The Gigging Guitarist: Traditional Celtic And Appalachian Tunes For Fingerstyle Guitar

Product Description

Advanced Beginner to Intermediate Playing Level – Intended for gigging musicians, the tunes in this book were arranged with a number of special considerations in mind. First and foremost, these tunes were arranged to be played easily. They are not necessarily easy as far as difficulty goes, but these arrangements use voice leadings and motions that reduce awkward hand positions and stretches that could cause hand fatigue or hand issues down the line. All arrangements are in standard tuning (E A D G B E). These arrangements were deliberately kept to a maximum of two pages to eliminate pages turns while performing. All tunes can be repeated, at the player’s discretion, any number of times. Introductions and endings are noted sparsely to both save space and allow the performer to add his or her own introductions and endings. One thing you will also notice is that there are no full barre chords in this book, as barre chords place a lot of stress on a player’s hands. There are a few instances of half barre chords (top three strings only), but even these are used sparingly. These arrangements utilize drones when appropriate (notably in Pretty Saro and Hard Times Come Again No More), and bass notes are frequently offset from strong beats (e.g. bass notes landing on the and of the beat rather than on the beat). Although this style differs from many other guitar arrangements, this method of playing emphasizes the melody and allows the long, held bass notes (often open strings when possible) to fill out the soundscape. You’ll find that rhythm is utilized to create a wonderfully full texture, rather than stacked notes as found in other guitar arrangements. This again is for the ease of reading and playability for the performer. As you become more comfortable with these arrangements, you will find areas where you could easily thicken the texture with some additional notes as you see fit. This book serves as a basic guide with endless possible embellishments and additions available to the performer. There are 17 tunes in the book, including: Coleman’s March, Star of the County Down, Fanny Po’er, The Blackest Crow, Hard Times Come Again No More, Lament for the Death of His Second Wife, Lament for the Death of His Brother, Whiskey Before Breakfast, Farewell to Whiskey, Carolan’s Welcome, Kesh Jig, Sandy River Belle, Pretty Saro, The Flower Among Them All, Grace O’Malley, Si Beag Si Mhor, and The Road to Lisdoonvarna

About the Author

Dr. Michael Wood graduated in 2012 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a doctorate in music performance and a certificate in ethnomusicology. While researching for his dissertation on the hammered dulcimer in Appalachian Old Time music, Michael became immersed in the wealth of wonderful and rich traditions of Old Time and Celtic music. While learning more about this music, he quickly became adept at the hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer (also known as Appalachian or lap dulcimer), and guitar. Originally focusing on classical guitar literature, Michael has since combined the style, techniques, and repertoire for dulcimer, banjo, and classical guitar to create his own unique approach to fingerstyle guitar music. Michael also graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a masters in music performance and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a bachelor’s degree in music education. He currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina with his wife Sara, son Jamie, and daughter Eliza. He and his wife regularly perform on a unique blend of instruments including Michael on guitar, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, marimba, vibraphone, cajón, djembe, and other percussion instruments, as well as Sara on hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, flute, piano, tin whistle, marimba, and vibraphone. More information can be found at www.EdgeOfTheWorldMusic.com as well as www.MichaelAlanWood.com