Christopher Schlegel

I recently purchased a new camera.  This is my first produced result from testing it.  This is the piece I usually “warm up” with by playing it first at many “background-atmosphere music” gigs where I am supposed to play quiet, pretty classical pieces.

The guitar is my La Patrie Concert Cutaway.  I’ve had for close to a year now.  It’s the one I’ve been using almost exclusively for performances since last summer.  But this is the first video I’ve played it on.  It sounds lovely.

Happy listening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNzRyAZuSSE


I’ve taught music in private lessons since 1984.  I’ve taught in music stores, record stores, pawn stores, small rented store fronts of my own, schools, colleges, my own home studio, in students homes.  In short, anywhere I could to make money!  It was always a good way to earn a living as a working musician.  It was sometimes my only source of reliable, consistent income.

I can remember as far back as the early 1990s teaching up to 40 hours a week and thinking, “I’ve taught this same lesson on the C major scale so many times now.  I wish I could just put it on a VCR tape, set up a TV in the lesson room and charge admission to the room!”  That way I could work on something else and still make money for my knowledge and ability.

I knew there were many such video-audio-printed products available doing just that.  But whenever I looked into the overhead cost of creating those products myself it was obvious that I could make more money by simply teaching in person.  I hoped maybe in the future the technology would be better and cheaper.  At that point, perhaps I could revisit the idea.

The future is here!

I’ve been teaching guitar online since the end of 2005 at Guitar Tricks:

http://www.guitartricks.com

And since 2006 I’ve been working with the owner of Guitar Tricks on building a similiar site focused on piano:

http://www.pianotricks.com

Working on these sites is really wonderful for a technophile musician such as myself. 

Yesterday was my 42nd birthday.  Hooray for me!

I got wonderful gifts from my beautiful wife:  a new X-style folding metal Guitar bench & the Joe Pass Virtuoso Standards Songbook Collection.  My 5-year old son made me a card!  On the front he drew a guitar and wrote “Joe Pass” on it; inside he drew a musical staff with notes and wrote “I love you daddy.”

It just doesn’t get any better than that. 

All the “Joe Pass” stuff is in reference to the fact that my work at www.GuitarTricks.com (the online guitar lesson site!) got me a Gibson Guitar endorsement.  They offered to give me a guitar to do lessons for their site.  I selected a Joe Pass Emperor II model.  They sent it, I made some lessons and the first one is already up and running.

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Lessons/InstrumentLessons/Introduction%20To%20Jazz%20Style%20Gui

I did a total of nine lessons that form an integrated set of ideas.  I wrote a stereotypical jazz style tune and showed how to do it with chords, drop 2 voicings with bass lines, lead lines and so forth.  Hopefully, Gibson will publish them all over the course of the next few months and link them to that page. Happy viewing!

“Novice” Tracks 5-8 on Classical Guitar Sonatas CD

It’s important to remember when listening to and thinking about “Novice” that it is a sonatina, not a sonata.  The difference is that a sonatina does not contain developments or variations.  It only presents the themes as is, possibly repeats and then ends.

Also, it is named “Novice” because it was written for a beginner’s level of ability.  So it doesn’t contain any of the virtuoso type techniques or flourishes notably present in the other two sonatas on the CD.  Compositionally it is also on a considerably “lower level”.  Nevertheless I made sure that it was a complete and satisfying musical work unto itself.  This was an interesting challenge unto itself for me:  to keep things simple, direct, brief.

It’s a nice integration of simple techniques that beginning guitarists should learn and basic compositional problems that all tonal composers should learn to approach and solve.

The opening “Allegro” has a brief 3-2-1 intro statement and then it goes straight into the main theme (C major) and secondary theme (A minor - relative minor).  They both repeat and then a return of the main theme follows and is immediately followed by a restatement of the intro statement now used as a closing statement to bookend the movement.

The 2nd movement “Adagio” is a slow E minor piece with a dotted rhythm motif.  The main theme minor gives way to a second theme in G major, relative major, then returns to the melancholy E minor to round out the movement.

