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Stropes Editions, Ltd.

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Notation Project

Discoveries in “The Happy Couple”

Ben McAllister
January 23, 2023

When I first engaged with John’s transcriptions of Michael Hedges’ music, I was overwhelmed by information. No, overwhelmed isn’t the right word – it was something more like being overfull; my cup was full past the brim of what I could process. In an article published in Fingerstyle Guitar called “Little Gremlins,” John and Michael play out one way to breakdown the opening measures of “Ragamuffin,” presenting ideas for practice. I did something even more reductive with “The Happy Couple” when I first encountered it, and I feel it was the gateway to learning right-hand string-stopping. This continues to be my approach to absorbing the rich transcriptions available through stropes.com. I wanted to reduce a passage down to very discrete steps, so that I could look at each step individually and troubleshoot it. Printed music can be so dense with information that it can be easy to miss nuances. If…

Continue Reading Discoveries in “The Happy Couple”

right-hand string-stopping

John Stropes
November 9, 2022

In 1985 I began working with Michael Hedges to notate his music, and in 1990 I offered the first class to an eager group of students at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. These students were, in fact, a focus group, testing the notation to see if it was up to the task.

Continue Reading right-hand string-stopping

announcing the notation project

John Stropes
October 26, 2022

Music notation for finger-style guitar is a curious enterprise. It draws on a long history of trying to figure out a way to describe music on paper — to transmit information that will allow others to recreate that music.

Continue Reading announcing the notation project

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Stropes Editions, Ltd.
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Navigation

  • Resources
    • glossary of notational symbols and competencies
    • Titles/Tunings Database
      • Alex de Grassi
      • Andy McKee
      • Ben Woolman
      • Billy McLaughlin
      • Dan Schwartz
      • Justin Roth
      • Leo Kottke
      • Lucas Michailidis
      • Matt Masotti
      • Michael Gulezian
      • Michael Hedges
      • Peter Lang
      • Pino Forastiere
      • Ray Kane
      • Sonny Chillingworth
      • Willy Porter
  • Shop
    • Alex de Grassi
    • Andy McKee
    • Ben McAllister
    • Ben Woolman
    • Billy McLaughlin
    • Dan Schwartz
    • Justin Roth
    • Leo Kottke
    • Lucas Michailidis
    • Matt Masotti
    • Michael Gulezian
    • Michael Hedges
    • Peter Lang
    • Pino Forastiere
    • Ray Kane
    • Rachael Carlson
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    • Willy Porter
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