Good, effective sequencing is far more than just a reproduction of
notes on a printed page. Anyone with a computer and the right software can
accomplish that. The result is without spirit and will inspire no-one.
To begin with, I suggest that before you attempt to sequence Guitar,
you first learn the intrament for a few years. You need to know how it
should sound! Many would-be sequencers make the mistake of just reproducing
the written page, not realizing that the pitch of the Guitar is an octave
below the written page. The result of that is terrible! No Guitarist worthy
of the name every plays a piece exactly according to the music.
Christopher Parkening, in his method for Guitar wrote that he never played
anything strictly according to the music.
For one thing, the Standard Guitar of today has six strings, all
capable of sounding at the same time. Sheet music never allows for that.
Example: If you played a simple C chord downward from the 2nd
string to the 5th in eight notes, would you damp each note so it could
only sound for an eight note? Of course not!
Open Example 1 above to hear the difference.
How is this done? Click here to see.
If, in the sheet music you see a four note chord written in half
notes, do you stike those notes simultaniously? Of course not!
Depending on the content of the music and the expression you want,
you might well strum that chord either with the thumb or fingers.
Segovia was famous for his strumming thumb. (I threw in a Major 7th chord
at the end for interest.)
Open Example 2 above to hear the difference.
How is this done? Click here to see.
Most sheet music will have indications of tempo changes.
Hopefully your sequencer is capable of that. (I use Cakewalk and love it!)
Such changes are extremely important to the expression of a piece and
probably no two players will express them exaxtly alike.
Open Example 3 above.
Finally, a simple example. This is the first 8 measures of Handel's
"Air" from the Aylesford Pieces, once recorded by Andres Segovia.
Open Example 4 above.
Staccato notes: Sometimes used by performers for special effects.
It is quite easy to do. Just cut the note duration in half.
Example 5 above is an excerpt from Granados "Valse Poetico."
The Chord at the beginning and the end is sequenced with 32nd notes as seen
in Example 5.
Fades: With some pieces it is good to fade out on the volume at
the ending. This can be done.
Example 6 above is an excerpt from Carulli's "The Rose."
How is this done? Click here to see.
At times your music will call for accented notes. "Louder" There
are several ways to do this. You can right click the note and increase the
velocity. That will increase the volume only slightly. To get a much louder
note, double the note. This is one reason I always use 2 channels, even for
solo's. It gives me more working space.
Duets-Stereo: Duets should always be done in stereo. Quite easy to do.
Assuming you are on 2 different channels, you simply set the pan for 0
(minimum) on the 1st channel and 127, (maximum) on the second. This splits
the signal and sends one to the left speaker and one to the right. Very
effective.
Finale: Example 7 above is my version of "Variations on the Carnival
of Venice." It uses all the techniques I have described above.