Tigran Hamasyan

From his solo album A Fable (2011):
Rain Shadow (video)
This is the short piece opening Tigran's A Fable. It's entirely built on the Lydian minor scale (a Lydian scale with a minor third).
The Spinners
Illusion + Samsara (Illusion video, Samsara video)
Someday my prince will come (video)

From An Ancient Observer (2017):
Etude N° 1 (video)
This is a short tune, but it's a real conundrum! Tigran plays several rhythms at the same time: the main motif is in 5/16, the first medoly in in 7/16, later you have bells on 6/16 and some other tricks…
Although I've tried not to overcomplicate things, I've made two versions of the PDF: a "regular" one, and another that highlights the different rhythms. Feel free to tell me which one you prefer! Or if you think of another way to write this monster down, send me a message :)

From They Say Nothing Stays the Same (2019):
The Boatman (video)

From Manifeste (2026):
Excerpt from Ultradanse (video, original video)
A few days before the Manifeste album release, Tigran shared this gem, and I did my best to transcribe it!
Excerpt from Manifeste (video, original video)
Excerpt from Ultradanse at Rick Beato's studio (video, original video)

From various live performances
The Road Song (2015) (video, original video)
This is a great tune by Tigran Hamasyan, combining the poetry of the Armenian music in the first part, and the power of Metal in the second part. If you don't have any bassist of drummer friend to play with you, you can still play the solo piano part, it's a masterpiece on its own!
Kars 1 (2015) (video, original video)
This is an amazing tune written in Cm harmonic, mostly in 5/8 but with some passages in 2/4 (this shift is a bit tricky!) The solo Tigran plays on this live version is absolutely insane!
Lilac (2018) (video, original video)
Revolving & Prayer (2020) (Revolving video, Prayer video, original video)
Revolving/Prayer is one of the greatest songs of For Gyumri (2018). The first theme is lovely; it undergoes several rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic transformations throughout the piece. In this version, you have some crazy polyrhythms during the solo.
Off Minor (2020) (video, original video)
It comes as no surprise that one of the few jazz standards Tigran performs on stage is a composition by Thelonious Monk: while the two musicians certainly possess very different musical languages, they share a common love for rhythm.
Areg and Manishak (2024) (video, original video)
For once, Tigran offers us a piece that's not too difficult to play, which doesn't stop it from being magnificent and haunting!
Markos and Markos (2024) (video, original video)
Another masterpiece by Tigran Hamasyan! This is an amazing composition, crafted with such amazing details. It begins in a very moving melody, and travel through a large variety of emotions. It's not an easy one to play, but many parts of the theme are a accessible for must players!
Tigran Hamasyan improvising on some ideas for them to develop naturally (2026) (video, original video)
Tigran posted this video a few days ago, it blown my mind! I had to figure out what he's playing. For some reason, I believe it's based on E/F or maybe B7/F, but I'm not really sure what's he's thinking. Bars 7-11 you have the main melodic idea, that he'll repeat with some variations and rhythmic displacements. It's another example of Tigran's mastery of the 5/8. One minute of music, 2 pages of transcriptions, a lifetime of practice to be able to play it with as much ease as he does!

Guitar arrangements:
Fides Tua
Such a beautiful tune, not that hard to play on the guitar! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do :)
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