Fingerstyle Explorations
ISBN: 0786653531
18 pieces for the student guitarist.
Guitar solo. 36 pages. Standard notation and TAB. CD is included.
Degree of difficulty: easy to moderately difficult.
One purpose of this material is to create a bridge between pop and rock music and the traditional guitar repertoire. As a guitar instructor, the author has often wished there was material based on classical guitar technique but at the same time sounding more like modern, popular music. He also felt a need for a body of literature which is idiomatic and really makes use of the possibilities of the guitar, so he created these pieces. The pieces frequently use open strings as one way of releasing the magic of the guitar. Another prominent element is the use of arpeggio technique, which provides a continuous and natural flow of music.
"I am sure these works will be welcomed by most students of the lower/intermediate standard as a breath of fresh air and as a change from the more 'usual' repertoire." Marsh, "Music Reviews" Classical Guitar Magazine, May 2002.
Steve Marsh, "Music Reviews" Classical Guitar Magazine May 2002 pp. 37-38
Fingerstyle Explorations is a well-produced collection of 18 student pieces presented in notation and tablature. Several of the studies are written in an imitative manner, with Aguado, Carcassi, Sor, Coste and Villa Lobos easily recognisable by either the titles ( for example Blues for Heitor) or the style of composition but the end results are definitely of the present day.
The pieces in general are interesting and useful; in many places Mollberg has used arpeggios combining high notes on inner strings with open outer strings thereby getting the student not only used to reading higher up the fingerboard but also acquiring a good left hand position. The album concludes with an interesting study for left hand alone, which if practised diligently, could not fail to strengthen this hand.
The publication comes with a CD of the composer playing the pieces and I am sure these works will be welcomed by most students of the lower/intermediate standard as a breath of fresh air and as a change from the more 'usual' repertoire. Presentation is of a very high quality as is usual from Mel Bay Publications.
Me and My Guitar
18 pieces for guitar by Jonas Mollberg.
Guitar solo. 36 pages. Standard notation and TAB.
Downloadable MIDI-files are included.
Degree of difficulty: easy to moderately difficult.
One purpose of this material is to create a bridge between pop and rock music and the traditional guitar repertoire. As a guitar instructor, the author has often wished there was material based on classical guitar technique but at the same time sounding more like modern, popular music. He also felt a need for a body of literature which is idiomatic and really makes use of the possibilities of the guitar, so he created these pieces. The pieces frequently use open strings as one way of releasing the magic of the guitar. Another prominent element is the use of arpeggio technique, which provides a continuous and natural flow of music.
The book is aimed at guitar students as well as people who take delight in music that is melodious and easy to play but doesn't require too much technical skill to perform. The book is written in standard notation and tablature.
Pangea
Tango, Milonga and Choro.
Duet for flute and guitar. 16 pages (score). Standard notation.
Playingtime 10 minutes.
Score and parts.
Degree of difficulty: professional.
Pangea is the name of the first great continent that eventually cracked and formed today’s continents. The name inspired Jonas Mollberg when he was about to give a name to this duet for flute and guitar. Pangea like Prelude & Waltz has South American influences and the title refers to the link between South America and Scandinavia.
Pangea is traditionally divided into three movements; Tango, Milonga, and Choro. Less traditional is the choice of key. Pangea starts and ends in G sharp minor which is rather unusual key for guitar music, and it moves between a great number of keys all through the duet. Thematic ideas from the tango emerge in the other movements and give homogeneity to the duet.
Prelude & Waltz
Homage to Astor Piazzolla.
Guitar duet. 10 pages. Standard notation.
Playing time: 7 minutes.
Degree of difficulty: professional.
Prelude & Waltz is composed in two linked movements and is a homage to Astor Piazzolla. The first movement is a milonga and contains something as unususal as a tremolo part for two guitars. The second movement is a fast, rather typical South America
n waltz.
"There are so many instant rewards here that getting it under the fingers will not be a chore. Highly recommended."
Roger Niven - Classical Guitar Magazine - issue No 1 - 2000
Two Lyrical Pieces
Valse Noble & Nocturne
Guitar solo. 4 pages. Standard notation.
Degree of difficulty: moderately difficult to difficult.
Two Lyrical Pieces contains two separate pieces, a waltz and a nocturne. The two pieces are both lyrical in their character and that is why they are put together in this sheet of music. Nocturne has a touch of Swedish folksong combined with rich harmonics. Valse Noble has a more impressionistic character.
