The guitar has a long and chequered musical history, and it is often
forgotten that what we now call the "classical" guitar was,
in fact, a nineteenth century development. Its present dimensions and
construction – a relatively large body, machine tuning heads
and six nylon strings played with the fingers – were not established
until the twentieth. This is the instrument to which I refer throughout
this review.
From the 1950s onwards most instructional tutors were
aimed at supplying elementary information (not always reliable) and
practice material (not always appropriate) to cater for the instrument’s
spreading popularity. At first the guitar tended to be regarded as little
more than a suitable instrument for casual players. Competent teachers
were scarce and, despite an extensive repertoire, the quantity and quality
of guitar music accessible to amateurs was, for the most part, insignificant.
Indeed the guitar was not regarded as a "serious" instrument
by some conservatories and music schools. In 1960 the Harvard Brief
Dictionary of Music by Willi Apel and Ralph T. Daniel simply states
that the twentieth century guitar "has been used chiefly to furnish
accompaniment to folk, Western and hillbilly music. It is also used
in the rhythm sections of dance bands". Until Quine’s book appeared
in 1991 as part of an Oxford series on the playing techniques of various
instruments it could fairly be said that, together with his influential
primary tutor An Introduction to the Guitar (Oxford. 1971), no
instructional material of comparable clarity and authority existed for
the guitar. To appreciate the changes that restored the instrument’s
musical status in the second half of the twentieth century a short reference
into an earlier renaissance in the 1800s is useful.
In 1830, when the guitar was once again fashionable
in Europe, the eminent player Fernando Sor wrote what was probably the
first comprehensive Method. Sor, and other guitar virtuosi such as Giuliani,
Carcassi and Carulli composed a quantity of studies and short pieces
suited to amateur guitarists. By the end of the nineteenth century,
however, public interest in the guitar was once again declining. Nevertheless,
due mainly to the immense influence of Segovia, Bream and other eminent
recitalists, something of a guitar revival took place in the 60s and
70s. Talented young players emerged, the instrument took its place in
the concert hall and on records, and acquired a considerable amateur
following.
The guitar is not an easy instrument to play well.
While it is difficult to make it sound really unpleasant, the theoretical
aspects of a serviceable playing technique are not easily explained.
Remarkable though it now seems a substantial part of its nineteenth
century repertoire long continued to serve the needs of twentieth-century
students. Quine’s achievement is therefore all the more remarkable.
Clearly, precisely and without ambiguity he explains not only the objectives,
but also the pitfalls, of learning the guitar, analysing such basic
but essential aspects of technical development as how to hold the instrument,
playing posture and the correct right- and left-hand actions of the
fingers that allow them to function efficiently. One of the most important
pieces of advice in this book is not to attempt to progress too quickly,
The foundations laid by playing single notes in various positions, scales
and arpeggios ensure that more ambitious exercises are gradually brought
within the student’s reach, for until a sound technical base has been
established it becomes increasingly difficult to progress from elementary,
let alone to intermediate and advanced stages – one reason why
there will always be more average strummers and than accomplished players.
As Quine puts it in his Preface, "Technique is essentially control
of tone, volume, rhythm and tempo, legato and staccato, dynamics and
registration, phrasing and articulation, always consciously directed
by musical intelligence" – a tall order, not easily met
by the "suck it and see" approach often adopted by many beginners.
A graded programme of practice is usually employed
in teaching instruments such as the violin and piano but – perhaps
because of its seductive sound and compliant nature – the guitar
does not always receive such careful attention from its admirers or,
it must be said, some of its would-be teachers. Guitar players come
in all shapes and sizes, and a didactic textbook cannot suit everyone;
but it is infinitely preferable to a disorganised approach. Here, we
have a viable alternative to one-to-one instruction from an experienced
teacher. There is no easy route to becoming a proficient player. Quine
does not promise mastery, or even extraordinary musical competence:
his patient and detailed guidance is rooted in a long and distinguished
career that helped guide and encourage a whole new generation of players.
The chapter on practising is of considerable value to players of all
grades. The subtitle "intermediate to advanced" need not be
taken too literally. That the student can read musical notation, and
has some basic general musical knowledge, is quite reasonably taken
for granted. Beyond that, the sooner a guitarist comes to grips with
Quine’s text the better his or her chance is of progressing securely
from elementary to more advanced stages. Quine’s instructions are directly
related to the actual sounds produced: it is not a matter of why
we want to play the guitar but how we play it. In recent
years the guitar has not maintained the widespread popularity it enjoyed
among amateurs in the 60s and 70s. It is, however, firmly established
on the international musical scene, and impossible to imagine that it
could ever again retire into the shadows. Quine is optimistic. "The
quality of musicianship and technical skill among many of our younger
players has never been higher" he told me.
One of the causes for the instrument’s periods away
from the limelight may be that its repertoire, though large, can be
divided into two broad categories: pieces that do not make exceptional
demands on purely technical skills and more challenging works that are
mainly the preserve of experienced professional players. The former,
though sometimes pleasing, rarely contain much musical depth, and can
often be classified as "salon" music, or what the Germans
call Hausmusik. I happen to think that much of this repertoire
is well suited to the instrument and deserves to be treated with respect.
What is more, "easy" studies and pieces, especially those
by Sor, help reinforce a secure technical foundation. More advanced
students will find a set of studies in contemporary idiom by Stephen
Dodgson, edited by Hector Quine, (discussed in Appendix I) a challenging
route to a more adventurous approach.
Segovia (1893-1987) encouraged a number of composers
to write specially for the guitar and, though contemporary composers
have tended to fight shy of the instrument, its twentieth century repertoire
is impressive. Villa-Lobos, Tansman, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Rodrigo, Ponce,
Walton and Britten prepared the ground for the next generation of composers
to explore opportunities for writing original solo, chamber and concerto
works, and transcriptions for the guitar. The select list of repertoire
Quine gives in an appendix is an interesting blend of history and modernity,
from Bach to Webern, Arnold, Takemitsu, Hoddinott, Henze, Berkeley,
Dodgson, R.R. Bennett, all of whom illustrate the expansion of the twentieth
century repertoire in new directions. A substantial appendix by Stephen
Dodgson, Writing for the guitar, provides insights into specific
problems of composing for the guitar, and is also of interest to players.
Roy D. Brewer
