Historical Improvisation

These days partimento isn’t an unknown term anymore. Many scholars have done research on the method, and there is a lot of information out there. I will use partimento as a basis for exploring the topic of historical improvisation, and sometimes present material as partimenti.

The rule of the octave (RO), or regola dell’ottava, is a term used in partimento when referring to the harmonisation of the major and minor scale. In guitar literature we can find it as gamme harmonique ou d’accompagnement, harmonische oder begleitete Tonleiter, or simply as the accompaniment of the scale.

A wonderful way to learn harmonic structure on the guitar. There are many historical schools available where we as modern performers can study how the composers of the 19th century cultivated harmony in different ways and patterns.

With the help of historical sources we are given insight into what it meant to be a musician during the 19th century, what is expected from us, and what we should practise to become a fully fledged proffessional.

The style of different composers varied greatly during the 19th century, all from italian bel canto to the ornate chopinesque way of composing. The key to improvise in a convinsing manner lie in the musical syntax, and therefore we must try to highlight these characteristics.

Here we will explore different schemata and see how they can be adapted to the guitar. I will base a big part of this section on the book Music in the Galant Style (2020) by Robert Gjerdingen.

Different exercises for you to practice your skills on the guitar.