ELWOOD HERRING'S MUSIC CATALOGUE

ELWOOD HERRING'S MUSIC CATALOGUE
All music and noises © Copyright Paul A. Williams aka Elwood Herring - Please read these notes before downloading
EXPLORING NEW DIRECTIONS AND NEW POSSIBILITIES IN MUSIC COMPOSITION.
LOTS OF DIFFERENT STYLES AND APPROACHES, EVERY PIECE A MUSICAL EXPLORATION. GIVE YOUR EARS A TREAT!

Concerto for 2 guitars & Synthesiser

Opus: 9
Length: 18 minutes
Instruments: Korg micro-preset synthesiser, electric guitars
Composed: 1980
Dedicated to Judith

My first attempt at combining guitars and synthesiser, this is a piece I'm quite proud of, although on first hearing it probably sounds a bit of a jumble. Which is guitar and which is synth? Hard to tell sometimes. This needs to be played a few times to get into the "feel" of it, so don't give up after one playing.

Free download available on MegaUpload, or download the whole Sinister Concertos album free from here.

Part 1 The piece starts off with a guitar flourish, one on each side of the stereo space with two synth voices (The Korg of course) in between. All four instruments duck and dive for a while with no apparent motive. Melody fragments seem to jump between instruments in a style I've coined "Thematic Pointillism". A synth fanfare appears briefly with the beginnings of a rhythm supported by the guitars. All this suddenly collapses and we are left with the indeterminism of the opening.

Part 2 This section starts with some pizzicato sounds from the synth and half-hearted dithering from the guitars, then the synths give us some white noise sounds while the guitars reply with weird sliding sounds (made my running my fingernails down the strings). Every instrument is doing its own thing, ignoring everything else at this stage. Each is well-defined however. A bass rhythm is established briefly on all four instruments, then just as quickly disintegrates. The guitars chatter to each other, then one seems to get stuck repeating the same chord. The mood is wistful, almost tranquil, but never static. One synth then develops a quiet but jittery sound that starts leaping around the stereo space and seems to infect the others. High pitched fret noises from the right-hand guitar lead into...

Part 3 A series of rhythms develop, all overlapping. Each instrument joins in but with a different rhythm. (The right-hand guitar rhythm is made by tapping my nails on the guitar body.) Then a sudden stop and restart, with the instruments changing places. Now a definite theme emerges dominated by the two guitars. The synth looks for a decent voice to solo with, and settles on a sawtooth sound with which it improvises a tune to the guitar accompaniment. The other synth makes white noise "chiffs" in the background. Then another sudden stop - the guitars have got fed up of that. The dancing pixies pack their bags and vanish back into the undergrowth.

Part 4 Strange diminished arpeggios from the guitars here, then a furtive rising theme whch darkens the scene. The synths make wide yawning noises, the guitars dance higher and higher. The two guitars throw themes back and forth to each other, while the synths emulate guitar sounds, then gradually retreat into the background with high pitched bird-like whistles.

Part 5 With the synths effectively silenced the guitars dominate for a while; the synths composing distant fanfares on the horizon. Then they come charging back with a theme that sounds like it wants to finish and go home. But the guitars won't have it, they continue to frolic and tell jokes to each other. Eventually they too have had enough, and sign off with a series of harmonics, which the remaining synth copies, determined to have the last word (which it does).

Previous work Next work

View my complete music catalog here

	Concerto for 2 guitars & Synthesiser Opus: 9 Length: 18 minutes Instruments: Korg micro-preset synthesiser, electric guitars Composed: 1980 Dedicated to Judith
	My first attempt at combining guitars and synthesiser, this is a piece I'm quite proud of, although on first hearing it probably sounds a bit of a jumble. Which is guitar and which is synth? Hard to tell sometimes. This needs to be played a few times to get into the "feel" of it, so don't give up after one playing. Free download available on MegaUpload, or download the whole Sinister Concertos album free from here.
Part 1	The piece starts off with a guitar flourish, one on each side of the stereo space with two synth voices (The Korg of course) in between. All four instruments duck and dive for a while with no apparent motive. Melody fragments seem to jump between instruments in a style I've coined "Thematic Pointillism". A synth fanfare appears briefly with the beginnings of a rhythm supported by the guitars. All this suddenly collapses and we are left with the indeterminism of the opening.
Part 2	This section starts with some pizzicato sounds from the synth and half-hearted dithering from the guitars, then the synths give us some white noise sounds while the guitars reply with weird sliding sounds (made my running my fingernails down the strings). Every instrument is doing its own thing, ignoring everything else at this stage. Each is well-defined however. A bass rhythm is established briefly on all four instruments, then just as quickly disintegrates. The guitars chatter to each other, then one seems to get stuck repeating the same chord. The mood is wistful, almost tranquil, but never static. One synth then develops a quiet but jittery sound that starts leaping around the stereo space and seems to infect the others. High pitched fret noises from the right-hand guitar lead into...
Part 3	A series of rhythms develop, all overlapping. Each instrument joins in but with a different rhythm. (The right-hand guitar rhythm is made by tapping my nails on the guitar body.) Then a sudden stop and restart, with the instruments changing places. Now a definite theme emerges dominated by the two guitars. The synth looks for a decent voice to solo with, and settles on a sawtooth sound with which it improvises a tune to the guitar accompaniment. The other synth makes white noise "chiffs" in the background. Then another sudden stop - the guitars have got fed up of that. The dancing pixies pack their bags and vanish back into the undergrowth.
Part 4	Strange diminished arpeggios from the guitars here, then a furtive rising theme whch darkens the scene. The synths make wide yawning noises, the guitars dance higher and higher. The two guitars throw themes back and forth to each other, while the synths emulate guitar sounds, then gradually retreat into the background with high pitched bird-like whistles.
Part 5	With the synths effectively silenced the guitars dominate for a while; the synths composing distant fanfares on the horizon. Then they come charging back with a theme that sounds like it wants to finish and go home. But the guitars won't have it, they continue to frolic and tell jokes to each other. Eventually they too have had enough, and sign off with a series of harmonics, which the remaining synth copies, determined to have the last word (which it does).