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The Unorthodox Guitar
A Guide to Alternative Performance Practice
Synopsis
The Unorthodox Guitar: A Guide to Alternative Performance Practice is a comprehensive resource for experimentally minded guitarists and composers wishing to write for or perform on the instrument in new ways. The book focuses primarily on unconventional approaches to guitar performance, which include alternative tunings, extended techniques, instrumental preparations, electronic augmentations, and issues related to performing and recording with a computer.
Embracing all guitar types-nylon, steel-string acoustic, and electric-techniques and examples are culled from a broad range of musical genres, including blues, contemporary classical, country, folk, jazz, rock, and non-Western idioms. While the writing offers a treasure trove of possibilities for experimental
improvisation, it is oriented towards formal composition, and to that end details the controllable dimensions of the techniques and preparations at hand, along with strategies that might be adopted to notate them. Conventional guitar amplifiers, effect pedals, and pedalboards are examined, along with a discussion of analog signal chains, rig design, and best practices for the preservation of tone. In addition, possibilities afforded by the addition of a computer to the guitar rig are explored,
including signal processing, sensor augmentation, and score following. The writing is paired with a companion website that contains an abundance of audio, video, and software materials to supplement the ideas presented. This information is intended to serve as a guide, reference, and source of
inspiration for those wishing to compose and/or perform on the instrument in innovative ways.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
"Whether you are a seasoned guitarist or a non-guitarist with an interest in learning more about the sonic possibilities that the guitar presents, Frengel provides valuable and practical information that can be useful in a variety of compositional, performance-related, and educational contexts."--V. J. Manzo, author of MAX/MSP/Jitter for Music, Foundations of Music Technology, and co-author of Interactive Composition and
Environmental Sound Artists
"The Unorthodox Guitar is like a personal, encyclopedic letter to the guitarist of any skill level, to the composer seeking to articulate the guitar in modern terms, and to any musician desiring a better understanding of how the guitar 'works' in performance and recording environments. Frengel's writing navigates the perfect balance between information and explanation, making this volume a pleasure to both explore and devour."-Janet Feder
"This is an extraordinary compendium of creative guitar techniques. Mr. Frengel uses lucid language to vividly and precisely describe countless guitar preparations and performance techniques. He has honored these with detailed attention to the relationships between preparation, technique, musical results, and notation. This is a rich inventory of proven ideas that will stimulate the imagination of guitarists as well as composers who wish to extend the sonic
vocabulary of their work."--Nick Didkovsky