Romantic pop on classical guitar

Can pop and rock be played on the classical guitar? Yes and no. The 9 Rock-Pop Studies by Swiss guitarist, composer and music teacher Michael Erni make use of stylistic elements from so-called popular music, but their style remains firmly in the tradition of the classical-romantic guitar sound. Pentatonic passages are reminiscent of rock and blues, chords with seconds and major sevenths are reminiscent of the musical harmonies of Andrew Lloyd Webber, for example. Together, this results in a collection of attractive, colorful pieces of varying degrees of difficulty for more advanced teenagers and adults.

The nine pieces are grouped into the essential areas of legato, barré and changes of position for the left hand, with corresponding preparatory exercises in each case. However, the preparatory exercises do not reflect the actual requirements of the individual pieces. The simple legato exercises, for example, do not take into account the numerous ties that occur later. The various arpeggio patterns of the right hand are not addressed at all.

Some numbers have a clear and transparent form, while in others almost too many good ideas come together in a small space. Sounds very nice Deep River, with a simple melody over compact romantic barré chords. The concluding Grand Final in which rasgueados and thirty-second arpeggios are also required. It's hard to imagine pupils playing the work at the same tempo as the composer and maestro on the corresponding YouTube recording ...

Michael Erni: 9 Rock-Pop Studies with preparation exercises, for classical guitar solo, DZ 3703, € 13.72, Les Productions d'Oz, Lévis (Québec)