Introduction
This essay should
be read as a work document. It is thinking-out-loud about how I play
the guitar, and an experimental attempt to devise, through analysis,
new ways to play the guitar. I came to understand my interest in
polyphony when I realized that one of the things I loved best about
music such as the Bach inventions, or the music of Derek Bailey or
Eric Dolphy, was the delicious tension between the presence of
multiple, distinct voices and the presence of a single, unique
persona. I came to polyphony as an improviser on the guitar, which
presents special technical challenges. The intent of this essay is to
think about the different ways polyphony can be achieved on the
guitar.
Three
Paradigms in Modern Guitar Playing
I call these
technical approaches “paradigms” because they are illustrative of
more than just a physical way of playing the instrument; each of them
represents a different way of thinking about the sound possibilities
of the guitar, and thus each of them is not just descriptive of a
style of playing but is generative of many styles which share a
similar relationship to the sound of the guitar.
Monophonic
This paradigm
describes a lot of jazz guitar playing, and “lead” or solo
playing in rock contexts, as well as in styles derived from or
related to these genres. The sound produced by the guitar is
agglomerated into a single “line”, and is understood by the
player and audience as a stream of notes (or sounds) that is
something analogous to a single voice, regardless of what string or
technique is used to create the sound.
A paradigmatic
example of this kind of guitar playing would be the work of Charlie
Christian or Grant Green, whose jazz solos were sometimes described
as “horn-like” in their use of the logic of a monophonic
instrument. They rarely played more than one note at a time, and if
they did it was not to create an additional melody with the extra
notes; rather, they served to emphasize an existing note in a
monophonic stream of notes.
Homophonic
I use the same
term that is used by musicologists to describe much of the music of
the classical era, which was characterized by division between
melody and harmony parts, and a more chordal (as opposed to
contrapuntal) style of accompaniment.
In contrast to
monophonic playing, homophonic playing uses multiple sounds on
multiple strings in parallel motion. Sometimes the highest note
serves as a melody note, and other times the entire guitar part
serves as accompaniment to another instrument.
Jazz
accompaniment is often homophonic, and this kind of playing was
sometimes used in solo contexts by guitarists like Wes Montgomery or
Jim Hall. Outside of the jazz world, a homophonic approach is used
by any guitarist who strums the guitar – from country singers to
the likes of Johnny Ramone.
However, the
important thing I want to emphasize about homophonic playing is not
the sound of strumming, although that is a characteristic sound of
much homophonic guitar playing. Rather, it is the logic of multiple
strings acting in concert, having multiple sounds or voices that
move in parallel, in the same rhythm.
Polyphonic
This kind of
guitar playing is characterized by the presence of counterpoint, or
the co-existence of multiple, independent voices which do not move
in parallel.
Most classical
guitar literature makes extensive use of polyphonic playing; so do
most idioms that emphasize fingerpicking technique – the
independence of the fingers on the non-fretting hand allows the
articulation of multiple voices. Some jazz guitarists – notably
George van Eps and his students – have developed an extensive
technique of improvising two or three parallel voices with one hand.
Polyphonic guitar
playing can be classified, very roughly, in two ways. One approach –
which I call “barre logic”, is similar to monophonic playing in
that independent streams of sound are created. Each of these streams
may move across strings, like a monophonic line – the sounds of
different strings are thought of as a unique whole, each proceeding
from the last. Due to the complexity of the lines, this approach
requires agile barre technique and difficult-to- achieve strength
and independence of the fingers. This approach is often used in
classical pieces.
The other
approach, which I call “string logic”, treats each string of the
guitar as an independent voice. Complex lines are difficult to play
on single strings without needing to shift often and quickly. Such
shifting would make the independent movement of voices, and hence
polyphony, impossible. Hence, this sort of playing tends to utilize
many simple lines in interlocking rhythms, played in “open”
position (close to the nut, and utilizing unfretted strings.) Chet
Atkins and “Mississippi” John Hurt are paradigmatic examples.
Additionally, many prepared guitar techniques, by placing objects on
or under some strings and not others, tend to exaggerate the
different timbres of different strings, encouraging similar
thinking.
Of course, these
categories are not well-defined, and most of my examples use both
sorts of polyphony in some proportion. I make the distinction only
to highlight that two different kinds of musical thinking are in
play – one that tends to treat the guitar as a single, unified
sound source, and one that treats the guitar as a collection of six
(or seven) independent sound sources.
