Recently I received a few questions from an Australian guitarist via Twitter regarding how I play a couple of spots in  John Cage’s Dream, so I decided to make a brief video on the part in question. 

Do you have questions on this piece or another of my Cage arrangements?

Let me know and I’ll go about making more.

The Lesson (3′):

Brief History: How Dream came into my life

From 2010-2014 I hosted Greater Boston House Concerts. I sat just behind the wonderful pianist Barbara Lieurance as she performed Dream.

I fell in love. The meandering line was simple yet kept me guessing where it would go.

The transparent chordal harmonies that interrupt the melodic line prepare the listener for extended melodies with the harmonies only being hinted with the magical use of the pedal allowing each note’s resonance to build upon the implied harmonies.

Single notes and their overtones become a lush painting of colors. 

Though the guitar only has one string per note (kind of) to the piano’s 3, and its lack of a sustain pedal, I decided to arrange it. 

The greatest challenge is finding a fingering that will allow for the most amount of resonance.

To do this I use campanella (cross-string fingering) and a healthy mix of natural and harmonic notes

It is recorded on John. Cage. Guitar. (Stone Records UK) and published by Edition Peters in CAGE: Piano Music Arranged for Guitar

Premiere Performance (not the same fingering):

Streaming Studio Recording (7′):

SPOTIFY • AMAZON • APPLE MUSIC • YOUTUBE MUSIC

SCORE: John Cage: Piano Music Arranged for Guitar (7 pieces)

Bandcamp • Edition Peters

2022

slight return

moments of normalcy

new artistic directions

Catching up

Dreams realized

musical Adventures

2022 By the Numbers (see below for expansion):

• Premieres: 12
• Concerts: 26 
• Espresso: 730-750 (~2 per day)
• Albums: 2 
• Cassettes: 1 
• Publications: 3 
• Collaborations: 8
• Music with electronics: 2
• Interviews & Podcasts: 8 
• Grants: 2 
• Grants Applied for: 8 
• Interviews conducted: 5
• Residencies: 2
• Classes: 12
• Streams: 2.5 million
• Amazing Street Tacos: 2 
• Pieces performed: 79

I know it’s arbitrary, but I would prefer our calendars marked the New Year in the spring, at least in to the Northern Hemisphere. That said, when I awoke on January 1, 2022 I did not know what to expect. 

My album ‘A Guitar Holiday’ was reaching people via streaming in ways I had never experienced (1-million streams to date!)

I was deep into composing what would become ‘honey cadence.’

A few concerts were on the calendar, but it did not feel like Covid had released us from its terrible grasp.

Coupled with the terror of Jan. 6, I knew I needed to focus on Art and appreciate each moment of living and creating.

I began the process of getting back to performing with classes and a concert at Framingham State University before embarking on my first tour since Covid: California!

APRIL TOUR: San Francisco State University –>Museum of Northern California Art, Chico–> Center For New Music, SF –> CSU Bakersfield –> Cal Poly Pomona –> Guitar Solo International (VIDEOS). SEE California Tour Pictures

While on the tour in California, I received news that I had been awarded a grant from the Boston Mayor’s Office for Arts & Culture to produce a series of 5 contemporary music concerts being held in my neighborhood between August and November under my series Now Musique.

Each concert brought composers to Dorchester for performances of their new lullabies and works for guitar + electronics. Read and see pictures HERE.

Upon returning to Boston, honey cadence, the first album dedicated to my own music was released. Mixed and mastered by the great Steve Hunt, I was not expecting much, as who knew if my music would touch people. Needless to say, I was happily surprised to go quickly through the first printing of CDs, and then see it was picked up on a few streaming playlists and it now has 1 million streams since its release in April!
It is my most popular album, which is a bit surreal. And no, my Mom does not do streaming.

My June concerts in Oregon began with an interview and performance on Thursdays @ Three with Christa Wessel for All Classical Portland before performing two solo programs in Portland for CDZ Musica and another at the wonderful Coaster Theatre Playhouse.

Seeing friends and walking on the beach felt like returning home. 

