Welcome to guitarist / composer Steve Smith's Services Pages!

Recital Programme / Concerto Appearance?

Guitarist for a special Occasion?

Transcription / Arrangement - Quick Turnaround?

Improvisation Workshop or Clinic?

Copying Service Needed in a hurry?

One to One Teaching?

Want to try a video conference guitar lesson via SKYPE?

Follow the links on the right to whatever service you require, browse, choose and let me know, for the widest, most comprehensive range of guitar related service available.

Steve Smith's Performance Programmes

Solo Classical

• Music from Five Centuries
  
  - charting the development of the guitar
  from lute through Vineland to the modern instrument.
  Mudarra / Dowland / Sanz / Mertz / Sor / Villa-Lobos / Ginastera / Takemitsu / Carter
  
  
  



• Old World New World
  
  - music from the American and European traditions.
  
  
  
  
• British Guitar Music 1950-2000
  
  - Smith-Brindle / Dodgeson / Bedford / Dillon / Maxwell Davies / Wallen
  
  

Solo Electric (with tape)

• (North) American Invasion
  
  Paul Lansky - Dancetracks
  Tim Brady - Memory Riot
  Steve Smith - 'Pete Marsh'
  Tim Brady - Sauchie Hall Street
  Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint (with Steve Smith realized backing track)
  
  

Half and Half

• First half Unplugged, the second Electric
  
  Leo Brouwer - El Cameron Negro
  Töru Takemitsu - All in Twilight
  Per Nørgård - In the Mood of Spades
  Wonder / Dylan / Lennon and McCartney - arrangements of popular songs by Steve Smith
  Tim Brady - Sauchie Hall Street
  Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint
  
  
  
  

Concertos

• Repertoire
  
  Joaquín Rodrigo - Concierto de Aranjuez
  Manuel Ponce - Concierto del sur
  Hector Villa-Lobos - Guitar Concerto
  Antonio Vivaldi - Concerti for One & Two Mandolin
  Antonio Vivaldi - Concerto in D for Guitar
  
  (Enquire about others)
  
  
  
  
• Steve Smith Works
  
  Another Chance to Slip, Goes down.... (G-banjo & strings)
  A Particular Peak (mandolin & strings)
  
  
  
  

Guitar in Setting


Aaron J. Kernis - 100 Greatest Dance Hits
Poul Ruders - Psalmodies
John Adams - Gnarly Buttons
(Enquire about others)

Steve Smith - Workshops

• The Contemporary Guitar
  
  - A demonstration / performance with discussion session, featuring music for guitar in various contemporary settings. Repertoire for both the classical and electric instruments is explored. Instrumental, amplification and playing techniques are discussed. Composers' differing approaches to writing for the guitar are demonstrated and how performers might contribute to the process. Music includes works by; Takemitsu, Carter, Brady, and arrangements by Steve Smith.
  

This is an excerpt from Steve Smith's workshop - "The Contemporary Guitar", recorded at the Pop & Jazz Conservatory Helsinki.
*Note* sound quality is not what it might be, but should give an idea of the clinic's content. Thanks to Ari Siikasaari for the use of the material.







• Improvisation for guitarists
  
  - Improvisation is an invaluable way to discover more instrumental and musical possibilities. Even the relatively mundane business of scale practice, can be made more rewarding and challenging, with the adoption of an improvisatory approach.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Steve Smith - composition

Commissions

• Composing to Order?
  
  - Steve Smith has been writing to order since 1977, when, at the request of a fellow (flute playing) student at the Salford Music Centre, Foundation Course in Music, he was asked to write a piece for flute and guitar to be performed at the inaugural Contemporary Music Forum at the 'Band on the Wall' pub in Manchester. The resulting piece, Chaconne is not of the order to make it into publication, however, it did start the ball rolling.
  Steve recalls; "Chaconne still lies in hand written form somewhere in my manuscript drawer, but was really a naïve, but heartfelt response to JS Bach's sublime Chaconne from the 2nd violin partita in D minor, which I had only recently heard for the first time, and was simply bowled over by it - it became my all time favourite single work of aural art!"
  Ever since that time, as a result of confidence gained, and the joy of hearing one's own music performed Steve pursued every opportunity to write. Though basically self taught as a composer, Steve studied arranging and orchestration with Goff Richards at Salford Music Centre, and attended several composition classes with Petr Eben whilst at the RNCM. He also studied extensively, the polyphony of Guillaume de Machaut, and JS Bach. Both of whom, together with Igor Stravinsky, are major influences in Steve Smith's writing.
  
  From 1981-96 Steve worked with the four/five piece mixed ensemble Cordial Company, for whom he contributed many arrangement, most notably duets for guitar and string bass (some of these will be available for download soon, on joanBmusic ). Steve remembers; "We had an interesting line up of voices (male and female), celtic harp, guitar / mandolin / banjo even guitar synthesizer on occasion, string bass, piano and assorted percussion. Concert programmes were built around a theme; Christmas, Poetry, Historical, what have you; musical arrangements had to compliment these themes and atmospheres. It was sometimes a challenge and often rewarding, to reflect this carefully using the instrumental forces at our disposal. I remember after one show, which featured a pared-down arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue, one apparently dissatisfied customer wrote to our manager demanding a partial ticket refund, owing to the ''smaller orchestra'' we had used! At least it had the banjo parts......!