Analyzing
the different types of polyphony
It is immediately
apparent to me that “barre logic” affords the most independence
of voices, as free string-crossing allows voices to move in
parallel, oblique or contrary motion at will. In contrast, “string
logic” tends to result in oblique or parallel motion, as not every
string can be fretted independently. It is also limited by the
pitches of the open strings, which tend to be used often due to the
fact that only four strings can be fretted at a time, in certain
specific combinations.
On the other
hand, “barre logic” is limited in its sonic vocabulary by the
physical shape of the fretting hand. Only certain stretches and
certain shapes are possible, and thus certain “licks” or
predetermined phrases tend to dominate. “String logic”, while
limited also, has more room for variation in the interaction between
six voices.
All this
theorizing cannot possibly outline the actual limits of technique.
That is up to the imagination and perseverance of individual
musicians; I only wish to note that different techniques are
predisposed toward different sorts of music. This helps me to think
about what I am interested in, and how I might go about doing it.
Looking
for a hybrid polyphony
For
instance, I am less interested in intricate counterpoint than I am in
the co-existence of multiple, interlocking and interrupting voices.
But I am also interested in a certain amount of harmonic freedom,
and the possibility of rapid movement and huge leaps within a single
voice.
While
prepared guitar traditions allow for a great variety of sound, many
of them (as with guitarists like Keith Rowe) are more textural than
rhythmic, whereas I am very much interested in rhythmic repetition
and development. Additionally, the inharmonic spectra produced by
most guitar preparations preclude harmonic playing.
Several
solutions are possible. If I accept the limits of open-string tuning,
I can play further up the neck, using open strings as additional
“voices” while my other fingers play a more complex voice.
Alternatively, I could give up on the notion of playing “voices”
that use pitches, using muted strings as percussive attacks, while
other strings play melodic fragments.
These
are not wholly novel approaches – rather, they are extensions of
the existing ways of making polyphony on the guitar. It is up to the
practicing musician to find ways of using, contextualizing, and
developing the sounds that result from this approach.
New
Polyphonies
One
of the reasons this topic compels me to write has been the music of
“Mississippi” John Hurt, who achieved fame in the folk blues
revival of the '60s, having previously developed a distinctive style
of solo guitar playing. Part of the joy of hearing his guitar is the
clarity of the different articulated voices: bass, chords, melody.
Whereas a player such as Chet Atkins would have left more space in
his solo playing, John Hurt's guitar style is characterized by a
constant stream of notes in different registers, interlocking to
form the entire rhythm. I find it exceptionally beautiful to hear
all of the voices weaving in and out – even the “chordal”
voices that he plays on the middle two strings occasionally become
prominent, articulating a short rhythm within the texture. This is
polyphony in the spirit, if not the form, of Bach's fugues.
Understanding
John Hurt's music as a species of polyphony is a fundamental starting
point for me. I find that musicians as different as Derek Bailey and
Eric Dolphy evoke a similar response in me, and I have learned to
identify that response as pleasure taken in a sound that suggests
multiple voices in playful interaction.
Possible
strategies
Instead
of describing how I want to play, which I have found to be a futile
exercise, I will suggest some practical experiments that might help
me to develop new ways of creating polyphonic music with the guitar.
Keeping
multiple voices going: Rather
than muting a note as another is played on a different string, let
each string ring (and meticulously avoid accidentally muting it, or
unintentionally playing another note before it has died out.)
Memorize
the pitches of the open strings, relative
to what is being played.
Interlocking
parts: No
need to learn the country blues other than for repertory reasons
/the sheer joy of it, but surely other kinds of music can be made
with similar rhythmic principles: instead of long melodies, many
interlocking parts with simple rhythms. Write some music down.
Register
Changes: As
in music like Eric Dolphy's and Roscoe Mitchell's, a single voice
may suggest polyphony through dramatic changes in register. This
could work well with open strings.
Conclusion
As
mentioned, this is not a discursive or argumentative essay. I have
tried to make clear the streams of thought that occur when I think
about making music: how to play, what to play, and why it gives me
satisfaction. If any over-generalizations or inaccuracies were
committed, they were for the sake of generating new principles and
ideas, and hopefully adding more voices to the many streams of music
I have had the privilege of experiencing.
