>>Acoustic Snapshots Episode 151 - Prelude In D Minor - J.S. Bach

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TGNeil
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Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:32 pm

This fascinating Prelude by Bach has captivated me since I was playing some of his music on the baroque lute, back in the 1970s. My lute playing days are probably over, having pretty much settled into playing the acoustic guitar with nails, but every once-in-awhile I like to revisit this piece. The arrangements I found always left something to be desired as far as I was concerned, with a few measures seeming inconsistent with some of the rest. Many used hammer-ons in a few measures near the end that particularly seemed out of place. Most of those concessions made the piece a little easier to play but didn't get the sound I remember from my old Walter Gerwig recording. I reworked those, along with a few earlier ones that had many possibly ways of fingering, and finally came up with an arrangement I am happy with.

I would guess that most of these have been found by other guitarists in the past but I usually like to take it upon my self to arrange, or rearrange things in the interest of being as true to the original as possible. This frequently makes the piece very difficult to play, but in this case I think I found a solution to the hammer-on problem that is easier, as well as musically more consistent.

A lesson on this is on its way!

Neil



BigBear
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Thu Jan 08, 2015 1:50 pm

It's so great to hear these beautiful classical pieces on a steel string guitar. The muffled tones of a nylon guitar versus the crisp precision of steel. It makes me wonder how Bach himself might have perceived the difference and which he would have preferred.

As always Neil, beautifully executed. Thank you. :cheer:


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