This arrangement offers parts for players of differing abilities. The ideal performance would include several level 9 players on part 1. Parts 2 and 3 have options for players at earlier stages or learning.
At m. 40, guitar 1 has the opportunity to improvise. Ask students to practice short fragments of the C major scale to develop improvisational “cells.” Show them how they might use a couple of short segments to create their own solo. Choose one or more students to improvise over the vamp created by the other guitars. Use simple hand signals to guide the group through the desired number of repetitions of measures 44-45, coming back into the D.S. to finish the piece. If there is a jazz band at your school, consult the director for more ideas.
Discuss slides, slurs, and other technical elements as needed. Model the tamboura effect in measure 28. Ask students to evaluate the quality of sound, addressing the percussive element and the quick sustain afterward. Also model the dedillo effect in measure 26. To do this, move i back and forth over the desired strings. Suggest that students don’t need to be perfectly metronomic in the subdivision of each beat as long as they maintain the overall pulse. With a large ensemble, this can create an interesting blur of sustained sound. You may decide to use a dedillo effect as a counterpart to the tamboura in measure 29.