An arrangement of traditional themes of the Flamenco style (palo) Alegrias de Baile (Alegrias for dance) that I acquired during my years of study with Juan González ?Triguito? in Madrid in the late 1960s. The title of the piece that contains bright and happy passages in A major and slower more somber passages in A minor is taken from the name of a popular alcoholic drink that is a mixture of clear anisette (sol) and cognac (sombra). The composition is meant to resemble an Alegrias played in accompaniment to the dance, often performed by a solo woman dancer (bailaora) in a beautifully coloured long flowing dress. The piece finishes with a Macho por Bulerías (finale) that is almost twice as fast as the passages in the introduction and middle parts. There is a long beautiful tremolo passage that rounds off the middle part before the jump into the finale. The piece is recommended for students of Flamenco guitar at the intermediate to advanced intermediate levels.

An arrangement of traditional themes for the Flamenco style Siguiriyas for solo Flamenco guitar based on material I gathered in my studies in Flamenco guitar in Madrid in the late 1960s. I call the piece Llamas Negras (Black Flames) as the dance for Siguiriyas is often performed by a woman dancer (bailaora) dressed in a long flowing black dress, her hands twirling above her head likes flames. Such were the performances I witnessed at the Flamenco tablao La Zambra where my guitar maestro Juan González ?Triguito? played. Siguiriyas is the most tragic of all the serious (jondo) styles of Flamenco for guitar. The piece moves therefore at a moderately slow pace, although there are passages where the tempo increases for dramatic effect. The piece is in the Phrygian modal of D minor and notated in standard 6/8 time. Siguiriyas embodies par excellence what Manuel de Falla called the ?sonidos negros? or black sounds in Flamenco!

ISBN 9781513470115. 8.75x11.75 inches.

With content ranging from theory and history to practical exercises, examples, etudes, and play-along tracks, this book offers the most comprehensive guide ever written for this esoteric and traditionally obscure scale. Simply put, it reveals the last big secret of jazz fusions avant-garde.According to which music theorist believes he first discovered it, this scale has been known variously as Messiaens mode 3, Slonimskys Tcherepnin Scale (honoring his colleague), and Tcherepnins own name for it the 9-note augmented or nonatonic scale.The nine notes of the double-symmetrical augmented scale have fascinated and crucially influenced legendary musicians like John Coltrane, Allan Holdsworth, Mark Turner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Nelson Veras, Tim Miller, Gary Thomas, and Jerry Bergonzi, among many others.Coltranes historic composition, Giant Steps, can be directly attributed to his familiarity with the nonatonic scale. With this book by Berklee College of Music honors graduate, Xabier Oro, youll know the secret too.Includes access to online audio.

ISBN 9781513459370. 8.75x11.75 inches.

Choro is a popular instrumental-music tradition flourishing in Brazil and around the world. It preceded, influenced, and in turn was influenced by samba and bossa nova. Its repertory is vast, including thousands of choros composed by all manner of string, wind, keyboard, and percussion playersin addition to the guitar classics by Joao Pernambuco and Heitor Villa-Lobos.This landmark publication gives guitarists access to this seemingly endless repertory, empowering its readers to turn a choro written for any instrument into a convincing and idiomatic solo guitar arrangement. This process is taught through examples provided by Dr. Stephen Guerra, a versatile guitarist/composer intimately familiar with both classical and Brazilian guitar (violao brasileiro) as well as the choro idiom. This book is intended for both students of Brazilian guitar and classical guitarists seeking to add choros to their repertory and play them authentically. It includes: Original solo arrangements plus lead sheets and online recordings of 10 choros for the intermediate to advanced classic guitarist.Biographical and performance notes regarding the selected composers and compositions.Insightful suggestions for further reading, listening, and study. Extensive endnotes explaining arrangement choices, notation practice and influences. Dr. Guerra focuses on classics from the pioneering generation of choro composers culminating in the artistry of Joao Pernambuco, Pixinguinha, and Heitor Villa-Lobos; among others, these include compositions by choro pianists Chiquinha Gonzaga and Ernesto Nazareth, samba singer-composer Noel Rosa, choro bandleaders Joaquim Calado and Anacleto de Medeiros, and Brazils early flute virtuoso, Patapio Silva.Includes access to online audio.