Category Archives for "Uncategorized"

Jun 23

Recent Activity, Goals for This Year …

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

Greetings,

 

I am writing this post to share news on my recent activity in Music, Language Arts, and Moral Philosophy. Continual improvement and evolution is usually the way to go; I have more than a few goals to strive for and projects on the horizon, will mention some of these as well!

Earlier this month, I attended the annual Berkeley Festival and Exhibition as an exhibitor for the Sociedad de la Vihuela. We were able to connect with some existing members, as well as welcome new participants into the fold. The event proved a positive networking opportunity, and of course the variety of performances did not disappoint. In connection with the Festival and the effort to extend the reach of the Sociedad internationally, I was happy to have published an English translation to the website of the organization (link to open-access PDF here). As part of an effort to highlight core articles from the organization’s journal and connect with institutions outside of Spain, we will be continuing to add to the collection of texts in English.

The Intercultural Guitar radio hour continues biweekly broadcasts. Two weeks ago, I decided to crystallize one of the episodes into a very brief paper on the concept of a simulacrum. This and other writings on music are available here. While I have not been able to prioritize more extensive writings over the past year or so, I aim to complete revisions to an article for which I have gotten positive feedback from the Guitar Foundation of America. My goal on this front is to arrive at a new and improved draft before the summer is out.

As far as making music per se, I have recently shared this YouTube video:

Other than that, I will mention that this is part of my current reading rotation: Richard Norman, The Moral Philosophers: An Introduction to Ethics (2nd ed.). Looking forward to continuing the conversation! All the best.

 

Lars Rosager, MA

 

 

 

Jan 03

new writing on compositional square-ones

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

what prompts our creative processes? when it comes to the meaning of a preëxisting piece of music, what do we know about the composer’s intentions? prompted by a how-to publication on writing guitar riffs, i discuss these questions in a short essay available here. please feel free to enjoy similar reads from the page “writings” under the heading “music” in the drop down menu.

Jul 29

a bit on tunings and an original tune (video!)

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

in addition to the video linked below, i would like to share a working list of guitar tunings i utilize. i have divided the tunings between standard and scordature for the various types of guitars i play. register contrasts are indicated by a capital for a lower octave (5-course), or with an apostrophe to indicate a note higher than that which appears previously (chikari of raga guitar). all tunings are low to high.

 

standard: e, a, d, g, b, e (6-string); a, e, a, d, g, b, e (7-string); gG, Cc, ff, aa, d (5-course); c, g, c, g, c [chikari: g, c’; b, c’; f, c’] (raga)

scordature: d, a, d, g, b, e; d, g, d, g, b, d; d, g, d, g, b-flat, d; e, a, d, f-sharp, b, e (6-string); a, d, a, d, g, b, e; a, e, a, d, g, b, d (7-string); gG, B-flat b-flat, ff, aa, d (5-course)

 

one interesting fact about this list is that, with the exception of the minor second in one of the chikari tunings, no two adjacent strings are tuned to any interval besides perfect fifths, perfect fourths, major thirds, and minor thirds. i would venture to say this is probably a very common set of intervals for adjacent open strings throughout the history of tuning for both plucked- and bowed-string instruments, though a thorough analysis must be saved for a format more extensive than this.

i would love to hear your thoughts about standard and alternate tunings. feel free to get in touch!

the original tune linked below is played in the g-minor scordatura (d, g, d, g, b-flat, d) on a steel-string guitar (tab available in larsrosager.com store).

YouTube video of “Dobro Dreams”:

https://youtu.be/HKawKVOIbX0

Apr 08

Campanelle for Modern Guitars: Exercises in C Major, G Major, and D Major

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

Campanella technique as it existed on the Italian Baroque guitar has resulted in some confusion when it comes to transcriptions for modern instruments tuned in any non-reentrant manner. The most recent addition to the LarsRosager.com online store aims at making campanelle a reality on non-reentrant stringed instruments. The exercises in C Major, G Major, and D Major—keys on the flat side of the circle of fifths and those further along the sharp side do not lend themselves to a full treatment—are written for the six-string guitar in standard EADGBE tuning.

