Neebur Dot

Clarinet and Guitar

The repertoire for clarinet and guitar is sorely limited, preventing my wife and me from working together as a duo.  Transcriptions do not work, because they typically employ ranges would leave the guitar buried.  Also, composers are scared enough of writing for the guitar, much less guitar with a very loud wind instrument.  But done with some care, the instruments can be combined in a satisfying way.  Neebur Dot was the first thing I composed in Nebraska, during a summer where Christy and I lived in a crappy apartment on 10th and Washington and eked out a living playing dance jobs with the Bobby Layne, Jimmy B, and Lou Arnold Orchestras.  The title, Neebur Dot, comes from Christy's phonetic realization of the first road sign one sees entering Nebraska via Highway 2.  The sign reads "Nebr. City 2 miles" but Christy pronounces it "Neebur Dot City Two Miles."