Thoughts on transcribing
Transcribing a piece of music from one medium to another is like translating a book from one language to another.
There’re so many variables to consider and decisions to make.
In translation, for example, you have to make decisions on how best to convey the meaning of the original, and usually this would involve picking the right word or words out of a number of possibilities.
The same is true for transcribing to the guitar.
Many times, there’re an array of possibilities as to choice of key, register, not to mention the revoicing of chords to make them playable on the guitar.
The most important consideration for me, however, when I transcribe a work is:
Can the piece stand alone?
Does it sound like it was written for the guitar?
Does it play like a guitar piece?
Fidelity to the original is a big consideration, but fidelity more in spirit than in details. In other words, I don’t try to adhere rigidly to what’s in the original.
So there’s a lot of thought put into each transcription.
But why transcribe at all?
The answer lies in a comment Brouwer made in one of his interviews.
In the interview, Brouwer said something to the effect that he was jealous of all the repertoire of the other instruments and he wanted to rectify the situation for the guitar.
Which is what he has done. He has filled the gap in our repertoire with his compositions.
But that still doesn’t change the situation when it comes to music from the past.
The fact is, the great masterpieces of the past are unique pieces, each one of them.
They can never be replicated.
There will never be another Toccata and Fugue, or any of the nocturnes from Chopin or for that matter, Asturias or Granada.
In the same way that there will never be another Recuerdos de la Alhambra, which is why it has so often been adapted and transcribed for other instruments too.
If we want to partake of the great artistic creations of the past, we can’t just sit down and write new compositions in the hope that they will match those creations.
It’s like someone saying, I’m going to sit down and paint another “Mona Lisa.’
The best thing we can do is to take these masterpieces and adapt them or ‘transcribe’ them as is commonly known.
We have to be selective of course. Not everything will transfer well to the guitar.
So the first thing I do when considering a piece for transcription is to try to hear it in my head as a guitar piece.
If it sounds good and doable, then transcribing is just a matter of trying to replicate that sound in my head and notating it down.
For me, transcribing is a very personal and creative process. It’s almost as if you’re a co-creator with the composer.
Almost as if Bach or Chopin asked you, “Hey, could you try to play this on the guitar?”
And because they’re such pragmatic musicians, they would take your advice and allow you to make the necessary modifications in their score to make the piece playable on the guitar.
Which leads me to my next point.
There’s so much that goes into the process of making a piece of music work on the guitar it’s a little disappointing when someone comes along and take your transcription, and change a few things here and there, maybe some fingerings or change of register, and call it their own, without giving any credit.
Of course, if they have made substantial changes or if it bears no relationship to your work, it’s a different matter.
In academic circles, the word is plagiarism which is, of course, a form of dishonesty.
People have asked me if I worry about all the file sharing of my work and I tell them, no, I’m not concerned about it at all.
We live in a digital world and that’s the way it is.
What I’m more concerned about is thievery at a more elemental level, which is to steal your ideas and work without giving any credit.
I have, in my possession, many translations of poems from different languages.
And so far I have not seen anyone take someone else’s work almost verbatim, and maybe change a word here or there, and call it their own work.
Unfortunately, those high standards of scholarship and professional integrity don’t seem to apply in the guitar world.
Interestingly enough, my Chopin CD was released 20 years ago and so far, no one has as yet tried to ‘transcribe’ the lesser-known works on that CD (‘lesser-known’ as in never before played on the guitar).
Maybe, I suspect, because they’re waiting for me to publish the scores.
Going back to the Brouwer’s comment, yes, I too am jealous of the repertoire of the other instruments, especially the piano.
And that’s why I transcribe.
Because I also want to experience the thrill organists experience when they play the Toccata and Fugue, and be able to recreate the heartbreak and sensual beauty of the Chopin nocturnes on the guitar too.
In fact, I think some of them sound better on guitar than on piano, IMHO of course.