In August 1987, I was delighted to welcome Michael Hedges back to Milwaukee for the second American Finger-Style Festival. His career was burgeoning and there was a palpable excitement in the air both for his concert and teaching. And he was ready!
He began a two-hour presentation on composition with general remarks on his own chimerical approach to composing. Next, he was drawn into a more philosophical discussion on the nature of music. And then, moving from the profound to the practical, he switched gears and used the harp guitar instrumental “The Double Planet” as a case study. He discussed the similarity to “Aerial Boundaries”: beginning with harmonic ambiguity, adding voices, the necessity of changing things up before you and your audience get bored. Then he narrated the imagery he associated with each section (an imagined outer space odyssey). It was dramatic, comprehensive, and fascinating.
I remember this presentation just like it was yesterday, and it’s a great joy for me now to bring it all together and inscribe “The Double Planet” for the future.
— John Stropes
www.stropes.com/michael-hedges
The Double Planet
In 1984, with “Because It’s There,” Hedges exploited the capabilities of the harp guitar in a new way, playing melody on the sub-basses and using the six-string neck for accompaniment. This composition was the impetus for a new age for the harp guitar.
Then, in 1986, Hedges built on this approach with “The Double Planet,” opening with a passage technically reminiscent of “Aerial Boundaries.” Both hands are playing the six-string neck: the left hand hammering on and pulling off notes on the third string; the right hand playing notes on the first, second, fourth, and fifth strings, and making extensive use of right-hand string-stopping to clarify the combined result.
While originally conceived of as part of a suite exploring planetary themes, “The Double Planet” first appeared on the recording Santa Bear’s First Christmas in 1986, and then on Live on the Double Planet in 1987.
Titles/Tunings Database by Stropes Editions Ltd.
A new tuning database for several artists, including Michael Hedges. Search by title, album or tuning, and use tones to tune up your guitar, right on the page!
Transcriptions by Stropes Editions ltd.
Browse transcriptions of Michael’s music by John Stropes. “Because It’s There” “Hot Type” “Ragamuffin” “Ready or Not” “The Happy Couple” and “Two Days Old”
