In addition to solo playing, most guitarists I know enjoy playing chamber music very much. The reasons are many. Playing music with others allows one to communicate and interact with people in a profound way. You can always learn something about the way you play or how well you "converse" in a musical sense with your colleagues. Like in tennis, when playing with a superior player, you will improve as a guitarist as well. In addition, your position as a part of an ensemble gives you responsibility but does not so much put you on the spot as when you are the soloist and must alone make the music happen. Playing chamber music also opens up the repertoire to different types of music.

As a composer there is already quite a lot of interest in new pieces for guitar and other instruments and this provides more than enough of a reason to compose chamber music with guitar. Composing for guitar in a context of other instruments means not only must you be familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the guitar, you must know the other instruments in a similar way. You also must know which combinations of instruments work well together with the guitar, that is, how to write for the guitar in a context of instruments with various sonorities.

One guide to show which instruments are compatible with the guitar, is to survey the music literature and see which combinations have been used by past composers. Guitar duets, trios, and quartets are common. Violin, flute, mandolin, and voice are some of the most often used with the guitar. Other combinations include the Boccherini Quintets featuring guitar with string quartet and the Schoenberg Serenade with a mixed chamber setting (clarinet, bass clarinet, mandolin, guitar, violin, viola, cello, baritone voice). The possibilities are literally endless as long as the composer is sensitive to the sonorities of the instrument and uses the guitar wisely within the context. You would have to compose skillfully indeed to write a fanfare for brass band, percussion and single classical guitar!

The best way to begin composing a piece of chamber music with guitar is to write a duet. With a duet, you have the choice of 2 basic types: 1) the "equal" duet, where both parts play with the same amount of technical difficulty and the parts are equally important; and 2) the "unequal" duet where there is a hierarchy between the parts, for instance, a duet between a teacher and student might have one easier part and one more difficult one, or a melody-accompaniment format.

This is not to say that all duets fit into these 2 categories or that any given duet may not change from being equal to unequal (or vice versa) during the course of the piece. These 2 types, however, give a basic idea and can serve as a point of departure to conceptualize the process of composing a duet.

One easy way to start composing duets is by considering the "treble-ground" duets written for lutes during the late Renaissance. These pieces, typical of the "unequal" duet described above, have been collected in an edition by the excellent lutenist-and former teacher of mine-Nigel North in his 3-volume collection, Tablature for Two Lutes (Stainer & Bell: London, 1983). One lute plays a simple chord progression repeated several times (the ground), while the other lute plays a single-line melody and several sets of variations on it (the treble).

Here is an example taken from a set of variations I composed for flute and guitar based on the well-known lutenist John Dowland's song called The Frog's Galliard. The example here gives the theme along with the first variation.

Notice in this beginning section of the duet the guitar, playing a simple chord progression, has the role of accompaniment while the flute carries the melody and the moving variation passages. As you compose for other instruments, make sure you know the limitations of the instruments. In the above example, for instance, note that wind players have to breath(!) so keep in mind not to let their phrases become endless. Naturally the technical abilities of the player will always determine what is practical as professional players often are able to sneak breaths very skillfully.

When composing music for voice and guitar, except in rare instances, the voice and the words will be the inevitable focus of attention. You want to write the guitar part as a complement to the voice-setting the stage for the singer-as well as bringing out the words. The form of the words can also help you define the form of the music. Writing for a singing voice is slightly different that writing for an instrument. Singers usually look for their beginning pitch from their accompanist and they also like an accompaniment that is regular and flexible.

Here is "Where Are My Roses?" which is one of 18 miniature songs from my piece Ostraka which will premiere at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in September 2005. I gave the guitar a brief introduction to set the movement of the piece and set up the song. Notice the lyrics ask a series of 3 questions followed by 3 answers. Consequently, I gave the piece a binary form.

As with my May and June articles in this series, I have included a suggested assignment because learning to compose is an active process. This time your assignment is to compose one short piece for guitar and one other instrument. Pick another instrument you know well such as a 2nd guitar, flute, recorder, etc. Begin with a well-know melody and compose an unequal treble-ground duet with variations.

Please feel free as always to visit my web site (http://www.davidhahnonline.com). I would be happy to hear any comments or suggestions.

Next Month- COMPOSING FOR THE GUITAR PART IV: Explorations: Extended Techniques and Electronic Music with Guitar