Marjorette : modern classical guitar

[Geoff]

I am going through a phase right now where I am trying to memorize pieces that I work on and I currently have 5 that I could just play if anyone asked out of the blue.

This is a piece I really enjoy and I keep coming back to it over the years. Every time I play it, I think of spring which we are still very far away from sadly. Getting close to memorizing it but it is taking time because the harmonies are quite complex.

For those who are interested, the composer, Robert Benedict, was a Canadian guitarist / composer who drew on jazz and classical influences. I will have to see if I can find some other works of his because I really like this one. Hope you enjoy it too 🙂

[David L]

Wonderful, Geoff. I do hear some jazz elements as well as classical. Well-played, as always, and I would very much like to hear more.

[Geoff]

Thanks much David, personally I find this piece more ethereal than anything else. Is “ethereal” this right word ? I looked up the meaning of that on webster’s dictionary – I think I have it right 🙂

[Dieter]

Wow, a truly wonderful “modern classical” piece and really impressively interpreted by you.
I envy your determination and ability to learn pieces by heart—I’ve never managed that and never will. I like contemporary pieces like this, but only if they sound melodic to a certain extent, like this Marjorette, not atonal.
I’ve made a few small attempts at the magnificent Leo Brouwer from Cuba, but without much success.
I find your musical versatility, from classical to flamenco to blues and beyond, very impressive. (Unfortunately, many people tend to stick to one preferred genre.)

Best regards, Dieter

[Geoff]

Oh, I think you are pretty versatile too Dieter. I mean, you were brave enough to tackle Indian music on one of your presentations here and, i know it was a long time ago, but you did a Peruvian style duet that i thought was excellent.

Speaking for myself, I cannot stick to one style anymore. I love music so much that I just want to tackle all of it and, besides, I get bored doing the same stuff over and over.

[Garry]

Excellent Geoff! This is a new one to my ears and I really enjoyed it. Also … kudos for learning a number of classical pieces by heart. Definitely not easy by any stretch! All the best! 😎🎸😎

[Geoff]

Thanks Garry. Glad you liked this one.

One of the the online guitar tutors, Justin I think it was, said we should know at least 10 songs. I took that to heart.

[John H]

Nicely done Geoff…
I rarely give unsolicited advice but I will with regards to memorizing tips. Find an audience. Whether it be busking on a street corner, church, hospice, coffee shop, corporate functions or assisted living facilities. Prepping for those endeavors helps to ‘seal’ in the memorization and convert it to muscle memory. I am enjoying vicariously your music journey. You are so honest and refreshing. Keep on!

John

[Geoff]

You are absolutely right John. Even though I am not a religious guy I did do performances at a Church a few times a long time ago and, it was absolutely essential to know the pieces off by heart for me to do that. Would you believe I performed Asturias live and got a standing ovation – don’t know how I did it.

Odd thing is I enjoy performing but I just don’t know where the opportunities are for that.

[JoeD1]

This is a very melodic and relaxing piece Geoff and you played it very nicely. Good luck to you memorizing some pieces.

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[Geoff]

Thank you Joe.

[San Luis Rey]

Nice playing Geoff! Congrats on putting 5 of those in the bank. No small task for a human.

Mike

[Geoff]

It’s not that bad Mike but it does require a lot of playing. One benefit is it keeps my aging brain active and I would like to steer clear of the mental decline that can come with that.

[Ivan]

Beautiful classical piece Geoff. I can I can appreciate learning five songs to have ready to play on the spot. I’m always trying to learn only three on my keyboard, and I always fail to keep up. Nicely done…Kudos.👍

Ivan

[Geoff]

Thanks Ivan, just I thing I have decided to do of late. I can reel off music by sight reading but playing from memory is something I want to be able to do too.

[Michael Krailo]

That is a special skill you have with the classical guitar. It is not even close to the reason I wanted to play guitar when I look back. I appreciate the skill a lot more today. Those five fret fingerings are not easy to play.

Geoff, I get the impression that you are reading written music (not tab), correct me if I’m wrong. How important do you consider this skill of reading music off a chart? I’m starting to learn the notes on both the treble and bass clef right now and I have no idea where it will lead but I think learning to read real music can open new doors in general. At first, I thought it would be easier to capture things that I make up on the fly instead of tablature. Now I’m thinking there is a whole lot more to reading music than meets the eye.

My first guitar teacher tried to teach me to read, but I objected and stopped taking lessons from him shortly after I got all I thought I would get out of him. I think that was a mistake now. I am grateful to have learned all of the open and bar chords from him, but I just didn’t get the inspiration that I was looking for from him when it came to reading music.

I can read a drum chart no problem because that’s what I specialized in from the age of ten. Tab would have been the dumbest thing ever to learn drums, but I see the benefit with guitar. Now I feel learning to read musical notation might be worthwhile for learning a multitude of compositions that are out there and have been for centuries.

Go slow and practice correct technique, and your abilities will dramatically improve.

[Geoff]

Hi Michael, if you want my honest opinion, I think guitarists are lazy. Most of us just want to pick up the guitar and start playing without putting in the basics first and we fall flat doing that. ( I count myself in when I say this)

With any other instrument learning how to read music is a basic skill and guitarists are the only musicians who don’t bother doing that. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of guitarists on this forum who have got very good without learning how to do this but I think they are missing out. If you can read music you can pick up any score and, if you are really good, be able to play song without ever having heard it. The nice thing is I do not need to memorize the music I play, once i have practiced the piece, as I did with this one, I can reel it off the musical score. On account of being able to read music, I have a repertoire of about 40 minutes and there is no way I could do that without being able to read music.

I would say Tab works OK but it does not convey the richness of rhythm that I would get from musical score. Musical score is just richer and conveys more information about the song. The only thing there is learning how to read music is a long road and I only know how to learn it from classical guitarists perspective. If you were to take the classical guitarists way Frederick Noad has written a whole series for books that start from the very basics to the more advanced. If you do not play classical guitar and have no interest in learning that style, I am pretty sure there are a ton of good books out there from other styles. It is definitely something you would have to learn progressively and it is probably going to be at least a year before you would be proficient at it I think.

… just my 2c. of course :). I have tried to promote learning classical on this forum and I was shot down. Probably fair enough because that is REALLY long road.

[Lights]

Really beautiful, Geoff. Your classical guitar skills are amazing.
Lights.

[Geoff]

Thanks Lights. I enjoy playing this piece.

[Helen Lazaridou]

I’ve just listened to you playing this WONDERFUL piece!!!!!!For some reason in the beginning it reminds me of a piece by E.Morricone from one of my favorite soundtracks!It absolutely captures the bittersweet sense of life Geoff!!!I’m going to Google the composer!!You must learn more pieces of his please❤️💞❤️💕

[Geoff]

Glad you liked it Helen. This is the only piece I know by Robert Benedict but I will see if I can find some other stuff by him. This is a piece I really like playing and keep coming back to over the years.

[JoLa]

Wonderful piece, Geoff – you played it beautifully! You’re so consistent with your guitar over time and it shows. I think being able to play classical guitar is harder than any other guitar style and it must be so rewarding. It sure is a pleasure to listen to, I love the sound of the nylon strings!

🎸JoLa

[Geoff]

Thanks Jola, after playing a whole bunch of styles I think classical guitar is the hardest and most rewarding. My favorite guitar style 🙂

[Guido]

Beautiful piece of music, Geoff, and brilliantly played with a very nice expressiveness and spotlessly. The sweet/dark tone and powerful sound projection of the regular classical guitar is perfect for this music!

Guido

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