ALEX DE GRASSI GUITAR COLLECTION 40 ag 65 35 22 58 25 Contents INTRODUCTION PERFORMANCE NOTES: CHILDREN'S DANCE CAUSEWAY INVERNESS McCormick MIRAGE OVERLAND SLOW CIRCLE II SOUTHERN EXPOSURE TURNING WESTERNTHOUGHT AS TO HOW IT WOULD APPEAR AS A COLLECTION OF DOTS ON A PAGE. THESE GUITAR PIECES GENERALLY STARTED OUT AS INTUITIVE IMPROVISATIONS IN UNUSUAL ‘OPEN’ TUNINGS. THE DISCOVERY OF NEW VOICINGS AND SONIC TEXTURES OFTEN PROVIDED THE BASIS FOR DEVELOPING SOMETHING MORE ‘COMPOSED’ THAT EVENTUALLY JELLED INTO A MORE OR LESS ‘FIXED’ PIECE. | THINK OF THEM AS IMPRESSIONS, STORIES, AND PORTRAITS THAT HAVE FILTERED THROUGH ME, THROUGH MY FINGERS, AND THEN THROUGH THE GUITAR AND BACK INTO THE ETHER AGAIN. IN SHORT, A CLEAR METHOD BEHIND THE WRITING HAS NEVER REVEALED ITSELF. HOWEVER, | HAVE MADE SOME OBSERVATIONS OVER THE YEARS ABOUT STYLE, FORM, AND SOME OF THE TECHNICAL DEVICES WHICH MAY SHED SOME LIGHT ON BRINGING THESE PIECES BACK TO LIFE FROM THE PRINTED PAGE. T HE MUSIC IN THIS BOOK WAS ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED WITHOUT ANY WHILE SOME PIECES LIKE “CHILOREN'S DANCE” AND “SOUTHERN EXPOSURE” COME CLOSE TO HAVING A RECOGNIZABLE SONG FORM OR AN EVEN NUMBER. (OF MEASURES IN A GIVEN SECTION, THE GENERAL TREND IS TOWARDS A MORE, CONVOLUTED FORM THAT REPEATS FRAGMENTS OF ITSELF AS IT MOVES FROM BEGINNING TO END. | HAVE GENERALLY OPTED TO WRITE OUT SECTIONS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PRINTED AS A PARTIAL REPEAT OR SECOND AND THIRD CODA SO AS TO AVOID CONFUSION FOR THE READER. FOR THAT REASON, MANY PIECES WILL APPEAR LONG IN PRINT EVEN IF THEY ARE RELATIVELY SHORT, PERHAPS THE MOST DOMINANT STYLISTIC CHARACTER OF THESE PIECES IS THE WAY THE MELODIES, COUNTERMELODIES, AND MOTIFS SEEM TO EMERGE AND DISAPPEAR FROM A FABRIC OF ARPEGGIOS AND CHORD SHAPES. THE PROCESS OF TRANSCRIBING HAS FORCED ME TO CHOOSE WHETHER NOTES BELONG TO A MELODY, AN INNER VOICE, A BASS LINE, AN ARPEGGIO, OR SOME COMBINATION THEREOF. IT IS FAIRLY COMMON IN THIS MUSIC FOR A MELODY TO SPLIT INTO TWO (IE, MCCORMICK,” "CAUSEWAY" OR FOR A BASS NOTE OR NOTES TO FUNCTION AS PART OF THE MELODY (IE. “SLOW CIRCLE”). THE FINAL TRANSCRIPTION NEVER SEEMS TO ENTIRELY DESCRIBE THE TOTAL EFFECT, BUT, I HAVE TRIED (WITH THE HELP OF MY EDITOR) TO SHOW IN THE NOTATION WHAT IS NOT ALWAYS SO OBVIOUS IN THE TABLATURE. | LIKE TO MAKE THE VISUAL ANALOGY BETWEEN THE ‘DEPTH OF FIELD’ CONCEPT USED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MY STYLE OF PLAYING. SOME NOTES: ARE IN THE ‘FOREGROUND,’ OTHERS IN THE ‘MIDDLE GROUND,’ AND OTHERS EVEN LESS PRESENT ARE HEARD IN THE ‘BACKGROUND.’ IN REALITY, THERE ARE INFINITE DEGREES IN-BETWEEN WHICH GIVE THE MUSIC A CONTINUOUS “DEPTH OF FIELD’ OR THREE DIMENSIONAL QUALITY. THE EXTENT TO WHICH ‘THIS "DEPTH OF FIELD IS ACHIEVED IN PERFORMANCE DEPENDS ON HOW THE, INDIVIDUAL NOTES ARE ACCENTED. | THINK OF THIS AS A ‘HIERARCHY OF ACCENTS.’ NOT ONLY ARE SOME PASSAGES LOUD AND OTHERS SOFT, BUT. WITHIN ANY GIVEN PHRASE THERE IS CONSIDERABLE VARIATION IN HOW HARD INDIVIDUAL NOTES ARE PLAYED. WE CONSIDERED DEVELOPING A SYSTEM FOR RANKING INDIVIDUAL NOTES WITHIN THIS ‘HIERARCHY OF ACCENTS’ FOR THIS BOOK, BUT, ULTIMATELY WE FELT THAT THE END RESULT WOULD LooK OVERCROWDED IN PRINT. SO, WE SIMPLY USED TRADITIONAL ACCENT MARKS. THE NOTES IN PARENTHESIS ARE TO BE PLAYED EXTREMELY SOFTLY; THEY USUALLY EXIST ONLY FOR SUBTLE RHYTHMIC PURPOSES AND MAY OR MAY NOT FIT INTO ONE OF THE ‘VOICES! OF THE MUSIC.A FRIEND OF MINE ONCE DUBBED MY STYLE ‘GUITAR POINTILLISM,” AFTER THE TURN OF THE CENTURY STYLE OF THE NEO-IMPRESSIONIST PAINTERS IN WHICH A JUXTAPOSITION OF DIFFERENT COLORED AND SIZED DOTS OR POINTS COMBINE TO CREATE THE OVERALL HUE AND TEXTURE. THESE ‘POINTILLISTIC’ (OR ‘DEPTH OF FIELD’ QUALITIES ARE READILY HEARD IN THE PIECES “MIRAGE” AND “TURNING.” IN “MIRAGE” THE MELODY IS OFTEN PLAYED AS THE ACCENTED UP-BEAT AND SEEMS TO ‘POP-OUT' OF AN ENDLESS SERIES OF ARPEGGIOS WHICH HAVE THEIR OWN INTERNAL “HIERARCHY OF ACCENTS, SOMETIMES THE SAME NOTE PLAYED IN THE SAME POSITION IS A MERE INNER VOICE AND THEN ONE BEAT LATER IT IS HEARD AS A PART OF THE MELODY (SEE PERFORMANCE NOTES), RESULTING IN A LAYERED OR OVERLAPPING SOUND. IN “TURNING” THE MELODY MIGHT BE THOUGH OF AS ‘FOREGROUND,’ WHILE THE INNER VOICE MOTIFS CREATE A RHYTHMIC ‘BACKGROUND.” THE BASS LINE AND COUNTERMELODIES FILL THE "MIDDLEGROUND.’ TIMBRE, OR TONE COLOR, ALSO PLAYS A BIG ROLE IN HOW THESE PIECES SOUND. THE RANGE OF SHADING FROM BRIGHT TO DARK ACHIEVED BY PLAYING (RIGHT HAND) NEAR THE BRIDGE OR UP BY THE SOUND-HOLE WILL ADD A LOT OF CHARACTER. AGAIN, IN “TURNING.” THE INNER VOICE ‘ECHOES’ THE MELODY (SEE PERFORMANCE NOTES) WHEN IT IS PLAYED METALICO IN JUXTAPOSITION TO THE WARMER SOUND OF THE MELODY. THIS IS ALSO TRUE ON THE THIRD PAGE OF “INVERNESS.” THE FLUID TRANSITION BACK AND. FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO TONE COLORS ADDS A SENSE OF MOVEMENT TO THE PASSAGE, MOST OF THESE PIECES ARE WRITTEN FOR ‘OPEN-TUNINGS.’ THE USE OF THESE TUNINGS TENDS TO SCRAMBLE THE LOGIC USED IN STANDARD TUNING AND ALLOWS FOR UNUSUAL CHORD AND ARPEGGIO VOICINGS. OPEN-TUNINGS ALSO REINFORCE CERTAIN RESONANCES IN THE GUITAR. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN OPEN AND FRETTED STRINGS OFTEN BECOMES A DOMINANT CHARACTER OF THE PIECES. OPEN STRINGS ARE OFTEN USED TO SUSTAIN, LONG NOTES, WHILE FRETTED NOTES CAN TAKE ON A VIBRATO, STACCATO, OR MUTED QUALITY. I TEND TO LET MANY NOTES NOTES RESONATE OR ‘RING-OUT,’ FINDING THEIR OWN NATURAL DURATION WITHIN THE ABOVE MENTIONED HIERARCHY OF ACCENTS.’ | HAVE TRIED TO NOTATE THESE DURATIONS WHERE POSSIBLE, SOME PIECES LIKE ‘SLOW CIRLE’ MIGHT APPEAR TO BE OVERWRITTEN IN THIS REGARD — WITH LOTS OF EXTRA TIED NOTES — BUT IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO REFLECT THE WAY IT ACTUALLY SOUNDS. IN OTHER PLACES I HAVE USED MORE CONVENTIONAL AND THEORETICAL DURATIONS TO AVOID CONFUSION. FINALLY THERE MAY BE A FEW MINOR VARIATIONS BETWEEN THE TRANSCIPTIONS IN THIS BOOK AND THE ORIGINAL RECORDED VERSIONS. A SLIGHT CHANGE IN TEMPO, THE OMISSION OF A REPEAT, OR THE USE OF AN ALTERNATE BASS NOTE SIMPLY REFLECT MY MOST RECENT PREFERENCE FOR PLAYING THE PIECE, FOR THE MOST PART HOWEVER, THEY ARE TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL RECORDING.CHILDREN’S DANCE CAPO IV P.O MEASURE 6 P12 MEASURE 10 P. 13 MEASURE 4 Mccormick CAPO IL P. 15 MEASURE 6 P. 20 MEASURE 10 THE NOTES IN PARENTHESES ARE “PUSH-OFF” OR RHYTHM NOTES WHICH ARE THEN HAMMERED-ON TO BECOME PART OF THE CHORD WHICH FOLLOWs. THE NOTE IN PARENTHESES “A” IS HAMMERED: (ON WITH WITH THE LEFT HAND EVEN THOUGH IT 1S NOT PLUCKED WITH THE RIGHT HAND THE FW IS HAMMERED-ON WITH THE LEFT HAND EVEN THOUGH IT IS NOT PLAYED ‘TWO “C” NOTES ARE PLAYED; ONE FRETTED USING VIBRATO, THE OTHER IS OPEN AND GIVES ‘A CHORUS EFFECT THE BASS NOTE “B” WAITS FOR THE MELODY TO RETURN TO “F” BEFORE SLIDING DOWN TO “A.” THIS MUST BE DONE WITH FORCE TO MAKE THE NOTE SOUND CLEARLY. SOuTHERN EXPOSURE CAPO II P. 22 MEASURE 1 WesTeRN P. 28 MEASURE 7 Siow circte P. 35 MEASURE 2 P. 35 MEASURE 11 THE OPENING BASS NOTE “F” SLIDES DOWN TO “ET AT THE SAME TIME THE OPEN “C” Is PLAYED IN THE MELODY. THIS MUST BE DONE wiTH FORCE TO SOUND THE NOTE CLEARLY. ALTERNATIVELY, THE “E” CAN BE PLUCKED AGAIN WITH THE THUMB, THIS IS THE FIRST OF SEVERAL SECTIONS IN WHICH THE "M” AND THE “I” FINGERS SHOULD BE PLAYED TOGETHER WITH MACHINE-LIKE PRECISION WITH EMPHASIS ON THE OFFBEATS. THE OPEN STH STRING "B” HAMMERS-ON To THE THE “E” AT THE SAME TIME THAT THE “AT 1s, HAMMERED-ON BY A HALF BARRE WHICH COVERS. THE 6TH STRING EVEN THOUGH THE 6TH STRING 1S NOT PLUCKED, THE MELODY NOTE “B" SLIDES DOWN To THE OPEN STRING WITH THE FOURTH FINGER AND THEN THE FIRST FINGER IMMEDIATELY SLIDES BACK UP To THE “F”Causeway 40 MEASURE 6 P. 41 MEASURE 6 Mirace PS MEASURE 18 TURNING P. SB MEASURE 5, 7 P. 59 MEASURE 9, ETC. OveRLAND P. 69 MEASURE 6, 11 P. 69 MEASURE 12 A/NOTE ABOUT THE TUNINGS: THE TEMPO MOMENTARILY EXPANDS AND. CONTRACTS TO LET THE PHRASE BREATHE. Notice HOW THE “C” IS PLAYED TWICE ON THE SECOND STRING IN THIS MEASURE: THE FIRST TIME AS AN EIGHTH NOTE AND PART OF THE “INNER VOICE” ARPEGGIO, THE SECOND TIME AS AN EIGHTH NOTE TIED TO A DOTTED. HALF AND AS PART OF THE MELODY. THE TWO SIXTEENTH NOTES AND THE EIGHTH NOTE AT THE END OF THE MEASURE ARE PLAYED "METALICO” TO SOUND LIKE AN ECHO OF THE MELODY NOTE. THIS BECOMES A RECURRENT MOTIF. THESE SLIDES HAVE No SPeEciFic DESTINATION, ONLY A DIRECTION, (UP OR DOWN) BUT GIVE THE END OF THE PHRASE A SENSE OF RAPID MOVEMENT, STOP THE OPEN SECOND STRING BY FRETTING AT THE FIRST FRET BUT DON'T PLUCK OR SOUND THE STRING. THE TUNINGS AND CONSEQUENTLY THE NOTATION FOR “INVERNESS,” “CAUSEWAY.” AND “TURNING” CAN BE TRANSPOSED DOWN FROM EBEFBE TO DADEAD To ALLOW