John Hall

I decided to attempt to repeat the success of "Twinkle Twinkle Jazzy Star" with an arrangement of "Ode to Joy" which most people are familiar with as a tune used by Beethoven in his ninth symphony. My setting…

It's been a while since I have done an analysis. A few people have asked about Villa-Lobos Etude No. 1 so I thought I would give it a shot. Download the PDF at the end of this article. My analysis…

I put together a set of three carols for the holidays that I hope you will enjoy!

"O Little Town of Bethlehem", "Il Est Né, Le Divin Enfant" and "Quelle Est Cette Odeur Agréable?" 

I started using a new service…

...listening to some Bill Evans and decided to arrange a couple of things for guitar; "Waltz for Debby" composed by Bill Evans (1929-1980) and "Some Other Time" from On the Town composed by Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). If there is enough…

One more Carulli study reharmonized. This one is a bit more difficult but should follow up nicely with the previous two. I used the Andante in A minor from Carulli's method book Méthode Complète Op. 27 as a template. I…

Here are two simple and well known Carulli studies in G major which I reharmonized in a way similar to the way I reharmonized the previous Sor studies. The idea was to preserve the quality and character of the…

I am excited to let you know that my first digital download is now available on CD Baby. Bachianas Americanas can be purchased here:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/johnhall2

Click here If you would like to hear the entire suite.

Thank you for your…

Polyrhythm is the simultaneous combination of contrasting or conflicting rhythms. As guitarists we often encounter these patterns in contemporary composition. As a jazz guitarist, these rhythmic patterns can be used most effectively in soloing and comping, setting up complex rhythmic…

OK, enough analysis. Now let's put theory into practice. Below is a reharmonization of the well known Study No. 2 from Op. 6 by Fernando Sor. This is the little study in A major that many of us know as…

An analysis of Choros No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos is today’s topic. Because of copyright restrictions I am unable to publish the score, but I am able to publish a reduction analysis showing the harmonic functions as well as the…

It was suggested to me to work on an analysis of Etude No. 2 from Heitor Villa-Lobos' Twelve Etudes for Guitar by an excellent Chilean guitarist. Because this work is still under copyright I have only included the notes within…

Who would of thought that voice-leading is present in a piece like Study No. 1 from Carcassi's Twenty-Five Melodious and Progressive Studies, Op. 60? After all, isn't it just a bunch of scales and arpeggios? That is what I thought…