Frederick Maggio
Les Productions D’Oz: 3 pages
Here is a little miniature from this French – born musician, named after his little girl Mila. It is in swing rhythm throughout and therefore written in straight quavers but with the instruction at the top to make the pairs of quavers into a triplet with the first two a crotchet, and the third one a quaver.
At 120 beats a minute it usually has the bass line in straight crotchets, with the melody usually off the beat so that it is only on beat one do both voices actually play at the same time. It is an uncomplicated melody with some pleasing harmonies and as it is only of modest difficulty ( the melody does reach fret 14 on string one, but there are only a couple of easy barres) it would be an ideal piece for any teacher who has pupils who like this swing style, or alternatively , ( and I am speaking personally here) for a pupil who has difficulty seeing straight quavers and playing a different rhythm to what he or she sees. This is a quite a common problem I find , as up to a certain stage in their playing, pupils really can’t see one rhythm and play another without struggling. So this piece might go a considerable way to helping this sort of player out.
Add all that to the fact that this is a short but pleasant little sketch, and you have a piece that could well be worth considering for the less advanced players amongst you.
Chris Dumigan
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