Listen to MP3 of Guiliani Andante part 1
Study Notes
The music above is the first section from the Andante in C major by the great Italian guitarist and composer, Mauro Giuliani (1781-1828).This piece is particularly well-known by British adults over a certain age (and doubtless those in other countries, too), because many years ago it was used as the theme music for a popular children's TV series called Tales of the Riverbank.
The first part of the Andante is fairly simple and should present no great challenges for guitarists who have played at least one or two other pieces by classical guitar composers such as Giuliani, Carulli, Carcassi etc. The music is based on a pattern which is very common in the pieces by these composers. This pattern consists of two notes that are played together at an interval of a tenth and then immediately followed by an open G. Bars 1-3 and 9-11 of this piece are entirely based on it. You may find it interesting to make a comparison with the music for the second part of Carulli's Andante, where this same pattern is also used.
The alternating semiquavers in the bottom part (the notes with stems pointing downwards) should be played with alternating right hand thumb and index finger (p i p i). An exception is bar 7 where I'd suggest using p i p p for the four semiquavers in the bottom line, then p p for the two quavers.
Play the quavers in the top line (e.g. bars 1-3) with either the m or a finger. When the top line has a run of semiquavers (e.g. bar 4) make sure you use alternating right hand fingers, usually i m i m.
The left hand fingering should also present few problems. It is entirely in the first position, but when playing the pattern mentioned above you'll need to use your 4th finger on the 3rd fret for the Gs on the first string (e.g. bar 2) and the Ds on the second string (e.g. bar 3).
Bars 13 and 14 are worth a brief mention. Here use your 1st finger for the C, and 2nd finger for E, then play the C# with the 3rd finger, using it as a guide finger to move to the D. Similarly the 2nd finger is used as a guide finger to move from E to the F.
The Andante has a very simple melody and employs lots of cliches found in many other guitar music from the period, yet it is an endearing piece that I'm sure you'll enjoy playing.
Tony Oreshko
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