"Single Girl" arr. by Alex de Grassi

Friends:

Welcome back! I'm excited to share a lesson on an important artist we have yet to cover here on Patreon.

Alex de Grassi has been recording since the late 70s, a prominent early presence on the Windham Hill label, and one of the most technically impressive players I've had the opportunity to sit in a room with and listen to play. I worked with de Grassi several times during my stretch of time at UW-Milwaukee, first meeting him about 15 years ago. I remember first seeing him live in the basement TV studio on campus and he played a few songs and talked about technique for about an hour. What I couldn't get over at the time, was the incredible projection he was getting out of his guitar. This was a small studio, maybe roughy 60'X60', but with high ceilings and the sound of his guitar overwhelmed the room. I think he was playing a maple bodied Lowden that day, and his arpeggios on "Turning: Turning Back" left an impression on me that I will never forget.

"Single Girl" was first recorded on his 2003 record Now & Then: Folk Songs for the 21st Century. This collection is comprised of folk songs arranged by de Grassi, all featuring his unmistakable touch.  The melody of "Single Girl" comes from the folk song "Single Girl, Married Girl" popularized by the Carter Family (1927). He injects "The Star-Spangled Banner" as an interlude, bookended by the main themes of the song. The transcription corresponds most closely to de Grassi's performance on the DVD The Six-String Workshop. This performance only differs slightly from the album version and I feel best represents his finalized form of the piece. There are a few parts where the score deviates slightly from the live performance, this is to bring it more closely in line with the form that is most typical of how it is played live. This is mostly to keep the meter in 4/4 as sometimes he adds to or omits from phrases.

The beginning and end of the piece should not pose too much of a challenge other than some tricky left-hand configurations.  The middle section containing the melody of "The Star-Spangled Banner" will require more practice. It features de Grassi's typical virtuosic arpeggiation and rhythmic complexity. There are a few extras in the score, some string-stopping lines that show some of the moments when the thumb is resting on the string and prepared to play. There are also a few instances of body percussion. I used a single-line percussion staff for this. De Grassi explains that there are three main components to his body percussion: the bass drum, toms, and snare. The bass drum hits are below the line and are produced by thumping the top of the guitar with the thumb, the toms are on the line and are produced by drumming the fingers on the side of the guitar, and the snare is above the line and is produced by a sharp slap of the ring finger on the side of the guitar. I show the moves in the lesson video.

I had a blast working this one out over the last few months. So much time and effort went into creating a beautiful and accurate score that carefully represents this arrangement. I had to practice a lot to get this one ready, up to two hours a day over the last few weeks. I feel like it has strengthened and improved the facility of my hands, sometimes it is so beneficial to break away from the repertoire I frequently study and try something different.

The private lesson video can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/xnwFkRzu4jQ

The score is attached below. See everyone again in August!