The 3rd movement “Minuet” is a lively dance type tune in 3/4.  There is no “trio” section.  The main theme is in G major and carries over the dotted figure from the 2nd movement, but cast in the waltzing rhythm.  The secondary theme modulates briefly to the dominant D major and does a nifty little phrasing “hiccough”.  I was writing it and realized the second theme only had 7 measures the first time though instead of the normal 8.  I tried to “force it” and find a way to put in the extra 8th measure.  But I found that it ruined the melody for me.  Missing that last measure actually gave it a sense of “forward motion” and rushing headlong to the next part that I found really enjoyable.  And on the repeat it makes up for the “missing” measure by rounding itself out with an extra measure landing back on the G major.

The 4th movement “Allegro” references the opening movement with it’s intro statement.  But the finale uses a 5-4-3-2-1 Shenkerian line instead of just the 3-2-1 of the opening.  There are then two themes:  main in C major, second in A minor.  Theme one repeats and then a four measure coda of simple C major scale lines up and down.  Finally a restatement of the 5-4-3-2-1 line brings the finale and the entire sonatina to a close.

Happy listening.

Track 4 on Classical Guitar Sonatas CD.

The fourth and final movement of a sonata, the “finale”, can be the hardest to integrate.  What can be done after “quick-slow-quick”?  What can you say that might be useful, new or relevant after three previous movements full of musical detail and beauty?  I decided on a “rondo” form, which is essentially a theme or two that keeps renewing or repeating itself with variations and deviations in between the repetitions.  The first thing that is important to note is that it is in the key of A major.  We have come full cirle; returned to where we started.

1st movement - A major, home key I
2nd movement - D major, subdominant IV
3rd movement - E major, dominant V
4th movement - A major, home key I

The intro is the basic pattern that sets everything in motion.  It’s a very energetic 6/8 “perpetual motion” type of technique.  At first the bass line is very static on the tonic note A, only to move to another note when the ii (B) or the V (E) comes along.

Once the main theme is introduced I expand upon the intro by making the bass move more.  Specifically it moves in contrary motion to the upper voices (the melody) starting with a simple voice exchange idea (the bass goes 1-2-3 while the melody goes 3-2-1).  There is a variety of all three types of contrapunctal motion involved in the main theme:  contrary, direct (or similar) & oblique.  The melody has a certain modernistic or late romantic quality while still remaining quite tonal (i.e. “pretty”!).  Next is a modulation to C-sharp minor for the secondary theme.  It’s a variation on the same ideas in the main theme.  I really like the V of V chord in this theme, the D-sharp 7 with it’s dissonant flat 9 (”mmm….tasty”).

Eventually I use an ascending harmonic minor scale (G-sharp phrygian dominant as the V chord scale for all you guitar geeks out there) to end the theme on the high C-sharp.  The same note the main theme melody starts on!  First though, I fall back to a high B as the top voice of an E7 chord to transition back to the key of A major and the intro theme again.  Metaphorically this suggests that the quick rising scale line has “so much” interia that it “slightly overshoots the mark” and then at it’s zenith “starts to arc back down to earth”.  This is a very typical classical technique.  I think it’s one that has been used so much and so effectively that many musicians and listeners take it for granted.  It really is a very useful tool.

The intro theme and the main theme then repeat.  But instead of returning to the second theme I make a transition to G major for a variation on the C-sharp minor theme.  Then I move further down to F major using the same thematic idea.  Finally I arrive at E7 in a big ending candence.  Note the similarity on overall tonal motion between the intro theme with it’s A major, G major, F major, E major chord sequence and this middle section of the movement with it’s themes in A major (main theme), G major then F major (variation on second theme), landing on an E chord that will resolve back to A.

After this big E7 the intro theme and main theme repeat.  Then the C-sharp minor theme makes it’s return.  But this time in drastically different form.  This time I play each chord in the progression of the theme, stop and punctuate each chord with a big series of grandiose 1/16th note runs.  The idea here is a fancy, dramatic, virtuoso “fireworks” way of bringing the finale to a climax.  Also I get to grandstand quite a bit and show off my skills.  Which is two different ways of saying the same thing since I am the composer and performer!

