Guitar Emporium: Recent Episodes
Richard
Making light of the idea of a "stalker" - I can't imagine how hard it must be to be stalked - unwelcome attention is bad at the best of times but when it just won't go away - terrible. The tune makes it into a children's game."Hide and Seek"
Support the show
The old fashioned alternative to feeling depressed - Black Dog .
Not as serious as being depressed and considerably easier to shake off, I would imagine, but we all get it to varying degrees.
The CD and digital download "Creatures" was released on 1st August with this, and many other tunes, on the recording. Click on Support the Show for more details.
Support the show
From July 2023 - you choose - who's your conspiracy man / woman / gender ?
There are plenty of people to choose from.
Support the show
There are alot of them about this summer - not sure if it is the good warm weather that is sustaining them - but it is lovely to see.
The CD and digital download "Creatures" was released on 1st August with this, and many other tunes, on the recording. Click on Support the Show for more details.
Support the show
Have you ever been left "High and Dry"? - Its not a pleasant experience - from 2023.
Support the show
Paper Tigers was what Trumpy referred to Russia recently.
Nearly 80 years after Mao Zedong called the United States a “paper tiger” to boost morale at home, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are exchanging barbs who is the paper tiger of today.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump mocked Russia’s military powers and called the country “a paper tiger,” prompting the Kremlin to push back. Trump backed off, but then he brought back the dismissive rhetoric when addressing a roomful of generals and admirals. “You’re four years fighting a war that should have taken a week,” Trump said of Russia’s war with Ukraine. “Are you a paper tiger?”
On Thursday, Putin retorted, “We are fighting against the entire bloc of NATO, and we keep moving, keep advancing and feel confident, and we are a paper tiger; what NATO itself is?”
He added: “A paper tiger? Go and deal with this paper tiger then.”
The CD called "Creatures" was released on 1st August with this, and many other tunes, on the recording. Click on Support the Show for more details.
Support the show
From 2023 - I'm told I don't do this enough. However, the last time I picked up a call which I didn't recognise some so-and-so tried to scam me . So maybe its not so much of a problem
Support the show
From earlier this year and as part of the "Creatures" CD - If you're interested this is on the support the show section beneath. Thanks
Support the show
Plenty of them around as the warm weather in the UK continues.
The CD called "Creatures" is released today with this, and many other tunes, on the recording. Click on Support the Show for more details
Support the show
Maybe it should be "You Love the Life" For those oldies who've had a good run - there's no reason to quit - next stop IMMORTALITY
Support the show
From January 2025 - a now extinct bird - not quite a penguin : not quite a puffin ( in fact pretty big !). This is the second track from "Creatures"
The CD called "Creatures" is released on 1st August . Click on Support the Show for more details
Support the show
The AI thing keeps coming up. One medical specialist said as a tool it should be known as "Augmenting Intelligence" . Probably too late now..
But - a really good point. I'm using it to replace me thinking at all - and some times it comes up with a load of rubbish.
Jack ( my son) says in art its not very good at drawing human hands - thats brilliant - all that computer power and it can't draw 4 fingers and a thumb !.
Support the show
A CD is released on August 1st - called "Creatures". Click on Support the Show for more details
Here's a taster "Magpie" - the CD is a collection of songs and instrumental tracks
Support the show
As families become spread across countries and different regions the feeling or sense of a family becomes more difficult to sustain - there's little to be done other than chasing all over the place to meet for brief re-unions that never really fulfill that longing to be a part of something that is no longer intact.
Support the show
Same theme as yesterday - watch out for the bad things - get on with the good stuff ..
Support the show
An increasingly prosperous career choice - the influencer. I'm still to be convinced it has anything to contribute to anything ..
Support the show
There are so many things you want to do in those seemingly few years we have on this spinning planet - you just got to get on with it as best you can
Support the show
Thomas Tuchel's rationale for going into defensive mode after getting the first goal in the World Cup semi final was based on Intuition, Instinct and experience. The ex footballers, many who had their own World Cup disappointments by and large didn't agree.
Where was the common sense.
Put more defenders on; you go on the defensive; more attackers you at least try to attack.
Support the show
You hear about it all the time - it happened to me on the 16th July and I put this up as a bit of therapy.
I genuinely felt stupid - I've heard stories about it and people losing their life savings. Nothing like that and the bank are going to re-fund the money anyway. Its just annoying that I got taken in...I'm annoyed with myself
Support the show
Thats it until 2030 - but that was amazing and I look forward to the tournament celebrating 100 years in Spain, Portugal and Morocco with the opening matches in Uruguay - where it all started.
Support the show
From 2024 - re-mixed to reflect the US World Cup and how many of us have been up into the early hours to watch some amazing matches.
By the time this comes up we'll know the outcome England, France, Spain or Argentina - even though I'd be pleased to see England win I'd love the little man to win in one more time.. come on Leo..
Support the show
Happy No.70 Steve !!!
"Three score and ten" is a poetic way of saying seventy years.
The phrase originates from older English usage, where a "score" denotes twenty. Therefore, "three score" equals sixty, and adding ten gives seventy. This expression is most famously found in the Bible, Psalm 90:10, which states: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away”
Bible Hub
+3. It reflects the average human lifespan and emphasizes the brevity and transience of life.
Support the show
In my ignorance I knew there was a quote somewhere in the phrase "Order from Chaos" - I had a rather unpleasant feeling it was used by one of my least favourite politicians - Margaret Thatcher, when she became Prime Minister.
Andy Burnham look out ..
It wasn't from Mrs T - she used a prayer wrongly attributed to , apparently, Francis of Assisi:
Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope.
For many years the prayer was attributed to St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), but modern research has established, beyond argument, that it is not his work. In fact he had been dead almost 700 years when it was first printed, anonymously, by a French clerical magazine, La Clochette, in 1912. The real author was probably the magazine's editor, Father Esther Bouquerel. The horrors of the Great War gave the prayer special power and wide appeal; by 1916 it was famous enough to merit reprinting on the front page of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, a measure of official standing.
BUT - co-pilot it and you get this load...
“In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.” – Carl Jung
Insightful Quotes on Order and Chaos
- “Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man.” – Henry Adams emphasizes the natural tension between unpredictability and human desire for structure
A-Z Quotes. - “Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein highlights the potential for growth and clarity within disorder
snugfam.com. - “Chaos is the score upon which reality is written.” – Henry Miller reflects the creative and foundational role of chaos in shaping life
A-Z Quotes
+1. - “One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” – Friedrich Nietzsche suggests that personal creativity and transformation arise from internal disorder
snugfam.com. - “Order provides the stabilities that we crave, but chaos creates the opportunities for change that we need.” – Unknown underscores the complementary nature of chaos and order in fostering progress
Goodreads. - “All notions of order are a myth, only order of the universe is chaos. Expand your sight and you'll realize, there is order in every chaos.” – Unknown reminds us that apparent disorder often contains hidden structure
Goodreads. - “We adore chaos because we love to produce order.” – M. C. Escher captures the human drive to create structure from unpredictability
Quotlr. - “Disorder can play a critical role in giving birth to new, higher forms of order.” – Margaret J. Wheatley emphasizes that innovation often emerges from disruption
Quotlr.
Philosophical Perspective
Many thinkers view chaos and order as intertwined forces rather than opposites. The yin-yang principle is often used to illustrate this balance, showing that unpredictability and structure coexist and enable transformation, creativity, and growth
info-welt.com. These quotes collectively suggest that embracing chaos can lead to insight, opportunity, and the creation of new order, both in life and in art.
These reflections can inspire personal growth, creative endeavors, or philosophical contemplation, highlighting that order often emerges from chaos in both the universe and human experience.
I gave up after the Carl Jung bit .
Support the show
Two things here:
I really thought that Morocco might break through this World Cup and be the First Nation from the African continent to get to the final.
Its getting very close - but France had Mbappe - the sort of goal scorer that Morocco are crying out for..
More rock and roll - I loved the band Brand X - oh my - this is from 1977. The great Phil Collins other band
Moroccan Roll is the second studio album by the British jazz fusion band Brand X, released in April 1977 on Charisma Records.[1]The title serves as a pun on "more rock and roll," alluding to the album's status as the follow-up to the group's 1976 debut Unorthodox Behaviour.
Featuring a core lineup of guitarist John Goodsall, bassist Percy Jones, keyboardistRobin Lumley, drummer Phil Collins, and percussionist Morris Pert, the album was recorded at Trident Studios in London from December 1976 to January 1977 and mixed at Morgan Studios in February 1977.[2][3] It spans nine tracks, including extended compositions like "Why Should I Lend You Mine (When You've Broken Yours Off Already)" (11:16) and "Disco Suicide" (7:55), alongside shorter instrumental pieces such as "Collapsar" (1:33) and "Orbits" (1:38).[1] The recording showcases the band's experimental approach, blending intricate jazz improvisation with rock elements and subtle Eastern influences, particularly evident in tracks like "Malaga Virgen" (8:28), which draws on flamenco-inspired rhythms
Support the show
From February 24 - the Paper Trail - How my little world has changed in just over two years.
When there were"issues" with a file two years ago you would send the paper file up the management ladder to be scrutinised.
Now - its the online file that has to fulfil all the the SLA - ( Service Level Agreements) for the uninitiated ( I'm none the wiser)
Support the show
The most commonly cited version of the rhyme goes:
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, good and gay
Thursday Child was the name of the first album (an LP) that I was involved in. A Youth Club band formed by Chris. He got together with some fellow players and recorded Thursday's Child under the band name MCC.
Our band had Chris on keyboards vocals, Simon on vocals, John on bass, My brother Steve on electric guitar. me on a guitar with pickup, Dave on drums ( I think) which later became Russell.
I found the LP in my collection when we were unpacking following the move - 1973 - ish I think .
Support the show
Not as in jail time - although I bet thats much much worse. This is serving notice on a job you loathe. Jack's doing that now. I hope the new one's better.
Support the show
Walking "Woody" ( the dog) early this morning and what d'ya know ? - There it is this imperious white Alpaca looking down its nose at me - wonderful - you don't see many of those in Dorset.
Support the show
Sometimes you get 'em - good days that you'd just like to go on a bit longer. The song Last day becomes a much more cheerful may the day last...
Support the show
In the UK there is a campaign to reduce speed limits in built up areas - 20 is plenty - re-inforced with sleeping policemen (raised bits of road) to re-inforce the message.
We live on one such road and, when I drive, I get pretty fed up with the slowness of it all BUT when you're on the receiving end of fast driving its a very different story.
You can hear the sound of a "Twenty is not enough.." driver speeding past our house as the track winds its way onwards.
Support the show
A poem in tribute to the English spirit in recognition of Sir Gareth Southgate's contribution to the cause - 60 long years without a World Cup win - was read out by Sir Ian Mcellen on the radio this week.
Our virtues of stiff upper lip, courtesy and good manners were recalled together with the ability to fight like lions.
Unfortunately there is another characteristic that so often counters those strengths - it is a very positive weakness ( if that makes sense) - we hold open doors, we queue politely - "After you please" is so often said.
Not so helpful in the World Cup round of 32 in the Azteca tonight ( this was uploaded on the 5 July before the match against Mexico) - Good luck..
Support the show
Happy day - that Friday feeling and the weekend ahead ! Have a good one.
Support the show
The reverse sentiment of yesterday's tune. Go for it --- My inconsistency of thought is sometimes quite alarming.
Support the show
A bird in the hand - is worth two in the bush
The proverb means it is better to hold onto something you already have than to risk it for the possibility of gaining something greater that may never materialize
The saying "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" advises caution and prudence. It emphasizes that having a certain, smaller benefit is preferable to pursuing a larger, uncertain one. This can apply to material possessions, relationships, career opportunities, or investments. For example, it is wiser to keep a stable job rather than risk it for a potentially higher-paying but uncertain position, or to maintain a current relationship rather than jeopardize it for someone else
Writing Explained
+3. The proverb essentially warns against greed and unnecessary risk-taking
Support the show
Its going to be hot in the UK today - keep out the way stay- In the shade
Support the show
A follow on from yesterdays tune - when you know you're going its so hard not to get ahead of yourself and - in your head anyway - be already gone..
Support the show
End of term and some long term colleagues say goodbye - time to call it a day.
Their faces show it - mixed feelings when you finally make the decision.
Support the show
America's celebration of 250 years is a significant milestone - how the tables have turned ... Congratulations have a great party.
Support the show
The second of 2 choro's written for Tony and Lekan in about 2006. Tony was a great saxophonist and this was intended as a vehicle for him to improvise over.
Support the show
Nearly 20 years since Lekan, Tony and I put together a group of pieces to play a short series of concerts and festivals.
This piece was the opener - Choro Prelude.
Support the show
There is still loads to change in the way the West regards anyone who is not from a background they recognise.
I've been following the World Cup and although it doesn't mirror society in anyway there are some parallels - the teams from Africa are closing the gap and their natural athleticism is setting them up beautifully - may be not this time - but soon.
Support the show
We've just come out of one in the UK - goodness me do we complain about it. This tune came out of a heatwave in July 2023
Support the show
I wrote a tune called You about inclusiveness - being aware of other people regardless of who or what they are - I didn't know about the #MeToo movement . But it seems relevant to turn the tune in a re-mixed way to that title as it has a whole lot of significance.
I used the tune earlier this month in a different form following another awful stabbing case - this time in Southampton.
#MeToo is a social movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which survivors (led by the voices of men and women, especially public figures) share their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media around 2006, on Myspace, by sexual assault survivor and activist Tarana Burke.The hashtag#MeToo was used starting in 2017 as a way to draw attention to the magnitude of the problem. "Me Too" is meant to empower those who have been sexually assaulted through empathy, solidarity and strength in numbers, by visibly demonstrating how many have experienced sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace.
Support the show
One for the day of rest.
A colleague who strikes me as pretty uptight said " we all want an easy life" - well he doesn't seem to make it all that easy for himself - he's a complete workaholic.
Take the day of rest...whenever it is.
Support the show
Got Co-Pilot on this one - whether I like it or not:
"Mercury rising" can refer to either a literal increase in temperature or atmospheric pressure, or in astrology, it indicates Mercury as the dominant planet in your birth chart, influencing communication and intellect. In everyday language, the phrase “mercury rising” is often used figuratively to indicate that the temperature is increasing. This comes from the traditional mercury thermometer, where rising mercury levels indicate higher temperatures. It can also refer to rising atmospheric pressure, as measured by a barometer, which generally signals calm weather conditions and the absence of precipitation
Mercury in astrology represents your communication style, thought processes, and how you perceive and express ideas. ( what a load of ...........s)
In astrology, Mercury governs intellect, communication, and perception, acting as the planet of thought and expression. Its placement in your birth chart reveals how you process information, articulate ideas, and interact with others. Mercury influences mental agility, learning style, adaptability, and decision-making, making it a key factor in understanding both your inner dialogue and external communication patterns.
This song is about how the west now seems to be moving away from concerns about global warming and suddenly seems to be more concerned about where the energy ic coming from. Good old Trumpy.
Support the show
We all do it - but its not very pleasant. Teachers to pupils: Teachers to other teachers: parents to children: colleagues to colleagues.
It achieves very little more than burning resentment.
Support the show
Happy Birthday Sue - We don't get back to Bamburgh these days but this tune was written with Lindisfarne Avenue in mind - what a place and what a collection of memories .
Support the show
From almost exactly 1 year ago when the weather was ivery similar - the old marketing slogan slip slop slap .
The UK and parts of Europe are heating up - 38 degrees C later in this week.
The Slip Slop Slap campaign is an iconic Australian public health initiative promoting sun safety to prevent skin cancer.
The Slip Slop Slap campaign was launched in 1981 by Cancer Council Victoria (then the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria) in response to rising skin cancer rates in Australia
Wikipedia. The campaign featured Sid the Seagull, an anthropomorphic mascot who danced and sang a catchy jingle on television, encouraging Australians to "Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat"
Got to be good advice
Support the show
Jam tomorrow (but never today) is an absurd dictum which first appeared in Lewis Carroll's story Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. It is based on a rule of Latin grammar in which the word iam is used only in the future or past tense but never in the present tense. It is now commonly used to signify a promise which will never be satisfied.
Tha Labour Party in the UK which won a huge majority at the last election is busy tearing itself apart because. of the promise of a charismatic new leader Amdy Burnham to replace the rather boring Keir Starmer.
Based on history I'd much rather having boring than charismatic. - Jam Tomorrow
Support the show
To start the week with a bit of good news - Rob and Marri have found their new home- the smile villa - as it translates from Italian - so I'm told .
A happy ever after tune.
Support the show
The group at school are rehearsing Vltava - Smetena's symphonic poem about the great river in former Bohemia = I'll put it up a bit later on. This is just "The River" - flowing relentlessly on to the ocean.
Support the show
It was mentioned that this "quick way" could become very drawn out as Iran - who are tactically slaughtering Mr Trump - play the long game
Support the show
The great panacea - in any relationship: love, friendship, work colleague, family
Support the show
Happy Birthday Rob - a top percussion job on this one - we originally performed at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival in....Ithink 2013.
David Cameron * the British Prime Minister" of the time's great uniting call ??? He has a lot to answer for - unnecessary austerity following the banking crash in 2008/09, the Brexit referendum - why? - thats just for starters and some nice jobs for the boys....
Support the show
Living dangerously these days - a game of Perudo is about as wild as it gets - stakes of 1p at a time
Support the show
I mt a man from St.Ives .... or so the story goes.
Actually I did and he owned a holiday home in the now largely second home town of St Ives.
This pre- school holiday time of year when the weather is good is the time for the newly married to visit the coastal resorts or the old timers enjoying their retirement. - The newly weds and the nearly dead -
Support the show
My Dad would have been 100 today - he didn't make it - by a long way - but its nice to think of him as he was, kind , patient and so very tolerant.
Support the show
From July 2025 - the AI revolution continues- I can make it up as I go along - more significantly I can make YOU up as I go along
Support the show
The great auk (Pinguinus impennis) was a large, flightless seabird of the North Atlantic that became extinct in the mid-19th century.
( Oh god I'm using AI to research this ...)
The great auk, also known as the penguin or garefowl, was the only modern species in the genus Pinguinus and first appeared around 400,000 years ago
Wikipedia. Standing about 75 centimeters (30 inches) tall and weighing roughly 5 kilograms (11 pounds), it was the largest alcid to survive into modern times
Wikipedia
+1. Its black back and head contrasted with a white belly, and during the breeding season, it had a distinctive white patch over each eye, which changed to a white band between the eyes in winter
Pictures show it looked a bit like a cross between a very large puffin ( without the colourful beak) and a penguin...
Support the show
From August 2025 - a tune influenced by the great Philip Catherine. Trying to have that laid back jazz feel to it . The cry of all acoustic guitarists playing in a band- Don't drown me out...
Support the show
After our section 21 eviction we're on the move - absolute chaos at the moment. Another weekend of van backwards and forwards and we should be close.
And then we've got to find everything.
Support the show
I am all over the place at the moment - having been evicted from our home we're just getting a new place sorted out - I didn't think it would upset us as much as it has..
The derivation of this phrase is rather difficult to trace, not least because it has changed in both form and meaning over the nine centuries or so that it has been in use. The phrase was originally ‘to set on six and seven’ and is thought to have derived in the 14th century from the game of dice. The meaning then was ‘to carelessly risk one’s entire fortune’. The earliest citation in print is Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, 1374:
‘Six and seven’ is probably a corruption of ‘cinque and six’, French for the numerals five and six. Some may feel that this is a step too far, and the theory does set the folk-etymology antennae twitching. The OED supports the idea though, which will be good enough authority for most people. If things had stayed that way the origin of the phrase would be fairly cut and dried and there would be little more to say. As we know though, it is now given as ‘at sixes and sevens’, having mutated via ‘at six and seven’, and the current meaning refers to a state of confusion, disorder or disagreement, not one of risk. There’s no question of these different versions arising independently; the movement from one to another was gradual and they overlap each other in time. The first appearance in print of ‘at six and seven’ is in 1535 and the last citation of ‘on six and seven’ in 1601. The first appearance of ‘at sixes and sevens’ was in 1670, in Leti’s Il cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa, translated or, as the subtitle of the work helpfully notes, ‘faithfully Englished’ by G. H., 1670:
Support the show
To some music is a way of life - to others a means to an end. If you keep it going for more than a few years - you'll know.
Support the show
From the time when Israel were attacking Gaza following the awful October 7th 2023 events. Now Hezbollah are under attack. The rights and wrongs I don't pretend to understand - but the innocents so often suffer.
Support the show
Today we are all asked to think about how things are viewed from the perspective of others - the very sad case where a 17 year old was stabbed in Southampton and the perpetrator was able to ( initallly anyway) convince the police that he, the perpetrator, was the innocent party ended very tragically for the victim who uttered his last words under arrest and in handcuffs.
You - you've got to be constantly aware that the world is not viewed from your perspective and others my have all kinds of takes on who you are and what you represent.
Support the show
From March 2024 - Free Will - the downside of free will is that sometimes you wish you hadn't got it - it would much easier to accept what you've been told to do and get on with it.
BUT - that wouldn't work - would it ?
Support the show
The Day Has Come - from May 2024. I get appraised - like most of us I suppose - on an annual basis. Its usually the same - what do I think I do well?what do I think do could better? How do I interact with colleagues, pupils, my line manager ( what an awful expression that is ) - and of course that mighty question "Am I a good team player?" There's no " I" in team - but there is the word "me" and "mate" and "tame" and "meat" and "at" and "ta" - what a load of b------s.
Support the show
Watching the excruciating Nicola Sturgeon interview about her ex-husbands embezzlement of £400,000 from the Scottish National Party - ( purchases including 2 hairdryers for a very bald man) it was hard to comprehend that she knew nothing.
It seems a pity - she was a pretty good spokeswomen for Scotland during Covid.
Support the show
The slightly strange heatwave in the UK in recent days seemed to have taken me back to childhood ( not again ) - those endless days of summer looking up at the clouds - daydreaming. Nice way to spend your time - how frequently does that happen these days ?
Support the show
The idea of undertaking something too quickly or too hastily without sufficient consideration or deliberation -
What the hell - I'm all for it.
Support the show
An instrumental re -mix of a 2024 song - much better without the vocals ! - there comes a time when you to step back and let them do their own thing !!
Support the show
They used to our last refuge for some sort of authority on whats happening in the world. I'm not so sure they can respond quickly enough to events anymore.
Support the show
They seem to come up with increasing frequency - time to make a choice - time to decide. Give it a go - there's nothing to lose.
Support the show
So whats it like ? when you disappear off the scene, move on to greener pastures, sling your hook ( thats a great phrase !)
Support the show
One of my interests - taking things apart and then putting them back together again to see how much better they can be. I'm quite good at the first bit - not so good at the putting them back together again..
Support the show
From Novmber 2024 - Low on battery/ Low on charge - it happens to us all now and then
Support the show
Time - is a great healer
Time - will tell
Time - is on your side
Take your choice
Support the show
Apparently a family run group of Chinese restaurants founded in 2010 - pretty damn good.
Support the show
From November 2024 - the Twilight. Starts the fifth year of the Guitar Emporium
Thanks for listening.
Support the show
History is bunk - the Henry Ford quote - maybe - but if we studied it a bit I think we'd see that we so often make the same mistakes again and again. From 2023,
Support the show
Everybody must have one - you gotta be "going forward " ( as they say) always looking for the next opportunity the next challenge - why ?
Support the show
Going nowhere - if you're being pushed around and about - let them know - you're staying in situ
Support the show
There are so many options out there and so often the advice is just to compare - ah thanks - that doesn't seem to help very much.
Support the show
There was some discussion about this coming out from the US - China summit. A rising power inevitably comes into conflict with the long established power.
But which way round was it ?
China has the history - America is pretty new to the scene.
Support the show
To the old civilisations - The Aztecs the Inca's .the Egyptians, the Greeks the Romans and all the others - here's to them !
Support the show
Resistance - to a plan or proposal ; It seems to be a very trendy way of representing failure to get through a scheme.
Pushback seems to be an easier way of saying "that just isn't going to happen"
Support the show
The NATO alliance has been referred to as Paper Tigers by Donald Trump in relation to the conflict in Iran. He has a point although I'm not sure NATO signed up to take aggressive action - I thought it was a defensive alliance. Attack one - attack all.
Support the show
From March 2024. Boat People - with a riff taken from the amazing Led Zeppelins Immigrant Song.
Published 9 May 2026 BBC verify
More than 200,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats since records began in 2018, new figures show.
The Home Office recorded 70 people arriving in the UK on Friday, taking the total to 200,013 in the last nine years. Calm weather conditions meant 70 people on one boat were able to make the crossing.
Successive governments have promised to reduce migrant arrivals through this route and halt the smuggling operations that facilitate the dangerous crossings, but the number of small boat arrivals has more than doubled in the last three years to reach this new milestone.
At least eight migrants have died while trying to cross the Channel by boat this year, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration and French authorities. Last year 23 people were confirmed to have died.
Support the show
Local elections in the UK - the rise and rise of populist politics is big here. Communicate through social media, influencers, and vague promises - there's nothing new about that it just seems to distort everything.
Some would call this a very cynical tune - I think you're probably right
Support the show
This is a good one - from the Word Smarts site - The origins of the phrase “dressing down” date back to the 1400s, when it was primarily used among sailors to describe the process of slathering a ship’s sails with tar, wax, or oil to renew their efficacy and quality. By the 1900s, that usage was expanded to describe sailors who were reprimanded for committing infractions. If a sailor was “dressed down,” then they were unlikely to repeat the same mistake, thus improving their effectiveness, much like a freshly waxed sail.
“Dressing down” is just one of many nautical phrases that have transcended their initial meaning and are widely used today. Today, people may say “learn the ropes” to describe learning the basics of any trade, but the expression was originally intended to describe the intricate rope and pulley systems found on many ships. “Pipe down” originated on the seas, too, referring to a nightly signal made by the boatswain’s pipe to alert the crew that it was time to retire for the evening. If you feel groggy, you’re likely saying you’re tired and feel a bit foggy, but if you’re a sailor, you might be feeling the effects of having one too many cups of grog — a cocktail of rum, water, sugar, and lime juice
Support the show
Remember that from the old children's stories - I used to love that sentiment. Its not so obviously stated now in the children's picture books but even Stickman and the Gruffalo turn out fine ..
Support the show
Sometimes when you've got used to looking for the catch in everything you see or do there is a danger that you look for the bad when in fact there is only good !
Don't Look a gift horse in the mouth.
The idiom advises that when you receive a gift, you should show gratitude rather than scrutinize it, as examining a gift too closely can imply ingratitude or dissatisfaction with the giver's effort or generosity. In modern usage, it applies not only to physical gifts but also to favors, opportunities, or any act of kindness. Criticizing or questioning a gift can offend the giver and damage relationships, so the phrase encourages polite acceptance and appreciation.
The phrase originates from a practical method of assessing a horse's age by examining its teeth. Horses’ teeth change as they age, and prospective buyers would inspect them to determine the horse's value. However, if a horse was given as a gift, checking its teeth would be considered rude, as it implies doubt about the gift's worth. The Latin version, "Noli equi dentes inspicere donati," meaning "Never inspect the teeth of a given horse," dates back over 1,500 years, with the English version appearing in 1546 in John Heywood’s collection of proverbs. This historical context also gave rise to the related phrase "long in the tooth," referring to aging horses.
- "She complained about the free meal, but I reminded her not to look a gift horse in the mouth."
- "You may not like the color of the sweater, but it was a present. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth."
- "He offered to help with the project for free, so I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth and just accept the offer".
In summary, the idiom is a timeless reminder to accept gifts and favors graciously, focusing on the kindness behind them rather than their material value.
Support the show
I am forever the optimist - I just need to see the slightest sign of something positive to go for it. Having been so very wrong so many times this takes either ridiculous levels of faith in other people or some very misguided hope that things will turn out fine.
Support the show
So wrapped we can become in what we're doing that we miss the obvious - I think I have been guilty of that on many occasions. Look out for the signs in those around you.
Support the show
I think its coming - he's good honest guy - I think - but there is always someone looking for the next scalp. See what the local elections in the UK today bring
Support the show
When I was studying in the 1970's this was the title of a book by the economist J.K Galbraith.
I think it still might be the Age of Uncertainty.
Support the show
The word "transactional" has become very important - its all about the deal .
I'm not sure that everything we do should be determined by what you get out of it.
Support the show
I've had access to a "light as a feather" soprano guitar these last few weeks. It really is very lightly built. It is an octave higher than a classical guitar , has 6 nylon strings and is about 1/3rd of the size of a classical guitar. The soprano guitar produces a very strong sound and works well in an ensemble.
Support the show
I've been sectioned - probably best not to be too frivolous about it. Its nothing to do with mental health - its a bit of landlord v's tenant paperwork called no fault eviction. The UK government are trying to do away with it, although I'm not convinced that they are doing anything very significant in their changes - time will tell.
Support the show
Every human endeavour is a beauty contest - and my goodness its competitive out there.
Beauty in terms of the most beautiful brain, the most beautiful body, the most beautiful face and the most beautiful achievement .. and on and on it goes
Support the show
A fashionable phrase for those who have sustained a consistent high standard throughout their life - of integrity, of performance, of achievement.
Support the show
Finding something to believe in is central to us busy little souls. You got a cause - You got something to believe in .
Support the show
The London marathon - my nephew entered for it this year, something I would loved to have done - a real achievement. Congratulations.
The song alludes to the Dustin Hoffman / Laurence Olivier film Marathon Man and the escape of Nazi leaders through Europe and away to South America
Support the show
It is all moving so so quickly - almost as though it is totally out of control - surely not. But its clearer than ever - if you ever doubted it - for right or for wrong it is all about money. Humanitarian stuff - however its argued - is secondary.
Ok its Monday morning - have a good week
Support the show
As Spring gets up and and running in the UK the mornings are beautifully " a bit nippy" - there's a frost about at dawn. I see this wonderful jogger out and on a 3 mile + circuit - she must be in her 70's, she used to run marathons and has now cut it back to just an early morning jog!!!.
Loads of energy lots going on - go with the flow.
Support the show
Lou Reed's wonderful Perfect Day - said it very eloquently. This is in hope of that day and many like it.
Support the show
The change in landlord / tenant arrangements in the UK takes effect in May 2026. In the meantime the rental market is seeing increases in rent, no fault evictions ( section 21 notices) and all kinds of shenanigans by these delightful property owners.
Support the show
This is a piece I've returned to again and again over the 57 (!) years I've been playing the guitar.
I've arranged it for a school group for concert and festival performance in the next couple of weeks. I hope it goes well.
Support the show
The road to nowhere. Some of the rhetoric thats flying about now makes you despair. Find another way - a new direction - don't let the past drag you down .
