Frank Nordberg: Branle

Branle

• For solo guitar (classical/nylon stringed or acoustic/steel stringed)
• Composed by Frank Nordberg (2011)
• Key: A minor
• Difficulty level: Fairly easy
• Available from: Sheetmusic Plus

The branle was a French village dance popular during the 16th and early 17th century. This one is far more recent than that, it was written in 2011, but it's still very much in the old style.

I wrote this piece mainly as a technical exercise for some of my students but I always try to turn my exercises into good music too. Practising is more fun that way and you also get to learn more pieces for your repertoire.

The exercise part of this tune is the change between the Em and the A5add9 chords:

It's such a simple trick - just the same chord shape on different strings - but it's so effective  if you want to spice up your acoustic rhythm guitar playing. It's well worth learning, especially when you get a nice little solo as a bonus.