After all this flash has played itself out I move to a variation on the intro theme.  This is effectively the beginning of the end, the introducing of the coda.  I thought it a great idea to use a varation of the intro theme to intro the coda.  Clever.  After this is the big candenza, the 1/16th note ascending triplet figures that rush headlong to the high E note as the top voice of the E7 the penultimate V7 chord.  Next is a descending figure that gets played once then I and V chords rise to start it again.  This is a close to a duplication of the figures that end the first movement but changed to match the 6/8 time signature instead of the 4/4 of the opening “Allegro”.

Then another final sequence of I and V7 chords that hammer the whole thing home with a bang while recalling the beginning and ending drama of both the first and this fourth movement.  Nice touch of overall integration to round out the whole sonata.

Happy listening.

Track 3 on Classical Guitar Sonatas CD.

The overall form here is A-B-A.  Each section has it’s own repeat with a different ending that helps dovetail effectively into the following section.  The traditional idea behind a third movement minuet & trio is of course rooted in “the dance”.  After a slow, introspective 2nd movement, typcially a return to a lively “outward” looking, engaging piece provides an aesthetic contrast.

The dance used in the minuet form is typically a waltz, 3/4 time.  My own solution to the problem of “what to do to create a lively contrast” to the previous slow movement is to use E major - the dominant key of A major, which is the overall home key, the starting reference point for the whole sonata.  In order to suggest a lot of forward motion, the melody starts on the third beat with quick 1/16th notes.  Further I suggest a V of V and a V chord that lands on a I chord.  Note that the whole A section uses this basic motif:  quick 1/16th notes starting on the third beat in the upper register.  Then followed by supporting chordal arpeggiated bass voices to round out beats 2, 3 and 1, 2 of the next measure. 

The whole melody starts on the note B suggesting a 5-4-3-2 line.  Then it starts over again but the second time succeeds in making it all the way down 5-4-3-2-1.  A quick rising motion via a diminsihed chord to a V7 chord and the bass voice mirrors the downward motion 5-4-3-2.  Then the section repeats.

The B section is the Trio portion of the movement.  A “trio” means there are three voices present in the music.  Typically there is an upper, middle and lower register voice and all three work together in counterpoint.  My lower voice carries a great deal of the motion up and down in a linear, scalar fashion.  The upper voice moves more slowly and moves down then up in most contrary motion to the bass voice.  The middle voice usually is stationary, mostly shifting between the common tone of B to the A when the V7 chord comes along.  This is called oblique motion, one voice moves while another remains stationary.

Eventually this little trio theme plays itself out in a perfect authentic candence I6/4 - V7 - I!  And the A section, the minuet, returns to round out the movement.

Track 2 on my Classical Guitar Sonatas CD.

The first movement was in A major.  So the second is in the subdominant - D major.  This is a typical classical technique.  The thing that makes it useful in my piece (and a traditional, conventional device) is that the first movement ends on an A major chord, and as a means of segue the second movement starts with an A major chord.  With a little contrary 2 voice motion I turn it into an A7 chord.  So, A was the I chord, and is now transformed in to the V chord!

The “Adagio” has two main sections, in A-B-A-B-A form.  The A section is in D major and has a relatively long melodic arc.  It takes it’s time and leisurely, somewhat romantically rises and falls.  The first time I present it in a simple 2 voice counterpoint approach.  Then comes the B section in the relative minor key of B minor.  The B section first time through is fairly stripped down to mostly 2 voices with a few full chord punctuations.

The A section returns with a tremolo technique approach.  The B section follows with a much fuller, chordal approach the second time through.  This foreshadows the thrid and final time the A section appears in full chordal glory.  I really like the transition I used to get from the B section to that last A section.  It’s really nothing but a prolongation of an A7 chord with chromatic passing tones (you can find almost the exact same idea in the 2nd slow movement melody of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto - imagine that, more influence from the Master Craftsman).  But it always makes me smile to play.  So, luscious and beautiful.  The perfect way to leave the bittersweet minor section and return to the major.

The third, final time the A section returns kind of reminds me of Tchaikovsky.  Not in any specific voice leading manner or specific musical device.  Just the full chords and lush romanticism they imply.  Also, the “quasi-harp” like technique I employ to slowly play the melody out with healthy heaps of rubato.

