a metronome setting of about 88 or 92. Try to recycle one or two measures and begin to establish a rhythmic undercurrent for the music.

2. In measure eight, break the triplets into two parts when practicing. In other words, play only the first triplet with your metronome clicking away and then on beat four, when you would normally play the second triplet, don't; Just let the click happen. There is no need to feel overburdened with the task of evenly hitting the two triplets in a row. Many times when students attempt this measure I sense a choppy and fragmented feel. The method I just suggested is designed to help eliminate that problem.

3. Be sure to examine the left-hand fingerings noted in the musical notation above the tablature.

4. Take note of subtle alterations in the pattern, such as the difference in measure one and measure eleven. You should note that there are two pinched notes in measure 11, which allow the tune to start clicking along.

5. In measure 12, the last note or 'E' on string two, fret five (played with the left-hand index finger) needs to slide back in time and arrive on string two, fret three simultaneously with the right-hand thumb strike of the low open string on beat one.

6. In measure 20, note that the left-hand third finger is performing a glissando as it casually slides back into place for the upcoming string four, fret two. Allow it to arrive in place at approximately the time you are striking the fifth string open on beat three.

7. In measure 23, once again I would recommend the metronome to facilitate your timing when attempting the arpeggio roll beginning on the 'and' of beat two. I suggest you temporarily eliminate playing the 'and' of beat three and all of beat four while listening to the click of the metronome. Repeat this figure over and over allowing the metronome to keep your timing precise while playing a very clear and articulate arpeggio roll with p i m i.

8. Prior to measure 28, be sure to let the tune breathe out, almost giving the listener the impression that the tune might be over. When the tune comes back in, apply a right-hand palm mute by placing your right wrist against the strings just in front of the bridge saddle. I tend to dig my right-hand fingers in slightly under the strings as I can't pick straight up with my hand in a palm mute position. This approach allows for a nice gentle thump in the bass strings and protects your fingernails as well.

Good luck with the piece and I hope you will consider adding "The Maison Blanche Exit Song" to your ever-growing repertoire!