Sunday, November 18, 2007

Paganini shuffle part 1

In the post "My Band", Anders commented that the best odds of us finding common musical ground would be Paganini in the form of a shuffle. I thought it would be cool to try to adapt at least one of Paganini's 24 caprices to a bluesy format, so this here is sort of a journal entry on the way to a final product in the form of a recording. The idea is that I'll record the original format, plus one shuffle version, perhaps with a backing track. This post might not make sense to anyone but Anders and myself, but if you could see my face as I type this, you'd have an excellent opportunity to witness a picture of me not caring.

Niccolo Paganini is perhaps the most metal of all the virtuoso violinists of old, as the rumors of him having made a deal with the devil in exchange for his otherworldly technical skills still endure to this day. The Faustian ideal of a deal with the devil also provides a link to Robert Johnson and the Crossroads, although it must be said that if Johnson and Paganini made the same basic deal - soul for skillz on their respective instruments - then one of them got severely short-changed.

Step one was to choose which caprice to modify. After giving it some thought, I picked caprice No. 24 in A minor, because the main theme lends itself to 4/4 with no major issues from it's original 2/4 tempo, and because I feel the melody doesn't suffer too much in doing so. Moreover, some series or other on radio way back actually used a 4/4 version of the main theme, so it's not entirely uncharted waters. After poring over the sheet music and practicing a bit, I found that not all the variations work well in a shuffle format. The parts I picked (all of which are 16 bars) are:
  1. The main theme (120 bpm). Most people have heard this theme without knowing it's Paganini. It's a staccato question-and-answers theme with a contained, raw energy waiting to be released in a later variation.
  2. Variation 1 (132 bpm). Dramatic, descending, progressively muted arpeggios (i.e. sweeps) which provide a small relief from the tension of the main theme. Very YJM section, which suits me well.
  3. Variation 2 (144 bpm). Return of the main theme with some chromaticism thrown in for good measure (and extra notes). Also, it's played at a slightly higher tempo, which is cool. I'm probably going to record it a little more muted than what you'll hear on violin recordings, to avoid the notes bleeding into each other on a non-glissando instrument.
  4. Variation 3 (80 bpm). A "heavier" chordal passage with wide intervals which on a guitar necessitates two-handed tapping. More or less the same style of tapping you'll find on Satriani's "Midnight" and Van Halen's "Judgement Day", if you're interested, but more rigid, or tense. This variation really brings down the overall mood of the piece.
  5. Variation 4 (120 bpm). Bouncy, lively theme heavy on the chromaticism, which provides some relief from the downer of the previous passage.
  6. Variation 5 (120 bpm). Another wide-interval two-handed tapping section. This time the tapping is in the same style as typically employed by Michael Romeo of Symphony X. Way cool.
  7. Variation 7 (108 bpm). Playful passage comprised of wide-interval legato trills, which entails string-skipping.
  8. Variation 8 (80 bpm). Euphoric, choral passage with a tremenduous sense of relief, in the same style as the main theme of Beethoven's ninth symphony. Or, if you don't know what I'm talking about - it gives the same sensation as Etta James' "At Last". This is the part I find most difficult to play, as it requires classical fingerpicking, i.e. no plectrum. I don't exactly practice fingerpicking every day, so this is gonna take a little while. The most difficult aspect of this and variation 7 is to convey the emotions of euphoria and playfulness, respectively, that I hear in these passages. Which ain't always easy to do when the music is technically demanding at the same time.
  9. Variation 11 (72 bpm). Octaves and speed-picked ascending runs alternated with descending sweep arpeggios. It's a thing of beauty.
  10. Finale (~115 bpm). Sweep-and tap arpeggios to your (or at least to my) heart's content.

Now I've got to practice more unplugged and with my good friend the metronome, before I move on to the next aspect - choosing the sound.

19 comments:

Anders said...

First I just have to ask: Etta James? I can't believe that you've even heard of Etta James. Why didn't I include an Etta James album in your reviews way back?

Anyhow, thanks for the update. Looking forward to the final result. We may be on to a brand new genre of music here! Or not...

Wilhelm said...