The coda is a brief little section of D major and B-flat 7 chords that rise in gentle inversions up the neck.  Since there is no V chord here, I am viewing it as the fact that the piece has already “completed it’s journey”, the final resolution has already occured.  This is merely the “left over interia” of the melody playing itself out.  Both chord contain the common note D, so essentially we have nothing but a prolonged D that climbs to the highest D on the classical guitar, then falls to the lowest one as the lowest note of the final D major chord played.

Track 1 on Classical Guitar Sonatas CD

The opening allegro is in sonata-allego form.  The exposition establishes the home key of A major in the opening two phrases (I & V) are the seed from which the melody will be unfolded and realized.  The first rises on an alternating bass-chord tone motif of chord tones - 1, 3, 5.  Then the sixteenth note phrase falls from 4 down back below the 1 to the 6 - which the falls to the V of the second phrase trying again to rise on chord tones of the V7 - 7, 2, 4 (perhaps a bit more “tentatively”).  Then falls down from the 5 down to the leading tone.

Again up the chord tones of the I - 1, 3, 5 - then up again!  This time 1, 2, 3 outlining a a rising I - V7 - I.  Then another run back down from 4 (this time an octave higher) to a miniature outline of what will be a recurring idea - V - V/V7 - V.  Finally a flurry of notes down E7 - a small cadenza ending the intro.

The first subject arrives consisting of a fuller version of the alternating bass-rising chord tone motif.  First on the I - 3, 5, 1 - then the V - 4, 7, 2.  Then the I again leading to a pattern that alternates the descending 16th note runs modulated for and punctuated by V - V/V7 - V.  The phrase starts again but this time changes after the first statement of I and V.  This time it moves to  I7 - a V7/IV using the 3 as the bass (note this gradual rise continued from the 4, 7, 2 of the V chord).  A 16th note run to introduce the IV a D major chord, then quickly a D sharp diminished - as a vii dim of I6/4.  Then a little contrapuntal contrary motion to modulate up to F#7 as the V7 of ii.  Note also that the melody has “reached past” it’s higest chord tone of the 5th scale degree (this E is a very important point) to it’s upper neighbor F# the 6th scale degree - and like a pendulum that has swung to its zenith it must return down.

The cadence of the first subject arrives as the ii chord is played in two positions with an alternating bass note and scale line motif - first in root position then next in 1st inversion.  Next the v chord brings the theme to a close with the scale tones 7, 6, 5, 6, 7 - finally up to the root note and I chord - A & A major.  Which also serves immediately as the beginning of a I - V7 - I and modulation - ii - V7 (G sharp minor - C sharp 7 - to the relative minor key (F sharp minor) for the second subject.

The second subject is more subdued in character.  It shares the alternating bass note and rising tone motif of the principle subject - but the rising tones are now scale tones instead of chord tones.  This leads to a pattern of quickly alternating i - V7 - root and dominant changes.  Note also that the melody starts on it’s lowest point and rises - F sharp - which was the highest scale degree the principle subject attained - and then only as a neighboring tone.  This pattern will be revisited closely in the development.

The second subject starts again upward but this time is quickly “thwarted” by an alteration of it’s dominant chord the C sharp 7 to a C sharp minor - a minor v (but really the iii of A major the home key “in disguise”).  This signals the beginning of the eventual return of the first subject.  In order to complete the return it goes through a little cycle five motion eventually winding up on the same cadence that closed the first subject.

Next comes the repetition of the first subject.  But this time the ending cadence is expanded.  Each position of the ii chord is repeated with gradually increasing dynamic levels (the excitement builds).  The V7 is played in three different positions in rising inversions.  Finally arriving at the high E on the guitar the cadence backs off a bit by virtue of a B7 and then upto the highest position E again.  The function of this little manuveur is to solidify the key change to the dominant - E major - for the development. 

The development starts with a bare bones two voice counterpoint theme.  It’s essentially a digression on the first subject of the exposition - in reverse.  The key is now E major & the A major chord has a subdominant role.  Also there is more motion in the bass - almost constantly contrapunctal.  The A major arpeggio sweep is a little fun thing that adds a flourishing character typical of my playing style.  I also love the use use of the B minor to C diminished to C sharp 7 to modulate up to F sharp major - very Beethovenish.

