15 solo guitar pieces
With exercises for you to create, compose and improvise
Method planned for third and fourth year students
FOREWORD
What we call classical music is usually well taught in France. On the other hand, we cannot necessarily say the same as to disciplines that could help the novice instrumentalist develop a sense of creativity and imagination, more or less at the same time.
And it is quite a shame knowing how enriching this aspect of musical training could be in learning to «play well». Yet, in regard to this deficiency, the guitar is probably the instrument that would benefit the most from these disciplines, with the piano certainly, because of its harmonic structure. Even though they still are not clearly defined, let’s hope to see these disciplines taught more and more. Especially in our music schools.
Nowadays, the teaching landscape in this area is nevertheless starting to change, one step at a time. And we are lucky to have Jean-Max Frézignac be part of this beneficial evolution, with his Freedom Guitar method.
After a few pages on the necessary rudiments of basic chords, with some of his own pieces as a «pretext», he soon invites the young guitar player to write down his first “inventions”. And he even provides specific space specific space for the titles of these inventions as well as for the name of their composer!
He liberates the inhibitions we all carry, when he offers to have fun with the notes, or when he suggests to let go without judging of the result. And this helps to demystify the terrifying “out-of-tune note” that spoils our lives. And improvisation in this case.
And this is precisely how we need to proceed, in my opinion, to enable the novice guitar player to (at last) combine the necessary work with the instrument and the pleasure he takes playing. Music is pleasure. Although it is very demanding, we do love it.
Roland Dyens, guitarist and composer
Professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris
