Rehearsal Session 1 - first part
Come to a Rehearsal and see
what's involved
Rehearsal Plan
This practical session © Derek Hasted 1998 - please enjoy!
Come in, sit down
and get some music
There's no such thing as a typical Ensemble piece, any more than
there's a typical Ensemble group. Or indeed a typical Teacher.
Knowing that I'm most definitely not a typical Teacher, I thought
you would perhaps like the chance to come to one of my rehearsals,
and I'll take you through a new arrangement, which is yours to keep
at the end of the lesson.
Since this is an e-rehearsal, you'll have to make do without me
sharing a cup of coffee with you, and I'm afraid that you'll have
to make your own copy of the music. It's a little Bach piece which
I've arranged as a simple trio.
You can choose between
- GIFs (which print at screen resolution)
There are two GIFs. I've printed it a little oversize to aid
the clarity. The score is a little narrow, but I've tested it
on one Mac printer and two PC printers, and this is the margin
setting which seems least likely to generate those awful extra
pages with half an inch of left over bits all down the side, which
you and I could both see would fit on the previous page. And if
that still happens, well, take ten minutes and some sticky tape
and I'm sure you can produce something workable.
- PDFs (which print at printer resolution). If you have Adobe
Acrobat, use PDFs. Find out more in my Take-Away
Please print out the score so we can discuss it .
Done? Good.
And you have your Guitar and your cup of coffee? Excellent! Just
don't spill the coffee all over your new music.
Have you met all the other people at my rehearsal? No - Click
here and let me introduce them to you. Close the new window
to return here.
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The Purpose of this
Rehearsal
Why?
Why indeed!
The purpose of this Rehearsal is that I hope I can teach you something.
No, that sounds too arrogant.
The purpose of this Rehearsal is that I hope you will learn something.
- I'm going to take you through a simple trio I've arranged.
- I'm going to explain some of the inner workings, so that you
can see how your playing can help bring these out.
- I'm going to suggest some points of interpretation which require
the group as a whole to work together.
- I'm going to pick out a few points which each player should
concentrate on.
- I'm going to suggest you tape record yourselves and take the
tape and the music away and see you much you can improve.
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Overcoming the language barrier...
I'm British. No - I don't need your sympathy - I couldn't help
it, and I've quite got used to the idea now.
It means that I use "crotchet" when others use "quarter
note".
It means that I use "quaver" when others use "eighth
note".
It means that I use "practise" as the verb - the act
of playing the Guitar.
It means that I use "practice" as the noun - session itself.
It means that sometimes, I still get the 'c' and 's' spellings round
the wrong way...
It also means I drive on the left of the road when I take the car
to my Ensemble Workshop...
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Today we're
studying Bach...
Please respect my copyright in this arrangement by using
this only for your personal use, and by keeping my copyright clause
on each page.
Bach's "Now let us to the bagpipes sound..." from the
Peasant Cantata.
Why did I choose this piece? Good question!
You should always have a set of good reasons why you choose a particular
piece for your Ensemble.
Here's my list of reasons why I've picked this piece...
- It's a trio.
Meaning that virtually any size of Ensemble can have a go at it,
by doubling up on whichever parts you fancy.
- It's well-known.
Meaning that it will fall into place faster if you know the tune.
- It's by Bach.
Meaning that it isn't a bizarre piece which requires "prepared
guitars" and a high degree of earnest concentration.
Indeed, most players should find it positively likeable, and that
matters a lot!
- It's tuneful.
Meaning that any mistakes such as errors in the Key Signature
are going to be discovered and dealt with before they get "learned
in" to the music.
- It's arranged by me.
No - that's not a star feature, it just means I can talk about
it in more detail!
I suppose I put my credibility on the line when I offer you something
that you can pick holes in at your leisure, but if you are interested
in Ensemble music, at least it will give you a flavour of whether
my arranging style appeals to you personally. And I will tell
you some of the hows and whys of its construction. Understand
these and you'll play it better.
- It's easy.
I've already put great store
in the fact that an Ensemble piece ought to go together easily.
This arrangement is quite suitable for players with the most modest
experience, and yet I hope you will find that the sound that comes
out is satisfying. If it is, then I've succeeded in capturing
two of the most important aspects of Ensemble playing - the ease
of playing and the richness of sound.
- It's of sentimental importance to me.
My own Ensemble Orchestra started as a small gathering in 1988.