I repeat the first idea in F sharp but this time modulate up to G sharp minor.  I then use the G sharp minor key to develop an idea based upon the second theme of the exposition.  First, almost a restatement of the original second theme (up to the high E).  Then a repetition leading to the high E again - but this time a fast single note line down through three octaves in G sharp harmonic minor, a D diminished chord as a vii dim of V7, then D sharp 7 the V7.  I start the subject again but immediately start to cycle five my way back to the home key - this is known as a retransition.  From G sharp to F sharp, B major, E major, A major, D major - quick modulations!  Then a pattern of diminsihed chords that serve as vii dim of V - D dim to E7.  All the way up to the high E (again!) for a high E7 voicing, falling to a D sharp as the third of B7, falling to D as the 7th of E7.  The candenza here is another pattern of fast lines that start on the bottom E string and outline an E7 chord (mixolydian mode of A major!) all the way up to the high E (yet, again!).  A more “relaxed” quick line of 1/16the notes down from the D below high E.  A low E is the end of the development.  The overall idea of the development is an overall motion of dorpping to the dominant key (E) and gradually “rising” back (through F sharp & G sharp) to the home key (A).

The recapitulation starts with a restatement of the first subject in A major.  But instead of the second subject being in relative minor - F sharp minor - it has been “transformed” to major - A major the home key!  It essentially the same thematic idea recast in the major home key.  This is a typical classical sonata-allegro approach.  I always thought it was a “sensible idea” and of course admired how well-crafted Beethoven’s recapitulations were.  Now having created a “semi-proper” one myself, I find that it is incredibly satisfying to play.  My initial idea was to consider following the general form as a guideline but not be “slavishly” just going through motions or “filling in the blanks”.  When I got to this part I had an immediate sense of unified “completeness” that I’ve gotten from listening & studying Beethoven (and Haydn too).  This convinced me I was on the right track.

After the recasting of the second subject in major the extended cadence of ii and V7 repeats in rising form.  Then there is a brief codetta.  A pattern of I - V - I - V chord down with 16th note runs down bridging the chords.  Finally a last little cadenza from high E down to low A in 1/16th note runs.  The I & V chords rise again to high E and once again from high E down to low A in those 1/16ths.  Finally a Schenkerian 3-2-1 with the appropriate I - V - I chords to bring the movement to a close.

Happy listening!

Classical Guitar Sonatas http://cdbaby.com/cd/schlegel3

General Thoughts

The idea behind these sonatas was to combine my love of composition with my guitar skills.  And thereby accomplish two goal in one fell swoop:  more original serious compositions as live performance pieces.  This was an efficient way of creating a practical repertiore as I begin to revive my musical career and endeavors.

“Opus Primo” was started in the fall of 2004.  I needed a large piece to round out my classical guitar repertiore for my senior recital the following spring.  I wrote the first, second & fourth movement.  I played them individually in class setting recitals.  I played the second movement adagio for my final music jury of my undergraduate degree.  My guitar instructor (and good friend!) Danny Ray Martin pointed out an obvious shortcoming - the sonata had no third movement “minuet”.  A good point which I quickly remedied in early 2005 before performing the entire sonata for my senior recital.  At this point most of the music was finalized.  It remained until summer of 2005 for the finishing touches.

Those finishing touches were also done while writing “Novice” in the summer of 2005.  I was taking a required  Music Business/Publishing class (again with Dr. Jazz - aka the afore mentioned Prof. Martin).  Part of the assignment was to submit music to publishing houses for consideration of publishing.  Along with some transcriptions and other pieces, I wrote “Novice” to be considered for publication as a beginner’s guitar piece - a complete miniature sonatina.

In the spring of 2006 I started recording my guitar sonatas.  I wanted a full CD of original material - which required another sonata!  As soon as I finished recording the rough takes for the first two I started recording all the “loose” ideas I had laying about.  All the things I had created but had not used for the first two sonatas.  Several ideas immediately jumped out as integratable.  From these ideas the beginnings of the “Romance” sonata was born - a companion minor piece to bookend the CD with “Opus Primo” as the opening major piece.  The second movement - the slow waltz - is a rearrangement of my own piano waltz in G major.  
 
