Spiegel Im Spiegel

This page is a guide to learning Arvo Part's wonderful composition Spiegel im Spiegel on a tapping instrument such as the Chapman Stick or the acoustic Dragonfly DFA.

There is a score/tablature, fretboard diagrams, and (to be done) youtube video instructions, that will help you along the way.

You don't need to know how to read music. In fact, you can get 90% of the way there just by watching the videos and referring to the Fretboard diagrams. It will be a bit of work, but it can be learned incrementally and, as you'll see, even playing part of the piece is very fun and sounds great.

A bit of background about the piece

Musescore score with tabs

The Score (and tabs) to go along with the diagrams below is available Here

Elemental Structure of the Piece

The piece is composed entirely from XXX very short phrases that are a pair of 3 quarter note 'arpeggios'. The piece has a time signature of 6/4 so each phrase is a single measure. I'll call these 'phreasures'

There is a bass voice that runs along with this constant flow of phreasures. The voice is simply a pair of notes played at the first and fourth note of each phreasure. example:


These phreasures are used to build series of 16 sequences.

Each sequence introduces one or two new phreasures as the piece progresses. The Fretboard diagrams below map out the general fingering information for each phreasure used in the piece.

Phreasure Naming
Each phreasure has a two letter name that corresponds to the first note of the phreasure along with the octave number of that note. For example, phreasure C4 starts at Middle C. This works well because there is only one phreasure that's starts on any particular note in the piece. Phreasures like F2 and F3 that have the same note name have the same shape, just in a different location on the fretboard.

I realize my explanations of the piece are sounding complicated at this point. Fear not! Once you progess through a few diagrams, along with the Instruction Video, you'll quickly understand how the piece is structured

Diagrams for playing Spiegel Im Spiegel

Additional Musescore score (with tabs)

The sequences that define the piece

Although the measure sequences of the piece are designed with very intentful purpose, you can improvise by altering the sequences

The measure diagrams (e.g. G3) are provided below

Group ↑|↓ Sequence
Intro G3 (3 times)
1 *F3
*A3
2 ↑E3-F3 play E3 through F3 in ascending order
↓B3-A3 play B3 through A3 in descending order
3 ↓F3-D3
↑A3-C4
4 ↑C3-F3 note each seq. group increases the # of measures by 1
↓D4-A3
5 ↓F3-D3
↑A3-E4
6 ↑A2-F3
↓F4-A3
7 ↓F3-G2
↑A3-G4
8 ↑F2-F3
↓A3-A2

Measure Diagrams

Refrain-G3

GCE GCE / E (CC^^)

Appears first and acts a refrain between each sequence in the piece. The refrain is G3 repeated 3 times.

A2

AEF CEF / F C

B2

BEG BEG / G E || G D

C3

CGA CGA / A E

D3

DGB DGB / B G

E3

EGC G^GC / C G

F3

FDC FCD / D G

G3

GCE GCE / E C

A3

AEF CEF / F C

B3

BEG BEG / (GG^)

C4

CGA CGA / A G

D4

DGB DGB / B G

E4

EGC DGC / C G

F4

FCD FCD / D C

G4

GCE GCE / E E^