Jonas Mollberg “Me And My Guitar”
It is not very often that you have a reason for saying, “This is something new, fresh, and exciting.” But now I have to say it after I have read Jonas Mollberg’s new book “Me and My Guitar”. An excerpt from the book was included in the last issue of this magazine. The book contains 18 compositions composed by Jonas Mollberg himself for solo guitar where a conscious use of playing on open strings is a prominent feature. The book is written in English which indicates a wish to reach a larger number of readers. In order to get to know Jonas Mollberg’s own thoughts of the book I go to the introduction. The book evolved out of his needs as a music teacher and his aim is to bridge the gap between pop - and rock music and the traditional guitar repertoire which is probably to be interpreted as the classical repertoire. Besides the pieces are mainly composed for young people and they often have the character of etudes. The book is almost totally free from text and the contents consist of clear and distinct note pictures and tablature. I have not used the book in my own teaching and I cannot say whether it will bridge the gap between different kinds of music. Instead I intend to use another way of looking at things. But let us start with the contents.
The links to the most distinguished guitar composers are evident at the end of the book. In one piece the right hand is taken from Napoleon Costes’s Etude in A major. In another it is very similar to Villa Lobos´s Etude No 1 and in a third piece it is similar to a Sor etude. The titles underline the links: Blues for Napoleon, Blues for Heitor, Fernando. The music itself is not very classical. I think Jonas Mollberg has managed to write new and exciting music within the popular music. Titles from other compositions like “Hard Rocks”, Polska Från Berg”, and “Things You Remember” (a personal favourite) also underline the links. According to the introduction the pieces are “easy to play”. This may be argued. I rather think the book contains a steep progress from easy to difficult. In this case I think it is good because everybody can open the book and find a piece to play, a good exercise for the right hand, its co-ordination with the left hand, and at the same time be able to play good music.
I have long been fascinated by the play with open strings. It is one way to free the magic that is in the guitar. I like to use it when I accompany someone or play baroque music. Material in this genre has been lacking. This lack of material made me do a small piece of work on chord playing with open strings at the Teachers’ Training College. When I saw Jonas Mollberg’s work I could not help saying, At last. When I speak about open strings it is the treble strings I think of. How one or more are there as inverted organ points and get different harmonious functions as the musical flow goes on. A harp like sound of a passage is another possibility. If you are successful you can manage to combine what is technically simple with what is refined music. The open basses rather explain why some keys are more idiomatic for the guitar. A flat is not very common if I may say so. Another piece of news in Jonas Mollberg’s book is the fact that there is tablature and a diskette with MIDI-files. I am no supporter of much use of tablature but I have no objection to Jonas Mollberg’s argument that “it is better to learn a piece with the help of tablature than not learning it at all”. What is really new is to make use of the computer and I want to expand a little about that
Some points to ponder on:
- To link the interest in computers both with young and old people and music
- To give people an opportunity to listen to music, even if it is only computer quality
- To make it possible to change speed continuously without changing pitch or key and so play at a nice speed. For those of us who learnt our pieces with the help of a tape recorder this is great progress. We had to struggle with tricky passages by playing the tape at half speed and in this way lower the pitch one octave and slow down the speed. This is a technical piece of progress.
- To get rid of the trouble with replays, ones and twos, and coda signs if you just have a computer programme that takes care of the writing of notes so that you can get the notes from the beginning to the end on a piece of paper
This is a thought well worth pondering where what you lose in paper and space is won back in clearness. These three elements together, the notes, tablature, and MIDI-files form a unity which makes it easy to understand and learn this new and exciting material.
Finally, I want to make a few marginal remarks. I have changed some fingerings of the left hand, in some cases because I think they are better, in others because they suit me. The fingerings of the right hand are mostly intact. I sometimes find the musical notation too simple. The difficult balance between having too much and too little text I think Frederick M. Noad has manages very well in his books. Hopefully the book will soon be found in most music shops.
I look forward to the next book.
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Prelude And Waltz (Homage to Astor Piazzolla.),
Duet for two guitars, Jonas Mollberg, Mollberg Music Media, 10 pages.
Typical of that languid South American style that perfectly combines singable melody with cool harmony, the lyrical quality of this piece captivates from the start. It has the quality and charm to hold you for its full seven minutes. It sits easily in the same musical area as pieces by Alfonso Montes, Jorge Cardoso and Luiz Bonfa and Jonas Mollberg exhibits a masterly talent for writing in this style.
The first movement is a milonga and the harmony twists and turns with the feeling of Latin jazz. This mood is broken when both parts lock into a synchronised tremolo section. Although it is a bit of a surprise when it breaks in, it provides an interesting contrast and is effective here. The reflective mood returns with a short section, full of emotion, leading beautifully into a cadenza, which is a solo for guitar one; nice touch.
Guitar two returns, as does the original theme. One more opportunity to play that beautiful tune again before the waltz in 6/8 dances in, creating a new mood which sweeps you away in another direction but maintains the quality of the writing of the Prelude. Diminished progressions add interest and tension as this section develops. The parts intertwine effectively throughout, sharing melody and harmony.
This piece demands a fluent technique from both players, although it is flexible enough to work at an easy tempo. There are so many instant rewards here that getting it under the fingers will not be a chore.
Highly recommended.
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