I began the process of composing my piece using the 'baby steps' by improvising a rhythm. Before I had completed this very first step, I had already decided on composing a piece for classical guitar, particularly because the idiomatic guitar techniques are best understood by guitarists themselves, which highlights the reason why the vast majority of guitar composers are also guitarists.
Here are my rhythmic improvisations as I work on consolidating various music ideas within my composition...
#1) Improvisation of a rhythmic idea (tremolo with variations)
Once I settled on an idea for my theme, I notated it in MuseScore...
I initially notated the theme in 3/4, however it didn't fit organically with the ideas for my variations later on, so I changed the time signature to 4/4. I also didn't like the disjunct nature between the bass notes and the top melody notes as they were composed with crotchets and semiquavers, with a semiquaver rest on each beat of the bar so I changed this in my final version of my composition.
Draft recording of the above score: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3nqyi4njjskhqhg/Draft%20theme%20%231.mp3?dl=0
Additionally, the nature of guitar is that open string bass notes can easily be sustained unlike other instruments even though playback features tend to cut these notes short. In more recent drafts, I added a 'sustain bass notes' indication for the theme as this is the way I intend the theme to be performed.
next few days... Working on the first variation:
#2) Improvisation after initial theme
In this annotated draft, you'll be able to hear that I'm augmenting the notes by playing block chords to create a denser texture (augmentation and block chords are the techniques I'm using to create the first variation).
During the composition process, I find it much more comfortable and easier to compose using the guitar (i.e. an instrument or voice) and then notate my ideas from instrument to software, as opposed to starting to compose with a blank score in front of me.
First theme notated:
This theme establishes the tonality of E major, and also features the addition of chromatically descending notes in the top voice (E to C#). The alternation between E and G# in the middle voice creates a sense of stability of the melodic character along with the consistent low E bass note. I experimented with varying this low E to create more interest however on the guitar (unlike other instruments such as the piano) not all notes allow for logical fingerings or an achievable position on the instrument, given that the range of notes in the top voice, means that the beginning of the opening theme has to be played in 9th position (no other logical alternative). The ending of the first theme (as highlighted above) resolves back to chord I arpeggiated, anticipating the first variation.
One of the challenges in notating the piece was that the playback function on MuseScore didn't resemble a desirable classical guitar tone and the semiquaver pattern wasn't played with rubato, creating a 'robotic like' performance. So, at this point, I've decided to send the score so far to a friend to see how they interpret it. Before sending it however, I changed the semi quavers to semi demi quavers as this is how tremolo guitar music is represented (see examples below - N.B they generally have adagio/lento markings on them i.e. I haven't come across tremolo guitar scores which indicate presto! (for example)).
Below is a draft of my composition with the tremolo notated accurately for guitar (semi demi quavers). It's tempo indication is lento and expression is rubato. I gave the draft score to one of my guitar colleagues and he was able to interpret the piece exactly how I envisage it to be, following the indications on the score which was a good test! Of course, a limitation of MuseScore (and many other similar software) is that the playback features don't offer the same precise level of subtitles as a live musician hence exporting the file sounds slightly different to how a guitarist would perform the piece live.
My updated draft...
(As heard in my final version of the composition)