Titles/Tunings Database — Phase 2
In the 1970s, it seemed like if you knew about dropped D tuning, open G and open D, and maybe even open C and DADGAD, you had alternate tunings covered. Today, with the great profusion of alternate tunings and the great music that has sprung from them, they have become a mainstay of contemporary fingerstyle guitar, and a new chapter in guitar education has opened. Since the mid-1990s when we…
“Some additional thoughts …” on “Aerial Boundaries,” “Hot Type,” “Rickover’s Dream,” and “Ragamuffin” — now available online.
This series of essays — written in 1995 and 1996, following the publication of the first extensively-edited transcriptions of compositions by Michael Hedges — provides further background information and analysis of these groundbreaking compositions.
“Egg Tooth” introduction from Leo Kottke/My Feet Are Smiling
In the study notes for the transcription of “Egg Tooth” that we have published, I presented a chronology of the evolution of the form and, in the case of “Egg Tooth,” it is a long and winding road. The transcription itself represents how Kottke was performing “Egg Tooth” in the late 1970s. But we often transcribe multiple performances and recordings of a particular composition as part of the process. Here…
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Qin Tang Cup 2nd Annual Masaaki Kishibe Fingerstyle Competition
I have the good fortune to work with guitar players around the world—interesting, talented, diligent guitar players. Huang Cong, who resides in Fujian province in China aims to bring the music of Michael Hedges to the foreground in China. He recently won the Qin Tang Cup 2nd Annual Masaaki Kishibe Fingerstyle Competition playing “Light by Masaaki Kishibe and ”Aerial Boundaries” by Michael Hedges. Congratulations, Huang Cong!
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Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon – Ants (Official Art Track)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NlMQsCs5rA “Ants” is a remarkable composition that represents a new direction for Leo Kottke. Like “Gewerbegebiet,” it is in open G tuning, but sounds in Dm. This unusual approach opens up new possibilities. A transcription of “Ants” is available at https://www.stropes.com/leo-kottke/.
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Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon “Flat Top” from Noon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpM1WYB12W4&t=6s Flattop was a villain in the early Dick Tracy comic strips. His son, Flattop, Jr., was the inspiration behind the title of this composition by Leo Kottke. This performance by Leo Kottke and Mike Gordon brings some joy to our pandemic world. A transcription of “Flattop” is available at https://www.stropes.com/leo-kottke/.
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11th Cambridge Folk Festival
Many thanks to Graham Pearson for contributing this rare “pocket programme” from the 11th Cambridge Folk Festival to the archives. On Saturday and Sunday, July 26 and 27, 1975, you could have seen Bert Jansch at 8:30pm and Leo Kottke at 10pm! Were you there?
New Antoine Dufour Video
A wonderful surprise yesterday — Antoine Dufour’s new video, “Triad.” Antoine has taken a solo composition, “To Run in a Dream,” which he originally recorded in 2010 on Convergences, arranged it for multiple guitars, and produced a fascinating video. It sure is welcome in these stay-at-home times.
Wilson Center 2020 Guitar Competition Winners
Congratulations to the winners of the Wilson Center 2020 Fingerstyle Guitar Competition — Huang Cong, Matt Harp, and Zach Tremblay.
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Michael Hedges/Rhythm, Sonority, Silence, second printing
Michael Hedges/Rhythm, Sonority, Silence, second printing Reconstructing the digital files for reprinting the book has been a daunting task. Thanks go to Brian Burke for his forensic investigation of data files, and to Ben Kammin who resurrected the original music files and reconstructed the right-hand string-stopping notation. Clay Feller, the graphic designer of the original book, replicated the design. I am grateful that the Hedges family was able to provide…
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Michael Hedges/Rhythm, Sonority, Silence reissue
Michael Hedges/Rhythm, Sonority, Silence reissue Michael Hedges/Rhythm, Sonority, Silence was originally released in 1995 and, given the enduring influence of Michael Hedges’ music, Stropes Editions, Ltd. is pleased to announce the reissue of this groundbreaking volume. The acclaim it received upon first release established its place as a seminal document that created a new standard for printed music for fingerstyle guitar. Truly a work of art. It effectively raises the bar for…
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Digital Downloads Now Available for All Individual Transcriptions
In addition to digital downloads, high-quality print editions—printed at 1,200 dpi, on 28 lb acid-free paper, and presented in a foil-stamped folio cover—will continue to be available by mail. https://www.stropes.com/leo-kottke/
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Two-Hands-on-the-Fingerboard Arrangement of the Bridge Section for “Helms Place”
Billy McLaughlin’s two-hands-on-the-fingerboard arrangement of the bridge section for “Helms Place” is now available as a free download. See the first system below, and download the full transcription of the bridge at the bottom of the page. “Helms Place” alternate measures mm. 42-57Download https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U77o4LdfFQQ
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