looking for guitar score for gnosienne #1

[Mikeleric]

I am looking for sheet music, for guitar, for gnossienne 1, by Eric Satie, originally meant for piano. I want a version that is as close as possible to the original, rather that something made artificially easy. I don’t want a version that avoids retuning the guitar if retuning it would make it closer to the piano version. I need to see the music notes; whenever possible I prefer not to look at guitar tablatures. I will accept a version with tabs if that is the best version available. I had a guitar teacher, but I quit seeing him in June, because in the last 3 sessions, he failed to find me any of 4 songs I asked for, including this gnossienne, which I discovered by listening to youtube videos. He did give me a version of “gymnopedia” which requires retuning the 6th string to D and the 5th string to G. I don’t have a problem with retuning the guitar. I am willing to buy sheet music or a book containing this song. One version I found for free on the open internet, is not divided into separate measures and lacks a time signature.

[Doug Young]

A google image search for "gnossienne 1 Erik Satie guitar", turns up a huge list, with a row of those for sale from places like Sheet Music Plus across the top. I suspect you can find what you're looking for there. Try this one for example:

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title...music/20064218

I have not played this, no idea if it has the accuracy or character you're looking for.

[scripsit]

If you like the version by Tony McManus, recorded on 'Mysterious Boundaries' (and also available on YouTube), you can obtain an accurate transcription of his performance, notation and tab, from his 'Not necessarily Celtic' course: available from the Stefan Grossman site.

Kym

[Don W]

Tony MaMannus dropped by the store where I study fingerstyle and classical guitar. He plugged one of his signature guitars into an acoustic amp and played this as well as the Chaconne...about a half hour free concert. Watching him and speaking to him was a great learning experience.

[Don W]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

A google image search for "gnossienne 1 Erik Satie guitar", turns up a huge list, with a row of those for sale from places like Sheet Music Plus across the top. I suspect you can find what you're looking for there. Try this one for example:

https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title...music/20064218

I have not played this, no idea if it has the accuracy or character you're looking for.

Doug I play your arrangement of Shenandoah all the time...love it...thanks for that.

[RodB]

One of my favourites - thinking about doing this myself.

Roland Dyens does a nice version for instance - on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jv9iua5THA

Score in his publication 'Mes arrangements à l'amiable' - pdf version available here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/298164375...iable-2001-pdf

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Don W

Doug I play your arrangement of Shenandoah all the time...love it...thanks for that.

Thanks, Don, glad you're enjoying and playing it!

Roland Dyens does a nice version for instance

I forgot about that, this is a great book!

[Mikeleric]

I wasted $6 on Amazon dot com buying a digital kindle book of three gymnopedias and 3 gnossiennes, transcribed for guitar, by Mathew Ellul. The problem is that the first piece, gymnopedia 1, does not require the guitar to be retuned. But the version the teacher gave me (before I quit seeing him) does require the 6th string to be tuned to D and the 5th string tuned doen to G. Not retuning the guitar causes the piece to have 4 sharps, versus only two with the re-tuning. This version of Gnossienne also looks worse that the other version I saw in a link above, but in the link to the piece that costs $2.99, the transcription is not divided into measures and lacks a time signature. Perhaps it would be best for me to figure out how to make up my own transcription from the piano score. But I wanted to see if somebody has already created a version for guitar. Also, what I bought lacks a time signature and is not divided into measures - I can’t wrap by brain around how to count the rhythm without a time signature and division into measures. And in general tabs are a waste of space to me but I know that most guitar sheet music will have tabs.

RodB, thanks for the link the the book in pdf on scribid.

[charles Tauber]

Here is a link to what appears to be the original piano score. Note that it has four flats (i.e. F-), no time signature and no bars. Welcome to "modern" music.

http://en.scorser.com/Out/300547314.html

It's up to the individual arranger to decide what key he or she thinks works best as an arrangement on the guitar. It's up to the individual performer to decide what arrangement he or she thinks works best for playing it.

My recommendation is don't drive yourself crazy looking for "the right" arrangement. There isn't one. There is only one that you - or your listeners - like better than the others.

[Doug Young]

Note that the lack of time signature and measures is "accurate", that's how Satie wrote it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnossiennes

However, if you do an image search on this, you'll find plenty that do have measures:

Gnossienne 1 Erik Satie guitar

Here's one, for example:

https://www.mysongbook.com/tab/erik-...nossienne-no-1

You can always go thru the ones that come up in image search and check out the first page (at least), even those that are for sale, and see if they're what you want.

BTW, re-tuning might be a good thing to learn to do - it's very common, even among classical players these days, and dropping the bottom 2 strings is a pretty simple thing to do (and sounds great).

If you need your $6 back from Amazon, they make it pretty easy to return things, tho I'm not sure if they're able to do it with music.

[RodB]

Originally Posted by Mikeleric

I wasted $6 on Amazon dot com buying a digital kindle book of three gymnopedias and 3 gnossiennes, transcribed for guitar, by Mathew Ellul. The problem is that the first piece, gymnopedia 1, does not require the guitar to be retuned. But the version the teacher gave me (before I quit seeing him) does require the 6th string to be tuned to D and the 5th string tuned doen to G. Not retuning the guitar causes the piece to have 4 sharps, versus only two with the re-tuning. This version of Gnossienne also looks worse that the other version I saw in a link above, but in the link to the piece that costs $2.99, the transcription is not divided into measures and lacks a time signature. Perhaps it would be best for me to figure out how to make up my own transcription from the piano score. But I wanted to see if somebody has already created a version for guitar. Also, what I bought lacks a time signature and is not divided into measures - I can’t wrap by brain around how to count the rhythm without a time signature and division into measures. And in general tabs are a waste of space to me but I know that most guitar sheet music will have tabs.

RodB, thanks for the link the the book in pdf on scribid.

If you scroll down in the pdf you will note that Roland Dyens has transcribed it into the key of Em, has measures, a time signature and standard tuning....

[guitargius]

Originally Posted by Mikeleric

I am looking for sheet music, for guitar, for gnossienne 1, by Eric Satie, originally meant for piano. I want a version that is as close as possible to the original, rather that something made artificially easy. I don’t want a version that avoids retuning the guitar if retuning it would make it closer to the piano version. I need to see the music notes; whenever possible I prefer not to look at guitar tablatures. I will accept a version with tabs if that is the best version available. I had a guitar teacher, but I quit seeing him in June, because in the last 3 sessions, he failed to find me any of 4 songs I asked for, including this gnossienne, which I discovered by listening to youtube videos. He did give me a version of “gymnopedia” which requires retuning the 6th string to D and the 5th string to G. I don’t have a problem with retuning the guitar. I am willing to buy sheet music or a book containing this song. One version I found for free on the open internet, is not divided into separate measures and lacks a time signature.

Hi, this is my version:

[Gitfiddlemann]

As Doug mentions, this is what Satie's intention was in composing these pieces.
So, take that as a pass to freewheel the piece and let your ears guide you.
Rather than be bound by measures and time signatures, try looking at breaking down the piece into "melodic phrases", and use the half-notes in the bass as your pulse.
That works better, imo, than being bound by 4/4, 6/4, 4/4, 12/4 etc....
A piece like this, I would consider it to be "ethereal" in nature. You really need to set a mood to pull it off. Strictly following time signatures might constrict you too much in this regard, and actually make it harder to play.
It's not an easy piece. You don't want it to sound too mechanical, and you want those slur notes and faster passages to accentuate the musical phrasing.
I would consider this to be a pretty advanced composition, also keeping in mind it wasn't written for the guitar. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it more of a challenge.