In June I recorded God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar, which was released in September. Featuring 16 of my own arrangements, it was recorded over 3 days and mixed and mastered by the wonderful Paul Averginos. The reviews have been stellar and I’m extremely proud of the album.

I set out to create a Bach album that was not like every other Bach Guitar album.

Mine would explore pieces not often played on the guitar, create new repertoire (a bit of a habit of mine), and bring a fresh voice to a couple of well known works, and I think I did that.

The responses to God’s Time have been overwhelmingly positive.

With over 300K streams since its release, I can’t wait to do another! Read and watch HERE.

One of the great difficulties of Covid was not being able to collaborate with wonderful musicians. Thankfully I had three performances with harpsichordist Frederick Jodry in Boston, Cape Cod, and Newport. Pianist John Thomas improvised over my own compositions in Provincetown – a first, and I joined Convergence Ensemble in November for three duos, two solos, and two quartets in an exhilarating concert titled Strings Galore. Libby Larsen’s Cajun Set was extra special!

I returned to Southern California in November for a series of classes and concerts. Being amongst friends and musicians for more than a day or two was inspiring extremely inspiring. I worked with students of guitarist-artist Peter Yates at UCLA, collaborated with Tom Flaherty and Buzz Gravelle at Pomona College, performed in La Jolla and Carlsbad, and ate amazing tacos!

Even while touring, I kept up with my students. In August we held our first student recital since Covid with players ranging in age of 14-62, and were gifted a wonderful Fernando Sor song with soprano Jessica Cooper.

At the end of November I kicked off my new blog series Music I Am, featuring brief interviews with inspiring and smart musicians and artists about their latest projects, inspirations, and habits. Check it out HERE.

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy year ahead. May 2023 be a year of wonderful music, exciting adventures, and Dreams Realized.

Musically,

Aaron

2022 Numbers Expanded

• Premieres: 12 – Dennis Bathory-Kitsz, Antonio Celso Ribeiro, Dean Rosenthal, Thomas L. Read, Laurie Spiegel, Ian Wiese, Aaron Larget-Caplan
• Concerts: 26 – California, Oregon, Massachusetts, which is still well below pre-covid concert numbers.
• Espresso: 730-50 (~2 per day on average) – mainly cappuccino and Cortado
• Albums: 2 – honey cadence and God’s Time: Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar
• Cassettes: 1 – Etudes Volume 1 by Petridisch 
• Publications: 3 – Bacchanale w/ Edition Peters and two Meet The Composer articles for the American Composers Alliance 
• Collaborations: Frederick Jodry – harpsichord, John Thomas – piano; Convergence Ensemble: Heidi Braun-Hill – violin, Michelle LaCourse – viola, Hyun-Ji Kwon – cello
• Music with electronics: 2 – Lainie Fefferman & Tom Flaherty
• Interviews & Podcasts: All Classical Portland, Conducting Conversations Rhode Island, All things Six Strings (2x), Just One Question, Guitaromanie, Fret Not
• Grants: 3 – Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, multiple Local Cultural Council
• Grants Applied for: 8 
• Interviews conducted: 5 – Music I Am blog series
• Residencies: 2 Kirkland Community Artist Residency, Clinton, New York • Now Musique – Dorchester, Mass.
• Classes: 12 – California, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island
• Streams: 2.5 million – Amazon and Spotify
• Teaching: In person and online with students from California, China, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas.
• Amazing Street Tacos: 2 – San Francisco Korean Tacos and Los Angeles street tacos
• Pieces performed: 79 compositions by 34 living composers, including 7 chamber works, 12 world premieres, and 29 solos from the New Lullaby Project

* Now Musique Composers TL: John McDonald, Stanley Hoffman, Charles Turner, Aaron Larget-Caplan TR: Larget-Caplan, Ronald Pearl, Brian Schober, Scott Wheeler BL: Tom Flaherty, Larget-Caplan, Stefanie Lubkowski, Ian Wiese, Dennis Bathory-Kitsz BR: Anthony Green, Francine Trester, Jim Dalton, Michael Veloso, Larget-Caplan, Curtis Hughes

I’m very excited to be heading to Southern California for 12 days of concerts, classes, good food, and great friends. I will have CDs and publications with me 😊. I will be traveling quite a bit, so reach out if you’d like to meet for coffee or have questions about the concerts.

