Peter Moran | Guitar Required

"If you're interested in purity, listen to Napalm Death." John Zorn

If you‚re reading this, you may be listening to the accompanying compact disk, which consists of music culled from several "Learn How To Play..." instructional CDs. These recordings are usually tucked in plastic sleeves in the back of songbooks, and frequently found in music stores, schools, libraries, and possibly your home.

The breadth of sounds available within the genre is enormous. The music, and the literature it supplements, can reveal a surprising degree of humor and self-awareness, while even hinting at the songs and pedagogy popular in a given era. Out of context, the results are often astounding sonic artifacts.

Following their original intent, these recordings distinctly ask the listener to participate actively in their realization. This can be unusual especially when we leave sampled music circles. If this music's ultimate aim is education, its end must be musical purity: music without inflection or embellishments. In this sense, itss impervious to criticism. By traditional standards at least, it's always played perfectly.

Besides playing along, the listener could invent new lyrics to these songs *. Personally, I also enjoy listening passively. A comforting host usually presents the music. And even with implicit designs to discipline the listener (enough to practice regularly, possibly to encourage purchase of Volume Two in a series), this form stands opposite most radio programming presently heard on the air. While commercial stations may broadcast similar material, by default they limit the listener's participation with it.

Strictly to facilitate the given purpose of these recordings in some manner, I restricted the selections on this CD to acoustic guitar tracks. If the listener is so inclined, a detailed listing of the music on this CD is available at www.geocities.com/guitarrequired for further inquiry.

*Andrew Bar, from the Children's Hour, introduced me to this form of expression.