Acoustic guitar practice and acousticity :establishing modalities of creative practice

Abstract

The contemporarya cousticg uitarh asd evelopedfr om its origins in the 'Spanish' guitar to become a global instrument and the musical voice of a wide range of styles. The very 'acousticity' of the instrumentp ositionsi t as a binary oppositet o the electric guitar ano as a signifier for the organic and the natural world, artistry and maturity,e clecticisma ndt he esoteric.I n this concept-rootedsu bmissiont,h e acoustica nd guitaristicn atureo f the instrumentis consideredin relationt o a range of social, cultural and artistic concerns, and composition is used primarily to test a thesis, wherein a portfolio of original compositions, presented as recordings and understooda s phonogramsc, ommentu pona ndr eflect uponm odeso f performativity: instrument specific performance, introspection, virtuosity, mediation by technology and performance subjectivities.