Posted on Jul 13, 2016

  The final prelude in this collection, Prelude # 12, ends things with both a tip of the hat to where we began via a traditional interpretation of the prelude’s key signature (for the most part) and the raising of some open-ended questions about form (by way of its rather labyrinthine structure). Link to Prelude # 12 on SoundCloud...

Posted on Jul 7, 2016

Prelude # 11 from 12 Preludes for Solo Guitar by Ken Hatfield   There are so many aspects involved in the creation and construction of any piece of music, that most great music cannot be entirely perceived and/or comprehended in one listening. For any music to communicate, the performer must understand it, then perform it accordingly, and the audience...

Posted on Jun 30, 2016

Prelude #10 from 12 Preludes for Solo Guitar by Ken Hatfield   Even with pieces as short as some of these preludes, there are multiple levels of information going on at any point in the music. So, rather than confuse you by presenting too many concepts at once, I’m choosing to focus on limited aspects of each prelude. The guitar tip for Prelude # 10...

Posted on Jun 23, 2016

Prelude # 9 from 12 Preludes for Solo Guitar by Ken Hatfield   I asked some of my students to play through these preludes prior to having the actual books printed, a practice I’ve found useful, especially for checking fingerings, as I rarely use them myself. Many have found Prelude # 9 to be the most “daunting” of the collection. And while it...

Posted on Jun 16, 2016

Prelude # 8 from 12 Preludes for Solo Guitar by Ken Hatfield   Like the previous 7 preludes, Prelude # 8 is one of a group of 12 Preludes I composed for solo guitar performance. The form and harmonic content of this prelude resemble AABA song form for most of its structure (measures 1 through 26) with an 8-bar ending section comprised of a 4-bar...

Posted on Jun 9, 2016

Prelude # 7 from 12 Preludes for Solo Guitar by Ken Hatfield   Prelude # 7 is one of the shortest of the 12 Preludes in this collection. It is also one of the pieces that feels most like a prelude (but in ways that differ from Preludes # 1 and   # 3, two others that we have already addressed which also feel like traditional preludes). Despite its less...