Aaron

Wednesday, Nov. 3 – Pomona College, Claremont – Originally scheduled for March 2020
Class – Time in contemporary music
Lecture ‘Being an Artist Entrepreneur in the 21st Century’

Saturday Nov. 5 – Pomona College, Concert 8pm (click for INFO)
Looking Bach, Listening Forward
Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music

PROGRAM
sweet nuance (2022) by Larget-Caplan
Carnatic Preludes, After J.S. Bach* (2017-2018) by Vineet Shende
No. 1 – Mayamalagovla, in Tisra jaati, Rupaka taal (after BWV 846) – VIDEO
No. 10 – Dhenuka, in Chaturasra jaati, Matya taal (after BWV 853)Chromatic Fantasy*, BWV 903 by J.S. Bach
The Legend of Hagoromo (1992) by Keigo Fujii
Steps and Leaps* (2019) for Guitar + MAX/MSP by Tom Flaherty –VIDEO
Bacchanale* (1940) by John Cage (1912-1992) w/ Buzz Gravelle, Prepared Guitars
* Written for or arranged by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Mabel Shaw Bridges Hall of Music – MAP – HERE

Nov. 7 – Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, La Jolla, Concert 12pm (click for INFO)
MAP – HERE

PROGRAM
Tango en Skaï by Roland Dyens
sweet nuance by Larget-Caplan
God’s Time Is The Very Best Time*, BWV 106 by J.S. Bach
Prelude 1 in C Major, WTC I*, BWV 846 by J.S. Bach – VIDEO
Carnatic Preludes, After J.S. Bach* by Vineet Shende
No. 1 – Mayamalagovla, in Tisra jaati, Rupaka taal (after BWV 846)
moving still by Larget-Caplan
Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen, Arr. Toru Takemitsu
Summer Time by George Gerswhin, Arr. Toru Takemitsu – VIDEO
Panaderos Flamencos by Esteban Sanlucar
The Legend of Hagoromo by Keigo Fujii – VIDEO
* Arranged or written for by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Nov. 9 – UCLA, Masterclass and Arts Discussion with students of Peter Yates

Nov. 12 – Schulman Auditorium, Carlsbad, Concert 7:30pm (click for INFO)

PROGRAM
Prelude 1 in C Major, WTC I*, BWV 846 by J.S. Bach
sweet nuance (2022) by Larget-Caplan
Carnatic Prelude, After J.S. Bach* (2017) by Vineet Shende
No. 1 – Mayamalagovla, in Tisra jaati, Rupaka taal (after BWV 846)
God’s Time is the Very Best Time*, BWV 106 by J.S. Bach
In A Landscape* by John Cage
Chromatic Fantasy*, BWV 903 by J.S. Bach
The Legend of Hagoromo (1992) by Keigo Fujii
* Written for or arranged by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Schulman Auditorium, MAP – HERE

My March 30-April 11 Tour in California came to 25 musical events in 13 days and 1200+ miles traveled!

Huge thank you to all of my hosts for either patiently waiting out Covid or bringing me in at the last minute.

To all of the students: your questions inspire me to be better and better!

Thank you,
Aaron

San Francisco State University with Larry Ferrara and students

Museum of Northern California Art (MONCA) and Lynn and Warren Haskell

South Bay Guitar Society, Los Altos

South Bay Guitar Society, Los Altos

Center for New Music with Brent Miller

Program – Center For New Music

The train from SF to Bakersfield was particularly awesome and only $50.

Amtrak Train SF->Bakersfield

Mid-day concert of new lullabies & works for electronics at CSU Bakersfield

Coaching Guitar Ensemble CSU Bakersfield

Post-Concert CSU Bakersfield

Jim Scully of CSU Bakersfield

Set up!

Cal Poly Pomona with students of Buzz Gravelle

Bender Family in Encinitas

Karob Studios, Encinitas*

Playing a Pepe Romero Jr. *photo by Robert Bender

In Pepe Romero Jr.’s studio*

Playing for the Encinitas Guitar Orchestra*

With EGO director Peter Pupping*

Warming up in Encinitas!*

Rasgueado Lesson with Kenneth Bender*

Korean Tacos!!

