Zarh Bickford's Unplayable Chords?

by Joel Hooks

on Wednesday

Here is a nice piece that has me scratching my head.

The bits circled in red are, as far as I can determine, unplayable.  In the third measure (and throughout the piece) he has you playing two notes on the 4th string at the same time.  This is followed by a slur from F to G.  Sliding my 4th for this slur works but is a bit sloppy when trying to complete the triplet smoothly. 

Checking the period violin score (which is in D but I can read off the page as if it is A notation), there is just an F.  Playing just the F sounds good, but I can also add in an A, then snap the A for a slur into the G for the triplet.  This gives a more filled in sound but does not seem necessary. 

Then we get to the chord in the 7th measure (which shows up several more times) which, in theory, is playable.  But even with my decent ability to stretch my fingers I can barely grab the F with my little finger.  I was able to play this chord on a Banjeaurine, but my usual players run in the 27+" scale range (the Weaver I've been playing is 27.5) and I can't grab it. Then there is the chord in the second to last measure-- not going to happen with my hand. 

The green circled chord I believe to be a typo based on it just not being right (and being correct the first time you play this phrase in the piece). 

WTF Bickford?  Please explain yourself?  Do I need to get out my Quija board for this?

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  • up

    Jody Stecher

    In the 4th measure you have retained Bickford's crescendo "hairpin" marking.   How does one increase the volume of a single stroke? You strike the chord and on the banjo it automatically diminishes in volume soon after.  One could play tremolo with increasing force  I suppose but it seems  a bit early in the piece to do that.  I wonder what Bickford intended.  Or did the publisher just put it there because he liked how it looked?



    Joel Hooks said:

    Here is a copy that I doctored up.

    Simple%20Confessions%20Revised.pdf

    on Thursday

  • up

    Joel Hooks

    If playing the chord tremolo one can control the volume.  The same with rolling the cord.

    But my guess is that it is a imagined increase leading into the fp.

    There is a thing with banjo notation and presenting things that are impossible.  An example of this is the many pieces that are written in two voices but require changes in position or stopping notes that it is impossible to hold the full value of both voices. Grimshaw is guilty of this. 

    I'm not sure I can explain what I mean. 

    Or... it could be that it was in the arrangement for flute and or violin that Bickford used for this arrangement.   I just moved the whole notes over on the copy I've been doctoring to give me room to write something in when I decide what I want to do with that chord. 

    on Thursday

  • up

    Jody Stecher

    Yes the imagined increase is an example of what I meant by music in the realm of ideation as opposed to the the realm of the physical world. Classical composers did this too I am told.

    Joel Hooks said:

    If playing the chord tremolo one can control the volume.  The same with rolling the cord.

    But my guess is that it is a imagined increase leading into the fp.

    There is a thing with banjo notation and presenting things that are impossible.  An example of this is the many pieces that are written in two voices but require changes in position or stopping notes that it is impossible to hold the full value of both voices. Grimshaw is guilty of this. 

    I'm not sure I can explain what I mean. 

    Or... it could be that it was in the arrangement for flute and or violin that Bickford used for this arrangement.   I just moved the whole notes over on the copy I've been doctoring to give me room to write something in when I decide what I want to do with that chord. 

    on Thursday