Support the show
A tune linked to the beautiful guitar part Dominic Miller composed for the Sting tune - Shape of my heart, With Rob on percussion . From Parables - a 2012 compilation of acoustic songs and tunes.
Support the show
.....more to do with the nursery rhyme than the Artemis mission . An acoustic version of the 2008 ( I think ) song
Support the show
"Digging that hole" can refer to a literal act, a humorous 1960s song by Bernard Cribbins, or a metaphor for making a situation worse
The song was a satirical take on a bowler hatted exec telling the workman how to dig the hole....
Making the situation worse - I'm sure we've all been there - well, if you haven't I certainly have .
Support the show
A standing eight-count, also known as a protection count, occurs when the referee stops the action and gives an eight-count to a boxer who has not been knocked down but appears hurt.
During this time, the referee will determine if the boxer is fit to continue.
When scoring a fight, a standing eight-count is considered the same as a knockdown.
I'll go for the standing count - down but not out - re-mix
Support the show
Thanks for bearing with a lot of re-hashes of late - sorry I mean re-mixes - some are OK and some were really indifferent.
I got a bit of breather over the last few days - some better stuff coming through - I hope.
Run it around in your head - about how some folk have no filters or empathy with the sensitivities of others - we've all met 'em...
Support the show
It originated in British pubs as an abbreviation for “mind your pints and quarts.” Supposedly this warned the barkeeper to serve full measures.
Essentially Mind your Ps and Qs is an English language expression meaning "mind your manners", "mind your language", "be on your best behaviour",
I always am on my best behaviour - I'm sure we all are ?
Support the show
I thought about calling this Dire Straits but that would be too awful to contemplate. However in this asymmetric war ( what a civilised way of saying one sided ) Irans handling of the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi's protection of the Bab- al- Mandeb Strait has really evened up the conflict to counterbalance Irans and the Gulf States pain with the prospect of international economic hardship.
Support the show
In about 2013 Robert designed and built a Hybrid Classical Style guitar. 24 frets, Richlite fretboard, Wittner Planetary Pegs, Laser cut rosette, and floating fretboard amongst many other design ideas.
13 years later he completed his best guitar to date - cedar topped, maple neck . Here it is - The Hybrid Guitar goes on...
Support the show
Having been, for some inexplicable reason, an individual who almost habitually seems to find the hardest way to complete even the easiest of tasks I strongly recommend that you always look at the easy way first
Support the show
I'm not sure I would ever find the relentless "putting one over someone else" world we now live and work in something I would enjoy starting out in - I think that ruthlessness has become much more intense during my lifetime.
Support the show
A slip of the tongue occurs when a person accidentally says a word, phrase, or sound that differs from what they meant to express, often due to a misalignment between thought and speech. It is a common human error and can range from minor mispronunciations to swapping words or phrases entirely. In psychology, such errors are sometimes called parapraxes, reflecting subconscious influences on speech.
What I didn't realise is all the psychobabble that goes with it - wow - is it really that significant.
reflecting subconscious influences on speech... OK
Support the show
I was reading and trying to understand the new Formula 1 rules - and Max Verstappen's objections to them.
I didn't succeed on either front - I have no idea about the electrical boost for overtaking, the recovery of power, and how this affects the racing and the drivers.
Why ? I think Verstappen might have enjoyed being Sterling Moss or Ayrton Senna perhaps
Support the show
If I've heard that word once in the last fortnight I've heard it a thousand times.
"to remove from existence : destroy utterly all trace, indication, or significance of"
really ?? Is that what you mean ??
Support the show
Stuff we're now pumping into our systems offers many ways to improve your life, lose some weight, make you look better, improve your body image...
We've been trying it for quite some time.
The elixir of immortality is found in various cultures throughout history. In ancient Greece, for example, this substance was known as ‘ambrosia’, or the ‘nectar of the gods’. The ancient Greeks believed that the gods attained their immortality by consuming this substance.
A similar substance, known as ‘amrita’ is found in Hindu mythology, specifically in the story of the ‘Churning of the Ocean of Milk’. In this myth, ‘amrita’ was the last of the fourteen treasures to have emerged during the churning of the ocean.
In Arthurian legend, there is the Holy Grail, the cup believed to have been used by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper. Those who drank from the grail are believed to be granted immortality. Lastly, medieval alchemists sought to create the elixir of life, and Nicolas Flamel is reputed to have succeeded in this endeavor. Although Flamel was a real person who might not have dabbled in alchemy, he gained a reputation as a master alchemist centuries after his death.
Support the show
Over heard whilst walking the dog this morning " When I grow up...." I remember it well...
Support the show
April Fools' Day, celebrated on April 1st, is a day dedicated to practical jokes, hoaxes, and good-natured pranks, with origins that remain somewhat mysterious.
Some believe it comes from a Chaucer tale relating to March 32nd - but there are other French suggestions of the origins
The Wiki bit..
Although many theories have been proposed throughout the years, the origin of April Fools' Day is not exactly known.
In Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1392).[3] In the "Nun's Priest's Tale", a vain cock, Chauntecleer, is tricked by a fox "Since March began, full thirty days and two,"[4][5]i.e. the 32nd day from 1 March, which is 1 April.[6] However, it is not clear that Chaucer was referencing 1 April since the text of the "Nun's Priest's Tale" also states that the story takes place on the day when the sun is "in the sign of Taurus had y-rune Twenty degrees and one," which would not be 1 April. Modern scholars believe that there is a copying error in the extant manuscripts and that Chaucer actually wrote, "Syn March was gon".[7] If so, the passage would have originally meant 32 days after March ended, i.e. 2 May.[8]
In 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval referred to a poisson d'avril (April fool, literally "April's fish"), possibly the first reference to the celebration in France.[9] Some historians suggest that April Fools' originated because, in the Middle Ages, New Year's Daywas celebrated on 25 March in most European towns,[10] with a holiday that in some areas of France, specifically, ended on 1 April,[11][12] and those who celebrated New Year's Day on 1 January made fun of those who celebrated on other dates by the invention of April Fools' Day.
The use of 1 January as New Year's Day became common in France only in the mid-16th century. The poet Eduard de Dene of a nobleman sent his servant on foolish errands on 1 April, predating the change.[8] April Fools' Day was also an established tradition in Great Britain before 1 January was established as the start of the calendar year.[15][16]
An 1857 ticket to "Washing the Lions" at the Tower of London. No such event ever took place.
In 1686, John Aubrey referred to the celebration as "Fooles holy day", the first British reference. On 1 April 1698, several people were tricked into going to the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed".
Support the show
What you got ? What's he want? What he's promising you to go his way ?
Support the show
Insider trading , people making hundreds of millions on bets on the oil price, meanwhile people are losing their lives. Is anyone even remotely comfortable with what's happening under our noses ?
Support the show
Bullies - they're everywhere, Internationally, locally at work and even in your leisure time.
Taking them on is great if you're prepared and quite happy for the consequences.
Support the show
One of my highlights of the week is driving home from a late finish ( for me!) and listening to the Monday Night Club on Radio 5 - with Mark Chapman - who is one very down to earth and excellent presenter both on Radio and TV.
Ginsters pasty in my left hand Costa coffee in my right ( how on earth do I drive ?) it makes the very tedious 50 minute drive tolerable...
Support the show
I would have loved to be a Bee Gee when the album Main Course came out and they realised they'd hit the jackpot - Jive Talkin' and so on..
I was doing my GCSE's at the time.
Last Man Standing was written with Barry Gibb in mind - as I think he is the last of the four brothers still alive.
Support the show
The last few days music has been a bit morose - sorry about that - a bit knackered. I've got a few days leave where I seem to get given the same work load - except I'm not at work - moan moan moan ...
Fight back - don't take it lying down.
Support the show
This one is self explanatory - Thanks to Rob for the percussion on Cajon and Djembe. Happy Birthday little man ...
Support the show
My Mum - who's 98 today says it all seems to have gone so fast. When we were young the summer days stretched on and on and on - seemingly endlessly. Now I'm not so sprightly they race by - oh my Lord. Happy Birthday Mum
Support the show
Naw-Rúz (Persian: نوروز, romanized: Nowruz) is the first day of the Baháʼí calendar year, and one of eleven holy days for adherents of the Baháʼí Faith. It occurs on the northern vernal equinox, on or near March 21, which is also the traditional Persian New Year
We lived in Alcobendas in the north of Madrid for a while. I was there during lockdown in 2020 and remember the local Persian Restaurant and the local Persian community celebrating ( I think) on 21 March .- got that wrong- sorry about that it was Friday the 20th.
Happy New Year to the Persian community wherever and whoever you are.
Support the show
This is a rather sarcastic comment on retirement . Keep your nose clean all of your working life ( what an expression) and if you're still alive after all that grift and graft - enjoy (?) your retirement. I can see how us oldies become gradually irrelevant to society as we deteriorate. The world should turn itself upside down . Let you have everything when you're young and then take it all away at the end . I'm not sure that will ever win the grey vote.
Support the show
This was an observation I first made when Trumpy was challenging the enquiry of January 6th when he challenged ( or perhaps he didn't ) the outcome of the US election.
Support the show
I'm really really bad at this ...
I don't like mobile phones and now I have 3 !!! Don't ask .. The whole thing defeats me I seem to answer when its a waste of time and then miss all the important calls, or the codes coming through, or the text messages, the whats app notifications , the face time calls - it goes on and on ... So does the phone ringing . In fact the ring tone in the song makes me jumpy !
Support the show
Tune from September 2023 - worth a re-visit : the new Ayatollah seems to be playing quite an effective game
Support the show
The media is giving conflicting views on the strike on a school in Iran on the first day of the war. It does seem likely that we've lost some children,
Support the show
The Israeli's are issuing warnings to evacuate areas in various parts of Iran prior to bombing raids. The warnings are issued on social media.
Iran is under an internet blackout.
Support the show
Constantly - although we're only two weeks into this military operation - it must seem never ending to those on the receiving end.
Support the show
When you're being hit so hard and in such a bullying fashion it must be very hard for those being bullied to back down and capitulate - these are proud people - whatever you think of their leaders.
Support the show
Investigations continue according to the Secretary for War Pete Hegseth - but the tragedy of the girls school hit by a Tomahawk missile on day 1 of this conflict is hard to deny. We don't target civilians is not a very good defence - even looking at it generously.
Support the show
There's a fair amount of that going on in the White House at the moment..
Support the show
This is a beautiful duet - taken from the ABRSM Grade 4 syllabus.
It's an arrangement of a piece attribute to Alfonso el Sabio - a 13th century musician/nobleman. Its taken from a collection of single line melodies "Cantigas be Santa Maria" and arranged by Stephen Goss.
Support the show
The use of these things is questionable. I had a situation where two protagonists ended up filming each other for "evidence" . The only good thing about it was they were both so concerned about. getting a good recording- they almost lost the thread of their argument.
Support the show
Maybe we can. Maybe we can't ...
Glass half full - glass half empty.
I'm always going to go for glass half full - maybe...
Support the show
That great film - Michael Gambon & Daniel Craig were major contributors.
How many layers are we being shown at the moment as all hell breaks out in the Middle East ?
Support the show
Someone needs to stand up to these confrontational populist leaders. Are we really being led into more and more conflicts for the enrichment of some fairly despicable characters own (or maybe how they perceive) reputations.
Support the show
The conflict in Iran is confusing, contradictory and makes you wonder what is the real reason for all this conflict - or is it just one or two leaders belligerence?
Support the show
Seasonal affective disorder can affect mental health throughout the year - but its often associated with winter - tiredness and sluggishness.
I don't think it affects most people but "woah" this winter has been awful - it feels like it may finally be coming to an end
Support the show
I was reading stuff about some Arab states being keen to get big rock bands over to their part of the world to perform to their audiences - sounds great to me - and ( I would imagine) very lucrative for the bands that get invited.
Support the show
Happy Birthday - 6 years on - and how your life has changed - for the better.
Support the show
I'm not sure if this is the case but one of the lessons of learning from history is not to make the same mistakes as our predecessors . I'm not sure we're doing very well at it.
Support the show
Ever been the wrong side of a trend ?
I've heard the phrase many times - and they're right .
Support the show
Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another for improper reasons.
I have little sympathy for those who get publicly vilified for bad things they have done but every so often our wonderfully impartial news hounds get it wrong - thats almost as bad as being the baddy in the first place.
Support the show
Continuing with yesterdays pursuit of an approach to jazz guitar - this is another studied study of the style- not even close ...
Support the show
I've been fascinated with Jazz guitar over the years - but never studied it for any length of time. The music of Philip Catherine has been something that I keep returning to - the effortless way he moves around acoustic and electric guitars has always been great to listen to. This piece was an achingly studied pastiche of that "effortlessness" - doesn't sound anything like him!!
Support the show
As the rain continues in the UK - No days without rain since the New Year out in the sticks its getting very muddy.
Support the show
I was talking to a shop keeper about how quick children are with IT - compared to the oldies they are so confident and competent they barely notice it.
Support the show
Its the Weekend - enjoy the break, take it easy, do something just for you if you can.
Support the show
The Winter Olympics are usually quite remote from us in the UK. We had Torvill & Dean once a long long time ago - but now the skeleton and we're winning medals.
OK I don't in any way understand the skill involved - but who cares we won something...
Support the show
We all play down getting hurt - usually until its so bad we can't hide it any more.
Support the show
These choices come up again and again - social occasions, job opportunities, life choices - may be I should call it indecision
Support the show
The tune for this piece arrived in the middle of the night - I don't have a problem sleeping but when I wake up I can worry about the most insignificant things for hours..
Support the show
Monday in mid-February in the UK is not all that amazing: grey skies, rain everywhere, but Shrove Tuesday just around the corner - pancake day !
That breaks the week up nicely
Support the show
Some good things come along often entirely by chance and very rarely- don't seek out an explanation just enjoy it
Support the show
The 14th February is St Valentines day.According to legend, St. Valentine signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and healed from blindness. Another common legend states that he defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from being conscripted to serve in war.He has become associated with romantic love..
Todays piece is a re-mix of "not again" - and refers to that wonderful mix of emotions that falling in love brings about - longing, belonging, euphoria and despair - almost changing minute by minute .
Support the show
One for Friday the 13th - the wiki bit...
Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. For a month to have a Friday the 13th, the first day of the month must be a Sunday.
The Origins
Unluckiness of 13
One source mentioned for the unlucky reputation of the number 13 is a Norse myth about twelve gods having a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the thirteenth guest, and arranged for Höðr, the god of darkness, to shoot Balder, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. Balder died, triggering much suffering in the world, which caused the number 13 to be considered unlucky.[1][2]
Christian associations
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci
The superstition seems to relate to various things, like the story of Jesus's Last Supper and crucifixion in which there were thirteen individuals present in the Upper Room on the thirteenth of Nisan Maundy Thursday, the night before his death on Good Friday.[a][b][5]
Support the show
That excruciating moment when you are literally high and dry - I've been there more times than I care to remember - and it still sends a shiver of horror down my spine,
Support the show
Where the dots are - add your own word.
In talking to a colleague about how her Christmas went she came out with - At least no-one died !!.
A very dark and negative positive - in a very strange way it was quite funny.
Apologies for the very dark sense of humour.
Support the show
The Epstein saga will rumble on for quite a while I'm sure. Donald Tusk( the Polish Primeminister) has an interesting take on the affair.
( From the Daily Mail )
American intelligence experts believe Epstein was inducted into the world of espionage via business deals with Robert Maxwell, the disgraced media magnate who - like Epstein - died in murky circumstances; in Maxwell's case his body was found floating in the Atlantic in 1991, having apparently fallen overboard from his yacht.
Maxwell's daughter, Ghislaine, is serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking and other offences linked to her association with Epstein, who she is said to have met shortly after her father's death.
Security sources say Robert Maxwell was a Russian asset from the 1970s, when he worked to extradite Soviet Jews to Israel, with the involvement of Israeli intelligence service Mossad.
In return, they say, Maxwell laundered Russian money into the West - with the help of Epstein.
They think the financier was introduced to Maxwell and the KGB by an oil tycoon also in the pay of Russian intelligence. Probes into Robert Maxwell's business dealings have uncovered links not only to the KGB and Mossad - but also MI6.
US security officials also believe Epstein had long-standing ties with Russian organised crime, who could have been blackmailing him. That could explain the ease with which Epstein appeared to be able to fly in 'girls' from Russia.
A source said: 'You have Andrew, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and all the rest placed in compromising positions on an island bristling with technology. It's the world's largest honey trap operation.
'The Americans have been on this for years, but our lot have seemed more queasy about it, presumably because of the Royal link.' All the high-profile figures named in the files deny any wrongdoing.
Support the show
There is one interpretation of sacrifice as requiring the ritual slaughter of an animal or person - this is not the interpretation here.
The version I'm using here is "the act of giving up or losing something of value for the sake of something else" much less dramatic but still I think significant for most of us.
Support the show
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British former politician, lobbyist and diplomat. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepoolfrom 1992 to 2004 and served in the Cabinets of Tony Blairand Gordon Brown as Minister without portfolio, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Business Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as British Ambassador to the United States from February to September 2025 under Keir Starmer.
A former member of the Labour Party, Mandelson served as its director of communications from 1985 to 1990 during the leadership of Neil Kinnock, becoming one of the first people to whom the term "spin doctor" was applied and being nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" because of his "ruthless" and "media-savvy" reputation.[1] Although sidelined during John Smith's leadership from 1992 to 1994, Mandelson became close to Blair and Brown. Mandelson was one of several key individuals responsible for the rebranding of the Labour Party as New Labour before its victory at the 1997 general election under Blair, to whom he had become a trusted ally and adviser. He was also heavily involved in the 2001 general election, famously delivering his "I'm a fighter, not a quitter" speech, but was not a member of the government at the time, having resigned a few months earlier.
Mandelson served as Business Secretary, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and again from 2008 to 2010, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1999 to 2001, as well as First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council from 2009 to 2010. He was European Commissioner for Trade from 2004 to 2008 and MP for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004, before being elevated to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2008 to serve in the Brown cabinet as Business Secretary in 2008, a move that surprised many due to his long-standing political rivalry with Brown. After Labour lost the 2010 general election, Mandelson co-founded the lobbying firm Global Counsel and remained active in Labour politics in the year
Support the show
The slightly unnerving time of day - when daylight fades into darkness.
Support the show
This is my attempt to write an "Ababtross" piece by Fleetwood Mac. Its not about writing or re-writing something similar to Albatross but getting that wonderful feel to the piece that Fleetwood Mac managed to achieve with the piece. Hence The Great Auk
Support the show
I have always enjoyed the music of The Police from the 1980's . I also loved Stings solo output - almost without question.
But I always felt Andy Summers guitar and Stewart Copelands drumming had a huge influence on the originality of the band . Every so often I can hear me playing a riff that ( I hope ) sounds a bit Andy Summer- ish.
This is one of them - about staying in a situation you know has out served its purpose - but you keep going from - loyalty, the money or even because you just can't be bothered to start afresh .
Support the show
There are so many areas now where the idea of balance is so important.
Political dealing, journalistic interpretation, - its all about correctness and almost impossible to achieve. Your own view of the world inevitably gets in the way.
Support the show
We all know one - a great raconteur who can hold you in the palm of his hand when re-counting one of his stories . Love it .
Support the show
In late 2024 there was a gunning down of a CEO of an insurance company by a disgruntled policy holder - three D's were engraved on the bullets apparently. Deny, Delay, Depose - relating to insurance companies alleged behaviour towards customers in processing claims.
A friend totally separately to the incident remarked ( without knowledge of the shooting I believe) that his life now comprised of the three G's - golf, gardening and grandchildren. A much lighter take than the awful events of the shooting. This is a re-mix of the Three Dees and is now re-titled The three G's.
Support the show
Thats what Sunday's for - well at least part of it - No - most of it . have a good one.
Support the show
This is meant to be an upbeat song - OK there are many obstacles to doing almost anything - but what the hell - try it anyway.
Support the show
The originale is a beautiful guitar I received from Italy at Christmas - its been four years in the making. Robert made it whilst he was criss crossing Europe - some parts were made in England; some parts in Germany and it was finished in Italy.
This is a try out tune.
Support the show
Corruption in the UK is as rife as anywhere else in the world we just do it on the quiet an without drawing any undue attention. I've observed people involved in it, seen the consequences but never directly been offered a back hander. Ah well you can't win 'em all.
Support the show
Defined as .."a device for turning power off in an emergency"
Everyone should have one
Support the show
Some time ago when you were trying to back track and find out what had happened you were asked to follow the paper trail. Now its much more complicated - follow the emails
Support the show
Or is it Board of Peace - Trumpy's at it again. A Board ( Bored?) of Peace body with him at the centre and in a position he doesn't have to relinquish when his all conquering period of Presidency comes to its magnificent end.
You can become a delegate country but watch out for those membership fees !!
Support the show
This piece started life as a "typo" - It was meant to be "Don't be flattered"
The idea was a reflection of how some dreadful employers who tell their hard working employees how indispensable they are - but continue to treat them appallingly - and get away with their false flattery.
But maybe if you think of it as a warning to those badly treated workers it makes more sense- don't get steamrollered by these bosses - don't be flattened
Support the show
As I continue to dredge the used car market I've purchased what I believe to be a really good Peugeot 207 - My way of judging the car is to look a the owner - is he or she the type of person who looks after their car? Are they ( literally) taking me for a ride or can I rely on what they tell me about the cars history.
As a qualification for that load of rubbish - I've been right about as many time as I've been wrong....
Support the show
Sometimes you just gotta stand back and work it all out - its the only way to get any clarity
Support the show
Sometimes to make any progress you have to throw your hat in the ring - just stop over thinking everything and have a go.
If that is you ( and its certainly me !) use the New Year as a chance to kick start whatever it is that is holding you back..
Support the show
Over the festive period most of us came across one or two... friendly helpful and always willing to offload your phone. card or even your wallet of a round or two....
Support the show
If you've got an itch - then you better scratch it ...
Metaphorically of course - if you have a desire or craving to do something or a passion for something you've got to do it . A good time to enact a New Years resolution maybe ?
Or if you actually do have an itch - its probably about time you paid a visit to the Doctor.
Support the show
I really enjoy hearing those who clearly are of a high station in life inflicting their own sense of importance on those lesser mortals amongst us ( as long as they're not doing it to me !).
If I wasn't dependent on them for my livelihood I'd take great pleasure in telling them where to stick their sense of entitlement.
Support the show
I like to think that some things survive all onslaughts - come what may
Support the show
Age takes away do many things but it also ( hopefully) allows you to put things into some sort of perspective,
Support the show
The days are just starting to get a little longer - the winter solstice is nearly a month past, the shortest day gone for another year and, although its still winter, its good to have those extra minutes at the beginning and end of the day.
Support the show
Success in Love and comparing it to a massive gamble has always been part of how it goes...
Support the show
From October 2023 - I've heard it said so many times - Left High and Dry by events, the speed of things, by people...
Support the show
In his own unique style the US President talks about acquiring Greenland - the easy way or the hard way.
As a diplomat he does go in a pretty strongly.
Support the show
In the recent maelstrom of US led craziness it must be very hard to be the lone voice saying things like - "are you sure this is a good decision ?" or " you can't be serious!"
Support the show
I will move away from the slightly depressing post New Year mood very soon - honest..
A reflective piece from July 2023
Support the show
A guitar part that keeps coming back - so I think I need to offload it !
From July 2023 "Blacklist" was a reflection of my slight ( probably a bit more than that) paranoia that some individuals get put on a blacklist in certain ways of life - I'm sure thats not the case ....?
Support the show
From the proverb "After the Lord Mayor's show comes the dust-cart" ("donkey-cart", or "shit-cart"). Bringing up the rear of the Lord Mayor's Show is a team to clean the manure of the pageant's horses,
So there you go - the early January doldrums after the Christmas / New Year festivities.
Support the show
A re-mix of a tune from 2023 - Reduce that balance ...
In my case that usually refers to the post Festive season request from my bank to bring down the level of my overdraft.. Ah well .. and a Happy New Year to the world of finance.
Support the show
Like most people with a nice warm bed to go to - the only time I really think about those without a roof over their head - is at Christmas.
Those Hughie's out there I hope they found something OK to take them through the winter at the very least.
Support the show
In the businesses I've been involved in " the bonus" was handed out like Oliver Twist asking for more - you don't deserve it - I may give you something - but I may not. I thought the Victorian era was more than 100 years ago - may be not
Support the show
I find the bit between Christmas and the New Year quite a good time to "chew the fat" -( I love that expression )- think it all over. I won't get too reflective for too long - honest - but it does no harm to take a step back and reflect on stuff.
Support the show
From January 2024 - Lurgy. In the UK post covid a fair number of people wear masks when it gets to flu season. We had the worst of it here before Christmas - but it usually picks up again once the children go back to school.
Support the show
Don't fear the opposition you'll get from trying new things, new directions or opportunities .
Support the show
Continuing the New Year theme - new horizons , new opportunities, chances to change direction - make a fresh start . Go for it !!
Support the show
This is for about 2003/2004 - recorded on steel guitars ( not sure why ) is Colin Arensteins arrangement of the piece.
Support the show
No.4 In the top 5 downloads is a mash up of Happy Birthday - for the Italian branch of the family - from 2023.
Support the show
From a CD called "Phases" - a midi guitar project - this dates from about 2003 - I think .
Support the show
Jona Lewie's unintended Christmas Song finishes off my collection of tunes for Christmas - but it is appropriately an anti - war song.
It ties in nicely with that that almost legendary tale of the Christmas truce football match during World War 1.
The Christmas Truce has become one of the most famous and mythologised events of the First World War. But what was the real story behind the truce? Why did it happen and did British and German soldiers really play football in no-man's land?
Late on Christmas Eve 1914, men of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) heard German troops in the trenches opposite them singing carols and patriotic songs and saw lanterns and small fir trees along their trenches. Messages began to be shouted between the trenches.
The following day, British and German soldiers met in no man's land and exchanged gifts, took photographs and some played impromptu games of football. They also buried casualties and repaired trenches and dugouts. After Boxing Day, meetings in no man's land dwindled out.
The truce was not observed everywhere along the Western Front. Elsewhere the fighting continued and casualties did occur on Christmas Day. Some officers were unhappy at the truce and worried that it would undermine fighting spirit.
After 1914, the High Commands on both sides tried to prevent any truces on a similar scale happening again. Despite this, there were some isolated incidents of soldiers holding brief truces later in the war, and not only at Christmas.
In what was known as the 'Live and Let Live' system, in quiet sectors of the front line, brief pauses in the hostilities were sometimes tacitly agreed, allowing both sides to repair their trenches or gather their dead.
Support the show
Christmas Eve - a magical night - when Santa is on his way. Carrots for the reindeer, a glass of sherry by the fireplace, empty pillow slip left at the bottom of the bed and excited children trying to stay awake but wanting to go to sleep ready for the next day.
Support the show
For us Christmas begins on Christmas Eve when family arrive and settle down for the duration. So the 23rd is the night before Christmas. This is my attempt at a Christmas tune.
Support the show
Miguel Llobets arrangement ofthe Catalan Christmas Folk Song - " the son of the mother" - was apparently popularised by Seqovia who played it as an encore in recitals.
Support the show
Bert Jansch's folk version of the Gustav Holst melody is one of my favourite Christmas tunes.
"In the Bleak Midwinter" is a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti. It was published under the title "A Christmas Carol" in the January 1872 issue of Scribner's Monthly,[1][2] and first collected in book form in Goblin Market, The Prince's Progress and Other Poems(Macmillan, 1875).
It has been set to music several times. Two settings, those by Gustav Holst and by Harold Darke, are popular and often sung as Christmas carols. Holst's is a hymn tune called Cranham, published in 1906 in The English Hymnal and simple enough to be sung by a congregation.
Support the show
The two tunes interchange in this version for acoustic bass and two guitars
Support the show
The wiki bit : Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Year's song "Shchedryk". The music for the carol comes from the song written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in or before 1916; the English-language lyrics were written in 1936 by American composer of Ukrainian origin Peter Wilhousky.
A generation know it from the film Hole Alone with John Williams version of the piece.
I associate it with our short time in Spain when the staff choir sang it beautifully in the Christmas Concert of 2019.
Support the show
The great anthem from the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan was composed by MacGowan and Jim Finer. The song doesn't seem to age at all - but seems to have had quite a long path to being fully realised. It was finally released in 1987. I love the music and hope this version is an OK instrumental version.
Support the show
The beautiful last movement of the Christmas Concerto arranged for 4 guitars.
Support the show
As I upload this Carol the lights in Bethlehem are being celebrated for the first time in two years as those in the occupied territories feel safe enough to publicly commemorate the Christmas season
Support the show
Greg Lakes take on Christmas is almost an anti - Christmas song. I've tried to capture the spirit of his wonderful music for those almost alarming Christmas sentiments.
Support the show
We got to start sometime ... and I've held it back for quite a while.
I still love the Christmas season - its a celebration when most people feel celebratory. Have a good one. Wisjhing you a good Christmas Season and a peaceful 2026.
Support the show
A baroque composer chronologically but seen as an influence on classical type developments.
Support the show
Segovia's amazing recording of this piece still dominates the horizon.
Support the show
Julian Bream's arrangement of the famous Purcell Rondo starts the short sequence of Baroque pieces for guitar.
Support the show
A direct contemporary of J.S.Bach, Weiss was the great lutenist of his age.
Support the show
A piece I've enjoyed playing for many years - John Dowland composed a number of these free form lute pieces.
Support the show
Its full title is "Fantasia - which imitates the harp in the style of Ludovico". In the second section of the piece the comment against the manuscript is " this doesn't sound so bad when well played" - I hope my version is not too far from what was intended.
Support the show
Someone who habitually takes on burdensome or unpleasant tasks or unreasonable amounts of work.
I feel that may be me on many occasions - God only knows why I do it.
Support the show
Driving East on the A303 one morning I need some fuel. I stop at a service station and get out to fill up. A van pulls up next to me . A man gets out the passenger side says to me " What' your name?" - Thinking I've got some nutter here I say " What's your name" He replies " I'm Neil and I'm drunk" - "I'm Richard " I reply.
Support the show
This is a tribute to Django's clarinet player and his brothers who provided the rhythm section for so may of his tunes.
Support the show
Back to a Django piece. A reheasal recording - getting Clive to launch into one of his improvisations.
Support the show
My factually unfounded theory that the Brazilian composer based the guitar Prelude no.3 on the playing of Django Reinhardt rather than the well supported view that the piece was influenced by the music of J.S Bach.
Support the show
Continuing "Django week" with Predicament = OK there's some synth in there but essentially its the same style.
