Here is an excerpt from my transcription for Invention #8 by J.S. Bach (1685 – 1750). You can download .pdf files for both parts in their entirety below. PC users can right click and choose "Save Link As" or if your browser has an Adobe Reader plug-in installed you can open the files in your browser. Later on I’ll post a recording of this piece.
J.S. Bach – Invention #8 (gtr 1).pdf
J.S. Bach – Invention #8 (gtr 2).pdf
For those rare musicians infected with a desire to create true original music an understanding of the relationship between a composer and his work is beneficial. At the core of this relationship is the idea that music reflects a musician’s values. What are values and how are they expressed in music?
A value is something that is important to someone. It might be a cold beer on a hot day, the trust of a friend, or a state of mind: anger, peace, freedom. It might be crack-cocaine or a new bass guitar. A value can be defined as “that which one acts to gain or keep” and therefore it is the object of an action. ‘Something’ is of value to ’someone’ and that ’someone’ has to act in a certain way in order to acquire, achieve, or maintain that ’something’.
In order to create a particular type of work a composer must make those choices during the selection process that best allow him to realize that type of creation. If goals and values are related then goals should properly be based on values. The process of musical selection, of choosing which elements are important enough to include in the music, and which are not, is based on those values a musician holds in both music and daily life. What types of notes and sounds will he need to use in order to support the mood he wishes to manifest? What kind of groove is required for this expression? Will the nature of the expression be dramatic, or subtle? By answering these types of questions insight is gained into a musician’s values.
In some music, particularly pop music, there are different layers to these expressions. Pop music is an art form where collaboration is the norm rather than the exception. In other words, there is often more than one person involved in the music creation process. A composer might write only music while a lyricist writes words. A group of musicians may then perform selected songs with the guidance of a producer who provides direction based on an overall concept derived from the individual songs, the performances, and the expectations of the marketplace. At each stage specialists in their field are making value judgments. This brings us to the concepts of synergy and compromise.
The concepts of synergy and compromise are opposites when considering collaborations. If collaborators on a project have similar music values and each participating party has similar end goals then the resulting work is often a product of synergy. In such cases the parties choose to create a relationship whereby decisions are made according to an end concept mutually agreed upon by the collaborators. The resulting work created by this type of synergy may be more fully realized than it would be otherwise. Contrarily, if music values are not similar between collaborators and an end concept is not agreed upon at some point during the creative process the resulting work often deteriorates into a product of compromise and inferiority.
Understanding how the process of music creation and values are related can give those musicians who dare to be different the confidence to stand alone in the face of great opposition. By being aware of values and how they are being expressed in music an artist can be psychologically armed to protect himself from those who do not share his ideals and in fact, may resent them. He will be able to see how other’s criticisms arise directly from a comparison to a set of values which may have been compromised, or sold out, in favor of other values. It takes epic effort to create something truly unique and original. At every turn there are those who argue that it is impossible to create something new and that it is a waste of time to even try. They ask questions like, “How dare you try to be original?” and “What makes you so special?” Because of this, extreme confidence is a key ingredient for those musicians who crave to be original. This special breed of musician must have a deep-rooted belief that his work is strong and valid even in the absence of something obvious to compare it to. Non-conformity is not recommended for most but for some, it is the highest power. There is no right or wrong way to create music; the art simply reveals the artist.
Reading and playing standard music notation on a guitar, or any multi-stringed musical instrument, is more difficult than reading and playing music notation on a piano or other instruments. The reason is there are many different places on a guitar where a specific note can be played. On a piano there is only one place where a specific pitch can be sounded. Because of this most guitar players learn how to read and write TAB (tablature) in order to share information and communicate ideas. Standard music notation is written on a "staff" consisting of 5 horizontal lines, as follows.
TAB is generally written using 6 horizontal lines with each line representing a string, like this…
In order to better understand tab here is a picture of a guitar neck from the point of view of looking at it as it leans against a wall. Here we have the big string on the left (6th string) and the small string on the right (first string).
If we take this neck and rotate it 90 degrees to the left we would get this…
Now if we place the TAB lines below this graphic we can see where tab comes from.
The bottom string is the ’sixth’ string and the top string is the ‘first’ string. This might seem a little counter-intuitive at first since when you actually play a guitar the sixth string is generally on top.
Do you see the numbers on the TAB lines? They indicate the frets that are to be played on the string holding the number. In the above example, "6th string-7th fret", "6th string-7th fret" again, "5th string-6th fret", "5th string-7th fret", "5th string-9th fret". These notes are to be played in order from left to right.
Sometimes you can have 2 or more notes played at the same time, like this…
Open strings ( no fretted notes) are symbolized like this…
A ‘model’ is something you compare something to. If I wanted to build a guitar from scratch I might choose to model my design after an existing guitar, perhaps a Gibson Les Paul. All music theory is relative which means it is based on how things are viewed in different contexts. When it gets right down to it we can pretty much compare anything in the study of music theory to a specific ‘model’ scale, the mother of all scales. The C Major scale.
The C Major scale contains the notes of all the white keys on a piano. The black keys on a piano are the ’sharps’ and ‘flats’ while the white keys just have letter names. The notes in a C Major scale are as follows.
Since we plan to use the C Major scale as a model for all major scales we will now analyze it in order to determine what makes it special. A few weeks ago ago we learned the music alphabet which contained the following notes.
A (A#,Bb) B C (C#,Db) D (D#,Eb) E F (F#,Gb) G (G#,Ab) A
We also learned that the distance from one of the notes in the music alphabet to the next one is called a half step.
A – Bb = 1/2 step
E – F = 1/2 step
It should also be known that 2 half-steps equals a whole-step
E – F# = 2 x 1/2 step = 1 whole step
Knowing the above information we can now analyze the C Major Scale and determine its structure.
1 – 1 – 1/2 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 1/2 ……THAT is the definition of a major scale. You can start on any one of the 12 notes and if you make sure to follow the above sequence, you will have a major scale named after the first note.
