Dugout Blues

Guit. I-IV, cb.

Set for four guitars and a contra (which could be replaced by guitar), with the top part also notated for alto guitar (tuned a fifth up), this little 43-bar piece is in five sharps (four in the alto part). The blues shuffle is notated in 12/8 time rather than more economically in 4/4, but there are occasional rhythms where the beats are definitely more clear this way. I miss having a foreword that gives performance suggestions and even a reason for the title, but that's more than made up for in this slightly cliched (but all the more enjoyable for it) slow blues, with an engaging mix of instantly recognizable tags and runs, massive stacked triple chords and opportunities for hammer-ons and note bending. With a mix of blues scales, a couple of first position triads and excursions up to fret fourteen, this is definitely achievable by an intermediate quintet. Those teaching in schools will find that it's incredibly enthusiastically seized on by those who fancy the chance (and why not) to show off a little with their otherwise staid cousin of the electric guitar!
Derek Hasted (Classical Guitar Magazine)