Support the show
Following on from Django - listening to Birelli Lagrene and Philip Catherine - both jazz players but slightly away from the Reinhardt style - Walk it Off
Support the show
This is a tribute to Django's clarinet player and his brothers who provided the rhythm section for so may of his tunes.
I first came across Django Reinhardts music when I was about 20 - the energy and the good time feel of his playing was wonderful.
For a while I had the opportunity to work with a great bass player - Clive - who could improvise - something I do - but not like he does.
This is a rehearsal recording ( a bit of tuning in the intro ) but then off he goes - great stuff.
This starts a week of this " Hot Club de Paris " style of recordings
A second instrumental from 2024 - Make your own choice - I'm about as indecisive as it gets and very often - no always - can be persuaded to change direction. Oh dear.
An instrumental tune first used a year ago - I was coming back from travelling and quite fancied the idea of cutting loose.
Nic Lowe recorded a great song about Cruel to be Kind with Brinsley Swartz in the 1970's - I think. the basic premise is - it never is ...
We're better off working together - whatever it is - love, work, war, changing the world. Thats probably enough....
Two absolutely magical words that can never be over used. Old, young, fit or frail use them when you can - they can make the world go around that little bit better
As a teacher for most of the time any playing or practice or writing little pieces was done in the evening - Searching for MrBosco was a piece in a West African style written with a tune by Jean Bosco "Msenghi" as its starting point.
The time of day when the evening meal is produced. No.5 of A Day in Seven Days.
We never called it supper - we certainly weren't that posh - it was always tea.
The piece was as a result of enjoying Steve Hacketts " Horizons" from the Genesis album - Suppers Ready. Now they were posh.
Piece No.4 in the series: Fiesta.
One of the loveliest memories of our all too brief time in Spain was a Fiesta in our home mountain village of Turelles. The musicians arrived in a lorry which opened out into a stage and the villagers old and young took to the dance floor from the early afternoon to the early hours - wonderful.
This is the third tune from my acoustic guitar pieces representing stages of the day in seven days.
Three by Three - We had 3 boys and meal times were a lot of fun - and still are.
Not particularly led by health concerns - sausage sandwiches on white doorstop bread for breakfast; burgers often featuring at lunch and spaghetti bolognese for tea. They seem OK on them. This piece is lunchtime in the 7 sections of the day.
This is a collection of my acoustic guitar pieces representing stages of the day in seven days.
The second piece in the series represents the mid -morning. In particular a walk on Bamburgh beach in Northumberland in the biting cold wind.
This is a collection of my acoustic guitar pieces representing stages of the day in seven days.
Daybreak begins the sequence
There are important places, situations, occasions in all our lives that occasionally return - either to haunt or to leave a nice warm feeling - a fondness.
This piece refers to the watches of the night,
Like most I've spent periods of my life when I've been working when the world sleeps and it is a strange and very different place to occupy.
The wiki bit ....
The watches of the night, or night watches, refers to the ancient practice of dividing the night into periods for the goal of keeping watch. Lasting from sunset to sunrise, guards relieved each other at each of these periods. The Hebrew and Babylonian watches of the night were divided into three military watches; the first (evening), middle (midnight) and morning watch.[2] As Christianity began, the number of watches increased to four watches due to the influence of the ancient Greeks and Roman Empire, who used four watches throughout the night.
One of the best ?? online jobs is that of the influencer- to persuade us all how to live, love and perhaps most importantly - spend our money.
There is a thirst for something new, invigorating, challenging, stimulating, - oh good grief - really?
Dominated by populist preaching politicians, many are being crushed and discarded in their wake.-These characters seem to come around at least once every century. Sadly we seem to have a glut of them at the moment.
We have a young dog who has developed a slightly unnerving skill of gnawing through electric cables - fortunately when the power is off so far. I kept finding the power was tripping out when I switched on a CD player or a side light - and then I found little - and not so little - chew marks on cables....
The Seven Deadly Sins : ( according to Mahatma Gandhi - and he knew a thing or two about sacrifice) Wealth without work Pleasure without conscience Science without humanity Knowledge without character Politics without principle Commerce without morality Worship without sacrifice.
The Alonso Mudarra Fantasie for vihuela with various discordant sections is a piece I keep returing to . This combination of themes taken from that piece is an example.
A re-mix of a tuning acknowledging the Christmas season in the UK is getting up and running once again.
In a generation where we are encouraged to show and share our emotions I still find it hard - stiff upper lip was always the way ...
Long partnerships are hard to understand when one of the partners departs for whatever reason. Undoubtedly we look at friends family and acquaintances very differently and they reciprocate.
I was watching a political correspondent interviewing Kamala Harris and I thought whilst they were gently sparring neither of them really gave a hoot - this was bread and butter to them. Just like some of the awful job interviews we all have experienced over the years - they still make my skin crawl thinking about them.
I've had a good day today - why was it a good day ? A couple of things went OK AND there was no conflict - I'm all for taking the easy way out
Another open ended phrase - forever hopeful - for what ? .. Do we sometimes expect too much, create too many expectations of life - I have no idea - but this is how it goes and seems to have been going for centuries and centuries.
Forever Hopeful - of maybe a better way - that seems unrealistic - to say the very least .
Why would you ? .. many answers or ways of completing the sentence.
Vote Reform , go fox hunting for pleasure, carry a knife, use a firearm ,,, and on it goes
This could be said of many who have made indiscretions - its very tempting to judge - and although nobody's perfect there's bad and then there's very bad.
Add your own ending to that phrase - in the UK it is linked to one person in particular - but there are many others . This is far too happy a tune to be linked to such a sad phrase- apologies - it might sound like I am celebrating..
In a couple of recent press articles about the links between Donald Trump, Prince Andrew and Jeffery Epstein there was a recurring comment " He was a lot of fun to be with .." Which one was that then ?
My own personal favourite from the Concerto for Classical guitar and Jazz piano trio and the last of this weeks Classical - Jazz crossover pieces. I was pleased with this recording - but to put it into context listen,if you can, to Angel Romero's version and the " Cadenza" he introduces.
Joaquin Malats "Serenata Espanola" was used as the basis of this crossover piece. Not improvised but structured in a way to give a least some impression of a jazz feel.
Here I used a Venezuelan waltz by Antonio Lauro and introduced it as the high point of my own latin style melody.
My attempt at a Classical - Jazz fusion. I played Alexander Tansmans "Variations on a theme by Scriabin" which used one of Scriabins Preludes as a basis for the piece. From that I applied the harmony and melody to a version - not an improvisation.
In the 1960' & 70's this fusion of styles emerged. Claude Bolling was one of the best composers in this style. The Concerto for Classical Guitar and the Hispanic Dance was written in 1976. I played the Concerto as part of the Brian Heeley Quartet - and this recording was made 2002/2003 - I think.
Stephen Hawking declared: “We are running out of space, and the only places to go are other worlds. Now is the time to investigate other solar systems. Perhaps the only thing that can save us from ourselves is to spread out. Humans must depart from Earth, in my opinion.”
The entire world is very large. It is home to 8 billion people, more than 8 million animal species, and an enormous variety of plants and insects. We are all housed on it, and 71 per cent of it is covered in water. It also provides us with food and access to its resources.
The song was about my concern about running out of space on my computer - but the whole Stephen Hawking thing is much much more interesting.
One of the post covid business practices is reducing the number of employees - those who work - work harder , those who manage take more off the top .
As I put this track up - the 9th October - there seems to be a possible chance of the Trump plan finding a way forward to a deal in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Lets hope so...
Although the older generation in the UK have a huge amount of economic clout I sense there is a feeling amongst younger people that the oldies time has passed. Its time to move on.
Most older people I know are acutely aware their time has been and gone- but they would still love to contribute.
As an aspiring executive the fourth floor in the company I worked at was where all the high flyers were - that was what I was working towards.
The idea that Hope Springs Eternal is epitomised in this piece by the recurring theme which keeps coming back throughout the short piece.
From the US Dictionary :
The proverb "hope springs eternal" means that hope is always present, even in the face of adversity. It is often used to express the belief that things will eventually get better, even if things are tough right now.
In short:
"Hope springs eternal" indicates that people maintain optimism and keep hoping, even when things seem challenging.
What Does "Hope Springs Eternal" Mean?
"Hope springs eternal" is an idiomatic expression that conveys the idea that humans inherently possess an enduring sense of hope, no matter the difficulties they face. It expresses the notion that people retain hope and optimism, even in discouraging circumstances
- It represents the persistent human quality of optimism, the belief that situations can improve regardless of present difficulties.
- It encourages perseverance, suggesting that as long as hope exists, there's potential for positive change.
- While typically used in a positive context, it can sometimes carry a more cynical tone, pointing to the human tendency to maintain unrealistic expectations.
Where Does "Hope Springs Eternal" Come From?
The phrase "hope springs eternal" comes from Alexander Pope's poem "An Essay on Man" from the 18th century. The full line reads, "Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest." This poetic line emphasizes the unwavering spirit of optimism in humans.
Just hang on to that when all the bad stuff is going on. Today saw the attack on the Manchester synagogue.
The explanation given on the Grammar Whisper website is a good one - if a bit over the top.
They use the phrase “Ask Me No Questions and I’ll Tell You No Lies”
Their description goes ..." it may sound like a clever turn of words, but it holds timeless weight. It’s more than just an expression; it carries ethical undertones and speaks to the emotional distance people often create to feel safe. On the face of it, the line feels simple – “don’t ask, and I won’t lie” – but its real value lies in hiddenlayers. It means that when someone asks too much, they may uncover a truth that’s too inconvenient or even dangerous to handle.
In quiet moments, folks use it to avoid confrontation or to withhold sensitive information. I’ve heard it whispered in a tense moviescene, and I’ve even said it half-jokingly, half-cautiously, when someone got too close to something I didn’t want to share.
That takes a bit of thinking about...
Manuel Ponces big classical guitar pieces are monumental in their scale. I discovered his 24 Preludes ( working through the keys - as Chopin did for the piano) some time ago. Little pieces , varied but very beautiful - each with their own charm. I've been teaching Prelude 11 in B major to a grade 7 pupil . The more we play it , the more I like it. I've taken out some of the passages I really enjoy and hacked them about a bit.
Anxiety issues - I can't be the only person with them - but it does make you sound like a mental health hypochondriac.
It all centres about some ridiculous notion of being left out, not part of something or left behind and isolated . Oh god - bring on the therapy.
I was recording this one at the end of the day and I was getting so middle of the road the tune was only saved ( barely) by the bell ringing and cutting short my woeful easy listening soloing - ENJOY !!
This is one of those tunes where I thought I had a really interesting backing track and I could do something with it - Maybe , Maybe not
An old TV game of charades which ran from the late 1970's until the early 1990's - can you remember any of the contestants or hosts ? - I'm not sure I can
The end of the evening, the end of a memorable time - the hostelry has closed for the evening its time for the pub to kick you out.
This one keeps coming up - and Ive re-mixed it once again. The tune was written for a folk festival and played acoustically from about 2009 when it was put together until the pandemic when I re-recorded it.
The Influencer "thing" was bugging me a bit - I have enough knowledge to be be really badly informed about what a benefit these characters bring to society. So I read a bit more and today we've got Guiding Light. One to inspire us all on a Friday - thinking of a career change ?
The great late Jeff Becks album Blow by Blow with George Martin was just great. Worth a visit anytime is case you forget how goos Jeff Beck was.
I'm not sure anything is really gained by being too sensitive - its a bit like the song from earlier in the month " The Art of the Putdown" . If you're become too sensitive to negative stuff it can set you back so much.
Influencers - thats a new one on me - what on earth is that about ? Self appointed internet guru's offering us their view on just about everything. I'll be giving that one a miss.
Clock watching - in some of the work I've done I've been very guilty of doing that. It is certainly the case that the more you watch the clock the slower it seems that time passes.
When you get on a bit in years you suddenly start seeing one or two friends who have gone at life really hard start to fall apart. Its sad - because its so often the nicest souls who leave us first.
A device in music where a section is resolved with the major tonic chord rather than the minor. I don't think I used it in its true sense - and it only happens once or twice in the piece - in the early part. I came across it when playing rennaissance and baroque stuff - John Dowland used it in his Fantasie pieces ( I think ). An upbeat Friday tune...
This is an arrangement of a tune called Rainbow Wood by the guitarist John Anderson. He featured it in his tutor book and I've added a second guitar part, a bass and a choir ( !) to the piece. My guitar group like the solo so I hope they will enjoy the group piece.
What we do in our hours when the meter isn't running is often more valuable to us than what we get paid to do. This months useful (?) tip.
The Fortune Teller. Mystic Meg ( shows how old I am !) the astrologer - they've got it made - foreseeing the future - a great gift.
The only thing is - if it had any bad bits in - I'd want to change them - can you do that ?
An old fashioned ballad - lamenting I'm not sure what - same old stories, tales, memories, songs - no idea really.
A re-mix of a song from late 2023. About protecting those around you - particularly the young and old. Gaza, Ukraine, any area of conflict seems to suffer the most and looking after your loved ones is really out of your control.
At this time of year at work we're bombarded with Safeguarding stuff - and rightly so - but the broader aspect of looking after your own whenever and wherever you can is never far from your thoughts.
As about as politically incorrect as you can get.. The room where a bloke has his stuff - things to repair, things he has no idea how to repair ( but hopes he'll work it out one day) the cigars he's trying to smoke on the quiet and the bottle of whisky to go with it. Plus all the bills, accounts and maintenance projects he will get around to - maybe next year.
I don't have one - but the charity shops in the UK are just excellent. The Sue Ryder charity shop is just one of them - but currently my favourite, with the Dogs Trust running a close second.
A good time to get the winter wardrobe sorted out.
This has become my favourite Villa Lobos Prelude over the years - played on Roberts 2nd Hybrid guitar- made whilst he was doing his Deliveroo job in Nuremberg and making the guitar in his "spare?" time.
Described as a Homage to Social Life - I always felt this was more of a chore than a prelude. It has a straightforward melodic structure and clearly defined sections - a great piece.
My idea of a Django/ Villa Lobos meet up in the Paris of late 1920's probably never took place - but here is the use of their two musical styles - a bit of nonsense.
The piece is played on Roberts 2nd Hybrid guitar built when he was living in Nuremberg and working for Deliveroo. The guitar has a strutting structure of carbon fibre and is maple with a spruce sound board - effectively a white guitar with ebony saddle and nut with the Wittner pegs once again. Very distinctive looking and with a good sound across the range.
Prelude No.4 is described by Turibio Santos as a Homage to the Brazilian Indians - the stillness of the opening theme contrasted with the busy arpeggio section before the beautiful return of the opening theme played with the natural harmonics of the guitar.
The diet some of the families in Gaza are having to live on is little more than Living on Air.
There is a ( not well supported ) belief that a human can live on air and light alone:
Breatharians ?
The breatharian lifestyle requires that a person give up food and water altogether and live purely off prana, which they also call "living on light" or "living on air."
Foremost Breatharian, Jasmuheen, formerly Ellen Greve, reportedly started today's breatharian movement. Her Prana Program advises followers to convert to breatharianism gradually: Become a vegetarian; become a vegan; move to raw foods, then fruits, then liquids and finally prana. You replace physical nourishment with air and light.
Fasting is a spiritually important aspect of most major religions, including Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Mahatma Gandhi, the famed spiritual and political leader and humanitarian, referred to a complete fast as "the truest prayer." He conducted fasts throughout his life for religious and political reasons.
The main difference between fasting and the breatharian approach to food is that fasting has an end point. Breatharianism is a total fast for life — that is, however long you live.
Jasmuheen claims she's lived for years without nourishment, although she does eat occasionally for taste every once in a while. But breatharianism has taken the lives of some of its followers.
Breatharian FatalitiesVerity Linn, a 49-year-old woman, died in a remote part of Scotland after attempting the breatharian conversion.
Timo Degen, a kindergarten teacher, tried the breatharian plan and slipped into a coma. Degen recovered after four weeks of IV drips, only to die a short while later [source: The Sunday Times via Rick Ross].
DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMENDED !!!!!
The piece is described by Turibio Santos in his book Heitor Villa Lobos and the guitar as a homage to Bach - and the second section certainly is..
I just think there is a bit of Django Reinhardt in there particularly in the chords and arpeggios of the first section.
Villa Lobos was in Paris in the late 1920's - I think - its inconceivable to think that he didn't hear Django .. Anyway I like to think he did .. This prelude is played on the Alhambra guitar I use for teaching and Robert re-built with a new top and some interesting hollowed out strut arrangements - making it very, very light .
Lifting some chords from Prelude No.3 by Villa Lobos this piece is a light tune - Fridays here!
The second of the 5 Villa Lobos " Preludes" recorded over the summer - A lot of finger squeak - too late for me to change a habit of a lifetime !
Also on Roberts Hybrid guitar - which has these wonderful witter planetary tuning pegs, a laser cut rosette based on a crop circle pattern and carbon fibre struts....I could go on but you get the idea.
Most of your average Joe's ( I include myself in that !) think the employers of the world want blood from their employees - Most of the employers think their employees just don't give enough.
In the late 1960's, when I started to learn the Spanish guitar - as my teacher called it - the 5 preludes by Villa Lobos were concert pieces recorded by the great English players - John Williams, Julian Bream. I have played them for a long time and , as with pieces you get very familiar with, your own bits creep in.
During this summer I went back to the sheet music and have recorded them. This first prelude is played on the Hybrid guitar my son Robert built in 2013 for his degree. It was called a hybrid guitar because it included new and unusual ideas - 24 frets, fret 15 at the neck join, richlite fingerboard, raised fingerboard - off the sound board, a central bridge on the soundboard. I could go on ( and I frequently do go on about it) - but I think you get the idea.
It is a beautiful guitar
Timing is everything - who you meet , who you fall for, where you end up - totally reliant on the time and place. It could even come down to a matter of seconds - right place - right time. That life changing episode you don't even realise is happening sometimes - its already happened.
After days of courses, meetings, training and safeguarding off we go again tomorrow .. I'm looking forward to a new term some new enthusiastic pupils and not too much IT training. I don't think the last would happen - wishful thinking on my part.
In the UK this is indicative of some form of privilege.
The wikipedia bit:
A grace-and-favour home is a residential property owned by a monarch, government, or other owner and leased rent-free to a person as part of the perquisites of their employment, or in gratitude for services rendered.[1]
Usage of the term is chiefly British.[1] In the United Kingdom, these homes are mostly owned by the Crownor a charity and, in modern times, are often within the gift of the prime minister. Most of these properties are taxed as a "benefit in kind", although this status does not apply to Downing Street or any home granted for security purposes, such as the residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.[2] They are at times granted to senior politicians.[3]
It is possible that the term crept into English through the writings of Niccolò Machiavelli, who wrote of advisers who are ministers per grazia e concessione, which has been translated as "through grace and favour"
The song is about a very proud self made man I met who furiously defended his ability to make it on his own . So much so that I kept trying to change the subject.
There you go .. what a weird expression that is - what does it mean ?
It seems to be slightly dismissive, lets move on, type of phrase.
The AI bit on google tells me:
The phrase "there you go" is an idiom used in various contexts, typically meaning:
- Here is what you needed: It is often used when presenting something requested, e.g., "There you go, the complete works of William Shakespeare".
- To explain or justify: It can be used to justify a decision or action, e.g., "I needed their manpower, so there you go".
- Expression of agreement or encouragement: It can express affirmation after someone has successfully explained or demonstrated something, e.g., "There you go, nice job!".
- Used when giving something: It can also indicate giving something to someone after a request.
Overall, it conveys a sense of completion or satisfaction in a conversation.
Yup - thanks for that - none the wiser
The second piece I played during the signing of the register in August 1985 was originally called Song for Sarah - I didn't include Malcolm as it felt a bit weird at the time. For the 40th anniversary I re-named the piece Song for Malcolm and Sarah.
In August 1985 I was asked to play at a wedding. In August 2025 I played at the couple's 40th wedding anniversary - the Ruby Wedding. It was a lovely occasion with children, grandchildren and friends of old all in attendance.
The piece I know and learned as a Spanish Ballad is better known as Romanza.
Amidst all the turmoil we, at the bottom of the pile, have to try and remain as human as we can despite the inhumanity so often being shown by the great and good who lead us.
Stress and Pressure is there in so many things we all do - from work, home, relationships, children, relatives anything we care about - Oh Lord - this was meant to be a positive contribution. Maybe just put it all into perspective ( whatever that means?)
This tune was called Saving Grace - for the meaning of the phrase - the one saving grace that prevents something being completely bad. Robert Plant has a new album called Saving Grace - absolutely nothing to do with this piece.
I've renamed it Saving Face - it was an attempt to re-work something that I wasn't very happy with.
Over the summer I've met a few oldies ( like myself) who harp back to the good old days and what they could have done if only etc etc etc.....
The message seems to be - you gotta do want you want to do . Nobody really cares about what you do as much as you do.
This is an upbeat tune to reflect that self evident truth
When you look this up there are many versions or interpretations - but they all come back to the same thing; you've misunderstood something.
Day to day life usually rumbles along happily enough until these tension points : a misunderstanding, a chance to become an email warrior and go at someone full on.
There are two tension points in this piece, one close to the beginning one near the end - the rest is a doddle, gently meandering along .
Many endeavours we undertake have little what is called "value added" to society. I'm really not sure that matters.
Quickness of thought and tongue is something I was not blessed with. Some teachers and parents have the ability to wither their charges to nothing with just one short phrase. I think the damage it does to their victims is awful - humiliation doesn't seem to be a great tactic in managing any relationship. I'm probably wrong - I usually am about these things
There is a lot of anti-immigrant stuff going on in the UK at the moment - targeting hotels and accommodation provided for some of the families. Our country has relied on immigration and diversity to prevent it becoming the place full of little islanders it has the potential to so easily become.Come in - make yourself at home.
Being an acoustic guitarist who mainly plays without any amplification - I've had the drowning out thing happen many many times - if the rehearsal bit goes well the performance seldom works - everyone seems to turn it up ! I just end up playing as loud as I can ....
The bank holiday weekend sees the end of the summer holidays for most teachers. Even if you're not back in school straight away - its already in your mind. Have a good term.
This is a re-working of a tune called "The Hook" - which aligned fishing with the online phishing - which catches the unwary and either does something very unpleasant or the usual - tries to steal from you.
I was caught by a bogus fast food delivery service who apparently over a couple of days ordered their food on my card - at least I'm doing my bit.
A tune written when I was in Spain - listening to a Spanish lady who was in turn listening to the world service radio.
This is another one that bombed last year - recorded in about late June 2024. A tale of those clever deceivers who we never actually realise are deceiving us until its way too late.
One I enjoyed recording during the summer of 2024 - Didn't get a great reception - but who's counting ?
This was first recorded in July 2024 - and went down like a lead balloon . Nevermind lets try it again ..
Todays tune was put together as Trump & Putin go to meet in Alaska. The Edge of a Precipice - I don't think so; a bit of back slapping, bull---- and kicking the can down the road. We'll see.
On the day I recorded this a very severe earthquake had taken place in Russia and there was a funeral procession for Ozzy Osbourne - two very sad events. yet neither event was as bad or sad as we thought.
Ozzy Osbourne's cortege was of course sad - but in fact it turned out to be a massive outpouring from the people of Birmingham for the local lad made good - a very affectionate tribute.
Similarly the tsunami following the earthquake was nowhere as severe as anticipated.
So Tsunami Cortege is a kind of middle of the road moderately upbeat tune and not nearly as sad as I thought it was going to be..
Not the designer stubble - I've never had that (much as I would have liked the macho side of "the look").
This concludes the weather bit - I increasingly miss the long Spring/Summer days as the days gradually shorten and take us into Autumn.
I love the routine of it - up when its light- finish at a decent time when fatigue takes over and you feel you're done for the day. It seems a very natural way to go about the working day
The last piece in the series A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER - Day in the Sun. Everybody should have one ! But maybe not too many and not too intense.
Piece No.4 in the series is another instrumental - Wind of Change - a re-mix. The original thought behind this was a political one - but it applies equally well to the weather.
An easy listening generally optimistic piece with the Latin percussion entering in the second section to support the optimism..
Piece No's 3, 4 & 5 are instrumental. When we've had these intense weather spells - hot, cold, wet or drought - the feeling I have is " just give us a break " from this..Hence piece no.3 A Break in the Weather.
The second piece in the A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER group of tunes is After the Storm. Its been re-used quite recently but fits in to the context of the sequence of tunes quite nicely. It is amazing how resilient people affected by disasters can be; from the Valencia floods to those in Kerr County, Texas. How they ever get over the loss of life is beyond me - but it says something very positive about the human spirit.
As I have mentioned a number of times on the podcast we in the UK are obsessed by the weather. I realise looking back at various pieces I've put up - I am obsessed by the weather.
Music associates rain, cloudy skies, cold weather with sad or bad things; sunny skies, clear sky, spring time with good or happy things.
There are some exceptions - Singing in the rain is one of the happiest tunes you could imagine.
In June /July there were some alarmingly hot days - makes you think about the impact of global warming . There were in various parts of the world some terrible storms and floods.
This weeks tunes all reflect A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER - starting with what we perceive to be bad - Rain - and finishing with what we think is good - Sun.
But it isn't that straightforward is it?
Todays tune is about St Swithin ( source the BBC)
Well, 15 July is St Swithin's Day. It takes place every year on this date, and according to traditional folklore, whatever the weather is like on St Swithin's Day - whether rain or sunshine - it will continue for the next 40 days and 40 nights.
But where does this legend come from and is there any truth to it?
What is the St Swithin's Day poem?
The old poem goes like this...
"St Swithin's Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
St Swithin's Day, if it be fair
For forty days, t'will rain no more"
Who was St Swithin?
Swithin was a man born in or around the year 800. He became Bishop of Winchester.
Unlike other religious figures, he asked not to be buried in a prominent place within Winchester Cathedral, but outside in a simple tomb "where the sweet rain of heaven may fall upon my grave".
The legend says after his remains were moved inside there was a great storm and it rained for many weeks after.
From November 2023, this piece was written with no particular purpose in mind - but rather just to try out some new combinations of instruments.
Doesn't sound very exciting does it ?
You're probably right.
With Oasis touring I re-mixed a song from June 2023 which refers to their album ( or at least I thought it did ) I got it wrong - the quote is Standing on the Shoulder of Giants - the fourth studio album by Oasis. The title was actually a misquote by Noel Gallagher after seeing the quote on the British two pound coin while in a pub.
The British two pound coin bears the inscription STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS on its edge; this is intended as a quotation of Isaac Newton.
By using the work that precedes you it means that you can see further than those who have gone before . Maybe ..
AI / Ransom ware/ online stalking its all in here- in a very confused way because the whole thing is very confusing. Built off the idea that the celebrity culture means so many of us live our lives vicariously through the celebrities we admire.
If you're on holiday - enjoy the break - take your foot off the gas and just chill. A tune called Foot off the Gas from May 2024 re-worked - no acoustic guitar - bass only.
The track Highwaymen was recorded in the summer of last year - this is a re-mix .` We were having a light hearted conversation about the old days - and the Waddington game Buccaneer came up.
I thought getting the black dog is getting down for a period of time ( not depression - certainly not as serious as that)
However, its used by some mental health groups in a metaphorical sort of way - The term describes a state of depression characterized by sadness or lack of will, including the loss of desire to partake in activities you once loved. This metaphor can be helpful for adults and children living with depression and those with loved ones experiencing symptoms. The image of a large, intrusive black dog may more clearly identify the often difficult-to-see aspects of depression. (that bit comes from the betterhelp web site )
...on the other hand
The wikipedia bit ....The Black Dog is a supernatural or demonic hellhound originating from English folklore, and also present in folklore throughout Europe and the Americas. It is usually unnaturally large with glowing red or yellow eyes, is often connected with the Devil (as an English incarnation of the hellhound), and is sometimes an omen of death. It is sometimes associated with electrical storms(such as Black Shuck's appearance at Bungay, Suffolk). and also with crossroads, barrows(as a type of fairy hound), places of executionand ancient pathways.
Black dogs are generally regarded as sinister or malevolent, and a few (such as the Barghestand Shuck) are said to be directly harmful.Some black dogs, however, such as the Gurt Dog in Somerset, are said to behave benevolently as guardian black dogs, guiding travellers at night onto the right path or protecting them from danger.The black dog is a recognised folkloric motif.
,, and finally . We have just got a black puppy ( with two white paws and a white chest - OK not really a black dog) .. and he's not depressed at all , ever ,,, he'll lick you to death if gets a chance. I may have mentioned him before - he's called Woody.
This is a re-mix of a tune from November 2023.
At slack times in work at home office type jobs one of the latest tricks to catch employees out is to do an unannounced video call - sad so-and so's.
Hide & Seek dates from 2023. This re-mix tries to reduce the emphasis on the synth side of the backing track and uses an extra vocal track I didn't realise I'd recorded.
I try to avoid AI technology. I hope I can keep clear of it. However, it seems every time you Google search something there's AI in there somewhere and the music world is - for sure - using it.
Deepfakes I had very little clue about but they are videos, picture or audio clips, made with artificial intelligence to look real.
They can be used for fun, or even for scientific research, but sometimes they're used to impersonate people like politicians or world leaders, in order to deliberately mislead people.
Its scary stuff - I think I'll keep trying to avoid it - Luddite like I am ..
The dog trade in the UK really had a boost during covid - and has resulted in some real rogues out there - online deals everywhere.
Breeders (are they?) offering to deliver in their vans, meet you on a motorway service stations, 2 for 1 deals - its all going on ..
So much of what I write is derived from other sources - this track is a real case in point .
Rickie Lee Jones produced some great songs: Chuck E's in Love, Last Chance Texaco, The Years May Go By are just 3. This instrumental uses a little of the The Years May Go By.. continuing on with yesterdays idea of time flying by..Memories of lazy days in Brittany go with this piece.
I'm going along to the fortieth wedding anniversary of a couple I knew in Exeter in the next week or so. When you are young time seems to go so very slowly - then suddenly forty years have gone.
We've got a 3 month old collie cross kelpie and huntaway - definitely a sheep dog. Loves chasing anything - and if its not you - his tail will do.
This went up a year ago as the US election approached. There are some very rough edges on Trumpy but he is trying to do stuff - it just seems erratic, inconsistent and sometimes completely naive. However, I'm not so sure sleepy Joe or Kamala Harris would have achieved much more...
The sentiments are still the same and if Trumpy and his crew stopped trying to manipulate the media quite so much I think I would give him a bit more of a hearing.
That time when you can't face the daily grind. I had an attempt at some harmonies in here and some very self indulgent (but undoubtedly awful) harmonica playing. I'm really selling this one.