This piece was one of the first three we started work on. And
this arrangement you have in front of you is a rework which I
did for our 10th Anniversary Party. We were playing it for real
about 15 minutes after I handed out the music. And that's how
it should be. As near to instant gratification as you can get!
You can't take it home to work on if you don't know what it's
supposed to sound like.
- It's free.
I've not published this arrangement, and so I can distribute it,
free of charge; though it is still copyrighted. Please enjoy it,
but respect the fact that it's my time and effort that makes it
a Guitar Trio. Please enjoy it - but remember me each time you
do!
You'll find that my actual published pieces are longer, fuller
and more complex. And you'll certainly find them printed to a
much higher standard! But if you want a taster, I hope you'll
enjoy this.
- Bagpipes?
Coincidence, I assure you, but it's a link to the Glossary
of Groans, where you'll learn more about the breeding habits
of bagpipes.
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About the general
details
General details - the "where am I coming from?" of the
arrangement.
- How did I pick the key for the arrangement?
Simple. To meet my need for an easy arrangement, I wanted to keep
the bulk of the music in the First Position.
On the one hand, it's nice to get as high as possible in the tune
for clarity, and on the other, to get as low as possible in the
bass for depth and richness. The compass of the top part is 14
notes - almost 2 octaves - and if we stayed in the first position,
we'd go as low as the open fifth string; that wouldn't really
leave much space for two parts below it! So we have to
take one section of the tune up the neck. I attack the top part
first, and aim to pitch it as high as possible while keeping the
majority of the notes in the first position - in this case up
to top G. Our brief excursion up the neck isn't too oppressive,
and to go even higher would just make the key signature more awkward
too.
So that little investigation defines the key. If the key which
falls out of an investiagation like this has a grotesque signature,
there is always one close by on either side with a signature
more suitable for the less experienced.
- What are the significant features of this arrangement?
- The music has been phrased for you, by use of dynamic markings.
Since the music begins on beat 4, so each phrase does too.
These are my markings, and, as is customary, you can totally
ignore them, as indeed Bach would have done, I'm sure! That's
the curious thing about Bach - I'm always playing his music,
but he never played any of mine....
- The three lines are of comparable ease, though the middle
line does work the left hand little finger quite a lot.
It's certainly not a teacher/pupil style arrangement with
one really hard line!
- The tune has a large number of quavers. Other parts move
with the tune from time to time, and in imitation at other
times. Three parts in quavers simultaneously is usually too
"thick" and cumbersome, though we use this right
at the end, where the extra movement allows us to do a big
rall without the loss of volume that you'd get if the
lower notes were sustained.
- What special features are there?
- The opening is in unison. This is a very enjoyable way of
building the Ensemble up, peeling the parts away bit by bit
until we fill the compass of the Guitar with notes. It can
help novice Guitarists start the piece with confidence too.
It also ensures that the repeat of the opening phrase sounds
very different.
- I have kept the pulse moving whenever the tune has a 3 beat
note. Guitar has poor sustain, and keeping the inner parts
moving will create the illusion that the tune is staying
present.
- At bars 18 and 19, the arrangement does the work for you!
A high bass part will help the soft, light sound, and the
deep repeat will signal the build-up for the final section,
which can be played majestically, with that final rall
we talked about.
- About the lower parts
There are two sorts of "accompaniment" - in simple terms,
the arpeggio-based and the melody-based. This has melody-based
harmony lines, and I'll generalise to say that there are two subdivisions.
Those which are tuneful and those which are, shall we say, functional.
I've tried to weave two counter melodies into the lower parts,
and avoiding that characteristic of some trios where the inner
part leaps around wildly, trying to find the "third note"
of all of the triads which the tune and bass are defining.
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Our first
run through
If you think that I've succeeded in making the lower parts melodic,
then they'll stand on their own. I hope you'll agree that it makes
some sense in this case to play through each line in isolation so
that the tricky spots can be rehearsed in slow time and brought
up to speed.
So you've done that? OK - keep an ear open for the natural accents
that indicate each new bar, and away we go in a trio.....
You have to do this bit without me!
<plink> <sproing> <buzz> <melody> <wall
of sound> <triumph!>
There you go - it wasn't too bad for a first try was it?
No. Don't start blaming each other for that buzz in the middle.
You're right - another coffee would be an excellent idea while
we read on. It's OK - I'll get my own. Milk, no sugar.
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- Coffee break -
We reconvene here
when you are ready!
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