Fretless Architecture: An Exploration of the Fretless Electric Guitar

The main focus of my post-doctoral research addresses the development of new techniques and original notation, specific to the fretless electric guitar: the incorporation of improvised passages within through-written material; the use of an array of effects pedals, loops and Ebow etc.; and the use of the instrument in a variety of contexts. In addition I work with several Iranian traditional/popular music crossover projects and an improvisation based trio in which I utilise the fretless electric guitar. This research and practical experience has enabled the exploration of new timbre possibilities and the development of performance repertoire for fretless electric guitar.

Last year I released an international call for solo fretless electric guitar scores, in conjunction with Colchester New Music. This allowed me to work closely with composers in order to develop new repertoire for, and explore the potential of this new and exciting instrument. A live performance and recording(s) of a selection of the entries took place in November 2015 at Colchester Arts Centre where five submissions from the call were premiered.

This lecture-recital will include performances of several extracts from these pieces for solo fretless electric guitar; specifically those that best demonstrate the fretless qualities of the instrument and discoveries of new techniques, sounds and approaches to notation. I will also discuss the challenges encountered during the project with particular reference to practice, new techniques, and notational devices. The performance will also include a premier of Divisions 2 composed by Andrew Hall, a longer piece written specifically for the IGRC conference, built upon the findings and outcomes from the previous call for scores.