Paganini = Jazz Pioneer?
That’s right – the devil’s own little fiddle flogger was paving the way for jazzers way back in 1800.
Paganini was known for his over the top playing, and the Italian fiddling style in general was more flambouyant and flashy than other regions’ styles. Paganini’s 24 Caprices have tons of little wacky melodic lines in them, as they were sort of a showcase of boundary-pushing techniques. Many of the sections are blown through so fast, or slurred and played legato, hiding the intricacy of what he was doing. When you break them apart and slow them down, you can find some really cool lines that adapt to guitar (or other instruments) well.
Jascha Heifetz, the turn of the century violin master, was one of the first guys to play the pieces with accompaniment. They were originally meant to be played solo, but they have such a musical nature to them, they fit well over chord changes.
The 24th caprice is made up of 11 variations on a theme, each getting more and more ‘out’ there. This piece has been covered by composers throughout the last couple of centuries, because it is well suited to reharmonization, improv, etc…
Ok, enough jabber…here’s the MP3 of it over a simple minor 2-5-1 to dominant 2-5-1 through a couple of keys. The lines fit nice and cozy over the chords, and the notes fall very well on the fretboard.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.24th Caprice Excerpt:
And here is the tab for the whole section. (It’s also a great alternate picking workout)
Don’t forget the chords…
Be sure to keep your fingers nice and low to the fretboard…don’t lift them any higher than needed to get to the next note. Since it is mostly chromatic, you can be very economical in your movement – always anticipate the next finger’s position so it flows nice and smoothly. If you really speed it up you may want to use economy picking (sweep picking) to get the notes. Speaking of that…
I can’t forget the metalheads out there…
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.sloppy shred version:
Do yourself a favor and buy the whole 24 caprices if you don’t have them. They will keep you busy for the rest of your life if you start breaking them apart and pulling out cool little lines from them. My favorite performances of them on violin are from Itzhak Perlman, Nathan Milstein, Ilya Kaler, Shlomo Mintz. Elliot Fisk recorded them for classical guitar, and there have been many others. Check ‘em out!