The Intentional Guitarist: Fingerstyle Compositions and Music Theory (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781518614361)

Richard S. Saslow has diverse musical interests. He started out playing acoustic guitar in his teens, with an initial interest in folk music and folk blues. He later learned to appreciate the electric guitar and developed an interest in Chicago blues, soul music, funky jazz, and swing. Over the years, he has played many kinds of gigs involving these idioms. In the early 1970's Richard provided the compositions and technical knowledge for "The Art of Slide Guitar" and "The Art of Ragtime Guitar" using material he had developed for his students over the years. In 2011, Richard and Judith A. McClarin published "The New Art of Ragtime Guitar," an improved version of the original book and including some new material. The book has become very well regarded as one of the best guitar instruction books available. Since that time Richard has been thinking about the need for a primer targeting experienced guitarists who may be unclear on some elements of music theory. The solo guitar pieces in "The Intentional Guitarist" were composed by Richard and illustrate a variety of musical concepts as well as providing interesting and technically challenging compositions. Judith A. McClarin, Richard's wife, is a Ph.D chemist with a musical background in school orchestras and Irish folk music. Starting with the written music and notes on paper, she had many discussions with Richard to clarify theoretical and technical issues, and prepared the raw material for publication. Her previous book writing experience includes editing and desktop publishing of "The New Art of Ragtime Guitar," and co-authoring "Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry" with William H. Brown.