This is a re-mix of a tune from May 2024 - when there was a bit of a prospect of a ceasefire in both the Gaza and Ukraine conflicts. But no - as Trumpy would say it was all "bull----". How about a real ceasefire in both Gaza and Ukraine - please?
Mr Putin can, I would imagine, be very charming and say many many things that in reality he has no intention of ever doing. Like stopping the war in Ukraine.
A guitar and double bass duo built around a sequence of natural harmonics on the guitar.
This is a re-mix from last year of a tune called " A Step Inside" - I had some balance problems. Now slightly improved.
A re-mix of a tune called No Doubts No worries - a force of nature. Go Matt - on the half marathon trail today - all that training comes to the fore on days like today.
If there is ever a thing designed to unnerve you this is it. As you look at it and realise (if you do) what it is, your behaviour about looking in a mirror completely changes.
Bit of an ambiguous title for the song - its about opportunities or chances - taken, missed, never realised - confused with the sporting equivalent - there's too much tennis about... or cricket ... or football
That feeling of relief - when these fierce storms move away is matched or perhaps countered by the grief of so much loss of life - particularly the young children. Terrifying.
Music/ Arts/ History/ Beer / Gin ... its festival season in the UK . I remember it well .. I think its much more civilised now than the piles of rubbish, mud and other stuff that used to litter the fields....is it ?
This is not meant to be a public health announcement - it just sounds like one.
Back in the 1980's The Slip, Slop, Slap slogan became institutionalised as the core message of Cancer Council's SunSmart program in Australia and New Zealand. The campaign is widely credited as playing a key role in the dramatic shift in sun protection attitudes and behaviour over the past two decades. In 2007, the slogan was updated to Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide to reflect the importance of seeking shade and sliding on wraparound sunglasses to prevent sun damage.
Its always been relevant in the UK - but never more than now.
That curt or dismissive reply you get when someone really doesn't want to engage or talk to you - lovely ?
I have, apparently, an annoying habit of whistling when something goes wrong and I'm trying to make light of the disaster I've just caused..I didn't realise.
More significantly "Whistle While You Work" is a song with music written by Frank Churchill and lyrics written by Larry Morey for the 1937animated Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was performed in the film by voice actress Adriana Caselotti as Snow White. It was also featured in the 1979 stage adaptation. It appears in the 2025 live-action remake of the original film.
There are, as always, a few versions where the lyrics have been changed quite significantly with references to Hitler, Mussolini and body parts. Quite funny.
We were talking about how the elderly seem to have this amazing ability to remember things from 70 to 80 years ago as if they've only just happened - not at all as just distant memories.
Thisis a re-mix of a song from 2024. Some of the levels on the backing tracks were done in a hurry. This is another John Martyn influenced track - I was listening to his late recordings in particular. I saw him when he was on a come back tour after some pretty dramatic surgery - about a year before he died. He was more reliant on his band - but still lit up the place with some great playing and singing.
I was trying to think of the opposite of " can work to pressing deadlines" and "can work under pressure" in job adverts... this is it - imagine seeing that in a job description - go for it .
One of those rare moments when you feel you know what you're doing - there's always that danger of feeling a little bit over confident and then .... the wheels come off ( metaphorically speaking)
On occasions and in certain situations you suddenly realise that you are expected to play a certain role and react in a certain way - play the part.
Sticks and Stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me...
Or so the saying goes. I'm not so sure.
A reference to how you like your fried eggs cooked - sunny side up with the yellow yolks runny and not " over easy " - not flipped .
The tune uses a short extract of a Bryan Lester guitar piece " Sun Song" - at the start and has an upbeat summer feel to it.
This is a re-mix of a tune from last year. I was driving north along the Welsh coast in really bleak wet weather listening to too much John Martyn - his late stuff is a little sad.
This tune goes back to the time we spent in the north of Spain - Asturias.
There was a beautiful barn owl that lived in the disused part of the house. A creature of habit it would be out hunting in the early hours returning to is roost just before dawn. Amazing sights and sounds as it scratched about, hissed when you got too close and hooted when it was out and about.
In England we NEVER stop talking about the weather.. Really its because we don't have a clue what its doing from one day to the next.
We've got yellow and amber heat wave warnings, the environment guy on the TV is telling us ways to keep cool - take a cold shower, wash your hands in cold water, hang a wet sheet up at the windows - amazing ?
34 degrees C today and then ...... thats it for a bit. Back to normal.
I'm not sure I should be commenting on the awful slaughter thats going on in the name of democracy, national interest and even personal vendatta...It feels very uncomfortable sitting here in the comfort of unaffected UK. I just try to imagine in the simplest way what it feels for everyday humanity.
The waltz is such an elegant dance (except when I'm involved). The thought of dancing the night away is such a lovely idea. It remains a thought !
Oh god - sounding like an old fogey once again. Its all about providing as little as you can for the highest possible financial reward...
I think of all the people I've met it is those who have followed their dream who seem most at peace with the world - whether it be a soldier, sailor, tinker or tailor.. its following your own path that leads to most content.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - the Bob Dylan album still resonates - Sue loved it - Happy Birthday
In this house we 're not concerned about being charged for putting up picture hooks ( £15 a time is extraordinary - but it happens) So we've got some pictures up of the two little ones. great
We all get sleepless nights - or perhaps more truthfully parts of the night when you can't get back to sleep. This is the kind of stuff that comes in to mind. Absolutely no idea what this is about , but it made sense at the time.
... where angels fear to tread.
A phrase attributed to the 18th century poet Alexander Pope.
Now not much read - except by academics .
As a young boy Pope was expelled from school for writing a satire about one of his teachers, and he continued to lose friends and create enemies through not being afraid to speak out and criticise those with whom he disagreed. (For a time, while fearing attacks from especially vicious rivals, Pope rarely left his house without being armed with pistols and his dog, a Great Dane named Bounce.)
Few people read Pope for fun now because his witty verses are perceived as dry and emotionless, and even in the late nineteenth century, his fellow master of the one-liner, Oscar Wilde, was quipping, ‘There are two ways of disliking poetry. One way is to dislike it, and the other is to read Pope.’
Some opportunities that come up throughout the years stop coming up so frequently as time passes.
It all goes way, way too quickly... Always seem to be looking forward to the good bits and dreading the bad - the bad come around far too fast and the good bits disappear before they've settled in properly...
In Tuscany where Rob - our middle son lives - its been touching 35 degrees C in recent days - oh my lord .... Find some shade and sit down with a cool drink . Happy Birthday!
It's hard enough to avoid being shot at by the "enemy" without being shot at by your own allies....
We all get one or two of those every so often - something we don't expect coming from an unusual direction.
Theres a lot of fake news out there now - it really hard to stand back and understand what's going on sometimes.
Read those Sunday papers from the Star to the Sunday Times - its all good value.. I just realised - that sounded like an advert - its wasn't meant to be - apologies.
The political shenanigans with Musk , Trump , Fararge , Tice, Netanyahu, Zelensky and so many, many others are dramatic, full of rhetoric and intent - but seem to us mortals as so remote from our sphere of influence - like magic tricks in a circus. Unfortunately their antics seem to cause so much damage and destruction. Theres a cheerful thought for a Saturday morning. Have a good weekend !
Ernie Wise to Eric Morecambe, Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello - to name but a few : the guy who is the butt of the joke, feeds the cue to the master comic.
Also a 2024 film with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt
From altruistic to self serving we all seem to work best when there's a cause we really believe in. I'm not sure if thats a good or bad thing...
The UK health service is really under pressure. Trying to even speak to someone from the 111 service presents real issues...
The older generation has a broad view "things ain't what they used to be ".
Thats probably a good thing.
The runner who sets the pace in athletics - employed to make the race go at a certain pace aimed at a certain time. Sacrifices their own performance to assist the talent to realise a record or time aim.
Speak your mind - it seems a pretty good plan. As long as the recipient is prepared to listen.
The pace of life can be a little bit hectic - the constant reference to our "devices" which have almost taken over as "vices" in themselves.
We've had a few good weather days in the UK - but so many of us barely look up from whichever screen is in front of us to notice the sun shining. Crazy - Take a breather
As you get older you often get asked - if you had your time what would you do differently? Everything !
Thats not because I haven't had a great time - its because I'd like to try some other things - other ways of living
The phrase ‘up the creek without a paddle’ is used to describe being in a difficult or challenging situation with no easy solution or means of escape. It implies being stranded or facing obstacles without the necessary resources or assistance to overcome them.
Yup - I know that one pretty well.
There is something almost sacred about the beauty of the early morning mist in the summer.
Whether this is correct or not I don't know but the origin of the phrase is suggested to be :
Got your six is a common phrase in police or military jargon, used to tell someone that one is looking out for their backs.
The phrase comes from the fact that airplane pilots used to refer to various directions around themselves as if they stood in the center of a clock; “in-front-of” became 12’o clock, while “behind” was turned into 6’o clock.
None of the definitions of a stooge are particularly pleasant.
I still look for playing and teaching work and occasionally I feel as though I'm being set up just to make up the numbers when the employer has already decided who they're going to hire
- a subordinate used by another to do unpleasant routine work:
- "party stooges put there to do a job on behalf of central officet
- a performer whose act involves being the butt of a comedian's jokes:
- "the stooge is offstage"
Lots of versions of the same thing - none of them particularly nice.
Thomas Edison is credited with a famous adage about creativity and innovation:
Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
In 1893 Kate Sanborn delivered a lecture in California that was reported in a Riverside newspaper. Here she suggested that genius was composed of three ingredients, but she did not give a memorable fractional breakdown.
Her subject was “What is Genius?” She quoted copiously from ancient and modern writers, giving their definitions of the word genius, and wittily added that “genius is inspiration, talent and perspiration.”
In April 1898 “The Ladies’ Home Journal”printed a remark about genius credited to Thomas Edison. The main ingredient mentioned was “hard work” and the ratio was 98 to 2. Expert Ralph Keyes listed this citation in “The Quote Verifier” reference.
Once, when asked to give his definition of genius, Mr.Thomas Edison replied: “Two per cent. is genius and ninety-eight per cent. is hard work.” At another time, when the argument that genius was inspiration was brought before him, he said: “Bah! Genius is not inspired. Inspiration is perspiration.”
Anyway whatever the conclusion about the percentages - its a lot of hard work.
I think there is an enormous number of the more sensitive young people ( of all ages and backgrounds) who have struggled in multiple areas of life since the covid period. Mental health, sociability issues, lack of confidence - call it what you like - some of them just need a break
Sometimes the price of trying to manipulate a situation to your own way of thinking creates a web of silly secrets and layer upon layers of lies.
Usually a phrase spoken by someone who has a problem empathising with anyone who doesn't see the world like they do. Do you know anyone like that ?
After losing a much loved collie cross dog just over two years ago we're looking at a possible replacement - a bit bigger and in need of a new home. Lets hope it works out.
I look at some things and think its " I think its best if I sit this one out" - if it's not your call =, if its not your decision to make - why get upset about it? Why get involved ?
Pass the Parcel - the children's party game: when the music stops the child holding the parcel can unwrap the next layer of wrapping paper. The game goes on until at last the gift or prize is revealed.
Its the perfect training for that well established adult workplace game of passing the buck. If something no one wants to take responsibility for is in play its amazing how fast "the parcel" keeps moving.
I'm not entirely sure that some of these IT wizards are particularly good at teaching us old dinosaurs how to use these up to date systems. I never fail to come away from an IT training session feeling utterly stupid and useless.
VE Day celebrations were mainly about the Second World War and "victory" against the Nazi regime.
The most powerful images of war are for me the war poets, I've never been in the armed forces and I like to think I would have had the courage to be a conscientious objector, I somehow doubt it.
Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves were writers and poets I remember well in particular. Educated men who eloquently voiced the appalling nature of warfare. I always felt it was a pity the language the war poets used was rather remote from the men who were effectively cannon fodder . These men could perhaps have drawn most benefit from understanding what the hell they were on about.
Here's the Wikipedia bit "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is a phrase describing the persuasive power of statistics to bolster weak arguments, "one of the best, and best-known" critiques of applied statistics.[2] It is also sometimes colloquially used to doubt statistics used to prove an opponent's point.
The phrase was popularized in the United States by Mark Twain (among others), who attributed it to the British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli.[1] However, the phrase is not found in any of Disraeli's works and the earliest known appearances were years after his death. Several other people have been listed as originators of the quote, and it is often attributed to Twain himself.
There you go - Monday trivia.
I refer a lot to numbers in this tune. Its mainly about growing tomatoes with occasional reference to accountancy totting up columns of figures,
“You’re not going to like this, but recycling doesn’t begin to address the problem. You can only recycle plastic a couple of times. And what you’ve got to do is stop the production of plastic, stop the first use of plastic. Recycling is a red herring - Boris Johnson.
I'm not his greatest fan by a long way - but this makes sense. As I continue my Sunday morning ritual of re-cycling a ridiculous amount of plastic and as the worlds right wingers start to question net zero - what does your average Joe do?
DIY. I love it - If I'm honest - I'm not very good at it - but I love trying. It often takes me longer and costs more than it would have getting someone in to do the work who actually knows what they're doing - but who's counting ?
This tune confuses the Dustin Hoffman/Laurence Olivier film Marathon Man with the escape route Eichmann may have taken as he travelled to Argentina before he was eventually kidnapped by Mossad and taken to Israel where he was tried and subsequently sentenced to death in 1960. He was helped by those still sympathetic to the Nazi cause.
Maintain a steady course, don't upset things, settle for a compromise. accept second best .... Why ?
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House is a 2018 book by journalist Michael Wolff.
It is about Trumps first term in office.
I'm not convinced about the second term even after just over 100 days.
A boxing term - when things are looking bad and the boxer stuck on the ropes just can't get away from the pounding he or she is taking. There is still a huge amount of activity but it just doesn't seem to make anything any better. Its very hard to watch. This tune feels like - alot of activity but...
I STILL listen endlessly to radio 4 - Broadcasting House with its presenter Paddy O'Connell is a highlight in the listening calendar for me each Sunday morning.
One of the sports events I enjoy watching on TV is the London Marathon - particularly the charity side of it. This year two of the Dads of the Southport children so brutally killed at a Taylor Swift dance event ran - very brave - and in memory of their irreplaceable daughters.
Antonio Lauro was a great Venezuelan guitarist/composer whose waltzes are a wonderful part of the guitars repertoire.
I composed a piece in a latin style called Lost Children to which I 've added two short sections of Lauro's Venezuelan Waltz no.2.
Lauro switches 6/8/ time for 3/4 in alternate bars and my tune is really in 8/8 so there are some nice, if perhaps a little confusing, variations in pulse through the piece.
The impending trade war seems to bring out the usual phlegmatic practicality from the China set up - They look as though they couldn't give a hoot . Bring it on Trumpy.
The theme in this one is from the China Crisis album Flaunt the Imperfections - see what I did there? ... pathetic
Joaquim Malats piece Serenata Espanola is the starting point for this tune. I want to record, as part of this "archive", a selection of Spanish 19th century pieces - Malats, Albeniz, Granados and then some of the Catalan Folk tunes arranged by Miguel Llobet . I've been trying to "bring the Serenata Espanola back" to some semblance of a decent performance . I'll keep you posted - I reckon the recording can be done this year - but probably by the Autumn.
This phrase means at an early stage - so I'm told. In the spring/summer this is the best time of day - after the dawn chorus and before anyone is up - lovely
Apparently the expression "On the QT" means "On the quiet" I thought it was much more sinister than that..
As we approach the celebration of 80 years since Victory in Europe on May 8th 1945 ( VE Day) at the end of the Second World War - the passage of time is really quite stark. Looking at the old news reel and you realise it was a very different world in every sense.
Rhyming couplets - if you get yourself locked in to the rhyme it can be a pretty horrible experience - as the song shows.
Or how to put a spanner in the works. I am guilty of tunnel vision and forgetting to look at the broader picture. So often that polite comment has brought me to my senses.
If in doubt with any IT issue, the last but sometimes successful attempt at a solution io almost anything.
These are happening less and less in my working life - which is probably quite healthy. Late night is after 10pm if you're lucky and it'll take me two or three days to recover !
I think my generation has much to learn from todays young people - and if we listened to them a little bit more it would help. This weeks preachy bit.
I'm ancient but its taken me quite sometime to realise there are occasions ( many occasions ) when I need to backdown from a particular viewpoint. Its taken me rather too long to accept...
Just coming up to a year ago when I moved job from a firm who were either going to go bust or be taken over to ( hopefully ) a more stable place. The company were taken over in the end - a little too close for comfort.
The Mary alluded to in the traditional English nursery rhyme is meant to be Mary Tudor, or Bloody Mary, who was the daughter of King Henry VIII. Queen Mary was a staunch Catholic and the garden referred to is an allusion to graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared to continue to adhere to the Protestant faith - Protestant martyrs.
This is a nonsense song - I've got no idea what its about. It refers obliquely to some of the awful part time jobs I've done to keep things going I suppose.
This should have gone up on Easter Sunday. I am not a religious person but the festivities still have a resonance - early days of education in a Church of England school leave a mark - not a bad one, but a strong one.
A year ago I was trying to move my work and I was asking for the balance of my leave. I was up to date and the "owner" of the company I was working for( who made the most of his power in a very small company ) wouldn't allow me to take time off. I had never come across that before but I had heard that he withheld final salary payments when it suited him - so I just went along with it .
This tune was written to vent ...
Junk and more junk ... the Easter weekend will see us try to reduce some of ours. One of our boys worked for a house clearance chap once - he ended up bringing home even more of the stuff.
It should be " We need the Space, man..."
The prospect of Alzheimers/ dementia and other debilitating brain related ends to a persons life are more evident than ever now. The actor Peter Sallis summed it up beautifully -
" You know - I'm losing my mind ... But don't worry I won't miss it "
Whilst there seem to be pockets of lucidity throughout the process - its sometimes more distressing for those close to the victim as they watch the decline.
Not the food but .....something you say when you are pleased about something
You won your argument - Hot dog!
We've had some lovely Spring days in the UK. Its just been broken up now by light rain at night .I don't mind that .
With China now snuggling up to Europe and Trumpy and co. upsetting just about everyone - I wonder ?
Or are you an optimist ( glass half full type of person) or a pessimist ( glass half empty) - or maybe neither ?
If you say that you will do something come hell or high water, you mean that you are determined to do it, despite any difficulties that there might be:
I'm trying to find something that I feel that strongly about at the moment .
Its also the title of an old Deep Purple album - which, as you can hear, has nothing whatsoever to do with this piece.
I've had a break of about a month on writing "stuff" - busy moving house into quite a rundown but characterful ( is that a word ) place out in the sticks.
A new piece to a very talented woodsman and his wife.
I always enjoyed the preparation for playing much more than the playing itself. The anticipation is - in effect - better than the realisation. The post performance analysis of things is never as good as the pre performance thought of how things can go. I suppose thats how it really is - that awful expression - it is what it is - what?
Jazz på svenska was a Studio album by Jan Johansson
Released | 1964
Recorded | 28 February 1962, 18 October 1963, 6 May 1964
(Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre | Jazz
Length | 33:46
Label | Megafon / Heptagon Records (2005 reissue)
Jan Johansson chronology
Rörelser
(1963) | Jazz på svenska
(1964) | Jazz på ungerska
(1964)
Alternative cover
2005 reissue cover
Jazz på svenska ("Jazz in Swedish") is an album by the Swedish jazz pianist Jan Johansson. It was issued in 1964 and consists of jazz arrangements of Swedish folk songs. All arrangements are very sparse, consisting only of Johansson on piano and Georg Riedel on double bass. It went on to become the best selling Swedish jazz album of all time, selling a quarter of a million copies.[1] Many of the tracks hold a distinct renown in Swedish society, especially the lead track "Visa från Utanmyra" (Song from Utanmyra).
In 2005 a remastered version produced by disc label Heptagon Records was released with four bonus tracks on the CD and the full recording sessions (109 minutes) in a data section as mp3 files
I have great memories of hearing the album, late night with student friends in Exeter in the late 1970's. I recorded this track in the lockdown when I was holed up in Alcobendas, in the north part of Madrid in the Spring of 2020.
The end of the winter - thanks goodness. Where we are we have had a few days where the sun has been shining in - At about 7 in the morning it comes in through the windows facing Eastish and floods the rooms with light..
The obsession with the weather continues.. I love that waking up to the garden wet with the night time rainfall. Everything glowing in the sunlight: fresh and ready to go...
The world is a better place when you're in a situation which fits in well with how you view "things" - its kind of obvious really.
Making the guitar sound harp like is something Pierre Bensusan has done and perhaps to a lesser extent John Renbourn in his arrangement of the O'Caralan tune Sheebeg and Sheemore.
The vihuela player Alonso Mudarra did this a very long time ago - 16th century . I've taken his idea and used it in this piece.
From a 2022 recording called the Setting Sun - Keep on Looking up - childhood daydreams.
It changes so rapidly it almost out of date by the time you've looked at it. As an oldie - the speed of the world is now extraordinarily fast.
Meeting up after a long time absence can be unwise. We met up with a couple of old friends this week and it was a pleasant surprise. Despite the passage of time they were still the same - good company, down to earth and decent human beings - reassuring to see some things never change
It was great to see how she's coming on - just over 4 months and up and taking notice; reacting, smiling and chatting away to herself.
Offering advice is really kind - but I'm never sure it helps anyone or anything.
Your advice is usually steeped in your own prejudices and experiences and therefore help no-one except you.
The younger end of the population has to fight hard against the baby boomers of the 1940's & 50's who will happily tell you how hard they had it. Yes they didn't have all the technology we have - but what purpose does that really serve ? They had housing, jobs and maybe some sense of purpose. The current generation really have to start again. Bring on the revolution.
I just don't get how the world gets led by the nose into its next technological "advance". Some weird tech billionaire with even weirder views ( usually seeming to have quite a lot to do with self - interest ) comes up with a new startup and we all want - something to do with lemmings going on here...
Ok - I'll stop after this one - My hobby horse of pretending to be something when in fact you are something completely different. An Optical illusion
I'm on a roll here - the employers now have this mantra of keeping a record of everything thats said - in a trail of emails or documents - except when they happen to misplace them.....
I'm not trying to be a moral crusader here - but continuing on from yesterdays theme - corruption in the UK exists in similar ways to other countries. It's just done in a very polite way.
The relationship between landlords, the deposit protection scheme and managing agents is an unhealthy combination of scratching each others backs, collusion and vested interests. in the UK we play this game of saying how fair our systems are when they clearly aren't fair or even remotely transparent.
I do hope it changes before too long ..
This is a re-mix of a tune called Conspicously Consumed - which I think is the fate of quite a high proportion of my generation.
Happy 97th Mum!
My 96 year old Mum ( 97 tomorrow ) was a great gardener and at this time of year would have borders full of daffodils. Now she lives in her warden controlled flat she would like a few plastic daffodils to bring some colour to the place.
When you to agree to do something that somebody asks you but think that they are rather rude or unreasonable: Our new manager doesn’t want to hear our opinions, all he wants is, ‘Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir.’
The work ethic thing is now slightly bizarre in this country. The balance has tipped so far in favour of the employer that your average good worker is completely de-motivated. They've already given it their all, gone the extra mile, worked their socks off - why should they do any more - usually for a pat on the head and an insincere "thank you"
Many employers are able to give you the impression that you are completely replaceable - makes you feel really good !
There are so many subtleties in the world I sometimes miss the point. If so and so says something is he/she doing this to provoke a reaction/ make a point/ open a negotiation. Who knows..
A song for someone who dyes their hair. No - thats not the case . This is about not forgetting where you are from - don't be ashamed of it - you didn't choose it and it made you who you are - warts and all.
Finally .. we're out of the rented house we've been living in for the last 2 years 11 months and 13 days (whose counting) ... and into another rented house ! Barring a total redecoration request from the very very reasonable landlord we may even get a bit of our deposit back .
The Trump 2.0 experiment is really interesting, as long as it doesn't become totally disastrous. One mans vision of how to run the world ... haven't we seen that somewhere before less than 100 years ago ?
The person who can tell that tale - get all the significant bits in it and tell it well. I'm sure it doesn't always have to be 100% accurate - but hey who cares - especially these days...
Prelude, Allemande, Sarabande and Minuet 1 & 11 from this beautiful suite for baroque guitar.
The anticipation of anything seems to slow down time to almost a snails pace. We're moving house and the delightful landlord has requested a re-decorate of 1/2 the house. ( to be honest I was expecting much worse - so I feel I've got away lightly ). The time taken in doing a job that is entirely for his/her/their benefit drags on and on....
Part of the dementia thing ( and you can see already that I know very little) is that distant memories can become very clear and accurate whilst you can't recall what went on 10 minutes ago. I think I'd enjoy that - I have a feeling I had a very happy childhood
...as opposed to talking that talk - Good on yer Mr Zelensky . I was appalled at the staged onslaught by Mr Trump and the lovely (?) J.D Vance on television the other night. What other deals is Trumpy stitching up with Mr Putin?
No thanks - I do hope an immortality pill is not on the way. It's a great life - but my god it needs to be finite otherwise what's the point ?
After a few years of living in towns we've moved out to a rural village - where the rich are very rich and the poor are very poor..... We're certainly not in the first category.
The choice is yours, go your own way you have free will - oh goodness is that what it takes ?
This is more about muddy country walks than off-road vehicles. A wet countryside in the early spring - wellies, overcoats, and wet smelly dogs. Love it.
As I understand it - what you got going for you is worth far more than possible promises.
Taking a chance, leaving yourself open to the luck of the draw - give it a go sometime.
Another posh kid on a lute - he was quite good this one and his music quite accessible to us mortals .
Here's the wiki bit...
Jan Antonín Losy, Count of Losinthal (German: Johann Anton Losy von Losinthal); also known as Comte d'Logy (Losi or Lozi), (c. 1650[1] – 22 August 1721[2]) was a Bohemian aristocrat, Baroque lute player and composer from Prague. His lute works combine the French style brisé with a more Italian cantabile style. He was probably the most significant lutenist-composer in Bohemia at the height of the lute's popularity there.
Moving house - never a pleasant experience - but usually quite positive once its all done and dusted . We seem to keep on moving the same old junk, storing it up and then ...,moving it again
There's nothing like an upheaval in politics to start realising how we each view the world through our own lens.
I can't see the good in the rise of right wing politics. There are many who can.
We've been renting various small houses since our return from Spain. The landlord - tenant relationship is not a pleasant one. In the UK it is very heavily skewed towards the landlord.
We've found a slightly bigger place and negotiated a bit of a rent reduction in exchange for doing some tidying up of the place. Lets see how that goes...
When the powers that be don't want to commit themselves to anything they're not comfortable with...
Every action has a reaction - Newtons third law ( of course ) -Actually I had to look that up. Science was sadly never my strong point and yet there are so many fascinating areas of study. Todays bit of info - for what its worth. It seems so relevant for almost every human activity.
Newton's Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that pushing on an object causes that object to push back against you, the same amount but in the opposite direction.
I think the often bandied about phrase is there is no " I " in team - but this is better - and of course wrong.
They are coming through - Spring is on its way. Snow drops have been around for a while but now we've got crocuses and the beginnings of daffodils...
That last 1,000 episodes were undertaken in an attempt to keep me interested and doing something. Sometimes I despair of the lack of originality and quality and then occasionally I surprise myself - the odd episode is OK - and I can listen back to it without feeling my toes curling up in embarrassment.
This is one of the better ones - this was done when Rob ( who used to have a bit of fear of heights ) went on a zip wire over a lake in Italy.
Episode 1,000. If you've enjoyed the podcast tell your friends. If you haven't enjoyed it - I'm sorry. The podcast has ended up being a musical diary since May 2022 recording some events but missing out quite a few important things.
Thanks for listening so far ..
From the February 9th instrumental - a song to go with it . That is your lot - so believe it
The Boy in the Bubble - one of the great tracks from Paul Simon's 1987 album Graceland. This bears no relation to the song - I just remember hearing the track recently and thinking how good it was..
No3. of the Spanish Suite put together during the covid lock down in Madrid in 2020. The buses kept running in Alcobendas, the district I lived in. At time they were the only things on the road. It was a bit of normality in a very strange situation.
At last in the UK a sign that the winter is starting to be over. I don't have any Seasonal Affective Disorder.
But it is nice to see the day starting a little earlier ( about 7.15am now ) and finishing that little bit later ( about 5.15pm)
I had to check what S.A.D was - I thought it was a sunshine related thing - apparently not ...
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder where people who typically have normal mental health throughout most of the year exhibit depressive symptoms at the same time each year. It is commonly associated with reductions or increases in total daily sunlight hours during the summer or winter
I am just coming up to 1,000 episodes of the podcast - as one very pleasant chap posted - " thats more than most people do in a lifetime " .
I'm just thinking about where we go from here. This was intended to just organise old material and also as a sketchpad for new ideas.
Or Zed Bed as I know it . The fold up temporary bed you use for guests. Mighty uncomfortable. Anyone can manage a really bad nights sleep without any difficulty at all. You'd think you didn't really want anyone to stay in the first place - I suppose its unlikely they'd ever come back for more ...
As opposed to Whats App. The old greeting term - "How's it going ?" Heres a few others :
- "How's it going?"
- "How's everything?"
- "What's the story?"
- "What's the latest?"
- "What's cookin'?"
- "What's the word?"
- "What's new, buttercup?"
The last one I've never heard...
Nice and ambiguous - Thats your lot - meaning that is it- that is your world - deal with it OR
Thats your lot - the end - finito .. take your choice
Piece No2 of the Spanish Suite put together when I was staying in Madrid through the 2020 lockdown.The airport was in the distance and you could always hear the planes - but not nearly so many as I remember.
In about 1980 Outlandos D'Amour was the first Police album with the singles So Lonely and Roxanne. I followed the Police and even saw them in a downpour at Milton Keynes bowl before they split. I loved Andy Summers guitar playing and enjoyed his instrumental album Golden Wire. This Sting song lives on very well over generations. I was a little unsure whether to do it - its done now.
One of the slightly more generous assessments of Donald Trumps suggested movement of the Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt.
Another take on the Delay Deny Defend idea - You certainly hear this one a lot - often when very little is happening
The magnificent Great Auk apparently died out in about 1844 - hunted for its down and single eggs in the end its flightless life couldn't cope.
A metaphorical itch is intended otherwise taken literally this song is just a little unpleasant
This suite of 4 pieces was put together during the covid lockdown in 2020. I was in Madrid for that time - teaching with a remarkable lack of enthusiasm. The part of Madrid I was living in was quite comfortably off, warm and pleasant - but I didn't deal at all well with the isolation.
