Solo Acoustic Guitar Music offers a unique avenue for expression, often characterized by techniques like open tunings, chordal voice leading, and intricate fingerpicking. Traditionally, solo guitarists have crafted self-contained ensembles, simultaneously weaving bass lines, chords, and melodies. While these approaches are foundational, an alternative perspective, drawing inspiration from literary narrative structures, presents a compelling direction for modern acoustic guitar music. This article delves into composing narrative solo acoustic guitar pieces by exploring harmonic movement, melodic phrasing that mirrors lyrical delivery, and the evocative use of silence.
Transforming Written Words into Acoustic Guitar Soundscapes
My journey into solo acoustic guitar composition is deeply rooted in literature. Living in a bustling city like New York, reading becomes a constant companion—on subways, during commutes, and in those interstitial moments between engagements. My recent project, Angels of Annunciation, is a collection of solo acoustic guitar miniatures directly inspired by the profound writings of Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906–2001), a remarkable author, aviator, and radio operator. Lindbergh’s introspective and descriptive prose provided a rich tapestry from which to draw musical narratives.
Example 1, titled “Radio Interlude,” is a piece conceived as a musical interpretation of short-hand radio signaling. I aimed to sonically capture Morrow’s experiences as a navigator in the 1930s, co-piloting with her husband, Charles Lindbergh, on extensive survey flights across the globe.
A musical notation example showing guitar tabs and standard notation. The title above the notation reads "Example 1".
Imagine Anne Morrow Lindbergh, hours into a flight, likely fatigued yet intensely focused, responsible for relaying the aircraft’s position using maps and instruments. To evoke this scene in acoustic guitar music, I employed wide intervals voiced high on the fretboard, initiated by a resonant open B string. Utilizing open strings amidst fretted notes, both high and low, proves effective in creating a spacious texture without confining the harmony to a lower drone. In this example, the ambiguous open B string, ringing between the higher E and lower F notes, generates a Lydian tonality as the music descends into a diminished voicing (bar 2, beat 2). This then transitions into parallel intervals, played with deliberate patience and brevity.
Although this musical passage unfolds in approximately 20 seconds, it establishes a dreamy weariness through the Lydian-tinged opening. This atmosphere evolves into the focused intensity of the diminished pause, before conveying the essential message with concise, confident parallel intervals, ultimately resolving to a definitive conclusion. Within this brief musical moment, space, silence, harmony, and melodic intention converge to recreate an experience from the skies nearly a century ago. This illustrates how acoustic guitar music can be used to tell stories and evoke specific imagery.
Melody as Speech in Acoustic Guitar Compositions
When listening to vocalists or reading aloud, I often contemplate the rhythmic repetition inherent in language within a phrase. In song melodies, the repetition of a note often accommodates the syllabic structure of lyrics within a musical rhythm. Similarly, in spoken word, the melodic contour of the voice mirrors this pattern. This observation became a cornerstone in developing my approach to melodic phrasing in acoustic guitar music.
Example 2 showcases the opening of my composition “The Plum for Courage,” inspired by a passage from Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s book North to the Orient, detailing her encounter with a friend in Japan. During a layover on a survey flight through Asia, she engages in a conversation about symbolism and learns that the plum blossom represents courage in Japanese culture. Initially puzzled, she inquires further and is told that this symbolism arises from the plum tree’s ability to blossom while snow still covers the ground.
A musical notation example showing guitar tabs and standard notation. The title above the notation reads "Example 1".
This anecdote resonated deeply and sparked the desire to musically represent Morrow’s perspective within a concise acoustic guitar piece. Reciting the phrase “the plum for courage” aloud, I noted the inflection of my voice: “the[low]plum for cour– [higher and same pitch]-age[low].” While I didn’t aim for a direct replication of this speech melody, as it might steer the piece towards a technical exercise rather than an emotional expression, I sought to capture the essence of hearing this evocative phrase through acoustic guitar music.
Consequently, I initiated the piece with a rhythm reminiscent of speech, repeating a major third double-stop of G–B three times before altering the pitch. Once again, I found the use of an open string amidst a moving chord voice beneficial in generating a dreamy, inquisitive ambiance. Thus, I chose an open G string between a lower fretted G and a higher fretted D. Subsequently, this parallel fifth was moved down a half step to F# and C#, while sustaining the open G to create dissonance, before a temporary resolution to an E minor voicing. In this introduction, speech-like rhythm, combined with parallel movements, dissonance, and fleeting resolution, aims to evoke curiosity, wonder, and anticipation for what follows. This approach demonstrates how acoustic guitar melodies can be crafted to mimic the natural rhythms and contours of spoken language, adding a layer of narrative depth to the music.
The Eloquence of Silence in Acoustic Guitar Performance
Let’s examine the complete composition of “The Plum for Courage” (Example 3). In this piece, I employ a pick in conjunction with my ring and middle fingers, although it is equally adaptable to fingerstyle performance. The composition frequently utilizes double-stop voicings, prioritizing melodic clarity without relying on dense chords. At times, this deliberate absence of harmonic support can amplify the impact of a melody, shifting emphasis to intention, dynamics, and tonal nuances within the acoustic guitar music.
A musical notation example showing guitar tabs and standard notation. The title above the notation reads "Example 1".
Perhaps the most crucial element in creating narrative acoustic guitar music is the conscious consideration and respect for silence, or “dead air.” Allowing notes to fully decay before proceeding to the next phrase is paramount. Constructing a narrative within the solo acoustic guitar context hinges on a profound connection to natural speech patterns and the flow of thought. Embrace space and silence as integral components in your compositions. By incorporating silence, you allow the listener to absorb the musical phrases and create their own narrative interpretations within the acoustic guitar music.
Charlie Rauh is a guitarist-composer, producer, and engineer based in Queens, New York.