• Later on Go tango! was written for the British Music Information Centre, Festival of British Music in July 1989 and premiered there. Later still, during the time Steve was living in Finland he wrote numerous commissions for Finnnish orchestras, most notably the banjo (Another Chance to Slip, Goes Down......) and mandolin (A Particular Peak) concertos, together with the violin and guitar work; 3,4,6,12,14,16,22,144n.o.
  "3,4,6,12,14,16,22,144n.o. is a complex work with many extended techniques to challenge the performers."
  Steve continues; "Anu Javela the violinist who performed the premiere with me, did a fantastic job, partly because she received her music for the performance well in advance of our first rehearsal. When your performers are separated by many hundreds of kilometres, it's possible only to rehearse 2 or 3 times prior to a performance. This is why your scores have to be ready well before time so the player can get an understanding of the music, and clarify any notational issues before the first rehearsal."
  
  More recently, Underground Steve Smith's scoring of Anthony Asquith's 90' 1928 silent film, was commissioned by the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C. The score had to be written - with parts and a pre-recorded CD component completed - in around seven weeks.
  Steve explains; "I had planned a holiday, the dates of which was completely unchangeable. When the commission for Underground came in it was something I really wanted to do - never having worked with silent film before - but I knew the schedule was super tight. My approach to this project was as a composer rather than a silent movie improvising pianist, however, I wanted to include elements of that way of working, closely with the picture, thus the score does contain the odd aleatoric moment - I did work in the 'old fashioned' way in some respects, as I composed most of the material by improvising my way, on piano through the VHS I was working with, only later scoring the material for clarinets, cello and piano/keyboard. This all meant, of course, that a lot of material had to be gotten down on paper, or in my case, in Sibelius 5 quickly.
  The score also contains a pre-recorded section of music (about 7'30'') which appears toward the end of the film, during the 'Power House' scene."
  
  
  
  

Steve Smith - teaching

• Online Guitar Tuition
  
  - This service is available NOW! via SKYPE Video. Check my status
  
  Lessons available to all comers. Specific repertoire can be worked on as well. Do you have a work in mind you are studying at the moment? See the archives pages if you have a particular work in mind, that I may have listed. You can book the lessons here, and pay by PAYPAL or SKYPE transfer.
  
  If you need SKYPE you can get it here -

• Regular 0ne2one Guitar Teaching
  
  - For those who prefer, I have places for intermediate to advanced students of guitar at my studio. Classical guitar tuition and electric styles are available.
  Steve Smith's experience in chamber music is second to none.
  He has worked in every imaginable context, both as a guitarist and mandolinist / banjoist. It is this very diversity and experience which enriches the learning experience for his students. Musicianship is at the core of Steve Smith's approach to teaching. The focus is on reading, literacy and memorisation techniques through improvisation. Rhythmic awareness and ensemble playing skills are also core essentials.
  
  
  

Steve Smith - copying service

• Got this........ but need this?
  - and have to have it done professionally?

has a fully professional music copying service based on the award winning
Sibelius 5 and PhotoScore Ultimate software.

Example Scores

Example #1

Example #2

Example #3

What We Do
Preparation of score and parts; (single stave through to full grand stave orchestral scores} loose leaf or spiral bound as necessary. Or simply in digital form as, for example, YourScore.sib or YourScore.pdf, for printing locally.
Transfer files from older to updated software versions.
Transposition and produce correspondingly transposed parts.
Salvage and transfer old handwritten music by creating digitally editable files.
Work to deadlines (sometimes acute) as necessary, based on client need.

Who We Are
A small but highly experienced team of musicians, with many years copying experience using the most up-to-date methods and technology.
Our service is fast, efficient and cost effective.

How Does it Work?
- You send us an email outlining your requirements, we give you an estimate of the cost. It's that easy!
On agreeing the fee you make a secure payment of 50% of the full fee using The remainder is payable on completion.

Steve Smith - arrangement / transcription

Arrangement and Transcription Service

• Arrangement
  
  joanB Music has a full arrangement service, focused on, but not exclusive to, the guitarist. Steve Smith is a vastly experienced arranger in styles ranging from, solo guitar, though jazz/rock groups to orchestral scores. Particularly noted, are his quirky and original arrangements for classical guitar solo, duet and ensemble;
  
  Isn't She Lovely
  Stroll Round an English Country Garden - video
  Birdland
  The Chase (adapted from Undergound for the Steve Smith 4TET)
  
  and for his work with the ensemble Cordial Company. His solo arrangements for solo guitar of popular and jazz classics by Steve Wonder, The Beatles and others, are familiar concert items in Steve Smith's repertoire. They almost have a sense of being works in their own right, so distinctive is the Smith arranging touch.

• Transcription
  
  joanB Music also has a transcription service.
  
  What can we do?
  Anything under the sun!
  We can notate any way you need it - conventional musical notation or guitar and bass tab, or both.
  
  This is page 2 of a full band transcription of the YES song, Roundabout
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright Statement
  
  *It should be noted that much recent music is under the copyright control of individual publishers and composers. Permission, therefore, to arrange, transcribe or otherwise adapt a work of copyright in addition to recording and performing said work, must be sought from the relevant copyright holders, to assertain whether a particular item is available to use in this way, before proceeding with this service. joanB Music can advise you on this.
  
  
  
  

Music for a Special Occasion