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FOR STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS

If you love listening to guitar music (or music in general), exploring history, contemplating meaning, rediscovering familiar pieces and having new listening experiences, bookmark this page! Students and scholars, amateurs and professional players, please enjoy and check back for almost-monthly updates. Activities are created with adult music enthusiasts in mind, so please monitor young students with content and links. ​

Explorations in Listening

 

Two Young Fish - Revisited

I previously posted this activity and have decided to revisit and add to it.

 

Matthew Cochran is an American guitarist, composer and producer whose music "combines elements of romanticism, minimalism and popular music."(matthewcochranguitar.com) Having written for solo classical guitar, electric guitar, guitar duos and ensembles, and string quartet with guitar, he has published almost twenty original works and arrangements through Les Productions d’Oz and his own company, Sacred Black Editions.

 

Many of Cochran's works have thought provoking titles and a few are inspired by literature. His solo guitar composition Two Young Fish was premiered in September 2023 by Stephen Mattingly, the guitarist to whom the piece is dedicated. The work was inspired by David Foster Wallace’s speech/essay, "This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life." A link to Wallace's speech is included below–transcriptions can be found online as well–and I have posted a link to a discussion between Cochran, Mattingly, and Matthew McAllister (host of Duo Talk) during which you can hear the artists talk about the process of bringing forth this work. 

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Here are a few questions to consider:

  • In what ways do you observe the literary inspiration in the music?

  • What other instrumental (no voice) guitar works have direct connections to literature? 

  • What are some examples of musical elements being used to express text in other works? For example, how might a composer express the idea of moving water?

  • How does knowing a composer's inspiration or having insights about the process of a work being created affect your experience as a listener?

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Featured Sheet Music 

 

"Give It Time" by Vin Downes

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I met guitarist Vin Downes when we were guests on Duo Talk, a video podcast hosted by Matthew Cochran and Matthew McAllister. The theme for the episode was "Genre Hopping and Crossover." We both play multiple styles of music on nylon, steel and electric guitars and we were both influenced early on by guitar music from the Windham Hill record label, specifically the composition On the Way by David Cullen. 

 

Vin and I also share a publisher, Guitar Chamber Music Press. For a month, I took over the publisher social media and made a promotional video about Vin's compositions which you can watch at the link below.

 

In addition to music for purchase, Vin shares free scores through his newsletter, and I'm featuring his composition "Give It Time" which was published in his February 2025 edition. He describes the piece as having a "laid back melody that weaves itself over an alternating thumb bass line" and I can imagine it sounding equally lovely on nylon or steel strings. I have enjoyed listening to Vin's recordings of his original compositions and can attest to them providing a beautiful soundtrack to driving through scenic country sides of Maryland and Virginia. Thank you, Vin, for sharing your music.

 

Access Vin's February 2025 newsletter: 

https://vindownes.com/campaigns/1006594

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​Watch a composer spotlight video on Guitar Chamber Music Press' Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GpmpMnXv5/​​

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​​​Resources 

 

Daily Scale Videos:

You can practice your major scales along with me in these videos made for my beginning students learning notes in first position and key signatures. Goals include mastery of note knowledge, consistent use of first-position fretting-hand fingerings, right-hand finger alternation, and tone. The tempo is 80 bpm. ​

 

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Basic Chord Switching Exercises for Group Beginner's Guitar Classes:

Students who are learning to switch between basic chords while strumming can use these videos for daily practice.

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Tech Resources:

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Sheet Music Resources:

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Scholarly Resources:

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Links to Publishers, Retailers and Luthiers:

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Some Other Treasures:

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​Guitar Series (Mid Atlantic):

 

Podcasts and Radio Shows:​​​​

© 2024 Candice Mowbray

Support my work at Ko-fi.com. 

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