What; you don't think I'm edumacated? Etta James ain't exactly an obscure artist, no?

Sho' nuff bro. Yeah; we'd be on to, like, a whole new paradigm here if only we could travel back in time and release this before Yngwie had sent that pesky tape to the soundboard of "Guitar Player" back in '82 or whenever.

I'll try to formulate an application to the research council for funds to develop a time machine with this as the intended application. Wanna be a co-author?

Anders said...

What; you don't think I'm edumacated? Etta James ain't exactly an obscure artist, no?

What do I know. I don't consider Charlie Patton or Tommy johnson are very obscure either, but try putting on Tommy Johnson tune on a party...
Still, Etta rules.

I'll try to formulate an application to the research council for funds to develop a time machine with this as the intended application. Wanna be a co-author?

Only if I get to be captain on the time machine. And that we take a short trip back to 1935 and 1959 for some guitar shopping while we're at it...

Wilhelm said...

What do I know. I don't consider Charlie Patton or Tommy johnson are very obscure either, but try putting on Tommy Johnson tune on a party...

As it should be, brosky, as it should be ;-)

Only if I get to be captain on the time machine. And that we take a short trip back to 1935 and 1959 for some guitar shopping while we're at it...

Sure - what do I care. I'll be in da back with a bottle of bub writing my Nobel Award speech. But why would ya want to go back to this period to buy guitars? You DO know that they didn't make proper Kramer, Ibanez, Hamer, Jackson or BC Rich guitars before the 80's, right?

Wilhelm said...

Edit: I'll be in da back with my collar popped, munching on a Powerbar and drinkin' Heinekens and Jaegerbombs like it was my job.

Wilhelm said...

Edit^2: ...and we won't travel until after I can get my swell on in da gym

Anders said...

Edit: I'll be in da back with my collar popped, munching on a Powerbar and drinkin' Heinekens and Jaegerbombs like it was my job.

Edit^2: ...and we won't travel until after I can get my swell on in da gym



...a we definitly need to get our hair cut syncronized...
;-)

Wilhelm said...

...sucks to be you, then

Anders said...

But why would ya want to go back to this period to buy guitars?

1959: Gibson Les Paul - $265
2007: Gibson Les Paul from 1959 - $400 000.

A couple of those, and we will recoup our time machine expenses. And that mansion on the hill does not seem so far fetch anymore...

Wilhelm said...

..except that $265 back then WAS like $400 000 now, and somehow I think they'd ask questions if you roll up with an i-pod, Sean-John sweats and Air Jordans flashing a credit card or bills printed in the 2000's. Methinks we'd get tarred and feathered and rode out of town on a rail.

And that would wreak SERIOUS havoc on my popped collar and guido'd up 'do. I might even lose my swell if said event should occur.

Anders said...

i-pod, Sean-John sweats and Air Jordans flashing

Is that the offical guido outfit? If so, I got to start shopping...

I think they'd ask questions if you roll up with ... bills printed in the 2000's.

Why? They all look the same, don't they? In fact, US money has looked the same since prehistoric time...

Wilhelm said...

Sean-John + Air Jordans are favored items among the fashion-savvy guido

Yeah; dollar bills have looked the same since some knuckle-dragging mofo in a Flintstone-style one-piece fur rolled up to the local brontosaurus-dealer to haggle over the sticker price of last year's model.

Did you know that dollar bills have a very distinct smell and feel, by the way?

Anders said...

Did you know that dollar bills have a very distinct smell and feel, by the way?

Yeah, they feel like a million bucks, don't they? If there are many of them... ;-)

Anders said...

So, are there going to be one moore track on the Paganini CD? A bonus track? (Did you get that? :-D )

Wilhelm said...

8-D

Yes; there will be one moore tune on the Paganini cd or in the folder or whatever

Anders said...

All right! Gary on, then...

Wilhelm said...

LOL

How many more gm jokes pertinent to this topic do you have in you? At this point, I'm getting curious

Anders said...

Well, unless Gary has moore names that I don't know of, I'm starting to run out of material. Sorry.

Wilhelm said...

...like that ever stopped DICE.....