Noriyasu+takeuchi+popular+pieces+for+guitar+solo+v+atomix+scarie+mamado Review

Musical Character: Aggressive, percussive, microtonal.

“Atomix” (note the ‘x’ suggesting a fusion of “atomic” and “mix”) opens Volume V with a shock. Gone is the polite, rolled-chord phrasing of Takeuchi’s Hisaishi arrangements. In its place: a barrage of tambora (hitting the strings with the thumb nail), left-hand hammer-ons from nowhere, and sudden silences.

Why it’s popular among soloists:

Performance challenge: The middle section features a glissando across unnatural harmonics, creating a “theremin-like” wail. Classical guitarists who master “Atomix” often use it as a recital opener to prove their modernist credentials.

Before diving into the peculiarities of Volume V, let’s establish the man behind the music. Noriyasu Takeuchi (born 1963) is a Tokyo-born guitarist and composer who straddles the line between classical purism and pop sensibility. Educated at the Toho Gakuen School of Music, he won top prizes at the Tokyo International Guitar Competition. However, unlike his contemporaries who retreated into conservatory bubbles, Takeuchi became a bridge between worlds.

His signature lies in the “Popular Pieces for Guitar Solo” series. Each volume is a snapshot of global pop culture refracted through the lens of a nylon-string guitar. Volumes I–IV feature accessible arrangements of Beatles tunes, French chansons, and American standards. But Volume V… Volume V is where things get strange. Musical Character: Aggressive, percussive, microtonal

These pieces are no longer obscure. A growing number of YouTubers (e.g., GuitarNoir, TokyoFingerstyle) have posted performances, and the hashtag #TakeuchiVolV is emerging on Instagram.

Suggested program pairing:

Audiences respond to the narrative arc. Do not announce the pieces as “modern.” Simply play them; the emotional impact speaks for itself.

Here is the frustration captured by your keyword search. The sheet music for “Popular Pieces for Guitar Solo Vol. V” is out of print. Zen-On Music Company (Takeuchi’s primary publisher) has kept Volumes I–IV in circulation, but Volume V disappeared from catalogs around 2016.

Where to look:

Pro tip: If you find a copy, check the fingering. Takeuchi’s left-hand notations are notoriously minimal, assuming a high level of fluency. Expect to pencil in your own solutions for stretches beyond the 12th fret.

On the surface, Atomix, Scarie, and Mamado seem like three random experiments. But programmed consecutively on Popular Pieces for Guitar Solo Vol. V, they form a three-movement suite about modern anxiety:

Takeuchi, who has spoken in rare interviews about the stress of touring and the loneliness of the studio, may have embedded an autobiographical narrative here.

Musical Character: Sparse, dissonant, haunting.

If “Atomix” is a sprint, “Scarie” is a slow creep through a funhouse mirror. The title is a deliberate misspelling of “scary,” hinting at a childlike, almost naive sense of dread. Takeuchi removes the safety net of tonality here. Audiences respond to the narrative arc

Structure:

Why it’s a cult hit: Guitarists looking for Halloween recital pieces or horror-film soundtrack work have adopted “Scarie.” It requires no virtuosic speed but demands absolute control of dynamics and sustain. One reviewer described it as “a single tear rolling down the face of a porcelain doll.”

Released in the mid-2000s (precise date elusive, adding to its mystique), Volume V breaks the mold. Instead of familiar melodies, Takeuchi presents five original compositions. And three of them—Atomix, Scarie, and Mamado—are unlike anything else in his catalogue.

These titles do not translate neatly. They are neologisms, sound-pictures, or perhaps inside jokes. Let’s dissect each.