How to Create Literature-Inspired Narrative Compositions for Solo Acoustic Guitar

The September/October 2022 issue of Acoustic Guitar was written by Charlie.

The use of open tunings, voice leading, and ornate fingerpicking are some of the techniques used to deliver solo guitar music. We often hear solo guitarists covering bass lines, chords, and melodies simultaneously, creating a self-contained ensemble with locked in time and dense harmony. These forms have a place in the history of the instrument, but I have come to practice a somewhat different approach. In recent years, I have been influenced more by literary mechanisms, such as the arcs of a story, the open-ended wonder of a poem, and the distilled simplicity of a single written word. In this lesson, we will look at how to approach narrative solo guitar composition using a variety of techniques.

From the Written Word to Sound

My favorite literature inspired most of my guitar compositions. My latest project, Angels of Annunciation, is a cycle of solo guitar miniatures inspired by the writings of Anne Morrow, who died in 1906.

A piece that is inspired by short-hand radio signaling is depicted in example 1. Morrow co-piloted for her husband on long survey flights across the globe and I wanted to create a musical representation of her accounts.

Morrow was in the air for hours on end, likely exhausted, extremely focused, and was responsible for communicating the plane’s location according to maps and instruments. I like to start the passage with wide intervals voiced high on the fretboard with a ringing open B string. Open strings between fretted lower and higher notes can be used to convey spacious texture without being limited to a lower note. In this case, the ambiguity of the open B ringing between the higher E and lower F notes creates a Lydian feel as I descend into a diminished voice and move into parallel intervals.

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There is a dreamy weariness established with the Lydian-tinged opening that leads into the serious focus of the wide diminished pause before delivering the essential message with short, confident parallel intervals, finally resolving to a confirmation finish. In this brief passage, space, silence, harmony, and melodic intention recreate a moment from 90 years ago.

Speaking with Melody

How often the rhythm of language repeats within a phrase is something I think about when listening to singers or reading to myself out loud. Most melodies with lyrics repeat one note several times as part of the main melodic phrase when I sing along to a song I enjoy. It’s usually due to the syllables being fit into a musical rhythm. When I read aloud from a book or a poem, the melodic arcs of the speaking voice are the same thing.

In a passage from her book North to the Orient, Morrow describes a meeting she had with a friend in Japan. In this account of a layover during a survey flight through Asia, she is told that the plum is a cultural representation of bravery. She is told that the symbolic reference for courage comes from the fact that plum trees blossom while there is still snow on the ground.

I wanted to figure out a way to imply Morrow’s perspective in this conversation within a mini guitar piece. I imagined hearing this as she would have, and I noted that my speaking pitch was the same as hers, so I didn’t want to duplicate it.

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I wanted the piece to evoke the feeling of hearing this beautiful phrase, so I decided to start with a rhythm that felt similar to speech, repeating a major third double-stop of G–B three times before changing pitch. I decided to use an open string between a lower fretted G and a higher fretted D because I thought it would provide a dreamy, inquisitive feeling. In this opening, I use a speech-like rhythm and parallel movements to experience curiosity, wonder, and eagerness to hear what’s next.

Respecting Silence

Let’s take a look at the entire composition In “The Plum for Courage,” I use a pick with my ring and middle fingers, but it could be played fingerstyle. The piece favors double-stops in multiple passages, which allows for melodic focus in the delivery. The lack of support can add to the effect of a melody by leaning on intention, dynamics, and tone. The most important element of this music is to always respect dead air. Before moving to the next phrase, allow notes to decay completely. A narrative in the solo guitar context is dependent on a deep connection to natural speech and train of thought. Allow time for these things as you write.

There is a guitarist-composer, producer, and engineer in Queens, New York.