This evocative work from Tarot Cards, a suite for Classical Guitar possesses an exotic feeling. To show this, I had to do something unusual to my guitar.
The Chariot (VII) is the seventh trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. Usually depicted on the card is a powerful, princely figure sitting in a large chariot, pulled usually by two sphinxes or horses.
I tried to give this composition an exotic Middle Eastern feel by tuning the first string of the guitar a quarter tone flat. In my mind this evokes the Arabic scales or "maqam" which are commonly found in music all over Northern Africa and even in Turkey.
This piece starts off with some strong chords, showing how the Chariot announces the arrival of a victorious leader. The strummed chords are quickly followed by a flowing foreign-sounding scale that rises up and down the middle register of the guitar.
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