I'm not sure what he is doing now but this was a track from a really good album by David Gray - White Ladder. I likened his music to a pop version of John Martyn - but now I'm not so sure. Anyway my acoustic version uses the characteristic John Martyn percussive guitar accompaniment.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has hit back at Donald Trump's threat to use "economic force" to absorb Canada into the US saying there isn't "a snowball's chance in hell" to join the two.
What a great way to tell him where to go ..
Students used to call him Fernando Bore when I was studying - but I've grown over many many years of playing his music to really love his compositions the Beethoven of the guitar ? Perhaps a little over the top but this is one of his more well know tunes. I'd forgotten I'd recorded it - in about 2010.
Thats a lovely expression - a gentle way of saying - "you gotta be joking - there's no way you should even be thinking of doing that now "
The versions of this I've done over the years never quite worked until I did this one - which is how the piece is intended. American Garage was an album I particularly enjoyed and at the time I recorded this I was doing a version of Steve Reichs Electric Counterpoint in which Pat Methenys original version was my reference.
This version is on a Yamaha Martin Taylor semi acoustic guitar that I used alot when asked to do jazz guitar playing ( god knows why I was asked to do that - I think there was just a shortage of jazz guitarists in the area I lived in ).
This combines two influences : the band Men at Work and the lead singer of that band Colin Hay. I loved the album Men at Work and the single Down Under and then later on when our boys watched the US medic sitcom Scrubs I enjoyed the low key appearances of Colin Hay playing the acoustic guitar and singing in cupboards or behind doors - great.
Overkill I've had a go at.
The actual saying is the other way around - Don't make a drama out of a crisis - a cool head will save the day !!.
I think we all really love drama in our lives - the knack is to keep a handle on it - don't let it get out of control
A take on the idea of a big fish in a small pool - the problem being there are always bigger fish out there in bigger pools or even the ocean ...
He must have been some player. The lutenist John Dowland could apparently improvise these Fantasies or Fancys in the same way Bach could improvise a Fugue.
This is a particular favourite of mine - I've been playing it a long time ( You'd have thought I would have got it right by now ..) This is my best version.
A piece revived and corrected - in my haste I got some of the bass line wrong - only heard it when I came to archive it . The Long Walk
In 2002 I had a go at producing a midi led guitar album called Worlds Apart on CD.
It sold .... a few copies !
From the opening 9 minute track ( I know - a little long ) the middle section was called Scared of Running . I re-recorded it a couple of times - I used delay on it, but it was never quite as I intended. Some years later I had an internet radio station on Live 365 ( they closed for a while - but I see they've started up again) The station was called ( imaginatively ? ) theguitar. I recorded the piece again on a semi acoustic Yamaha Martin Taylor jazz guitar ( for those interested) . This is about as close as I got to what I intended.
The second of the influences pieces is James Taylor. Probably the Carole King tune You've got a friend is the most influential tune but this one is a close second.
The expression is cold hands , warm heart or maybe not .
Warm smile Cold Heart - I've met a few of those.
From a 2010 recording . I first heard this on the recording that Segovia made of the Bach Chaconne. His fluency on the guitar was astonishing. Lovely piece to end the week with.
I really enjoy playing 12 string guitars - such a huge sound. I've never quite known where to take them - after playing some great chords I tended to think so what?
In the late 1990's I recorded this with a drum machine. Its got a bit of life in it. I was trying to come to terms with how it was necessary to downshift to make some sort of living out of music. Never worked that one out really.
As I approach the 1,000th episode I want to share some of my influences in recent years. Stealers Wheel - I grew up loving their music. Their roots in the Glasgow folk scene with Billy Connolly and the Humblebums to Gerry Rafferty & Joe Egans tunes as Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle, Star and later Rafferty's Baker Street.
Sadly Gerry Rafferty is no longer alive. Joe Egan produced a great solo album and this is my acoustic version of Back on the Road.
An arrangement by the Scot David Russell ( a fabulous guitarist) of the Scarlatti Sonata - may be his best known on the guitar ?.
From a recording in August 2010.
The British obsession with the weather is well known. As soon as it is a little out of the ordinary we're in real trouble. Its a been a bit cold this week ( not anything like in Europe or the US, Ukraine or Russia - or anywhere else for that matter )
Cold Nights/ Cold days
I've seen the symbol on Russian tanks involved in the invasion of Ukraine: sometimes enclosed in a square. You also get V and O apparently ( I haven't seen those)
The Z helps distinguish forces from one another and serves as an identifier to avoid friendly fire.
Russian officials have claimed various meanings for the symbol.
Due to its association with the war in Ukraine, the Z has become a militarist symbol in Russian propaganda and is used by Russian civilians to indicate support for the invasion.
Also adopted later by Russian far-right organizations. The symbol has subsequently been banned from public display in various countries, and its use has been criminalized by several European governments. Opponents of the war have pejoratively called the Z symbol a zwastika or zwaztika, derisively in Russian and Ukrainian as ziga in reference to Sieg Heil.
Thanks Wikipedia
This piece was written because as I finished the tune someone with the letter Z at the start of their name walked into the room. I just thought the Russian thing was interesting and more than a little scary.
Luigi Mangione was lionised by certain sections of social media after the shooting of Brian Thompson the insurance CEO in New York.
The three D's brought up the the idea of Deny, Defend, Depose apparently found on the discarded gun cartridges based on the Jay Feinman's 2010 "expose" of the Insurance Industry Delay Deny Defend.
Surely Delusion, Despair and being Deranged have more to do with this killing than anything else. Taking a life has become a very easy and almost lightly taken decision in some parts of society. Is that because we see killing dramatised so often?.., that video games seem to make killing such a minor event? - I've got no idea - but some of the Christmas mass killings point to some pretty disturbed people out there.
The wikipedia description is horrific enough without me adding anything to it : Prior authorization is a check run by some insurance companies or third-party payers in the United States before they will agree to cover certain prescribed medications or medical procedures.[2] There are a number of reasons that insurance providers require prior authorization, including age, medical necessity, the availability of a generic alternative, or checking for drug interactions.[2][3] A failed authorization can result in a requested service being denied or in an insurance company requiring the patient to go through a separate process known as "step therapy" or "fail first." Step therapy dictates that a patient must first see unsuccessful results from a medication or service preferred by the insurance provider, typically considered either more cost effective or safer, before the insurance company will cover a different service
I realise the peace to all men thing seems to disappear pretty quickly after the Festive season - but I'll try and prolong it just a little bit. There's no red lines to trying to resolve stuff.
The sinister shooting of Brian Thompson the insurance CEO in New York brought up the the maxim of Deny, Defend, Depose apparently found on the discarded gun cartridges based on the Jay Feinman's 2010 "expose" of the Insurance Industry Delay Deny Defend - the 3 D's
This piece has many slightly different versions - this must be an early one as there are one or two bits being added as I go along..
I've put it up now because at this time of year we often spent the New Year in Bamburgh Northumberland which has a way of celebrating like no other place I have ever been to .. The church is called St Aidans and one of the holy men who spread christianity up in that freezing cold, windswept but so bleak and beautiful place was Aidan. I don't think he was a saint at the time.
This song arises from those Christmas ghost stories that seem to come up each year. Victorian foggy streets , long shadows and sudden disturbances.
Like so many older styles sentimental and reassuring in tone - Jangle starts to bring the New Year festivities to an end .
The arrangement of Keane's tune is by far and away the top download over the last three years of the Guitar Emporium . Happy New Year
A ballad makes no.2 - Spiral staircase - the snakes and ladders of day to day life - cheerful as ever..
This is an arrangement of the concerto for 2 guitars and a double bass. It works some of the time
A trio arrangement of the piece which reflects the happiness of the Christmas holidays and the Christmas spirit - which is sometimes more evident on Boxing Day than on the day itself.
"Silent Night" (German: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht") is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.
This form a recording of about 2002. Happy Christmas!
Using the phrase
**’Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house**
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;"A rhythmic base is used for the piece that follows.
My generation associate this song with Boney M's version. My Dad loved Harry Belafonte's original 1956 recording. It had a calypso feel to it - which I have hinted at but really tried to let the lovely simple tune stand up for itself .
When I was an aspiring company man a very long time ago the 4th floor was the level we all strove to reach. I never did - it stopped seeming to be important.
This is a re-mix of a track called On and On and On and On..
This one only goes On and On...
The Christmas holidays approach."Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Year's song "Shchedryk." The music for the carol comes from the song written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914; the English-language lyrics were written in 1936 by Peter Wilhousky
Song for Sarah was composed for a wedding a long time ago. There have been various versions , this one dates from early 2000's on a jazz guitar.
Picnic Suite was a crossover piece by Claude Bolling date from 1980 and was first performed by Jean -Pierre Rampal and Alexander Lagoya.. Here a very fine flautist - Roz plays the flute . Brian on drums, Jack on bass, Stephen on piano.
Todays tune reminisces about summer's gone by .. Actually we didn't really have one in the UK - a couple of days here and there. The title of the tune relates to those red lines every one seems to ignore: levels of weapon use, environmental support, racial discrimination, etc etc. I'm not sure that red lines really exist at all.
The Electric Vehicle thing is a whole new industry giving cars with a range of nearly 400 miles with one charge.. Is that all ?
My first listen to the great Pat Metheny was on his album watercolours. This was a piece written soon after I heard that album
Beginning about 3pm at this time of year in the UK - and gradually turning to night - it dominates the afternoons as it seems to start earlier and earlier..
As we enter the crazy Christmas season in the UK - Jangle is to reflect the oncoming rush of tinsel and glitter. It's also a Django type tune.
Here we go - in the Uk we can hold back the Christmas onslaught no longer. The shops have been selling it to us since - maybe October . So just give in and enjoy it..
The only way to fix something properly - or so I'm led to believe. You gotta strip it right down and start again. take it apart.
As if being polite would change anything... A tribute to all those phone lines that never seem to have anyone answering the phone.
There always seems to be alot of reaction to elections - I didn't vote for that, I didn't sanction this etc..
Its democracy - for all its flaws - the choice is ours
This pairs with the song from a few days ago - "Transcantábrica" - when `I was driving the route I was listening to instrumental music so this piece reflects the mood of sort of childish wonder at the amazing coastline and the mountains in Cantabria in particular.
The tune has some similarity to the song put up in 2022 ( I think ). About disappearing into the sunset....A Friday tune
Here is the instrumental version of the song from the summer. As someone who is a chicken and backs away from confrontation I'm unlikely ever to do this.
It runs across the northern coast line of Spain - I don't enjoy driving much these days - but here you can't help but enjoy these surprisingly uncluttered roads,that stretch right across the top of Spain from Cantabria through Asturias and into Galicia.
The number 5 seems important. The best days of the year have a 5 in them . As a child I loved bonfires night and Christmas. This tune takes a small snippet from Villa Lobos prelude no.5
The Choro by the Brazilian Edmar Fenecio sits well on a jazz guitar - recorded in about 2004.
I am by nature a botcher - I find a solution to something and then try and find an easier way of doing it. I can hear myself saying it - "That'll fix it " . It invariably doesn't work .
Composed for a wedding a long time ago - this piece has various versions. this one as a solo on a jazz guitar.
The thought of walking away from difficult situations is always appealing. Leave it all behind. A Friday song.
The Brazilian Celso Machado has composed some great guitars pieces. This is a part of the tune Algadao Done for two guitars. I could be very badly wrong but I think it means Cotton Candy.
The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station in the UK that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4.
When I was in the hills of Asturias recently a Spanish lady had Radio 4 on whilst she was gardening. It seemed the Home Service was really doing its job - a comfort and a source of info.
In the early 2000's I worked with a very good drummer, Brian, bassist Jack and pianist Stephen on putting this 6 movement concerto together. We also performed excerpts from Picnic Suite with the flautist Roz.
We only recorded 3 movements in total - I'll put them up as we come towards the end of the year.
The piece was first recorded in the 1970's with Alexander Lagoya on the guitar- crossover music was on the up at that time - John Williams band Sky were doing it- putting a rock feel into classical pieces. A number of Boliings compositions used the idea of classical/jazz crossover.
This is a John Etheridge piece which he composed for a series called Guitar Styles. I added a bass line with a 6 string classical bass guitar in about 2005. Its a live sounding recording which has a nice feel to it - if not such a clean sound..
A theme taken from a piece called " Orange Squash". The extract is worked and re-worked.
I have never been terribly interested in the tourist hotspots - particularly ones where the Brits.go. Moonlight in Magaluf would be close to a nightmare in my little world.
Probably not even a real word - but if you've listened to a couple of pieces on the podcast these sort of ideas come up again.. and again
'Mangoré' being the name of a caciqueof the South American indigenous group Timbú - or so says wikipedia..
Any way this is a piece which draws on one of Agustin Barrios Mangore's most famous tunes La Catedral. Hear a good guitarist play the original if you can - my piece just takes little snippets of the original and mucks around with them. Apologies to the purists.
In about 2005 I seemed to get a lot of work as a jazz player - which I am not.
It was enjoyable and I wrote a few tunes including Samba 1 & 2 . Here's no.1 .
This is the backing track to a song thatI haven't quite finished yet. Its all about calling it a day, quit while you're ahead, or maybe quit whilst you're not too far behind...
I put up some awful bits and pieces over the summer - some of the pieces about the Olympics were truly really poor. Apologies.
I can't say any of the future stuff will be any better - I will Keep on keeping on - for the time being anyway,,,
Over the Rainbow is one of those timeless songs - I'm teaching it once again this term. This tune has very little in common with the original song except maybe a message of optimism.
The dream of a life in Spain comes to an end and I'm clearing the house of what I can before saying farewell to Asturias. It was a lovely dream.
My son plays Emanicipator fairly regularly and I keep having a go at that very smooth cool approach. No success yet . Elaboration turned out cheap and cheerful. Ah well until the next time and I'll try again..
Ventura Highway was the first tune by America I heard on my brothers album Homecoming. I later heard the ever famous Horse with no name and many others. The first configuration of the band with acoustic guitars was great. Homecoming uses a few of their ideas.
Of the great flamenco guitarists Paco Pena sticks in my mind. I saw him play when I was young and later tried to study some flamenco. Like so many of these music styles it takes a lifetime and I play a few "pastiche" type pieces. This is one of them. I've recorded it as a solo, song and a band piece. I like this one the best at the moment.
Roy Wood was one of the founders, I think, of the Electric Light Orchestra - or ELO as everyone came to know them. Later the front man of Wizard all face paint and crazy costumes. He apparently played the Mason Williams piece Classical Gas alot. On ELO's first album he recorded a piece called First Movement (Jumping Biz) - which has many similarities to Classical Gas. I put together a tune called This Classical Bizz that derives from both tunes. I first recorded it in the mid 1970's
Like lots of employees I have to do compliance training - modern slavery is one of the topics I had to look at.
In my ignorance I didn't know the scale of it. I'm not sure about the music but the subject is significant enough to warrant something...Don't sit down
Piece No.1 of the " No Suite" . - No reservation. A piece featuring the flute as a soloist .
Hubert Rostaing on clarinet replaced Stephane Grappelli's violin playing in the quintet Hot club de France during the Second World War.Django Reinhardt's path, because of gypsy background, was not easy during this period. His brothers continued to play along with him and he survived only to die in 1953 at the young age of 43.
The introduction is taken from an arrangement of "In the bleak midwinter" I did in the band Crunch ( I know terrible name ) which became MCC briefly in the 1970's.
The rest of it just developed over a very long time.
Lifting the chord sequence from Brian Protheroes late 1970's song Pinball ( I think ?) formed the basis of the chord structure and rhythm of this guitar piece.
Everywhere seems to have had some really bad storms in the last month. We complain. as always, in the UK but some countries have experienced some terrible life threatening conditions. I hope that you've been able to pick up the pieces and put everything back together.
Three contrasting characters all going their own way. The piece was written in about 2005 when it was very evident how different they were from each other.
Its still very evident with I hope a thread of decency to each other and all around them running through.
A Polish composer and admirer of Chopin. The piece uses the melody of one of his preludes and the chord sequence of Alexander Tansmans " Variations on a Theme by Scriabin " .
The contrast between the sections of society is about as stark as it has been since the 19th century in the UK. Rich man Poor man contrasts the behaviour and attitudes of the two sections of society.
We have our own in the uk Nigel Farage - migrants eat pets, two speed policing, etc etc...
A short improvisation around longer nights shorter days - colder mornings chilly nights - Autumn has started.
Not a particularly inspiring title . But chords with added notes and a scale working in a modal form was the intended rather pretentious starting point for this tune .
I think we all have something that acts as a Hook - always catches us out- an achilles heel. Regardless of the obstacles we pursue it relentlessly sometime with no favourable outcome.
Regression was a part of the maths studies I did a very very long time ago. Finding relationships between variables. I tried applying it to musical ideas and got very confused. The tune has, in the end, resolved itself from the original idea in about 1986 to a re-recording in 2022. I hear you say " can't you make it any better than that ? " Nope - is the reply.
This tune benefits from the mastering that buzzsprout offer as an add on - I've had it for a while but not when this tune came up.
The piece I loaded up had some problems - not all associated with my playing .. This replaces the study in G minor - I'll check out what went wrong on that and put it up again sometime.
A Sunday morning piece- Dr Jekyll and the other bloke - a piece with two slightly contrasting sections - done to death
This piece goes back to the 1990's and has the very uninspiring title of Study In Gminor. I was trying very hard to be a serious guitarist at that stage.
I recorded a collection of pieces in the late 1990's at the recording studio in Shaftesbury School Arts Centre. John Pickard very kindly did the technical stuff for me. This recording kept appearing for a while.
Digital effects are great - but I grew up with analogue stuff and I still like the old pedals. My old friend is offloading his gear on me and this tune is a self-indulgent piece of nonsense using a Boss Super Chorus CH1 pedal - a real Friday afternoon piece. I know - I know I repeat the riff 5 times in the piece in under 4 minutes ! Happy weekend. If you play it - play it loud...
This is meant to be ironic. Young people are told to wait in line and accept all kinds of rubbish and prepare for the mediocrity so many of us except without question - don't let the side down - Do the right thing . I disagree completely - Find your own way - take no notice of all those so called adults leading you down a path that is completely worn out.
Facade is that conscious or maybe subconscious barrier/presentation we all put up when we're trying to show a picture of ourselves that you want others to believe. I'm sure you've been there - and if your haven't perhaps I'm nuttier than I thought I was..
David Cameron and George Osborne were a British comedy duo that largely escaped under the radar in relation to blame they share for austerity, inequality, and low growth in the UK. They had this marvellously irrelevant smoke screen called Big Society which they used to cover their tracks. Like Levelling Up it never happened - in fact I think the country suffered almost as much social disruption under that regime than the rule of St Margaret of Finchley.
This tune used the sentiments of Ralph Mctells Streets of London and just updated it a bit. Rob on Djembe here.
My wife found the lyrics and tune to this piece in her mums house in Bamburgh Northumberland. I put a melody to it. Rob and I played it at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival.It didn't go down all that well. Apparently it is sung as a comedy song at Festivals on the east coast where the audience throw water at the performers.
My ignorance - Grace Darlings life was rather sad after the rescue and she died very young. Anyway here's my version.
This is the title song of a CD from 2009 I think. The premise of this tune is that I'd hit a certain age and I either gave up and accepted that I'd gone as far as I could or kept going. Realistically I was never going to stop.
A piece generated from listening to quite a bit of West African music and Ali Farkre Toure and Toumani Diabete. Its more a use of the spirit of the music rather than any specific idea. I thought it worked at the time - about 2009/2011. I played it with Clive at Towsey folk festival in maybe 2013/2014.
Days Gone By was a recording from 2011 - some issues with balance but the first version of a tune I looked at over a couple of years
The piece is from a live version Rob and I did in 2013 as part of a live CD recording. The piece uses a chord sequence from Emilio Pujols guitar method - a Galician Folk Song.
I'm paying long outstanding debts to Spain where we lived briefly before covid drove us back to the UK. I'm nearly there but inorder to transfer a relatively small amount my bank want to do a biometric scan. Take a hike ...
The old way of paying - when you worked a weekend or holiday - that was your reward.
Now slipping out of use in a rigmarole of shifts and zero hours contracts. Come on sort it out.
In our part of the world the end of summer was marked by some quite heavy storms. Not exactly of biblical proportions - but so - I exaggerate.
I've just been repairing a Hamer "Slammer" electric guitar - really nice little instrument - twin hum buckers for those remotely interested - like an inexpensive Gibson SG without the price tag.
This is a take on Cat Stevens song Father & Son. I haven't taken the musical idea but really the thought that Fathers ( and children ) so rarely get it right. I like to think I got it OK as a Dad but I certainly didn't as a Son.
The song became much more reflective later on - but this was its original idea- based on a plea for young children to get to sleep . 2012 a CD called Days Gone By ....available at all good charity shops and occasionally on eBay... A really rough noisy recording - apologies
I've never go much on the class room creep - even from school days - unfortunately they carry themselves over into adult life- Bosses Man or indeed any gender you want - we're all capable of it .
I was experimenting with percussion and wanted to use more adventurous beats to support songs. This was a song to the boys who were finding their way at the time .
About 2012 - a CD with some instrumental and some songs. Oracion was original recorded fro a CD of Latin American music in about 2005 but I was hopeful we could put percussion with it and use it in the folk " set " - It worked for a bit.
London - Wednesday ; Birmingham - Thursday - .. Although I live in the West Country I'm a real suburban boy - generally terrified by big cities .
Still am - but I was nicely surprised by Pleasant Place in Islington. All seemed very harmonious.
In 2013 Rob and I got booked to play at Shrewsbury Folk Festival - a big booking for us. Rob really liked this song but I left it out of the set - not sure why . One of those rare recordings with Rob on cajon and singing !
This is taken from a 2005 CD called St.Aidans Dance . When the children were young we used to spend part of every summer in Bamburgh visiting my wife's Mum. St. Aidans is the village church we were married in.
Henry's Lullaby was written for my Dad who , towards the end of his life, used to get very tired and had this wonderful trick of dropping off to sleep when he couldn't maintain his interest in what was going on around him..
I recorded two quite serious classical guitar CDs in about 2004 - 2005 and I've put a few of the pieces up in early podcasts.I was working with a very fine Latin American style player called David Caswell in the late 1990's and he influenced a number of compositions. This is not really a rumba and its not really a blues either- but I'm sure you'll get the gist.
An unlikely title and not really fitting the tune - but in view of all the talk about Oasis getting back together maybe good timing. I think they'd laugh that whilst they are still thinking about getting out there again Alex James the Blur bassist is making a rather nice wine called Britpop from his farm in the Cotswolds - Gawd help us ..
At the time I had a beautiful Martin Taylor Yamaha semi acoustic guitar as I occasionally had some jazz band strumming to do ... It had to go in the end I couldn't afford the luxury
From a millennium project - but finished in 2002 ( I always was a bit slow on deadlines ) - working with a midi nylon string guitar called a Godin Multiac and a Roland GR 33 guitar synthesiser.
Theres a great birthday card for an oldie ( as long as they're not too sensitive about their age) of two oldies racing downhill in their electric mobility scooters. Its all downhill - its meant to get easier !
Discussin the aging process with a 96 year old is a humbling process. My 96 year old Mum hasn't missed a trick - she has Lived the Life.
I had some equipment issues when initially recording this track - but nothing has changed in the intervening months.
I make no pretence that I understand the worlds conflicts nor do I offer any solutions. Its just such a waste.
This is a re-mix of a tune about the frustrations of youth - particularly at a time when its so hard ( in the UK ) to make your own way without some heavy financial muscle to get you underway...
Choice is a funny thing - sometimes you think you have a choice when you don't really - its all just make believe.
With all this holiday stuff I'm inclined to forget - we go back so very soon. Looking forward to seeing all that youthful enthusiasm once again..
The whole of this old saying is "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"
A bird in the hand is a sure thing; it’s in your hand. You already have the bird. If you try to catch another, however, you risk losing the bird in your hand and also whatever it was you were trying to catch. Now you have no bird in hand, and there is no guarantee that you will get the two in the bush. In other words, it’s better to be sure about something smaller than to be unsure about something bigger.
That was the online explanation - GOT IT ! I think I have now .
They are magnificent birds - we had one living in the eaves of our house for a while . She guarded her nest ferociously.
We have grandchildren - great stuff - I feel very privileged . BUT we have no rights to see them any more than we're invited to . I remember the boot being on the other foot with my parents. How hard is it to empathise with the older generation ?
The first thought is always always the best one. As soon as you think about things too much - you water the great ideas down. !
The clock - it is relentless never stopping, never slowing down it takes no account of age health or wellbeing
White noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density.
Yeh - didn't understand much of that - but its a sound that helps you relax - running water a vacuum cleaner a crackling fire.
BUT also its the sound of people talking but not making much sense - ideal to zone out to.
I will stop after this tune banging on about the Olympics - but it was good. This bit in the cycling competition I never got the hang of ..Ah well 4 more years.
One of the less pleasant things I've heard of late was the above quote uttered by some entitled plonker about us. I've just seen a photo of the "Farmers" taking full advantage of the Counts facilities whilst the miserly so and so is sitting somewhere very hot ( I hope ) counting his money. Enjoy it while you can and make hay while the sun shines guys !
Having had a man flu/ heavy cold/ covid type thing over the past few days induced by smoking far too much when on a long late drive I loved the end of the Olympics - so many sports I've never really experienced - and some I'm slightly less enthusiastic about.
I remember when I was younger the oldies used to say how " time flies". I couldn't agree.
I agree now - time goes so quickly from week to week , month to month .. and so on
The holiday month. The End of August ( 1982)was the title of one of Philip Catherines many good instrumental albums following the two other albums I have of his Guitars( 1975) and Splendid (1978) with Larry Coryell.
Listen to his stuff if you get the chance.
Another one of those great ( ?) terms about how we protect each others data.
Just in case you weren't feeling small enough in the context of our great world order now you're completely anonymous in the world of data.
Uploaded in error on 5th August - apologies . Abit of the car that I know very little about but appears to be causing ( rather expensive) problems.. There we go
When the temperature gets over 20 degrees celsius the Brits start to wilt in the heat ; when it gets near 30 we're in trouble- well certainly I am.
So there it is - the survival mechanism means all us wilting flowers end up in the shade.
Bristol Airports parking charge, like so many other airports, is a bit steep. So like many other cheapskates I wait in nearby Felton Common until the plane lands and then nip in to the 20 minute £5 rip off.
Theres a new sign on Felton Common - no waiting for the airport - how can they tell you're waiting for the airport ? crazy
Take it down. This is for all those poor souls sweltering in the heat working for peanuts making food for an ungrateful and bad mannered public. I don't know how they keep their cool.
I'm full of admiration for any Olympic athletes - cyclists because all of us who ride a bike can relate to their pain .Beyond all Limits
This is one competitive world we live in. I'm not sure the some of the things we get competitive about really benefit from the competition. Do what you can.
The first song I learned was Roger Miller's 1964 song King of the Road.The lyrics are about a traveling manwho, despite having little money (a "man of means by no means"), celebrates his freedom, describing himself as the "king of the road" I bet he couldn't afford todays rents..
The important bit first. In the US spelling - Pseudonymization - with the z scores over 30 in scrabble.
Now the bit I struggle to understand:
Pseudonymization is a data management and de-identification procedure by which personally identifiable information fields within a data record are replaced by one or more artificial identifiers, or pseudonyms.[1] A single pseudonym for each replaced field or collection of replaced fields makes the data record less identifiable while remaining suitable for data analysis and data processing.
Its great to see how much easier computerisation has made our lives
A bit in a car that I know very little about..... but when it goes wrong its expensive. I thought I had a problem this week but I was wrong... sometimes its really nice to be wrong
A good friend of mine still buys the Sunday papers - I haven't bought one for years. When he left, the papers were still around and I had a browse - I 've changed my mind - a helpful read and a good change from the frenetic online 24/7 news.
Recently I've started having some spare time. I haven't had much of that up until now - and I've never really thought about it. I need to try out some new things ...
I did this twice - bought the wrong item when instructed ....
Instead of buying the beef spread ( Bovril ) I bought the other items . the worst of it I then went and did it again soon after. A Friday tune.
What a small world I inhabit
The sad news of the passing of John Mayall came through on the 23rd July when this track was recorded. With his Bluesbreakers he seems to have been a mentor for so many musicians in addition to all the great music he created. What a life
I'm not from what is called a " one Horse town" - a place with not alot happening - but we brought our children up in a pretty remote rural village.
Any sort of place with people in it - let alone a city - was pretty difficult to adjust to .
Why I didn't foresee that is a mystery - we did move in to a town as the boys got older but it maybe had two or three horses - not a tremendous amount going on .. My mistake I think . Rural tranquility has a lot going for it, but not all of the time .
This is not a Bhundu Boys type tune ( I wish it was) its just a reflective comment on the ability of the band to self destruct in the 1990's when they had the world at their feet. If you haven't listened to them try it - this piece is nothing like their work except for the emphasis on rhythm I suppose.
My derogatory description of a folk tune arranged in an entirely uninspiring way but which has nice bouncy feel to it. This piece fits the description very well.
That nice feeling when you drift off to sleep without any issues. Slipping and Sliding Away.
There was a great reference in a sporting commentary to an old phrase you used to get from sports coaches years ago. When you got an injury the coach would offer the "magic" sponge then encourage you to "walk it off" or in some cases "run it off" - only exceptions were ligament damage and broken limbs !
For some reason I was thinking about that theory of how water goes down a plug hole in different parts of the world - I believed in the Northern hemisphere it went in a different way to the southern hemisphere.
NOT SO .. BBC1's "Bang goes the theory" says:
So your sink is too small and drains too quickly for the Earth's spin to control how the water flows. But the effect could possibly happen, in a big enough bath. How big?
Research done by Ascher Shapiro in the early 1960s in Boston, USA did report a tendency for water to swirl anti-clockwise (viewed from above). Scientists in Sydney, Australia copied his method and described seeing clockwise swirling.
The experimental baths were perfectly circular and nearly 2m in diameter. The water was 15cm deep and Shapiro allowed it to stand for 24 hours so that any currents from filling would die down. The plug was on the outside and could be removed without disturbing the water. A small outlet meant the water took about half an hour to drain away.
By eliminating all the other disturbances that they could, the two research teams at 42°N and 33°S of the Equator did find an apparent influence from the Coriolis effect.
Something to try at home ?
I like watching Bill Nighy as an actor and in a 2022 British period drama film called "Living" directed by Oliver Hermanus he is excellent.
Its screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro was adapted from the 1952 Akira Kurosawa film Ikiru. Set in 1953 London, it stars Bill Nighy as a bureaucrat in the public worksdepartment who learns he has a fatal illness.
He does good things at the end of his life and a lovely comment as he is confronted by obstacles to aims he has chosen -- is " Theres no time to be angry "
The figure from Greek mythology who fell in love with his reflection in the water. This is for all those Narcissistic characters out there.