Let it be known that these exercises cover much more ground than just being practical for music in C Major, G Major, or D Major. They are applicable in some ways to the Church modes, as well as to the relative minors A Minor, E Minor, and B Minor. Further, the exercises provide good foundation for campanella shapes in other modes and keys (or even atonal or microtonal compositions), though said keys might not be realistic for an exercise spanning the entire gamut of the scale tonic to tonic. The YouTube video shared here was created in an earlier stage of my exploration of modern-guitar campanella. I am glad to have made good on my efforts to bring the exercises to a greater state of completeness and share something of pedagogical value. Thanks very much.

Sep 16

Upcoming Performance, Recent Studies . . .

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

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Summer is all but behind us now, and I am glad to say I made the most of it. The Ali Akbar College of Music (AACM) in San Rafael, CA, USA awarded me a scholarship to attend a weekly class with sarod player Alam Khan. Many thanks to the wonderful people at AACM for this chance at professional development and enrichment.

Practicing Indian raga is beginning to inform my playing on Western-derived guitars. My upcoming performance at the Petaluma Arts Center’s September-22 fundraising event will undoubtedly showcase some of the ways in which raga is becoming part of the natural growth of my music. The link to tickets for this event can be found in the Performance Schedule section of my website.

On the research front, I am forming ideas on how to revise the history(ies) of the guitar that relies on the arrival of the oval-bodied lute in Spain and subsequent formation of the figure-eight–shaped body of the guitar. It is important to note two recent additions to my bookshelf: The Guitar: In History and Performance Practice by Anthony LeRoy Glise and Manual of Guitar Technology: The History and Technology of Plucked String Instruments by Franz Jahnel. The former, published in 2016, is intended to be used as a university textbook. The latter is an almost impossible-to-acquire treasure trove of information on instrument building both ancient and modern. The contentions that arise from these two tomes are at the heart of my latest research. I hope to share more on this soon!

For now, please enjoy my new video sample:


#textualchordophonics
#casamontalvoguitars
​#thomastikinfeldstrings

Oct 18

Word Order, Specifically the Words “Just” and “Only”

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

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Textual Chordophonics
October 18, 2018

The further one advances in academic and professional life, the more it is apparent that details matter. In music as in language, what seems to be a dispensable, dismissible little piece of any project has the power to drastically change the outcome. It should go without saying that the same is true for almost any area of human activity.

Consider the following example: “You just drink lemonade,” vs. “You drink just lemonade.” By placing the word “just” before the word “drink,” one conveys that the only action taken is drinking. In other words, “you” do not do anything else to the lemonade besides drink it. By placing the word “just” before the word “lemonade,” one conveys that the only drink to be drunk is the lemonade. The desired message in both versions of the sentence is, colloquially, that “you” do not drink water, milk, or grape juice, for instance—even though the first version would be better off conveying the idea that no other action is taken upon the lemonade. Itt gets only drunk, not boiled, frozen, or spilled.

I would say this is pretty straightforward grammar, and relates directly to the word “only.” To me, both “just” and “only” are problems in common conversation. Other more egregious errors related to word order do occur, but these two often slip under the radar. How many times have you heard someone say, “You only have one left?”, or “You have only one left?” While these two questions would generally be used to express identical meanings, the details of word order present alternative analyses.

As you have read in the “just” example, “just” before “drink” affects the action of drinking. “Just” before “lemonade” refers specifically to what “you” drink. Similarly, one should commit to the wording “You have only one left?” because there is no doubt about the word “only” referring to “one.” The idea generally expressed does not have to do with “only” having, as opposed to some alternative to “have.”

The upshot here is that smaller units of meaning constitute entire ideas. No matter how confident or committed to some idea to be expressed as a whole, it is always necessary to make sure the units of meaning of which the bigger picture is comprised are coherent in and of themselves.

#textualchordophonics

Jun 04

Weekly Performances at Riverfront Café in Petaluma

By Lars Rosager | Uncategorized

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Textual Chordophonics
June 4, 2018

​This is a quick post to let everyone know that I will be singing and playing weekly at the newly opened Riverfront Café in Petaluma. The restaurant is located at 224 B St. I will be appearing every Tuesday from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Please be in touch for more information. Thanks very much!

#casamontalvoguitars #thomastikinfeldstrings #textualchordophonics

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