Editorial

When writing out music there are some problems which are particularly relevant to the guitar. First, the need to convey a wide range on one stave (the treble or G clef) often necessitates using extra ledger lines or octave signs.

Second, the constant playing of melody and accompaniment together and/or several musical lines can create a very crowded stave. And third, in my view, we have become too reliant on written fingering; we are looking for fingering instead of music.

Although each of these problems is a discussion in itself, together they can make a very congested musical page. I try to simplify this with more use of octave signs, more single connecting stems and less fingering. Altogether this requires more thinking about the nature of the music as in traditional tablature and popular TAB.

Of course, the usual fingering conventions are used, but I give very few dynamic markings as I believe that it is up to each player's expressive choice and understanding.