One of the boys, who used not to enjoy heights took a zip wire across a lake in Northen Italy this Weekend - good on you !
I refer to Hobsons Choice in the lyric - take it or leave it - where leaving it is not a decent alternative. Not much of a choice really.
The US peoples decision is going to be a difficult one to make.
Sometimes you just get a check on how lucky you are ... I occasionally have work that takes me into run downs parts of towns or cities.
Today was that day (8th July - delay on podcast episodes ) - If they had added the word " Park " to Lipson Road it might have made it a bit better.
A converted late Victorian house carved up into three dingy flats and on a miserable afternoon I visited this nice young family trapped with the two children in their rented, badly maintained first floor prison . Grim
4th July meant change in the UK - a new government and some genuine hope for better times ahead for the country.
The Euros in Germany have been dominating our sports agenda ( well certainly in our house ) . Two of the favourites Portugal and France served up, a much hyped, but incredibly dull quarter final with so few shots on goal that you could count them on the fingers of one hand.
If well coached teams desperate not to lose and therefore not get broken down can prevent the great entertainers the game will just not prosper as it wants to - but bore its spectators to go elsewhere. I hope not.
Two of my least favourite current very popular phrases. This track needs to be played very loud to appreciate the full unsubtlety of the riffs - fun to make - not sure about the listening experience.
or Never do well. Apparently an old Scottish saying for someone who will never "succeed". Used in my family a lot for the wasters and scroungers of society (as the right wing press love to describe them.)
I beg to differ - not everyone has the same view of what is a good, bad or an indifferent way of living your life.
I was in Perranporth in west Cornwall earlier this week. Weather cold enough to wear several layers.
I love it - the British holiday maker is a hardy beast. There they were T shirts and shorts eating ice creams - took me back to the days of the 99.
as wikipedia describes ...
A 99 Flake, 99 or ninety-nine[1] is an ice cream cone with a Cadbury Flake inserted in the ice cream. The term can also refer to the half-sized Cadbury-produced Flake bar, itself specially made for such ice cream cones, and to a wrapped product marketed by Cadbury “for ice cream and culinary use”.
Created at the Cadbury's factory in Birmingham, England, the flake was originally designed to be a cuboid and to fit into a wafer.[2] By 1930, Cadbury's was selling half-length Flake "99s" specifically for serving in an ice cream cone.
How about that ...
The phrase "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" initiated the lyrics for this song. If you throw the first stone you're in danger of starting a sequence of events which can bring the whole place crashing down. Whats that old phrase - you've got broad shoulders - you can take the grief - maybe ?
Carlos Santana's early work I really enjoyed but I also loved some of the tunes that came later on Supernatural ( 1999 ). I haven't heard Black Magic woman for a long time - but at a recent barbecue I heard it on someones ( relatively young ) phone. A revival of Santana's music is due once again.
As we celebrate the summer out they come in whatever they drive , wear, go to, or be with, or eat Who cares - get over yourselves ladies and gentlemen
I don't suffer from insomnia but goodness I sympathise with those who do..
Occasionally if something is bugging me I lose a couple of hours and feel hungover without the nice memories the next day.
I was half asleep this morning ( the 28th June) when these words "she rows across the ocean, she rows across the sea" - kept coming up in my head. I've got no idea why.
When you listen to any election stuff, or even just normal news, it doesn't take long to realise our obsession with numbers and statistics. I was trying to relate in its smallest scale to my existence - I'm exactly the same
This is another one of those phrases you hear a lot now - bit like "going forward " " you're a star" except not quite as bad.
Where there's a will there's some avaricious so and so fighting some other avaricious so and so ..... for a way to get at it .
Thats a disingenuous and rather cynical interpretation of a very positive and uplifting saying .
In its original form means determination and perseverance can overcome adversity - and it can..
Lots of strange English sayings - Pig in a Poke ( essentially get ripped off for not checking something ( a pig in a bag ? .. so you can't see it before purchase). Bull in a china shop ( my dad used to accuse me of this ) - go at something full tilt causing mayhem - I still do I'm pleased to say.
We were having a light hearted conversation ( seems pretty silly really) about names related to illnesses in West Country accents.
Things like "Dermott itis" and his cousin "Hal itosis" followed closely by his nephew " Arthur itis " ( Dermotts son) all sailing on the good ship Psor ( Sir ) iasis.- I had to check the spelling of that one..
For some reason we found this hugely amusing and as it was one of the boys birthdays a couple of days later, next day I went to look for a book on pirates.
Nothing doing - not terribly PC these days - what with Somali Pirates and boat hi-jackers, People and drug Smugglers ---
In the end I got a great gift book called Piratology off the internet - very silly with fake jewels, part of a pirate flag, gold coins and other memorabilia...
This is a tongue in cheek celebration of old time pirates
You can probably guess the subject of the tune - its a bird - a blackbird who has his nest in a bush at the top of the garden.
What a life it makes mine look very mundane. My main concern of the day was that I went on visits with no pen....
Rob travelled back to Italy today ( the 20th June ) laden with "stuff". His huge suitcase was close to the 20kg weight limit and his rucksack felt about the same. One delayed train later, across London and he was at that awful airport Stansted. As I write he's been stuck on the runway fro 40 minutes waiting for a tyre to be repaired. Don't you just love travelling ...
I fell in love with this area of Northern Spain in about 2016. The dream was to escape Brexit and live in the hills near to Luarca. We did for 2 years although I worked in Madrid for much of the time.
We used to get out to our house in the hills for holidays and it was as beautiful and unspoilt as I had envisaged. Covid brought us back to the UK and whilst we have got back out there for brief spells the dream has not materialised.
This is a lament to the broken dream. The guitar entry begins with a brief reference to Isaac Albeniz's piece Leyenda ( legend).
Great word - it is what it sounds like , take it steady, don't hurry, everything has its place everything can take it s time
When registering to vote your National Insurance number is the key - but your records hold so much interlinked information on us now you hardly need that . driving licence number , passport number , national insurance number
Not a very relaxing Sunday tune - Musical Chairs is just a play around with a different key ( for me ) Eb major and some different instrumentation - or certainly things I don't use as frequently . Moving the Musical Chairs.
Black and Blue owes much to the tune " This Classical Bizz" which went up in late 2022 which in turn was influenced by ELO and Roy Woods guitar tune First Movement Jumpin Bizz and the Mason Williams Classical Gas ( 1968 ).
For good or bad the mood in the UK is for this change from what's been going on for the last 14 years - the next week or so will decide.
I really enjoy colourful bedding plants in our little garden in the summer. Unfortunately I was late getting them in and all Aldi had were geraniums and begonias - they still brighten the place up !
The spark of conflict is the subject. The spark leads to a flashpoint and then all out war.
The spark maybe political , the flashpoint will be eye -catching = maybe repulsive - but eye catching. Conflict and all its terrible consequences will be the outcome.
There is, justifiably, a huge amount of attention on Taylor Swift's world wide tour - she is amazing - and there are many talented female singer songwriters out there today. My personal favourite is Rickie Lee Jones . This tune takes a snippet of the tune from "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" from her 1979 album (where we first heard Chuckee's in Love) and plays around with it. Happy Birthday Sue.
Elections underway all over the place at the moment. I don't have any natural affection for politicians of any persuasion left or right wing ( although the right wing is a little scary and generally unpleasant ). BUT you've got to admire the sheer neck they show. Putting themselves up to be shot at by every media hack trying to make a name for themselves. Show some respect ( not too much)
The 1986 Peter Gabriel album "So" was the starting point for this tune - the tune Sledgehammer is the model ( although this song bears no resemblance to Sledgehammer) . I was just trying to think of the most scaled down version of a Sledgehammer - a pincushion and a hypochondriac.
An old school friend made contact ( I'm very bad at this stuff) it 'll be nice to meet up and share his world and mine. Its been way too long.
An instrumental tune - slow and steady. I was reading about the " old" custom that a gentleman would take his hat off - when entering a room, meeting a lady, going to church as a matter of courtesy.
Sometimes there comes an opportunity to do something half decent - and the choice is solely in your hands. Do it.
The baby boomers were that generation which were born immediately after World War II. They are now senior citizens in the UK - and a powerful economic group - the pensioners !.
The conservative party are desperate for the baby boomers votes - hence promising locking pensions to inflation and just about anything else they can which would persuade them to give the Tories their vote.
For those pupils not taking exams at this time of the academic year this end of term time is a real chance to do other things - drama, music, art, sport and just hanging out enjoying a glimpse of the sun.
On 25th June 2023 I put up a tune that was influenced by the opening "Theme" from Bob Dylans soundtrack album to the film Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid .
This is in a different key - but I realised I was using the same melody as I did before - so its become a tale of how Pat Garrett found and killed the outlaw Billy the Kid.
We've had a few good days in the UK - and I start to feel as though I'm going to try and write Latin American rhythms. Getting a bit carried away.
Saturday is DIY day. I have limited DIY ability but enthusiasm - until it starts to go wrong . My latest project is getting the stuff out from store when we came back from Spain 3 years ago ! -Repair or throw away in most instances ...
You may notice my typically English obsession with the weather. Well we had two sunny days in a row this last weekend ( the weekend of the 1st and 2nd June ) . Suddenly the whole world seems a better place.
Like Mr Trump's Truth social media platform we in the UK are doing our bit and Truth Festivals are springing up all over the place. Where like minded people can share their view of their world. Oh my ...
I 'm not a huge boxing fan - the blows to the head just seem almost too brutal. The recent Tyson Fury fight was interesting - paricularly because he looks like he doesn't get himself in real top shape and relies on his extraordinary strength and resilience. Anyway this is not really about him but uses the boxing analogy to look at how we deal with the punches and blows we take.
Built off three phrases which all refer to the delights of employment:
This is me talking to myself ( again- oh dear)
Walking through treacle with lead weights around your neck:
Trying to wake up when you're in the middle of a nightmare;
Climbing up a ladder with a pack on your back;
That just about sums it up ( the teaching I love but the stuff I have to do to make the money - not so good )
The style is taken from Colin Hays( from Australian band Men at Work) cameo appearances playing in a cupboard in the US sitcom Scrubs - which our lot loved.
I had a really inspiring pupil a few years ago - he used to bring me music to listen to that I wouldn't normally have got to. Martin Simpson was one particularly great find. He gives real space to sections of music - so you can hear them distinctly.
This is just recalling the music and the pupil. The pupil was also an amazing History of Art teacher, who was dealing with fairly severe cancer at the time of our lessons.
The title comes from Amen Corners 1968 !! - song Bend me Shape me - ( I thought it was shake me ) . Other than that I can't see where this song came from ....you'll see why. Yup - weird
Three " English Folk" sayings are the starting point for this song:
"Theres one born every minute" - a reference to being gullible - open to very easy persuasion
"Theres nowt so strange as folk" - people can be weird - unpredictable - strange
"Theres none so deaf as those who don't want to hear" - sometimes people just don't want to hear what you're trying to say to them.
For years ( 20 I think) I used to play fairly regularly in a restaurant which cooked all this stuff. I played over 3 hours per evening- 45 minute sets with a 15 minute break .
I used it to use it to try out new pieces and re-work old tunes.
There was one regular who always complained I didn't play enough fast tunes . This is for her.
Not a new expression - but what's the point ? It makes everything so uninteresting if you're looking to do certain things - go with the flow .
Last year I put up a tune " Shorter Days Longer Nights " - this is the song to go with the tune. The extra light at the beginning and end of the day is wonderful at this time of year in the UK
( Theres a delay in the episodes of about 10 days or so - so the following refers to the Spring Bank Holiday of 25th -27th May) .... This weekend is a Bank Holiday - short week next week - Time for a bit of R & R. Take the foot off the gas for a day or two.
A day late - summer officially started on 1st June in the UK - and the sun is shining ! Taken from the website sing solfa - there's a lovely informal recording of the tune available.
The oldest manuscript is a transcription from John of Fornsete a monk in the monastery of Reading in 1226. ( in the British Museum if it hasn't been nicked and sold on eBay)
Believed to be the oldest example of part-music in existence, this 13th century middle-English song is a round. This means parts come in at different times and all combine to make complex harmony. (You may have sung Row, Row, Row Your Boat as a round.) You can also sing this song in modern English with only one singer.
I chose neither - loads of guitars and a double bass - what a surprise
THE MIDDLE ENGLISH
Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweþ sed and bloweþ med
And springþ þe wde nu,
Sing cuccu!
Awe bleteþ after lomb,
Lhouþ after calue cu.
Bulluc sterteþ, bucke uerteþ,
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes þu cuccu;Ne swik þu nauer nu.Sing cuccu nu. Sing cuccu.
THE MODERN ENGLISH
Sing cuccu. Sing cuccu nu! | Summer is a coming in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
Groweth seed and bloweth mead,
And springeth wood anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
Ewe bleateth after lamb
The cow lows after the calf.
Bullock starteth buck, too, verteth*, - means ( seeks the green fern )
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing,
cuckoo;
Of cease thee never now,Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!
The AI thing bothers me- I don't really understand it properly and like all luddites I think its going to do away with me - and I thought I was indispensable.
I'm imagining the machine is talking to me telling me how poorly I treat him( but it could equally well be a her or an it on a they or a...... whatever it wants to be ..I don't want to gender pigeonhole the poor thing....etc..etc..)
The UK has a General Election on 4th July - America's Independence Day. My main association with Independence Day is the film - Its a real disaster movie ( I love 'em ) Volcanoes, Storms, Meteorites, Alien invasions can't get enough. I do, however, hope July 4th is not a disaster for the UK - god - I hope none of these loony Reform Party characters get elected....
The UK is having a General Election in early July. The Labour Party slogan is one word - Change.
We're seeing radical populist politics all over the world and its terrifying - we had our own crazy Prime Minister or two not so long ago ..
The great thing about the choices this time is they're both pretty uninspiring and that just means we muddle on much as always ...whoever gets elected.
The first part of the title of todays piece is obvious - come on - everyones talking about a ceasefire in the Israel / Hamas conflict - so what's happening ? As I was putting the guitar parts together my middle son ( he lives in Italy ) was messaging about this beautiful owl who had come in to his workshop and allowed him or herself to be stroked - just amazing. Everything went out the window and everyone started firing off WhatsApp's - maybe it does have a purpose.
I've heard this used a lot - particularly by one of my son's - I thought it was a fairly unpleasant expression - but its quite a succinct way of saying " accept a bad situation" . You can't fight everything all of the time .
I have alot of time for the anti war protesters - the fundamental point is if it stopped tomorrow lives would be saved, at least in the short term.
One of my 96 year old Mums most telling comments about the "younger" generation ( thats everyone less than 96) is how everyone disregards or ( worse) just patronises the old timers. She expresses the view that she really doesn't care - and yet she still makes the comment.
I was going do a tune along the lines of 1 for sorrow , 2 for joy, 3 for a girl 4 for a boy...but I didn't... Magpies - see a lot of them early in the morning when driving. They seem to have a thing about getting to the roadkill at the side of the road first thing. Also they are notorious for picking up stuff. This piece is a bit like that - bits picked up from here and there,,
Do you know that feeing when someone "over criticises" something. We can all take a bit of constructive criticism but character assassination is a bit harder to take - anything better to say ?
In the UK in bid to educate bad drivers there is an alternative to getting a fine for speeding - you can go on a driver awareness course. I have more speeding fines than I care to admit to ... but I recently went on ones of these courses - it scared the living daylights out of me ( presumably the intention) . Today marks 2 years of the podcast . Thanks for listening .
I don't know if I'm the only one who believes we have limits - I certainly have many limitations - I'll spare you the list
The saying is " Champagne Tastes, Beer Income"... I know lots of people like this ...
For clarity in the UK - CCJ's - County Court Judgements ; IVA - Insolvency Voluntary Agreement ( I think) - this tune is closer to home than I am prepared to admit..
I nicked the great Frank Zappa's silly low vocal style for a bit of this - that's about the only thing of his I can get anywhere near - his guitar playing was out of this world.
Sheik Yerbouti - one of his great albums with a wonderful Bob Dylan tribute ( ?) and some very rude lyrics - still worth a listen
I heard an IT person ( of my era) talking about" rebooting" - its seems like a very old phrase now - but I was delighted I understood what he was talking about. As we get older don't forget to reboot every so often.
The title of an album made by Bob Dylan after he had taken a 7 year break from recording. His is quoted around about the time the album was made as saying something along the lines of " .. there's only so many songs one person can write - maybe its someone else's turn now.."
The actual quote is "there was a time when the songs would come three or four at the same time, but those days are long gone...Once in a while, the odd song will come to me like a bulldog at the garden gate and demand to be written. But most of them are rejected out of my mind right away. You get caught up in wondering if anyone really needs to hear it. Maybe a person gets to the point where they have written enough songs. Let someone else write them".
Time out of Mind was also a film and a tune by Steely Dan. I think this piece bears no relation to any of them - I just thought it was a nice phrase to express trying a different approach in writing. I'm not sure if it produced anything new or different.
..may break my bones, but names will never hurt me - or so it goes . But actually the name calling is the most poisonous thing of all , particularly when its done behind the victims back and done anonymously.
One of the most enjoyable musical periods of my working life was the two years in Madrid working at a school. Five years ago today a memorial service celebrating the life of the wife of the founder of the school was held. The very musical staff and pupil choir was hastily assembled and produced a lovely version of this hymn - I'm sorry I didn't record it. Here is the guitar and double bass version to complete the record.
Most of us like to have a plan - but when you look back at plans they never work out in the way that you expect. Why have a plan -?
3 boys brought up in a remote rural village - they've retained a love of the country but not the narrow minded bigotry that sometimes goes with it.
Not meant to be as creepy as it has come out. It refers to the late night walk with the dog to settle everything down before getting to bed.
This is becoming a bit of a ritual - I was brought up in a Church of England junior school and the habits tend to stay with you. Instead of going to church on a Sunday I now go to the Dump. Thats not a comment just an observation.
Its weird does anyone actually do anything with all that rubbish.?
Playing a musical instrument can involve lots of preparations and rituals before you start. The little tune / exercise that starts this piece is one of mine. For a few years now - not all of the time - but after I tune the guitar I play that little tune as a stretch/ warm up , only once and then off I go .
This ties in with yesterdays piece Marathon Man. The link is I was watching bits of the London Marathon and then reading some stuff about the nazi Eichmann and how he got out of Europe. I then remembered the film Marathon Man with Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman - parallels with the Eichmann case ( there weren't any really) - but a significant number of people must have kept very quiet to get Eichmann out of Europe to Argentina. The title comes from that saying Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
The London Marathon is traditionally run towards the end of April ( I'm on a bit of a delay here) and it is one sporting challenge I would love to have tried - but didn't.
It never fails to amaze me the great stories of participants and how they've got to run and the causes they are raising money for.
The witching hour, 3-4 am . I've been here before - this time - 3.40 am is a time I have been waking up quite consistently at - for a number of years.
It sometimes goes away for a bit - but its back again at the moment. Its not a very positive time.
The drum ticks away like the second hand of a clock throughout the tune...
I had an inspirational English teacher. He loved Wordsworth. He described travelling up to the Lakedistrict and sitting on rocks where he imagined the great man had once sat. Brilliant. He taught the war poets really well and I've always enjoyed ( bit bizarre ) reading Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, Rupert Brooke and Siegfried Sassoon. This is a hotch pitch of anti war thoughts.
Kirsty MacColl's 1989 album " Kite " is the starting point for this tune ( I almost strayed into the 1990's there for a moment !). The song 15 minutes recalls and I suppose ridicules, the (apparently wrongly) attributed "famous for 15 minutes" Andy Warhol comment . The scathing lyrics are made all that more powerful by being sung with Kirsty MacColls gentle, beautiful voice.
No chance of that here I'm afraid. My version takes a different view of the same idea - from the person it all happens to . If the Cap Fits ... then wear it
Sakura - a Japanese folk tune inspired this piece. What I have produced is nothing like Sakura - listen to it sometime. But the time of year is finally coming around when the blossom starts to display itself . Lovely
The timing of the Amazon TV series "Fallout" couldn't be better. The wonderfully black violent humour is excellent and so relevant to our current crazy world. My youngest son introduced the programme to me - I wouldn't have watched it on my own - but its very good.
Slightly alarming to know he was playing the games when quite young - so much for parental control !
I'm indebted to the website Techradar for the following explanation of NPU. I'm an occasional watcher of a tech programme on the BBC aimed at the layman - nice simple explanations of complicated things.
Todays explanation of NPU got me though so I went on Google to find out more :
An NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, is a dedicated processor or processing unit on a larger SoC designed specifically for accelerating neural network operations and AI tasks. Unlike general-purpose CPUs and GPUs, NPUs are optimized for a data-driven parallel computing, making them highly efficient at processing massive multimedia data like videos and images and processing data for neural networks. They are particularly adept at handling AI-related tasks, such as speech recognition, background blurring in video calls, and photo or video editing processes like object detection.
Thanks for that ... none the wiser
Today I've ended 2 years 49 weeks and 6 days of work in the current turmoil . It has ended and , surprisingly, I have survived this ordeal by firing . I have never experienced so many colleagues being fired in such a short period of time. I think the only reason I missed out on the sacking experience was that the boss man couldn't get anyone else to do my job in my part of the country.
With apologies to that great songwriter Ray Davies of the Kinks. I used to watch them on Top of the Pops in the 60's and 70's and finally got to see them in the early 1980's - the time that lovely song " Come Dancing " was doing the rounds.
Kirsty MacColls version of Days on the album Kite I really enjoyed as a softer version of the same tune and this is really based on my recollection of her version.
The safe bet - take a chance on picking one of the placed horses. When the choice is win or lose - its still losing ..
The money or other means needed for a particular purpose.
Yup - knowing what it means doesn't make it any easier to achieve
Getting brought down by a fever or a virus seems to be hitting everyone much harder since the pandemic. The natural instinct is to get up and get going as soon as you can. I'm not so sure that works in quite the same way anymore.
Billy Connelly and Gerry Rafferty started out as part of a folk/rock band the Humblebums, with the guitarist Tam Harvey in Glasgow in the 1960's. Worth a listen if you can find any of their old albums.
Alot of my reading in the late 60's was footballer biographies - ghost written and hyped up no doubt to impress upon all us mortals the rags to riches tales of their success. But I loved the books and the characters it described . I must have read Denis Law's biography of a wee spindly lad who became a Scottish International footballer 3 or 4 times. It was either football or the pit for lots of these characters or so the story went...
I didn't mean to appear quite so preachy in the lyrics of this piece. As part of the generation which voted for selling off the stock of council houses, credit cards, quite a lot of wars and famines and encouraged social media we have quite a lot to answer for...
A couple of weeks after the Easter holiday - an Easter tune ( I'm on a bit of a time lag on the tunes that go up) The mixed messages of the Easter egg hunt we used to do when the children were young and the Easter Festival itself.
Todays instrumental tune is for Rob, Marri and their assorted pets including Ozzy the huge reformed and rescued hunting dog. To keep Ozzy fit they undertake long, long walks - one of the most arduous must be at the end of the day coming up from Sassetta to Bagnioli.
The conspiracy part of our modern lives means that there are millions of us not having a clue whether what we're being presented to us is the truth, a complete fabrication or maybe something in between..Lots of layers
Over the Easter weekend some very serious people were talking to try and move the Israel/Palestine war to a form of truce/cease fire. Its going to take a while.
**The first Spanish, flamenco style guitar I heard of - I think on the BBC TV. .
Ricardo Baliardo (7 August 1921 – 5 November 2014), better known as Manitas de Plata, was a Spanish flamenco guitarist of Catalan Gitano descent, born in southern France.
Despite achieving worldwide fame, he was criticized for not following certain rhythmic rules (compas)that are traditional in flamenco.**
Nicknamed Manitas de Plata ("little hands of silver" in Spanish), he agreed to play in public only ten years after the death of Romani-Belgian jazz guitarist and composer Django Reinhardt n 1953
I remember finding the lyric to this song in an anthology of lyrics in the drama room at school and a couple of us put it to a simple chord sequence. I found the lyrics again recently and I can remember the chord sequences and the tune ( it was that simple) What I didn't realise is that the song has such an illustrious history. My source tells me it comes from the singing of the Carter Family - and is from the Carter family's recording of the Anthology of American Folk Music through Mickey Miller and Bess Hawes. I believe Johnny Cash also recorded the song.
I haven't gone back and listened to the other versions for fear of putting myself off finishing the recording. Mickey Miller added the " lays in bed / up before the sun verse" & also the "looking for a man/ got her wedding band" section. I added the " got a voice/ got no choice" verse which kind of brings it a little up to date ( well maybe to the 1970's /80's )
If you've got one - good on yer... This has nothing to do with the vehicle. The piece has four short ( and very similar) themes that meander along coming together at the end of the song.
Two intentions in the song put up today. Stand back and look at stuff dispassionately ( I think thats the right word ) . View it from a distance - the terraces. Also I've experimented with the baroque stye of terraced dynamics - sudden changes of volume.
A song about enjoying the natural things all around us and sharing your time with those important to you. A positive tune -a bit of a rarity..
One of the issues I'm currently dealing with is an employer who is less than helpful as soon as notice is given that you're on your way ..... The lyrics speak for themselves. What century are we living in - the Victorian age is back with us - thanks Mrs Thatcher for all those sympathetic anti - union laws - Marvellous
in the covid lockdown ( that seems a very long time ago ) I was stuck In Madrid - lovely city - with our dog. Jake and our cat itchy ( or was it scratchy ) for company. I tried to improve my melody writing . Every so often I try again. The main theme is my latest attempt - surrounded by other stuff .
A China Crisis album of about 1985 I think. Walter Becker produced the album - I really enjoyed it . The opening track of side 2 off my tape cassette ( I was behind the times even then !) was the Gift of Freedom - I've taken the bass line and used it as the theme for the piece.
Stefan Grossman - One of the great ragtime folk finger pickers I first came across in 1977 - a Saturday evening in concert on Radio1.
This was his opener - I thought it was calledJoanne - but I've never found a transcription . This is my version.
My first gardening song ... I've been trying to get out and tidy the garden and plan some veggies this year - BUT the weather has been so awful... Every weekend has thwarted my plans. I thought I'd be OK this weekend - wrong again showers intervened. Keep trying
We all have a friend who can tell a story or recall something from our shared lives that holds the rooms attention endlessly... My friend Will used to hold the 3 boys in the palm of his hand when they were young and he was recounting one of his many exploits. Great to have around.
Kit - the amazing computerised car and the equally amazing ( but for very different reasons ) David Hasselhof made this 1970's /1980's US drama an incredible watch. Its back on UK TV - try it some time
Every so often most of us push as hard as we can to progress something dear to our heart, to find it ain't ever going to happen. Its so easy to look around for a scapegoat. In the end you end up looking much closer to home than is comfortable...
In my naivety I was once invited to "supper" by a very posh elderly lady ( posh elderly ladies have supper - not tea, apparently ).
I said I'd be delighted and she asked if there was anything I couldn't eat. I said no - no problem with allergies etc. She replied and told me she'd take pot luck. Strangely I had never heard that expression before. That is a very apt description - take a chance- pot luck
Wednesday has become an important divide to me in the week . If I make Wednesday without disaster there's a good chance I'll get to the weekend in one piece. Here's hoping !
The James Taylor version of Carole King's " You've got a friend" was one of the first acoustic based songs I came across. This has more to do with James Taylor's guitar style than any of his songs where the melodies were so good. Reset tune - about being positive - continually.
1st April and the clocks have gone forward to give us more daylight in the evening. The days will soon seem longer and Spring is finally here. Tremendous
Take a chance - have a go - is the philosophy behind this tune. You'll need to understand that in 9/10 cases the chance you take won't work - but there is always that 1/10 !
You know that feeling when, in your head, you've already completed something and you're just waiting to finish. Thats what this piece represents - the slow sections in particular represent the interminable time it takes to get it done.
An upbeat tune for those of us taking on new challenges - not only that Spring is just around the corner.
If you've listened to more than a couple of my compositions on this podcast you can hear certain repeated ideas that come around intentionally or ( mainly ) unintentionally as I go from day to day. I would imagine its a bit like writers block - when its difficult to come up with an idea that fires up the imagine. I'll call it a Log Jam
The politics of this I find very frustrating - but the UK needs to realise that we have always benefited from immigration and whatever the die hards think it continually enriches the culture of this inward looking nation.
On the news during the week of 4th -8th there was this tragic story of a family trying to get to the UK - Mum, Dad and 4 children + Mum was expecting. People Traffickers sold them a deal €6,000.00 to get to the UK by " Pleasure Boat". The boat travelled from a canal 20 miles inland from Calais - it is apparently a starting point for crossings. Rula the 7 year old daughter went down below in the cabin because it was too noisy with 16 people on this boat. The boat was overloaded and it capsized. Rula was trapped below and her dad couldn't get to her. She drowned.
The song was based on a drum beat - but Led Zeppelins "Immigrant Song" riff came out - much slower than Jimmy Page and no Robert Plant vocals unfortunately.
Led Zeppelin 3 was the first of their albums I heard - and Immigrant Song track 1, side 1. I just watched a live 1972 recording on You Tube - amazing.
I work from home - there are occasions when I've had enough of looking at a computer screen that I'll check out a bit of daytime TV. Loads of charities are after the oldies donations and offer - a free will making service as part of the deal to get you to donate a gift to them.
I just took another interpretation of the term in this song
An expresson I was just thinking about in relation to a colleague who is having a terrible time of it - what's interesting sometimes is how some peoplederive a strange, cruelpleasure from watchingothers going through the mill. I bet we've all seen that one.
Mindinha was the nickname of Villa Lobos second wife to whom he dedicated many compositions- Arminda Villa Lobos.
The chord progression is taken from the middle section of Prelude No.2 for guitar.
This is a rather sad tale of a man in late middle age ( in his sixties) who went to the top of a mountain in a cable car and decided to walk down on his own. He was found dead sitting by a tree the next day, apparently. The cause has not been established.
At the end of a job there was ( a long time ago ) a traditional handover of work in progress that had not been finished . It was always done with a delightful employer who was so grateful for the work you had undertaken for him. The lyrics clarify how I feel about it.
The music for the Spanish film Endless Trench was composed by
Pascal Gaigne. Th plot of the film is about a young Republican who goes into hiding in his own village at the start of the Spanish Civil War because he was scared of reprisals by the Falangists.
His wife works with him over 30 years to protect him in some dire circumstances before he and other "moles" finally come out of hiding.
I've taken one theme from the music.
Nothing is irreversible until the very end - the association with opera and the traditional sturdy nature of the sopranos is an oblique reference here..
I've always enjoyed instrumental electric guitar music from Focus, to Camel to Satriani and Steve Vai and of course Jeff Beck in there somewhere.