FOR LESS STRING TENSION. FOR THE SAME PURPOSE, THE TUNING FOR “SLOW CIRCLE” CAN BE LOWERED FROM EBEGAD To DADFGC. ORIGINALLY, I PLAYED AND RECORDED THEM WITH THE HIGHER" TENSION, BUT NOW I FIND THE LOWER TENSION PREFERABLE DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF GUITAR USED.Children’s Dance By Alex de Grassi conor Tune Down to D 126 approx, 9 Copyright © 1978 Wingham Hill Music (BMI) . Intemational Copyright Secured All Rights Reservedinc. _——, Cl =f = psi We DS. al Coda a—— _—~ - = a *The As hammered on even though the 3rd string not plucked 2‘The Fis hammered on eventhough he 4th sng has nt been plucked Wecvn 14McCormick By Alox de Grassi Capo tt ‘Tuning Or * Vibrato Tord ang way Vibe Tor Sa song only = Vibro Tor Sr sing oy Copyright © 1987 Tropo Music (BM) International Copyright Secured. Al Rights Reserved 15Tocoda () 12. za27 a >_> lev cm.—. _> ~ ras me SM im amp al eter sings us im 18damp all ter sings us, us CodaBy Alex de Grassi Southern Exposure ' + Feltincuttinews Lj aa let itfloat{ Western By Alex de Grass! “ning Ox» @O-c @« Ov @« ©» deappros 122, ike a march in tne zr Copyright © 1984 Tropo Music (BMI) Intemational Copyright Secured All ights Reserved 25Slow Circle Il By Alex de Grassi Tee =146 approx. or d=73 approx. inex nev. Baim A * Felt in cuttime ce Copyright © 1980 Windham Hil Musle (BM) Intemational Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved 35‘litte slower and tetative 12C VIL pop 1. {5sty, marcato 2 a a 7— | mo P a tempoevi12 Vu wcvul imisterioso » Pi a er pop_pli p like a roller coaster 39Tuning On OF Os Ox d=1s0 5>—_ Causeway By Alex de Grassi Copyright © 1980 Windham Hil Music (BMI) Intemational Copyright Secured All Rights Reservedarall.(on DS. only)a =—t iP Pe? Poet P PP — ~ 4 =~ = Tie —_ ? i — emai mh P hh ! h mem, P —s | tT Tr am, i 2 — £ wevm_____, , pe. : incvin__, m PP IRC VIL, a m eee—_ins m 47Mixolydian Mode in B Tuning O-= @-2 O-"# O-e @-8 @- 4.=122 approx. Inverness By Alox de Grassi Copyright © 1980 Windham Hill Music (BM) International Copyright Secured. ll Rights Reserved 49ami piman; PPip pietallico..- etl. np ns PF o~ >Sen ™ Pr Sp sadly Iristerioso ato wi 4 Copyright © 1990 Tropo Music (BM) Intemational Copyright Secured All Rights Fosorvedcv cw.56Turning By Alex de Grassi Imetallico 4 like an echo etllico 4 metallica 4 Copyright © 1978 Windham Hil Music (BM) International Copyright Secured. All Rights ReservedOverland By Alex de Grassi ane @ down tod detBapprex. 2 ike a Spin from Stare to Finish Copyright © 1984 Tropo Music (BM) Intemational Copyright Secured. All Rights FeservedIciv____, 1ncv__, > lew, Incv. Taw inciv__, 12cv___, > cw ___ inev. - orclv.+ Sie up inpeboard for dram of, he eae, “he slid no parca desanaon bade sp? 5 ada ey 5 * Slide down te fingerboard “Hop the open 2nd string by Geng It fe, but not picking be sngStop open 2nd sing by feting Du ot pleking 1st et 70prupi mpi mp; m py mp] wan, am, = , = rit.