A sort of influence or “reference point” in creating these pieces was Beethoven’s early piano sonatas.  The are self-contained compositions of well-crafted performance pieces for the creator to use in building his reputation as performer-composer.  In a live setting I typically add many more florishes & improvizational extemporizing.  The pieces as recorded on the CD are intended to be more of a straight-forward, stripped-down to pure composition, permanent record for posterity.

A few Final Thoughts on my Concert Electric Guitar CD.

When I first started this project I considered a lot of different pieces to include; originals and covers. I did a great deal of preliminary work listening to music, playing, reading scores and then scoring & sequencing material. I scored & sequenced & even recorded parts of pieces that never made the final cut. Some of the tunes that didn’t make the cut are possibilities for future projects. For example: Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody 2 in C# minor” - Love all the amazing melodic material in this. And some of them translate quite nicely to rock instrumentation. I think I remember the Trans-Siberian Orch doing parts of this piece. But ultimately all the parts don’t quite “hang together” well enough in a way that fit the overall pacing of what I was after. It is after all a ‘rhapsody’ - a freely floating wandering, somewhat capricious arranging of the thematic materials.

Gershwin’s “An American In Paris” was another consideration - To me, this is the definitive statement of Gershwin’s genius. “Rhapsody In Blue” and other large pieces never really came together in a completely integrated way for my tastes. Lots of great ideas, melodies, themes, but ultimately largely disconnected from one another with little or no dovetailing. It’s not as if you can “see the seams” but there “aren’t any seams” - just the end of one idea and the beginning of another. AAIP has everything is spades, though. It was a lot of fun to consider, great fun to play along with & I even learned a few things I didn’t know about it until I really closely studied it for this project. Ultimately, though, a few things broke the deal. It was too damn long to do the whole thing convincingly on this CD of “rock arrangements”. Then every time I looked for something to cut it just got to be a confusing mess in my mind. Finally, I didn’t think I could do it justice because of this. Maybe I’ll revisit the idea someday.

Instead of Grieg’s “Anitra’s Dance” I had considered “Morning Mood” (because it was a major keyed piece) or the themes from the 1st movement of his Piano Concerto in A minor (dramatic!). I settled on the one I did because the arrangement melding of rock and classical was the most successful to my tastes. Likewise, instead of Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty Waltz” I had considered the main, opening “Swan Lake” theme (so astoundingly gorgeous) - but as I mentioned in an eariler post it was minor & I wanted a major keyed piece from Tchaikovsky at that point in the project (mostly for pacing). I also considered several other pieces from the “Sleeping Beauty” Ballet Suite & “The Nutcracker”. But in the end the waltz won out, mostly because of my sentimental attachment to it.

And Beethoven… I started a version of his 7th symphony (my all time favorite piece of music) and will probably still do this in the future. Two problems interferred with it’s completion & inclusion. First, I already had most of the 9th in the can (and the whole thing scored & sequenced from my recital) & I didn’t think 2 Beethoven symphonies was a good pacing move. One as a big centerpiece was enough for this CD. Second, I really started wanting to do the whole damn thing! Or at least inidividual rock arrangements for each of the four movements. Side note: I do love the 5th of course, I’ve no complaints about it being “overplayed”. That’s ridiculous; I listen to them all of them all the time the 5th is a flawless work of beautiful & heroic art. I may do it in the future. But not until after the 7th - I owe that to myself. Another side note: Doing the work on these made me think of a long-term project goal - eventually do rock arrangements of ALL of Beethoven’s symphonies.  After all, Liszt did piano transcriptions of them (as if I need an excuse to spend time working on Beethoven’s music). Yet another side note: No, I do not regard my approach as “disrespectful”, “bastardizing”, “low brow art” or in any pejorative sense. I love Beethoven’s music and these arrangement were created with sincere love, passion & respect. If you disagree, then don’t listen to it.

I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts about making the material for my “Concert Electric Guitar” CD. I certain enjoyed making the music. So much so that I think I will put it on again and admire my work. Happy listening!