Korean Tacos!!

A mocajete, Bakersfield!

Tacos and tamale

First breakfast in San Francisco

The Route!

*photos by Robert Bender

I think it was 2008 when I met the writer Glenn Kurtz. Like myself, he was an alumnus of the New England Conservatory and had studied with David Leisner. It was Leisner who recommended Glenn reach out to me.

Reading-Recital in NYC, 2013

Glenn’s book, his first, ‘Practicing – A Musicians Return To Music‘ had just been published by Knopf and he was looking to include a some guitar music during his reading at the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge. I agreed on the condition I would receive a signed copy, which I still cherish. In 2013, Glenn and I performed a few reading-recitals together in Boston and New York. We paired excerpts from his books with the matching pieces. A truly unique and wonderful experience, which attendees still ask me about!

‘Practicing – A Musicians Return To Music’ is an exquisite exploration of guitar history and teaching, and gives a nice glimpse of conservatory life from the eyes of a young musician. The personal story is based on his journals from the time and his desire to explore the musical flame that was such an important part of his life for so many years, but which was no longer. The personal trials and feelings of self doubt regarding “the path” of being a young musician are at time heart-wrenching, but they are always real. Though Glenn did not become the next Segovia, and I have no doubt that is completely fine with him, he inspired my saying, “once a guitarist always a guitarist”. Glenn is a beautiful writer and I highly recommend this book to all, guitar lovers or not.

Book Link–> https://amzn.to/3ssYStn

Have you read the book or heard Glenn read or speak about it? Did it inspire or possibly scare you?

https://amzn.to/3ssYStn

In the early-2000’s, I noticed that when I traveled by plane I would land and be exhausted for at least 24hrs. I figured it was just being on the plane, but after a few trips and speaking with fellow musicians, I came to realize it was the noise of flying from the aircraft that caused such issues. For the last 10 years of travel, I have made sure to always have ear plugs or noise canceling headphones with me, and the changes were immediate: no headaches or nausea, and I could go straight to a concert. Life was good!

That said, I also found that skin inside my ears to be very sensitive, and it limited the amount of time I could wear earplugs. For the last 3 years I have used:

https://amzn.to/3dFGNjC

I am also looking into a pair of custom earplugs. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Dear Guitarists and Musicians of all types,

As you are working and thinking about practice, I wanted to share a book I found to be very helpful and inspiring in my musical journey: Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner. I read this in my early 20’s, and it is safe to say it influenced me greatly. It was really the first book, or person for that matter, to introduce methods of how to practice to improve, and not just play the music from beginning to end on repeat.

https://amzn.to/3w7Thsw

It’s a good read with helpful tips and concrete ideas. For those who know me, you’ll probably recognize some of the language I use.

Just in case you want to read about something not work related 😊 .

Happy Practicing!

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

A brief video demonstrating how one can practice a “lick/run” using rhythmic variations and groupings. The music is from Tango En Skaï by Roland Dyens.

Here’s a video of the complete piece (with lots of variation):

Many who follow me on socials have learned about my love of coffee, specifically espresso. In 2008 I had the pleasure of traveling to Sardinia and Bologna, Italy for concerts. On this trip, I noticed that espresso tasted quite differently than in the US, and it did not cause the negative effects on my body that I was accustomed to. Since then I have delved into the exploration of espresso!

I recall visiting the home of Maestro Pepe Romero for a New Year’s Eve Party, and seeing his counter tops covered in espresso machines, at least 6! He told me most of them were gifts from his students who knew that he and family loved espresso. Soon after he was in Boston for concerts, and we stopped for an espresso on the way back to the airport. He told me espresso was very important to musicians and especially guitarists. He did not say why, and I did not question him. He’s Pepe Romero and he was preaching to the choir!

My newest addition to our espresso family is the Stradiveri by the Italian company La Pavoni.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

https://amzn.to/2UJuU6k

Morning Espresso