One of those expressions when you are reluctant to get going - you've got to leave some good company, a special occasion.. it always comes to an end eventually . The piece is built from a snippet I heard a cellist practising today - round and around until she got it right.
A man of habit - not just me but so many of us - and not only the middle aged/ old ( its interesting I still refer to myself as middle aged when just about everyone else thinks I'm old ! ).
But anyway a lot of us like things to stay pretty much the same - and are generally resistant to change .
Serving Time - sounds like a prison sentence - a little bit dramatic on my part. Sometimes it feels like it ! I'm moving job soon and I can't wait to go - I know it will be more of the same but you always hope it might be a fresh start.
Todays piece involves the blatant overuse of altered chords and a couple of strange jazz rock inspired ideas. I still like the Brand X jazz rock band of the 70's - in particular Masques is a great album - John Goodsall's guitar playing is stunning and Percy Jones on fretless bass creates some amazing sounds.
This is not very convincing - The chords of No Woman No Cry were also the the starting point for the Police song which was , I think , their first hit - So Lonely.
The first time I came across this chord sequence was a "modern" Gospel song ( from the 1960.s ) called Can it be True. So this tune has bits of each of those in a sort of mash up .
Looking back again - memories get triggered by so many associations. The one that triggered this tune is the smell of a log fire when I was stretching my legs late one evening around the town. It immediately set off good memories ( rather than environmental distaste for a log fire !)
In the business I work in at the moment these sentiments come up all the time. I should stress this is not where I'm from or indeed what I aspire to...
The Victorian class system has returned to the UK with a vengeance.
Bring on the Revolution
This is an ABRSM guitar piece at the grade 5 level. I have a pupil doing the exam and I wanted to slow it down a little and give her the space to see how the piece works and how the melody notes are held ( hence the flute ) .
The Predicament here was whether or not to scrap this piece - Sunday afternoon pouring rain ( again ) slightly weary and not looking forward to the coming week. I'm sure there are others out there feeling the same - some of this is a little uninspiring
Another one of those phrases that can be interpreted in so many ways - a complaint, an invitation a polite request.
There are elements of Radiohead's Street Spirit ( fade out) - the key and the relentless repitition (and the fade out!) - but thats about it . Its not a very upbeat Friday tune .
Any resemblance to the music of Steely Dan is entirely intended - The song When Josie Comes Home has stuck in my head for years - but I've just listened to the original and what I've done is a poor imitation . I've enjoyed putting the tune together and I deliberately didn't listen to the original until I'd finished . Aja ( 1977 !!) ( Josie was on the album which I always felt was one of Steely Dans great albums )
The modern equivalent of "he sacrificed his life for his friends" except much less emotive and an almost casual reference to putting the good of others before self.
Is it a sign of how advanced a country is by how it looks after the young ( or is it the old - or maybe both ) ?
In the UK young working families pay as much as £75 per day for their children ( from as young as 1 year old ) to be at a nursery. There is something very badly wrong going on here. The children get dropped off from 7'oclock in the morning not being collected until 4pm.. The hours of a full working day at the age of one year old . its so nice that the children can sleep at the nursery. Is this a sign of the rise of a civilisation ?
I was teaching Bowies' Space Oddity and Starman to a pupil at an early stage. The major 7th chords in Space Oddity are OK - but in Starman he uses a non -standard tuning which I tried to adapt - I was playing around with it and of course we have The Barman - very little resemblance to Starman - ah well there you go ...
The title of this piece is after the name of an Argentinian film up on Netflix. A tale of corruption and betrayal - tremendous.
At the end of the film the theme plays out using the rhythm I've used in the bass . I don't think I used much else except the sadness of the ending - which I won't spoil.
This started as an idea between 2 guitars - I feel fine - a little bit of the guitar ; and Staus Guo Caroline in there somewhere. I liked it quite sparse. So I'll leave it like that.
Every town / city has a no go area. I'm a real naive suburban boy - no feel for things like that. I had a couple of days in Boston once (which I certainly couldn't afford). We had a hotel in what appeared to be in an OK part of town . We took a wrong turning out of the hotel one evening and we hit the wrong end of town - the swamp.
A piece by the British composer/guitarist Laura Snowden. Its very short and part of the ABRSM Grade 5 syllabus . I recorded it to help a pupil learn it in double quick time . Lets hope it worked.
I'm trying to work on a particular style and a certain use of chords. Sometimes it appears to produce a good result - sometimes not.
Nowhere to Hide
I have included the Sonic Drum in todays tune - more like chill out piece really. The Sonic Drum is a less costly version of the amazing ( but pretty expensive) Hang Drum. This time I've used the drum to set up two simple ideas that bass, guitar and cajon accompany.
Not a pleasant term - it has origins from watching other people in day to day situations to listening in to other people conversations ( who doesn't do that ?) to slowing down on the motorway to watch the carnage of a motorvehicle accident on the other carriageway.
10cc's song Rubber Bullets comes to mind ( although that was about the Attica US jail riot in 1971) and there are one or two references to the song - apologies.
1.ALLEGRO
2.LARGO
3.ALLEGRO
The concerto - originally for lute -is a real stalwart of the guitar concerto repertoire. All kinds of versions are out there. Mine is taken from Eduardo Fernandez's version with George Malcolm on harpsichord. I have also taken some bits from a guitar duet version and added some ( not many ) of my own ideas.
I have included a bass line throughout - because it adds full sound to the piece. The original version for lute would be lighter in texture - but this isn't for lute - its for a modern guitar ( Robs's hybrid guitar - 24 fret , Richlite fingerboard, floating fretboard etc... machine pegs ) I will put some pictures up one day.
I'm not entirely sure about the version - I've included all of the repeats - I am aware most performances include the first half of each movement twice - then play the second only once.
I thought having put a bit of time into it - you're going to get the whole piece.
A gentle Latin American based sequence to start the weekend - using the marimba as the principal melody instrument. I had an issue getting the marimba to record at high enough levels for some reason - so the tune has been re-mixed a few times.
When your trying to sort stuff - find the paper trail. Today that ain't so easy - emails everywhere - and even the ability to recall them . Oh my! - maybe the Paper Trail wasn't so bad.
I'm trying to write tunes in a particular style at the moment - I'm not sure I'm winning but I'm having a go.
Sometimes when you see a photograph of a group one person just stands out - they look ontopof the world - just happy to be here ..
The rhythm of the closing tune to the film Outfit is the starting point for this short piece. Mark Rylance and Johnny Flynn were both excellent in this film ( The same Johnny Flynn who is also an excellent folk singer I think ?
There are lots of things to hope for - the first signs of Spring in the UK is a big one after the dark mornings and evenings. Flowers starting to bloom - the end of winter is in sight,...
This tunes is about the grandchild ( I know - yet again) . I cannot believe how uplifting it is to see and spend some time with a completely innocent, happy child . Each time is just a privilege..
It was the same with our own children - but you're just busy and can't sit back and look at it. Being a Grandparent just gives you that bit of space.
I've seen it more times than I care to admit. I'm not being particularly moralistic about it - it just leaves a nasty taste watching it going on.
I'm none too comfortable with people who think they can collect from other peoples desire to cut a deal - or indeed those who pay up to gain favour.
The third movement . I've put up the other two previously.
A musician friend of mine once said to me that guitar ensembles amused him as they sounded like incidental music for old childrens TV programmes like Trumpton on the BBC.
I didn't take offence.
Mark Knopflers guitar playing came on the big stage in about 1978- with Dire straits of course.
His film music is tremendous - this is from the film Cal - Irish Love - for Valentines Day.
Tone colour is the element I'm playing around with in this piece. Also the fact that the acoustic guitar often has problems holding its own with a drum kit and a good strong bass sound particularly if you don't amplify the guitar.
Timbre is probably a better description for the piece if perhaps a bit self conscious. Anyway, this was put together during a quiet afternoon at school - it was meant to be much more complex - but less is more for this one - I think
I was working in Swindon recently and hit the Magic Roundabout - a central roundabout with various other roundabouts linked into it. A nightmare - I went around it a few times before I worked out where I was trying to go to.
The children's TV programme from the 1960'6 /70's came to mind
I'm not sure if this piece has been up before - but this is a new recording of Msenga by the late West African guitarist Jean Bosco. I first heard it on Timothy Walkers recording -
Timothy Walker – Classical Folk Guitar From England, Ireland, Spain, Cameroon, Congo, Japan, Russia and South America
It's still out there - I first heard it ib the late 1970's . I finally got around to transcribing it in about 2012. John Williams produced a lovely version on his CD The Magic Box - which again is still out there. I'll record the tune some time this year - but in the meantime this is the version I used to play ( still play) when I can't remember all the intricacies of the original.
A vert well known piano riff - usually played a bit faster. This is about offspring - how they develop and how you must at some point step back and let them get on with it.
A Friday tune - hopefully a little more upbeat than some of the rather morose stuff I've been dishing up recently . High Spirits - but always with the qualification - Same Obstacles
My understanding of the word was that it was a form of swimming -apparently it now refers to making it up as you go along - a rappers term?. Anyway the difficulty in dealing with this is that on so many occasions it is impossible to telll when someone is free styling or in fact telling you the gospel truth.
This ia an exceptionally middle of the road tune. As ever - its about indecision and a general inability to make a decision. However, I have made a decision , which I very quickly reversed - It was either kick the can down the road OR Strike while the iron was hot - I did neither ...
Essentially a chord work out from a piece I composed in about 2000 - called the 4th Floor. Villa Lobos and Django Reinhardt are the principal influences . The chord sequence in the second repitition is what holds the piece together.
A Track by Emancipator is the starting point for this minimalist type tune based off a marimba riff. There are 2 simple themes that keep coming back as the tune moves along. The title is referencing Alzheimers - which goes close to every family at some time or other.
I have an uncanny ability to make a decision - mull over things once again - and then realise it was the wrong decision and made only because I felt under pressure to go a certain way - time and time again... there we go...
I'm indebted to the wonderfully named Cornelius Bruinsma for the chord sequence. I was teaching the piece "Pourquoi ? " to a young pupil and just thought it had a gentle lazy feel . The very rough translation of the title and nonsense lyrics are questionable - but they kind of ring true to me - brought up with Protestant work ethic. Know your place / keep your nose to the grindstone etc etc What ?
A legal term but it has caused much soul searching in a recent cases in the UK. I'm not using it in this case - this song is perhaps more about distracted responsibility and diminished understanding of stuff.... ?
Two bits in this piece - I was playing around with inversions of chords ( changing the order of the notes ) and many versions of how to progress was the point of the lyric.
A descending bass line - used by so may to convey particular moods. This is intended to ( once again ) convey the idea of hanging in there whatever the odds .
I used to love hearing Larry Adlers subtle harmonica playing when young - and also how many artists use it to great effect. This is none of that - Huffin and Puffin
Finally managed to put together a more optimistic tune - Blue Monday.
It is allegedly the day in the year when people feel down ( 15th January ) - there s a bit of a lag on the podcast-...
It is apparently a load of marketing nonsense to get people to buy holidays , things to cheer them themselves up etc... etc..
So I"ll offer up up something cheerful in an attempt to counter the mood .
If I knew then what I know now - the old Faces song expresses this sentiment perfectly.
This is about leaving someone where they're comfortable. You see so many trying to move from where they're comfortable to where they think they will comfortable and falling short or even worse finding it isn't something they even wanted in the first place.
There are some lovely people out there. Driving up to London for a job I had a flat tyre and stopped at a remote service station. I had the tools but didn't have enough leverage to get the wheel nuts released. A young chap offered his help and his wheel brace - much appreciated. Thank you.
The older generation like simple things - thanks for a good deed or service rendered. I have real sympathy for this - I am undoubtedly getting older as I see so many situations when a thank you would have resolved something that subsequently becomes unnecessarily complicated. It doesn't have to be some completely insincere great celebration - one line will do .
So many displaced and misplaced individuals suffering in the current cold snap in the UK. There was an interview on TV with a chap about my age - Hughie - about sleeping rough in temperatures below freezing. He was very matter of fact about it - you have to keep moving otherwise you freeze to death. Good grief !
There is a positive end to this - churches and other community centres have been opening up their doors to extend the help given by charities such as St Mungos and Centre Point.
Brian May is a fabulous player and musician. This piece was arranged by him for the Guitar Styles series of books edited by the guitar composer Michael Stimpson in the 1980's.
I had some particularly good players in the late 1990's early 2000's who could play this stuff. I recorded it on Robs hybrid guitar . Its a classical style guitar with 24 frets, a raised soundboard and a particularly strong sound. I like how the piece showed off the great intonation of the guitar beyond the 12th fret. Unusual for a nylon string guitar.
The whole is more then the sum of the parts. I heard Elton John talking about this with Gary Lineker regarding Elton John's involvement with Watford Football Club and how Elton Johns's relationship with the Watford manager Graham Taylor (later the England manager ) was one such moment.
Us lesser mortals also have these moments - they last for such a short time and what's worse you don't even know they are happening until the moment is gone. I can recall two such moments in my life - I consider myself lucky.
What a great word - I'm sure everyone's had it lately . celebrate it and embrace it - there is nothing you can do - its impossible to avoid.
I've played various versions of this lovely concerto, probably the most accessible to guitarists, with 2 guitars and also with harpsichord.
This movement became part of the ABRSM grade 8 guitar syllabus for a while and the slow movement part of the grade 5 syllabus.
I did arrangements of the whole 3 movements of the concerto for groups of guitarists to play. The slow movement always came off best because it required less work but I recall doing a version of the movt. 1 in school and the 3rd movt in a weekend course once .
Movt. 3 will follow in a while
Its the time of year - not enough sun about at the moment ... I will start doing some more cheerful stuff soon - promise
I first got interested in folk guitar in the 1970's and then saw John James at the West End Centre in Aldershot where I bought his album " Suitcase shaped like that" .
He wrote for Guitar Magazine on and off fora bit and played the folk scene with a guitarist called Pete Berryman .
I arranged their duet version as a solo guitar piece in about 2013. Its a great laid back tune - Easy Street
A subconscious pinch of George Harrisons lyric - apologies - but it's the right sentiment for the song.
I buy cars just 1 purchase off the scrap heap - I keep them going probably longer than they should keep going for - this is to my latest acquisition - long may she keep going
Even the wealthiest has started thinking they better go back to work soon... the holiday can only last so long.
This is to all the square pegs in round holes - if you're in the wrong place keep hanging in there - things can only get better.
Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór "Small Fairy Mound, Big Fairy Mound"An Irish Folk tune.
This is my favourite arrangement of the tune. The arrangement is by John Rebourn who died in 2015. His use of the steel guitar is just unique and haunting in its cross string melody playing and the harmony lines
The tune is attributed to blind harpist and singer Turlough O'Caralan(1670 – 1738) as his first and most famous song
One author describes it as a "beautiful old Irish air, usually played simply and leisurely, and occasionally played as a waltz".Sí Mór (Sheemore) and Sí Beag (Sheebeg) are the names given to two small hills, situated close to each other in south County Leitrim said to be ancient burial sites, and to a site in Carolan's birth county of Meath
The old " Can't see the wood for the trees " argument - sometimes you 've just got to take a step back .
When a succession of negative things happen even a slight respite can feel like a break.
I wasn't feeling great over the festive period - and watched more than usual the arts TV. The pop music side was quite heavily loaded with Beatles documentaries. Where was the Magic man - the late Jimi Hendrix?
This is not a great time of year for optimistic thoughts. Apart from feeling a bit rough - I'm starting to question my own competence - sign of things to come ?
The title of an old Lindisfarne album - its certainly the sound of my voice at the moment ( I blame a bit of a cold )
A couple of new tunes - with a new voice - a bit of a cold has dropped my voice a bit !
A New Years resolution for the family this year.
Lets wish for........ -I think there's more than 3 wishes to make and hundreds of New Year resolutions to try to fulfill
- I hope your wishes and resolutions work out for you .
The New Year approaches - the big thing is ??? I've got no idea - but there's no point worrying about it . Have a good New Years Eve.
Lots of employers like to hang this "bonus " thing over their employees heads and then renege on it at the end of the year - certainly on the size or scale of it .No surprises there - then .
The wikipedia bit:
I Believe in Father Christmas" is a song by English musician Greg Lake with lyrics by Peter Sinfield. Although it is often categorised as a Christmas song, this was not Lake's intention. He said that he wrote the song in protest at the commercialisation of Christmas. Sinfield, however, said that the words are about a loss of innocence and childhood belief. Released in 1975, the song reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart,
The number 1 at that time was Bohemian Rapsodie.
I was watching a documentary about Phil Collins - such a great musician - making a recording called Going Back . He took some of the amazing Motown songs, got the original musicians and singers and put together a really special recording, respecting the original songs, to the extent that he would check the drum parts and make everything work beautifully.
The Temptations song My Girl was one of them .
In the UK there is a huge debate, much of which flies over my head, about gender and which pronoun to use.
You're you - I'm me .
The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn(Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuitmissionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada.[1] Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song's original Huron title is "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, he is born"). The song's melody is based on a traditional French folk song, "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maid"). The well-known English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton
Theres the wiki bit. I didn't know all that - young children enjoy this Carol - its range is not too bad and the rhythmic side appeals to a class of young children
Il est né, le divin Enfant ( He is born, the divine Child) a traditional 19th Century French carol. It is paired with Dives and Lazarus which is an English folk song. It is considered a Christmas carol and based on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
I overdid the jazzy feel - but still lovely tunes.
Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli, known commonly as the Christmas Concerto, was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and published posthumously in 1714 as part of Corelli's Twelve concerti grossi, Op. 6. The concerto bears the inscription Fatto per la notte di Natale (made for the night of Christmas).
5 movements:Vivace – Grave. Arcate, sostenuto e come stàAllegroAdagio – Allegro – Adagio (E-flat major)VivaceAllegro - Largo. Pastorale ad libitum (G major)
I did a version of Silent Night last year on Christmas Eve. Here is an updated version. It is the song for Christmas Eve - the quiet anticipation of the day itself - such a magical time for young children and adult children too.
Guaranteed immortality by the composition of one of the very best Christmas tunes - Shane Macgowan died recently. I would not even think to sing the song but my own instrumental version was the highlight of any playing around Christmastime - due to very little on my part - it is just a great tune with unforgettable lyrics of the recriminations of a despairing couple.
The 5th most has some of the biggest challenges for the guitar- the range starts to push at the top end of the guitar. I think if the range is not stretched the piece becomes a bit middly and indistinct. I'm not convinced but I think it generally works.
Th e Paul Simon song Bookends ( I think ) is the starting point for this tune. The opening part of his guitar part forms the theme.
Yup - its a song about a bookcase. Its an old bookcase that we bought or acquired ( I can't remember which) and now we don't have any room for .
But, fortunately we have now found some space.
The usual I'm afraid - complaining about those who "rule" . Its fairly self -explanatory.
The relentless passage of time - bit of a recurring theme. Keeping the important things secure in those memories.
This is not the arrangement everyone knows - but I enjoyed the 4 - part arrangement of the tune that you 'll hear in this recording.
In the Shallows - where I remain - its not so bad at all - but a little frustrating when you want to swim with the big fish.
The first traditional carol of this years season. Taken from a recording of 2015 called See Amid the Winters Snow.- a collection of traditional and modern Christmas tunes
The little man is out there doing his stuff - can't quite believe how quickly he's developing. Lovely
Most of the sun loving birds have gone to warmer places by now - they've got it made - free travel - no environmental impact and they can choose ( within reason ) the destination. See you next year.
If you have the inkling to change and go off course - just do it - no regrets has to be a strong motivation to go for it...
Admiring beauty of any gender is hard to do these days without getting into severe difficulty. Look but don't remotely impose yourself on any one at all....
I'm all in favour of payback - not usually money ( its not a commodity I deal in !) but in terms of things we do for each other.
For the first time in a while I was stuck in traffic for a long time following an accident. Hence the lyric - but also holed up - when you don't want to see anyone. It doesn't change much from when we were young.
A lot of driving references at the moment. I'm doing more miles than I would wish at the present. Its a pity because the place I was headed, Buckland Brewer in North Devon - was lovely when I got there as were the people I saw.
If you've ever had any mental health issues - and who hasn't ? - you'll know what the Black Dog is. No solutions here I'm afraid - just a lot of sympathy .
In the UK a real pre-Christmas tension builds up - as if the end of the world is coming if you don't spend as much as you can on the Christmas holiday - unlike anywhere else in my all too limited experience . Just take it steady ... have a good weekend
This a an old blokes reflection on the world of the media again - grumpy old man stuff....
This is a second hand tale - My 95 year old Mum retold this when she was trying to get some help. The National Health service - and in particular GP's is not geared to the elderly. Two visits to the surgery / two visits to the chemist later she got a prescription. I am pretty relaxed about most things - but is that really good enough in a 1st world health service ? Maybe its not a 1st world health service anymore.
Toadys piece is quite short although it has taken a while to put together.
Its a work in progress.
This is a 4 guitar arrangement of the 2nd Movt. There are 6 movements which I'm trying the record. At the moment I'm not convinced it works on the guitar. I'll see how it goes.
The end of year coming up - reflecting on opportunities taken and missed through the year and what's coming up.
From the Scottish Psalter of 1650 which was a collection of 150 Psalms, based on the text of the 1650 Scottish Psalter, approved by the Church of Scotland .- a setting of the Lords my Shepherd by James Leith Macbeth Bain from 1915.
Bobby Charlton - or should I say Sir Bobby Charlton - had the piece at his recent funeral. My first real football hero - comb over or not. A survivor of the 1958 Munich air crash World and European Cup winner. He did everything in football with an amazing dignity and grace
The title for me brings up memories of the all too short life of Nick Drake. This isn't really referring to Nick Drake - other than in the title. The song is about outsiders who have a view of the world that doesn't really conform. To most of us their view is irrelevant self indulgence.
I suddenly realised on listening back to this that its a bit patronising . Honestly its not meant to be - because its a reference to things I read and get presented with - and - this is the worst of it - I'm meant to believe. Hopefully others see it the same way.
A lot of my work now is remote - that is working from home . There are many advantages - I much prefer it to the office.
But some workmates find they lose touch with that old chestnut - "Office Politics".
One of them has decided to move on because he has lost the ear of the "bossman" - what a pity
In previous tunes I continually refer to the night - I think I have a mild obsession with the hours of darkness.
The Watches of the Night were 3 in number in the Old Testament but seem to have become 4 in Roman Times.
I've mixed them up with sailors watches = lookouts/ navigation - as well as vague religious references to miracles from the New Testament.
Christmas is coming in the Uk and although there's is a cost of living crisis ( mainly for the young and the low paid ) Tory voters look to have survived OK.
The chorus sounds like Wishing Well by that great band Free - my apologies - it was unintended.
Just a comment on the movement into Winter as the days and nights in the UK get colder and so much darker.
This is not recorded in response to Fiona the sheep - a big deal in the British press- where a sheep which had been stranded at the foot of a cliff in Scotland for two years was recovered by five young farmers . the good news is the sheep has survived the ordeal .
I was always going to record this beautiful piece.
The wikipedia bit is ..."Sheep may safely graze" (German: Schafe können sicher weiden) is a sopranoaria by Johann Sebastian Bach to words by Salomon Franck. The piece was written in 1713 and is part of the cantataWas mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208 (Only the lively hunt pleases me), also known as the Hunting Cantata.
I've been teaching some Taylor Swift songs to some pupils - the song Fearless came up and also Crazier - they are just so catchy ..
Anyway from Taylor we get Tailor - and then my tailor. I live off the charity shops - have done for a long time. Love 'em . Don't love the rather snooty middle age ladies who still work as "sales assistants" - busy looking down their noses at the poor customers.
There is always some one not as well off ...and that certainly is the case at the moment. The motto for the time being - be grateful for what you have - essentially if you're alive fit and loved - you've got it made. Enjoy it.
I know he composed a huge amount of music and some question the quality on occasions - but I love Vivaldis music . This is a piece I've played, arranged, taught and re-thought a number of times . Its part of a Christmas project- that I'll try and complete before Christmas
Another take on Mudarra's Fantasie - I'm less impressed with this version. The idea was much better than the eventual end product.
I think the original phrase is "Time and Tide wait for no man". Like lots of people I partially remember bits of poetry I was meant to learn properly at school. I thought this was one of them - I have heard it quoted so many times.
Apparently its an old saying going back as far as 13th century - is that right ?
The word tide is a time reference also to a period of time apparently ( Whitsuntide ?) - not a reference to the sea. Thats how I used it in this tune.
The complete overture for the piece to include the second bit of the Messiah Overture. I've increased the speed of the Grave section and likewise increased the speed of the Allegro Moderato section . The reasons are the same for both sections. The guitar doesn't sustain like a violin so I want to give some impression of energy - particualrly the Allegro moderato section.
This is a"demo" of a project I'm recording for part of a Christmas present.
The bass is probably the most problematical - I've ended up going for a plucked "jazz" style bass because the part is quite busy and it seemed to work.
Whatever events change our lives - the one thing to be certain of is - you can't go back
I was trying to recall ( without listening to it ) the underlying riff in Peter Gabriel's tune "Sledgehammer" - with out much success.
It seems I can't escape Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint. - There is a sort of Chic baseline in the 3rd movement and the riff at the end comes back to a vague recollection of how he built different lines up.
This is my most inane song so far - and I, bizarrely, seem to have developed an American accent - particularly in the first verse.
My eating tastes have changed hugely as I get huger - so I'm trying to enjoy alternatives to the over eating habits of times gone by..
The day starts with .. Coffee and 1 Croissant
No idea what this is about. Something wound me up at work and I felt aggrieved by the injustice of it all ( you may well have heard this before from me ...)
Continuing on the slightly despairing theme - I will move on from this at some point - So many times its so easy to manoeuvre in a situation where its almost impossible to work a successful or even acceptable way to resolve things...
The christening of our first grandchild has just happened - his Dad was also a smiler - so wanting to please. I'm not particularly religious or sentimental - but this was something else. Love the little fella..
One of my favourite nights of the year - 5th November. Its been eclipsed by Halloween and maybe its politically not so encouraged these days - after all it was a conspiracy to blow up parliament. I think all of the public bonfires are on Saturday the 4th this year - but it was the ones in your back garden that were really fun - Health and Safety ? - can't remember that.
This extract from the overture of Handels Messiah is part of a bigger project to record the whole of the Overture coming up to Christmas ( not the whole of the Messiah I hasten to add ).
Quite alot of downbeat tunes recently. This is a bit more optimistic - just reflecting on a new world order. Its undoubtedly shifting away from the West in general - but whether we see the major changes in my life time - I somehow doubt.
This is a piece influenced by the Kora playing of the Mali kora player Toumani Diabete.
I fist heard his music on a recording called "Kaira" recorded by Lucy Duran ( an ethnomusicologist ) - I had to check that - in 1988.
He's made many recordings with other artists - and they are all worth a listen.
I think everyone I know has been left High and Dry at some point in their life - either in relationship or in dealings with other people. Thats how it works - our expectations of people are often too high.
I fundamentally don't get it - Halloween that is . Until I read up about it I just thought it was gimmick dreamt up by some marketing guru.
It is apparently a Celtic festival extending back into the times when the New Year began in November after the harvest.
It was believed to be a time when the world of ghosts met the world of the living - I'm not good at that stuff so todays tune is about that move between the spirit world and the living world - which I find terrifying.
The underlying theme here comes from a Fantasia by Alonso Mudarra - a Renaissance vihuela composer. The full title of the piece is "Fantasia which imititates the harp in the style of Ludovico " Ludovico was a well known harpist of the period.
This tune was put together on a Sunday evening - not my best time of the week
It depicts the Sunday evening feeling before Monday morning and all the unnecessary angst that goes with it .
Spring Forward / Fall Back - until recently ( embarrassingly on some occasions ) I have never got the clock change thing quite right. The clocks went back at 2am this morning.
I still don't get it right - the last verse of this tune shows how wrong I am . Oh well.
The whole fake news thing is very confusing for someone brought up to believe everything that you read in the papers. I know nothing .
This was a play around with key changes and a little of minor against major sounds - they never quite end up how you intended.
The Israel/Hamas conflict goes on and Joe Biden is in there having a go - good for you Mr President.
There quite a lot of individuals who believe the planet revolves around their needs - they are just too good not to want to help ... This song is for them..
I am uneasy about retirement. I 'm not there yet - but people are starting to ask me " when are you retiring ? " . That means one of two things EITHER they want to get rid of me at work OR I look so old they think I should retire.
I have absolutely no desire to stop being a general nuisance and irritation to everyone for a good few years yet.
The chord sequence is influenced a little by John Dowlands music . A composition characteristic was to to drop a tone in key changes . I think I went the other way on this one. Always Doleful - what a word Doleful - Melancholy
Its all a bit despairing at the moment - but I hope by the time this episode comes out things will look a little more optimistic. ... you can but hope .
The ultimatum given by Israel for 1m people to move south has been in place over this weekend ( the 14th /15th October ) as the world watches in dismay. By the time this episode comes out we'll know the outcome. It doesn't bear thinking about.
After yesterdays despairing tune "On the Other Hand" this is a bit flippant - and I'm not sure its right to be flippant at times like these.
But maybe treat it like any other dispute- talk about it - nothing is resolved by killing people.
My knowledge of Israel/Hamas conflict is lamentable and my understanding of the situation even worse. The slaughter, the loss of life and the life changing injuries ( horrible phrase ) is horrendous.
I came across two sufferers of memory loss this week - one on the radio, Billy Connolly ( now 80 ) and the second a 76 year Australian gent with repercussions from an old injury now causing him memory issues. Brain Fog - the Hendrix E7#9 chord in there somewhere - Hendrix would be coming to his 81st birthday this November.
Immortality isn't that what we all crave - I'm not so sure. Those who grab the most - keep the most ? I'm not so sure either...
One of the really comforting child hood memories is those Sunday afternoons doing very little - sometimes absolutely nothing - and not feeling guilty at all. Ive just had one of those - immensely enjoyable - I couldn't be motivated to do any work and it felt very pleasant.
I had the thrill of being asked to play Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez at an early stage in my career. It is still a great highlight - I re-learned the piece about 15 years ago and found the slow movement had the same intensely moving effect. I've just nicked a bit of the tune and a little of the chord sequence - but this is not meant to be anything like that great piece - its just a pastiche - paying homage to the sentiment of the original.
This came about because I was teaching David Bowies "Space Oddity" to a pupil and I really enjoyed having a look at the old video of him singing and playing the guitar on the tune. This has nothing to do with Major Tom - I was also thinking about a friend of Robs who specialised in house clearances - Spaceman.
