Why Would Anyone Like an Ensemble of All Guitars?

My friend Matt Cosgrove recently asked me to write a blog post on the rising interest in guitar ensembles and guitar orchestras. This request was on my mind as the university guitar ensemble that I direct gave a concert on our campus and then traveled to a regional guitar symposium. At the symposium, my university’s ensemble performed in a showcase concert and also in a guitar orchestra of almost 100 participants.

As I reflected on these experiences, I considered a few questions. What draws someone to play in a guitar ensemble? To lead a guitar ensemble? To listen to a guitar ensemble?

  1. Why Play in a Guitar Ensemble?  Many guitarists play by themselves much of the time, and they often desire the experience of making music with others. When I was a student, I looked longingly at orchestral musicians and those in other large ensembles and felt that the guitar did not have comparable opportunities for collaborative music making. The guitar ensemble fills this gap. There are two main advantages that draw guitarists to play in a guitar ensemble:
    • Musical Development – The guitar ensemble provides an opportunity for guitarists to make music with others, allowing them to improve musical skills like sight-reading, playing in tempo, and collaborating in shaping an interpretation.
    • Social Interaction – The ensemble also allows guitarists to enjoy camaraderie and social interaction with those who share their interest in the guitar. This is frequently attractive to students and amateurs as well as professionals.
  2.  Why Lead a Guitar Ensemble?  The main reason to lead a guitar ensemble is to provide others with the musical and social benefits mentioned above. In addition, there are several other benefits that a guitar ensemble provides to the ensemble leader, especially in the context of a university, school, or private teaching studio:
    • Financially Sustainability – Because private lessons are one-on-one, they are not as financially efficient as teaching larger groups. Guitar ensembles can provide financial justification to universities or schools for the existence of guitar programs. In a private teaching studio context, a guitar ensemble can offer an additional revenue stream, one that pays more per hour than private lesson teaching.
    • Visibility of the Guitar Program – The performances of a guitar ensemble can be used to increase the visibility of a guitar program. A guitar ensemble can perform for school or university events and around the community. This expands the reach of the guitar program and causes it to be more highly valued.
    • Recruiting and Retention – The musical and social benefits of the ensemble improve recruiting and retention for the guitar program, as does the increased visibility mentioned above.
  3. Why Listen to a Guitar Ensemble?  Guitar quartets like LAGQ and Los Romeros  have proven that groups of only guitars can find a wide audience. What draws listeners to these groups? One of the chief attractions of the guitar is its variety of tone colors including sound effects such as harmonics, palm mute, and percussion. In the ensemble context, the guitar’s tone color possibilities are multiplied and combined with increased contrapuntal ability.

For these reasons, the guitar ensemble is increasing in popularity.  If you are interested in guitar ensemble, what is the next step you can take? Consider one of the following:

  1. Listen to a guitar ensemble. Enjoy the music of LAGQ, Los Romeros, or another ensemble of all guitars.
  2. Join a guitar ensemble. Find a nearby school or community guitar ensemble and become part of it.
  3. Lead a guitar ensemble. If there is no guitar ensemble in your school or community, create one.

Guitar ensembles are becoming more widespread, and there is much room for continued growth.  As the guitar ensemble matures and gains respect as a genre, perhaps it will one day achieve a standing similar to band, orchestra, and choir.
[reminder]What is the next step in the development of the guitar ensemble? [/reminder]

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