“Askance” is a composition for six guitars, four playing an intense, interlocking groove, and the remaining two taking the lead on EBows. This excerpt from the performance notes will indicate what you’re in for:
I’ve been fascinated by interlocking rhythmic lines since I first heard Balinese gamelan music in high school. In the late 1980s, Guitar Player magazine was a source of musical adventure, with columns that introduced this suburban metal/punk-rock kid to all manner of experimentation. Joe Gore, editor of the magazine as the 80s turned to the 90s, was a big influence on me as guitarist and composer. His column Global Guitar showed the reader a new culture every month; one lucky month, Bali was the subject.
I’ve been fascinated by interlocking rhythmic lines since I first heard Balinese gamelan music in high school. In the late 1980s, Guitar Player magazine was a source of musical adventure, with columns that introduced this suburban metal/punk-rock kid to all manner of experimentation. Joe Gore, editor of the magazine as the 80s turned to the 90s, was a big influence on me as guitarist and composer. His column Global Guitar showed the reader a new culture every month; one lucky month, Bali was the subject.
The piece begins with a four-part interlocking groove and—I’m going to get colloquial here—you can’t be loose. This has to be played tight, restrained and robotic — think Devo. In practice, I suggest guitars 1-4 approach the first four measures this way: cycle these measures, and cycle which part you pay attention to as a unit.
Purchase of “Askance” includes the full score and individual parts in tablature and standard notation, and performance notes and commentary from the composer. In addition, several audio files are included: an audio mix of the complete piece and additional mixes with a click track, each muting one of the parts to aid in practice.
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