The Unorthodox Guitar: A Guide to Alternative Performance Practice

by Mike Frengel

Overview

The Unorthodox Guitar: A Guide to Alternative Performance Practice is a comprehensive resource for experimentally minded guitarists and composers wishing to write for or perform on the instrument in new ways. The book focuses primarily on unconventional approaches to guitar performance, which include alternative tunings, extended techniques, instrumental preparations, electronic augmentations, and issues related to performing and recording with a computer. Embracing all guitar types-nylon, steel-string acoustic, and electric-techniques and examples are culled from a broad range of musical genres, including blues, contemporary classical, country, folk, jazz, rock, and non-Western idioms. While the writing offers a treasure trove of possibilities for experimental improvisation, it is oriented towards formal composition, and to that end details the controllable dimensions of the techniques and preparations at hand, along with strategies that might be adopted to notate them. Conventional guitar amplifiers, effect pedals, and pedalboards are examined, along with a discussion of analog signal chains, rig design, and best practices for the preservation of tone. In addition, possibilities afforded by the addition of a computer to the guitar rig are explored, including signal processing, sensor augmentation, and score following. The writing is paired with a companion website that contains an abundance of audio, video, and software materials to supplement the ideas presented. This information is intended to serve as a guide, reference, and source of inspiration for those wishing to compose and/or perform on the instrument in innovative ways.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199381876
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	48 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Mike Frengel is an internationally recognized composer, performer, and music scholar. He currently serves on the faculty of the music departments at Northeastern University and Boston Conservatory, where he teaches courses in music technology and composition. He remains active as a composer and performer in a variety of genres, ranging from contemporary classical, electroacoustic, rock, and country music.

Table of Contents

Preface Chapter One - Instruments and Their Hardware Chapter Two - Contemporary Tuning Practices Chapter Three - Notation Basics Chapter Four - Performance Techniques: Attacking the Strings Chapter Five - Performance Techniques: The Left Hand and More Chapter Six - Instrumental Preparations Chapter Seven - Amps, Effects, and Signal Chains Chapter Eight - Computer-based Processing and Instrumental Augmentation Chapter Nine - Performing and Recording with a Computer Appendix I - The E-Standard Fretboard Appendix II - Bi-tones in E-standard tuning Index

Editorial Reviews

"Whether you are a seasoned guitarist or a non-guitarist with an interest in learning more about the sonic possibilities that the guitar presents, Frengel provides valuable and practical information that can be useful in a variety of compositional, performance-related, and educational contexts."—V. J. Manzo, author of MAX/MSP/Jitter for Music, Foundations of Music Technology, and co-author of Interactive Composition and Environmental Sound Artists

"The Unorthodox Guitar is like a personal, encyclopedic letter to the guitarist of any skill level, to the composer seeking to articulate the guitar in modern terms, and to any musician desiring a better understanding of how the guitar 'works' in performance and recording environments. Frengel's writing navigates the perfect balance between information and explanation, making this volume a pleasure to both explore and devour."-Janet Feder

"This is an extraordinary compendium of creative guitar techniques. Mr. Frengel uses lucid language to vividly and precisely describe countless guitar preparations and performance techniques. He has honored these with detailed attention to the relationships between preparation, technique, musical results, and notation. This is a rich inventory of proven ideas that will stimulate the imagination of guitarists as well as composers who wish to extend the sonic vocabulary of their work."—Nick Didkovsky

From the Publisher