Your Pick of Bach: Guitar Book & CD

Wallach's arrangements respect Bach's counterpoint while creating idiomatic guitar writing that sits comfortably under the hands. The inclusion of both solos and duets gives you teaching flexibility, and pairing notated music with a recorded accompaniment CD means students hear exactly how these pieces should breathe before they play them.

Elegant and cerebral. Bach's mathematical precision translates to the guitar as intricate fingerpicking patterns and carefully voiced chords that reward both intellectual engagement and technical control. There's an unusual satisfaction in hearing the Baroque master's logic unfold through modern pick technique.

Intermediate to advanced pickstyle guitarists looking to expand their classical repertoire without abandoning their electric or acoustic playing style. Jazz and rock players will find these arrangements particularly valuable for understanding harmonic sophistication and voice independence outside their primary genres.

• Study the CD performances first to internalize the phrasing and articulation, especially in pieces like 'Bourée in E Minor' where Baroque convention might conflict with your first instinct.
• Pay attention to voice leading across multiple strings; Wallach's voicings often distribute Bach's lines so that you're tracking melodic contours rather than simply reading tab numbers.
• The duets benefit enormously from clear dynamic contrast between parts, so differentiate your volume and tone even when both guitars occupy similar registers.

These arrangements work beautifully as intermission pieces or as encores that demonstrate serious musicianship without requiring a formal classical guitar recital context. They're equally at home in a hybrid guitar concert that spans genres, or as solo study material for students building technical and musical depth.

• Baroque counterpoint recognition and execution on guitar
• Voicing independence across multiple strings
• Rhythmic precision in baroque ornament and articulation
• Harmonic analysis through performance
• Fingerpicking control and accuracy over extended passages