Last night my friend texted, “We must ride a gondola when we’re in Venice.” Somehow the word gondola became vongola in my dreams overnight. I woke up this morning hungry for my favorite pasta dish linguine alla vongole. How do I write a piece about clams and pasta? Luckily, gondola, the Italian word for the famous flat bottomed boat in Venetian canals, rhymes with hemiola. Here is my second piece dedicated to changing meter through use of deliberate accents.
Hemiole, hemiola
A hemiole is a musical device that changes the meter of a passage through time signature and/or accents.
I experimented with it in Hemiole Guacamole and decided it’s time to revisit.
Pulsating repeated notes
Lately, I’ve been toying with repeated notes that can be played on different strings and frets of the high G ukulele. Repeated notes add persistency and intensity.
Hemiola Gondola opens with repeated eighth notes that require accent on the first of six notes. The second, fourth, and sixth eighth notes in the first eight measures should be very soft.
Slide your left middle finger on the G string and accent on the first note in each measure to bring out the melody.
The melody is revisited in section B but in octaves. The left hand just needs to hold a shape using the index and middle fingers and slide up the neck (towards the sound hole) and back. Once again, accent the first note in each measure to bring out the melody.
Of course, it’s possible to play repeated notes on the same string, but let’s expand our horizons and try to find the same notes elsewhere on the high G ukulele.
In the third section, repeat the note E above middle C with the two middle strings of the ukulele. I suggest using the left middle finger on the C-string 4th fret as an anchor. It’s also possible to use the left ring finger. As always, try different fingers to feel what’s most comfortable and convenient.
The final section introduces an arpeggio sequence in 6/8 and 3/4 time. To allow the listen to hear the difference, make deliberate use of accents. In other words, in 6/8 time, the accents should be on the 1st and 4th eighth notes. In 3/4 time, the accents are on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th eighth notes.
Capiche?
This piece really belongs to Book 3 or Book 4. As I’m already compiling Book 5, I shall put this piece in the Special Edition of Pick Pluck Play! Which of these titles should I choose for this compilation of individual instrumental pieces with Italian titles?
- Alla Italia
- Ciao, Italia
- Musica Italia
Pick Pluck Play! SPECIAL EDITION for Italy
- Hemiola Gondola
- Bella Italia – Book 5
- Arpeggio Curioso – Book 3
- Arpeggio Carpaccio Prego – Book 3
- Alberti Zucchini – Book 3
- Senso Siciliano (1 page) chord melody
- Sense the Sicilienne – duet (2-pages) – Book 4
- Cede to the Sicilienne – Book 5
- Orfeo Arpeggio – Book 5
- Euridice’s Descent – Book 5
- Mango Tango Ostinato Trio
Pick Pluck Play!
Pick Pluck Play! is a series of books (12 progressive pieces in each book) of original compositions by Anne Ku, available for purchase as PDFs.
Visit Book 1 for testimonials (reviews), and list of titles
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