Also the handclap thing from Stealers Wheel is great fun - even when it gets a bit
"loose " on occasions. Friday the 13th - nothing sinister here just an upbeat happy Friday tune. Have good weekend .
The Conservative party conference this week raised that phrase in my head - but also I'm trying to sort out some stuff and I am ( again ) beset by an alarming inability to make a decision. The song sounds rather preachy - but its not - its directed at me . It started shape as a comment on how I react to events rather than try to shape them - I'm a reactive individual rather than proactive.
I know reactionary doesn't mean that it means "opposing political or social progress or reform" But in my own small way thats effectively what I'm doing.....
I had some work out on the Isle of Wight recently and I travelled on the Wight Link ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth. Great ferry old fashioned civilised way of travelling. On the ferry were lots and lots of old people on day trips . I suddenly realised I was one of them. Oh !!
Reckless, rash irresponsible -a reckless person, reckless or unpredictable behaviour or action. Sounds good to me . Bring it on .
In the UK its just started to be noticeable - although its been creeping up for quite a while. The nights are drawing in - I look forward to it in many ways and yet ...
In a reference to broadening waistlines - this is reference to those issues. I will not elaborate as I'm sure any of you fellow sufferers know its kind of self evident.
A definite sign of brain slowing down - its one of my most often thought( but not spoken) phrases. The trio combination is the most enjoyable for me as an acoustic guitarist. Its one of the occasions when you can be heard . Episode 500 today. Thank you for listening.
Michael Gambon - an actor who I really enjoyed watching - died last week . apparently he did everything effortlessly, and didn't like to analyse how he produced a performance. He was amazing to watch . Intuitively
In this post covid world where its survival of the nastiest - gentle perseverance is a long forgotten skill and completely obsolescent to your average material girl/boy. Push your way to the front of the queue is seen as an essential life skill. Oh Lord
Some old and new ideas in this tune - and the idea of the acoustic guitar at the centre of an arrangement returns (again)
Not an easy thing to do in the UK at the moment. Too many stay when they should go - get that ticket if its you.
I was listening to the late great Gerry Rafferty this weekend - apologies for this - it was a bit of a joke. But I am stuck -- in a rut...
There are a lot of bad things going on in the world - but a deliberate act of destruction serving no purpose whatsoever does captures the imagination. I'm told they may be able tp pollard the tree. It'll be back when the so and so who cut it down is long gone !
A few end of summer season storms - the wind howls and whistles around the houses where we are.
The last of the three A's - Anticipation, Arrival and Aftermath - the talking through at the end - sometimes the best bit .
This is not one that I have - but I know of many friends who are still looking for the lottery win, the pools or maybe the the Miliion pound house that keeps coming up on the TV.
The Keen song "Somewhere only we know" is the starting point for this song. We all have our somewhere - but I wonder if both halves of a partnership have the same Somewheres
The three A's - Anticipation, Arrival and Aftermath.
Three tunes this week - to celebrate an Event. First tune anticipates ...
Always looking at everything with a ridiculous sporting metaphor - life is but a sporting event ?? - What a load of nonsense.
When young we are urged to plan for the future. Increasingly why would you do that ? A Day at a Time - got to be the best way..
A lament for my total inability to be an even vaguely competent dance partner for anything other than the end of evening slow smooch. Absolutely pathetic on my part.
A bit of a nonsense song really - just playing around on a Friday afternoon with some rhymes
We lived off the Status Quo riffs when we first started various teenage bands. The Never Going Back bit is the Fleetwood Mac bit from Never going Back Again - Rumours 1977.
I heard one of the piano teachers where I work playing some Piazzolla - which sounded tremendous.
However fast and furious you play Piazzolla there is always that underlying sadness in the music
Remember the band Bread - David Gates - he could really write a romantic tune. My older brother Steve liked them in the early 70's. Because he listened to them I listened too. If - was one of his great songs .
We've had ( for us ) another heat wave - 30 + for the last 7 days - we're all complaining again. Just got to slow It all right down.
I am guilty of not doing this on many occasions - I just do not like the instant access of mobile phones. I don't like to be accessible in that way. I know you can easily turn it off - but its not that simple. The ring tone in the song sets you off - horrible,
Actually the sentiment here is DON"T take it lying down. I looked up the expression Lying down ( actually for the spelling) - but it is a submissive act.
There is the inevitable US and THEM in this - Us - the have nots ( whoever they are) and the THEM - the Haves.
An upbeat tune - Hide and Seek - a game we used to play as children - some of us still have a way of playing hide and seek to dip out of doing stuff ..
I was following a caravan up the M5 this morning - it had printed on the back " The Adventure before Dementia"
Nice one
More on trying to "get what the other person" is trying to say - haven't got to grips with this at all ..
I loved the music of the Bee Gees - particularly Jive Talkin' onwards. A documentary on them had Barry Gibb talking about being the last of the 4 brothers still alive. His memories were. understandably, from his viewpoint. As he said the memories are always there - but they are your own memories and even those who shared them with you have a different memory.
I eat too much - the consequences of a lifetime of over indulgence are catching me up pretty fast. Nowadays I do lots of motorway driving -everytime you stop for the loo , a break or just to get out of the traffic you get confronted by food. People queuing for it , ordering it, paying for it, chomping their way throughout it. Crazy..
Irony -the expression of a meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite.
Just to be clear here - I disagree with almost all of the sentiments expressed in this tune ( except the free speech bit ) -However, the Trumpian view of the world becomes more extreme every time you hear it..
Lou Reeds - "Perfect Day " finishes the sequence of tunes for Kate who died on 6th August.
Some tunes for Petes partner Kate who died a couple of weeks ago - this next week has tunes she liked. In her memory.
Never settling for more than a few seconds - looking constantly busy, beautiful and elegant in their brief lives. From a week upwards they grace our world. We've got Red Admirals at the moment - 6 months to a year is their lifespan - no wonder they're busy.
The "Little Cigar"- EL Purito - the Bank Holiday in the UK - I shall save one for after lunch
As Rob and Marri get their project underway here's a chill out type piece - overlay 7th's and 9th's against basic chord shapes. One to improvise over....
As you will hear if you listen to the tune - this is one of those expressions that I have no idea what it means and why people are being critisised for being Woke . I'm trying hard, in my ignorance, to be as woke as I can be.
By Jose Luis Narvaez and published in the 1990's dedicated to "Agustin" - Barrios Mangore. . A short expressive piece .
Definitely not my comfort zone - but maybe we all want to be a superhero in certain situations.
The title is related to the chord sequence - I've been experimenting with overlying major and minor chords with different inversions - substituting chords for each other.
Some you win some you lose. The gift of scratch cards today ( the 30th July - when this piece was recorded ) was really special. No monetary reward but a really lovely responsibility. - Freddie's, Godparents .
Not what I intended . The piece was originally structured as a song - by I couldn't detach the piece from the piano pattern. Something completely different to what was intended.
Them - being whoever you choose at the appropriate moment. You know what I mean .
Survival is best achieved by completely disregarding whomsoever "they" may be.
I've been putting up a lot of rather morose stuff recently - todays piece is an upbeat piece to address that issue .. and of course its Friday
A shadow or Remnant . This tune is about Ageism. It just happens. I'm not sure there is a particular age when it cuts in - but getting treated fairly / being patronised or belittled seems to happen at some point.
The lyrics here are those I have not used when this happens - but been tempted to - either sarcastically or in genuine appeal for help .
I think it only gets worse as age descends up us.
From about 2013/2014 referring to some very dodgy employer blacklisting employees who joined a union or who took an interest in representing their fellow workers . Nothing's changed there then
During the pandemic a children's story " The Great Realisation" was optimistically looking at the future and how our approach to the world would change - the New Normal .
Unfortunately the New Normal in its better form is still awaited
A sense of misgiving about how well you know those close to you - Undiscovered aspects of a personality or behaviour. Simple misgivings can multiply into major self doubt. I'll stop there - it starts getting out of hand ...
The second piece from Manuel Ponce's 24 Preludes for Guitar - Prelude No.6 in Bminor.
I've not mucked about with it - it stands beautifully on its own.
Absolutely nothing to do with Oscar Wildes novel - Dorian Gray - just a chill out piece using the Dorian mode with minimal support - and a synthesiser with the name Blue in it. I'm keen to every so often take the pulse out of a piece like this and just let it flow without rhythm from sound to sound ... may be later on
I have an up and down relationship with banks - and my bank in particular. Actually thats not true - I have a very bad relationship with banks - and my bank in particular.
When I was struggling ( actually I'm still struggling) they offered me an overdraft. Now they are starting to realise I'm still using it they want to Reduce the Balance - take a running jump !
The tune is - I now realise - based around Luis Bonfa's - Black Orfeus. In the early 2000's I was asked to join this well known pianists jazz group. The children were still quite young and we used to rehearse on a Sunday night. I remember always being knackered on a Sunday night but I was keen to learn a bit of jazz. More often than not when it came to my turn to improvise I'd get in the wrong key - not think quickly enough and make a complete hash of it. Black Orfeus was in a good guitar key - so I enjoyed playing that one .
The phrase "The Greater Good" first made me laugh in that wonderful send up of English Village life - the film "Hot Fuzz" . Subsequently politicians have picked it up and turned it into the most appalling catch all for untenable situations.
A band version of Furloughed - from the pandemic - I wouldn't object to being Furloughed for a few months - I missed out first time round. This has also surfaced as "Downshifting" with two guitars - previously ..
In Alcobendas between 2018 and 2020 there was a Persian Bar - very friendly very hospitable . I played around with some of the scales in Persian music that I've listened to and produced this piece called ' Now Ruz "- a tune celebrating the Persian New Year - on or about 21st March which is when the piece was put together in 2020.
The acoustic version had much more in it - than the slightly sanitised finished version
Pandemic - Round the Block - that was all I could do with Jake - our border collie. In the lockdown the Spanish Police were quite enthusiastic about enforcing restrictions on movement. If you strayed out of your immediate area some guy with a gun would come up and very politely ask you to go home. Jake and I used to walk one way around the block and then the other way just to try and make it interesting.
Downshifting was a trendy term in the late 1980's early 90's for moving out of expensive areas into less expensive areas to benefit from moving away from the rat race.
I keep doing this - hence the (again) .
I dallied with a 12 string guitar for a while - which I enjoyed . I think this is the only recording I ever made with it .
The term for us is finally over , alot of people charge around sitting in traffic in a mad dash to start relaxing .... It doesn't bear thinking about...
In the town where I live the clock chimes are traditional and every 1/4 hour - I'm a light sleeper and I enjoy listening to the chimes at night : the minutes slip by...
The latest configuration of Daybreak was on May 29th "The Light Grows" . This version is from 2015 a recording I've now found called "Lights in the Mist ". The piece was originally a guitar tune "Daybreak" from a recording called St.Aidans Dance, dating from 2005. When I had a go at the folk thing I added words. They now sound a bit strange - but I used to walk our border collie early in the morning before work. He had quite a lot of energy so I had to start early.
Phrygian goes back to 2002 - I was working with a midi guitar - the Godin Multiac with a Roland GR33 synthesiser. I had a fascination with the modes - how they worked and the different sound you could obtain from them. This is taken from one of two Cd's I made - Once Bitten....... ( the second one was called .....Twice Shy ) .
This was put together in 2015 - I've re-worked it since. I hadn't heard this version for a while. Its about any "..ism" - We are all of the same material - the same clay , the same skin and bone. No-one person has a greater value than any other etc.etc .... I know I still go on about it ( rather too much sometimes )
Defined in the dictionary as "to take an action that is going to cause a lot of trouble for you" - the usual ironic view of the world . The young - keen to get on a ladder ( any ladder these days poor souls ) take on so many things that historically older generations have valued so much -but are really just sideshows - there to distract us from sorting things out for ourselves
Slightly strange objective here: I'm trying to put much less onto a track and try to keep it interesting.
Tony - was a great flute player, sax player and Northumbrian Pipe Player - who I worked with briefly in about 2006/2007 . This was composed in F major to give him plenty of scope to improvise - which he was brilliant at .
A dark piece from about 2015 - the wrong end of relationships - always sad , sometimes bitter and vengeful.
This is also a peculiar link. I've always been fascinated by Paul McCartneys "Blackbird". The tune "Nightjar' was intended as a rather gentle "Blackbird" type tune. Apart from not being able to write melodies like McCartney - "Nighjar" is just not a gentle tune.
For those ornithologially inclined :
NIGHTJAR(Caprimulgus europaeus)Mysterious and elusive, the nightjar is one of our most intriguing birds. A summer visitor with bark-like plumage, it can be incredibly difficult to spot.
Some of the time between 2019 and 2022 is hard to believe - what was true or fake news. One character shone through..
Chopins 24 Preludes for piano set a bench mark for other instruments. the Mexican composer Manuel Ponce did the same for the guitar composing 24 Preludes working through all the the keys. Miguel Alcazar Edited them and published them for Tecla editions in the 1980's.
This is Prelude No.5 - in D major.
Essentially a backing track for Rob to use as a work out for his tuned hand drum. Hopefully he is going to record an improvisation against the track - it will return later.
Intenede as a chill out piece for those suffering under the extreme heat of parts of Europe and America. It uses the E Dorian mode - again and again ... and again
We've been travelling by boat recently - a big boat - not the migrant crossing type. It just makes it clear how brave the people are who take these crossings and risk everything.
Thers's a load of them out there. I don't do social media - not that I wouldn't if I could understand it - but the personal stuff is just way too hurtful.
It also applies to every gender out there - just amazing how cruel we can be to each other. And then there's all the other conspiracy theories -- its endless,
Holiday time - thank Goodness. Then suddenly I'm acting as if the world is coming to an end and I have to finish EVERYTHING before I go . Just enjoy it for God's sake .
This could be misconstrued as a song about communicable disease. Its not - I didn't realise how ambiguous it was until I'd finished it.
Its about the feeling of discomfort when you can't work out why things aren't quite right....
My knowledge of the Spanish Civil War is similar to the English Civil War - a bit vague and inaccurate.
I do know that there were many children of jailed or killed Republicans who disappeared - a bit like the missing children in Ukraine. I'm trying to read up on it - it just seems one of the most horrendous consequences of conflict.
The latin tunes just fit the summer so well- take another one - an improvised melody around this Bossa Nova
Vals Triste - today we start making out way back from the wreck of the house we called home for a while. Its 3 years since we were there - and I hope its not as long before we return once more.
A Northumbrian Folk Song - up there with You Shall have a Fishy - " When the Boat Comes In " ..
Bassoon - features at the end .
The flamenco guitar travelled to Latin America - like so much of Spain's culture.
This is a collection of themes around a flamenco idea.
The Police used the add9 chord brilliantly - I still think it sounds great. Text it to me .
There are references to individuals working within " a bubble" - I certainly recognise it - but we all work in a bubble - I think mine is smaller than most. There are a few people I'm in contact with in my work environment and even fewer outside - oh! dear - one very small bubble .
I like these phrases that can be viewed in any way you like. Downhill from here can mean things get easier; but it can also mean things get worse.
Pete is 60 today - Happy Birthday - take it whichever way you like - But I would always take the positive option if I were you..
The second of two Brazilian pieces I've been using for teaching this term - Terezinha de Jesus - once again arranged by Eustaquio Grilo
Yevgeny Prigozhin v's Vladimir Putin - by the time this tune comes up things will perhaps be a little clearer - or maybe not
I recorded this on the 24th June - when Yevgeny Prigozhin seemed to be taking on Vladimir Putin - and then suddenly withdrew. Watch out - who's the Mug ?
This is the first of two short Brazilian pieces I've enjoyed teaching this term . They are both arranged by Eustaquio Grilo and featured in the 1980's Guitar Magazine - now long defunct.
I get very stuck on certain ideas - and those of you who listen regularly ( thank you so much ) will recognise a certain obsession with particular chord sequences. The F/G in or in this case Gb/ Ab - sounds terribly clever ( Its not - I just moved the chord one fret up the guitar neck ).
I'm in charge of cooking this week - having a look at a bit of a saving on the grocery bill.
Here we go.....
Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. Historically, gruel has been a staple of the Western diet, especially for peasants
Sounds good to me ... I don't think I'll be cooking it though - it looks a bit too mean even for me ...Its a pity cos we've got so many onions .
Good to see Dave Grohl at Glasto ( what a place ??) with the Foo Fighters ..
Thats a funny expression - I heard myself using the term about a particularly ambitious colleague ..
My goodness this is a rough recording - talk about garage - I think this one is definitely shed ..
A tune using the pre-programmed guitar sounds - which are interesting although they don't sound much like a guitar.
The son of Daedalus - the man who flew too close to the sun - but there was so much more to his life - goodness it was complicated . I'll stick to the man who flew too close to the sun .
The summer does this .... I start thinking about this perfect world where people are pleasant to each other - just a smile does it all
An eight bar tune - written quite a long time ago - which I've never dug out before. I've had a go now - but maybe it was left where it was because I had nowhere to go with it ...
Happy Birthday Sue. This track is Bob Dylan inspired . Although his film music for Pat Garrett and Billy the Kidd is 50 years old now - the film came out in 1973 - I really liked the music and of course there is the much overplayed Knocking on Heavens Door within the soundtrack. Its good to hear it in the original form though ..
This is right up there with "Going Forward" " You're a Star" and even "Well done" as being one of the most irritating phrases in the English language right now.
It is What it is ...seems to suit the piece
A piano piece in which I was sufficiently concerned about the quality of my piano playing ( or lack of it) to feel I needed a string accompaniment.
its unusually warm here - temperatures around 30 and humid - we get in a right old state when it gets hot !
Continuing on with the discussion I had with this really interesting musician - we argued about "genius". Nature or Nurture ?
I think genius is when that combination of natural ability coincides with an individual is nurtured in that same area where they have tremendous natural ability. I've never seen it close up but I have worked with some children of outstanding natural ability ( but maybe not the application or support to develop that ability)
This is a children's song - not to sing - but for an old fashioned "Music and Movement " lesson. Each time the tune changes the class changes direction - always walking ( or stomping) in time with the beat. Good for a sleepy Monday class. Or a sleepy any time of the week class. By the end of the tune utter chaos reigns...
A piece comprising of six eight bar phrases interchanged over 64 bars. It doesn't resolve at the end, although that was the intention . A couple of clumsy edits in there too - but I'll return to it again at some point.
I had an interesting conversation with a very talented musician last week. He's worked at a much much higher level than I ever have - but - and I was surprised - we share a similar view of the music world ( and probably most of the performing arts) and how it is obsessed with appearance - at the complete neglect of substance.
The latest media crisis in the UK ( before Philip Schofield). The dangers of Artificial Intelligence.
I have absolutely no idea - all I hear about is how it would effect music production. I think its already here. This track doesn't use AI - but there is only 1 actual instrument in it - the initial guitar part you hear at the beginning . The rest are midi instruments. Ok I control them but I don't control the sound quality, the timbre. In addition I can adjust the rhythm remotely to make it work better and quantise it ( sort the rhythm out when it goes adrift). Thats quite a big contribution by "the machine" .
The blowing up of the dam in Ukraine has that bizarre effect of looking rather beautiful in terms of TV pictures - but the physical damage to peoples lives is horrendous.
In times past an employer would suggest " gardening leave" when he didn't want an employee around any more. Usually the gardening leave was used to give the employer time to get rid of the employee. For the first time in a very long time I have an employer who actually refers to it in the contract - amazing .
I'll return to the subject later - but what a prospect . I'd go Back on the Beach
Sometimes there is just no way of saying the right thing at the right time - so after many years of getting it wrong I've come to the conclusion that sometimes its best not to say anything at all. It took it me far too long to realise that sometimes the reason to console someone is to make me feel better. Not what should have been intended at all.
The chord sequence is taken from a classical guitar piece I first composed in about 1982/3 . The piece was for tremolo guitar playing and seems to be unfinished. I don't know why..
It was written in the Autumn - I can tell that at least - I was wishing for a reprise of what had been a lovely warm and relaxing August - looking forward to maybe another one of those this year..
I always thought Sedgemoor was part of the English Civil War - so much for my knowledge of English History ..
July 6th 1685 - was the last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion which was a battle against the Crown in the West Country.
Today the Battle of Sedgemoor is getting to the Motorway service station on a Friday afternoon to escape the M5 for a few minutes.
£16.85 is about the price of a 2 cups of coffee and a sandwich.
The phrase apparently comes from the twelfth century, when the author John of Salisbury wrote that philosopher Bernard of Chartres compared people to dwarves perched on the shoulders of giants.
Noel Gallagher also used it - his reason is much more down to earth:
He saw the quote and liked it so much he thought it would be a suitable name for an Oasis' album..
Hubert Rostaing was Django Reinhardt's clarinet player in the Hot Club de Paris for which Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli ( the virtuoso violinist ) are forever remembered . Django also had his two brothers Joseph ( Nin-Nin) and Roger playing guitar for him. This is a bit of mid week lightness - I could never hope to emulate Reinhardt but I love the spirit of his music .
We, as a species, never seem to remember what has gone before - and therefore we seem to repeat the mistakes of previous generations. History is Bunk is the Henry Ford quote - the whole quote is ( apparently) "History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history that we make today.I can't agree - but its a scary proposition that so many of the great leaders seem to follow that view.
This is a bit rough around the edges- Roll up - Roll up. Festival time, fairgrounds, the very English Church Fete, the Spring Bank Holiday event - they're all out there cheering everybody up - good times ...
As summer officially started in the UK on June 1st this pastorale celebrates the beginning of some good weather - maybe . It also celebrates my Mum's discovery of the TV programme Midsomer Murders on afternoon television. She struggles to find things for a still very active brain to do - particularly later in the day when she is physically tired but the old brain box is still going 19 to the dozen. Thank you Midsomer Murders and the crazy, totally unbelievable plots, that keep us gently entertained.
My Mum (aged 95) has been talking about the Devils Hour - apparently there is a film with that title being made in a big house close to where she lives.
This piece is called The Devils Hour.
In the 1980's there was a very good TV series "The Edges of Darkness" - the music for the series was composed by Eric Clapton and Michael Nyman.
I was too young to hear early Clapton in his prime in the band Cream ( honest ) and this was my first listen to his music. He ( together with Nyman) made the acoustic guitar sound haunting ( rather than its romantic sound)
In this piece I've tried to do that. The normal comforting sounds of a classical guitar have an underlying uncomfortable accompaniment. Even the last chord ( which is basically just an A minor chord) is disturbing.
My bad time of night is consistently around 3.40am ( as I have made mention before ).... the following describes the Devils Hour.....
3 AM - “The Devil’s Hour,” or, “The Witching Hour,” which is believed to be the time of night when most supernatural events occur. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, there is a line: “‘Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out.”
Oh good grief...
I'm not sure about this one. This is pitched at all of us who mislead ourselves - anyway - keep on going, ...
The Northern "bit" running along part of the top edge of Spain. Lots of green, sometimes mountainous , sometimes remote - but very beautiful .
The sentiments expressed in this song are just those of an old geezer reminiscing - Spring in the air - and all that stuff.
Jack went into Birmingham city centre last Friday to give Plasma at one of only three ( I think ) centres in the UK at No. 65 New Street. Whilst I was waiting for him I was people watching when this great little jazz band set up outside No.86 - young, without vanity they just struck up and starting busking - tremendous. Summer in New Street
The Spring Bank Holiday in the UK - a Monday off - marvellous....
This songs harks back to days when I really looked forward to each new day- Mondays were no problem at all - bring 'em on...
Funny little synth tracks in these - I just liked the sounds- the percussive bits etc made me smile..
This is not a profound song at all. As we become middle aged and eventually old aged.. it becomes harder to change direction - even if you want to ( obvious really - but you never consider it until its way, way too late ). This was one such attempt -which was accurately (if rather cruelly) summed up in the expression " Keep on Walking " .
This is a reference to trying keep employed as you get older. I didn't try too hard to make it flow as a song - there were certain things I wanted to say - the message meant more than getting the words to scan. Its a frustrating business. I can't be the only one who thinks like this ? .. am I ?
Sorry this is a terrible play on the Glenn Frey ( Eagles) "The Heat is on". I didn't realise that the track only featured on the European version of the album the "Allnighter" - Freys solo album in 1984. I thought it was the best track.
The Heating's on was a working title - using the bass line from the song. We were having smart meters fitted on the day I finished it to tell us exactly how much energy we use at any one time ( frightening ) - especially when the kettle goes on.
Perhaps I should re-name the tune The Kettles On or Turn that Light Out. Its an upbeat Friday tune - and as I do a lot of driving up and down the M5 - I'll probably play it very loud on my wayback at about 5pm tonight .
An old friend, one of the most natural and very best performers I've ever come across, visited recently. It was great to meet up once again. He works as a Palliative Carer- amazing job and it reminded me of how the world is so skewed. Those who do the most important jobs are so undervalued ( at least financially ) - Crazy.
Will is also a bass player- so in this tune I wrote the piece around the bass line and then left it off the final mix... just to illustrate how important he is.
I'm going to keep going for a while.. Todays tune marks one year of daily podcasts. Days has had many forms - but this was how it was originally envisaged. If anyone says it sounds a bit like the FooFighters I'd be really pleased. Rob, Matt and I saw them at Old Trafford a day after they'd played Hyde Park. Dave Grohl sang flat out for. the best part of 2 hours and continually chewed gum - absolutely spellbinding. He didn't miss a note.
With the subtitle "Evolution or Revolution" this is a dystopian and despairing piece of music generated from the music of a French film "Revolution" . A slightly strange and unusual interpretation of the French Revolution - the aristocrats become infected with blue blood after they die - and they come alive once more as powerful murdering cannibals -attacking and killing the serfs. (Nothing new there then) It wasn't a great film - and the music used every cliche it could to give some credence to a sometimes laughable plot.
From the 2015 collection of songs and guitar tunes - the full title Stop the world I want to get off....
An acoustic version of one of my pet targets - Charity - used as a great tax avoidance scheme by the wealthy and a justification for taking money off those can't afford to contribute..... This continues however you defend it. Why don't governments just fund things properly in the first place ?
The first song from Can't Stop in 2008 condensed into a folk tune with a simple guitar accompaniment in 2015.
The original acoustic version of Make do and Mend. it was intended as an affectionate look back in 2015 - it sounds a really harsh judgement and that was not intended.
A song - that has no words. A tune from a time of listening to American guitarists Earl Klugh and George Benson. It doesn't have their lightness of touch - but that was the intention.
A take on the Your time will Come theme from 2015 - a collection of tunes called Shouting at the Telly. A friend of mine mentioned that he was horrified to see he'd started shouting at the telly - I hadn't even realised I was doing it !!
The recording including Rob on percussion - taken from 2015 . Dominic Millers guitar playing was the starting point for this tune .
It is such a thing- a smile can do so much - much more than words on so many occasions. It open doors ( metaphorically ) makes friends, breaks the ice, re-assures loved ones, gives an indication of intent - and many others ..
The acoustic version of a heartfelt bit of injustice about how an old Roundsman - a Postman - was treated as he got towards the end of his working life.
Taken from a set of recordings from 2015 - Shouting at the Telly . Just a collection of tunes really kept as a diary of what was going on at the time .
This tune has always been called Slow Dance - its not really a slow dance - maybe the Last Dance would be better. It was that teenage thing of trying to get the last dance with the partner you hoped you could walk ( ! ) home at the end of the evening. That shows how old the tune is .
This is from the collected folk song recording completed in 2015. Talents is about how so many people bury theirs rather than developing them. My Church of England school background re-visiting me in later life.
Some easy listening from a long time ago - written originally in about 1974/75 . For two guitars . I've added the drums and bass.
The final track from the CD The Setting Sun. Its the title track and having listened to all of the tracks there is a pervading lack of optimism in the whole CD becoming rather characteristic of much of my work .
I'm coming up to the end of a years podcast and I'll put the whole album up at some point before I finish the year. I haven't decided whether I'll extend beyond a year - I'll have a think about it....
The Lindisfarne song - Meet me on the Corner is the starting point for this song. Although if you listen to it it bears absolutely no relation to the Lindisfarne song - one of their very best .
I never saw the Who at their very best - but they were the best 3 piece band ( I know Daltrey sang ) but I''m thinking 3 piece instrumental band.
for me the two other great 3 piece bands were the Jam and the Police ( although I think they sometimes used a second guitarist ).
This piece is based around Bruce Foxton's tremendous bass playing for the Jam - on
" Down in the Tube Station at Midnight "
The second to last track from the nearly finished CD The Setting Sun. A song to re-assure us oldies never to forget childish things. I remember sometimes as a child looking up at the clouds for hours imagining shapes out of the clouds, and what it would be to be up there amongst the pigs, hands, faces ... and so on
: any face of a building given special architectural treatment
: a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect
two dictionary definitions - I was dealing with the building version at work recently . Its the other definition which is of more interest - we all put up a facade of some sort.
The finished version of a track from The Setting Sun which I started last summer. I'll pitch it at the folk clubs once again.. The complete CD should be finished by the end of April
A bit of late Saturday night doodling with the piano - with a clarinet thrown in for support. Nobody's Business.
Lots of these flying around this week. The 25 year anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in the UK - which is looking a little fragile ,,,,,,,,, and of considerably lesser importance our Assured Shorthold Tenancy comes up for renewal . On the subject of our tenancy I couldn't find too many clauses giving us as tenants too many rights. Maybe there are more parallels with the Good Friday Agreement than I thought.
One of the lovely things about the flute is it sounds so good in the upper range - the guitar ( and in particular the classical guitar ) sits beautifully in the middle range . The range of the two instruments makes for a rewarding combination
I was watching a documentary about the band Queen and how Brian May used to build up his guitar solos - generally by singing - he thought the fingers were a little predictable . That accounts for his unique sound ( and of course his amazing ability ).
No logic
I don't think I am alone in having a regular waking time in the middle of the night. This is mine. When I was young I used to think it was the lowest of times - now I almost look forward to it - a reassurance that nothing has changed.
A 90's type track without the amazing Gallagher's on either vocals or guitar. I enjoyed much of their music - and I don't feel it has aged badly at all. Take Nothing as Read.
From 2015 - a collection of tunes called Parables. I found some "mislaid" recordings in a pile of CDs - I'd forgotten about this one.
Metaphorically its starting to feel a little bit like that - many things still to do but will there be enough time - and perhaps more importantly - energy - to get them all done.
Not the most optimistic view of the world.
From the demo of 2022 called The Setting Sun - this is more of a complete version of the song - The Way It Is.... Re-Title, to make the point, "This way it Isn't"
Resistance is futile is an iconic line from the science fiction TV show, Star Trek. The line is used by the Borg in the series, who assimilate various cultures into their own and warn the encountered species, that“resistance is futile”
I wondered where I heard it - good old James T Kirk and the rest of the crew..
Now its decided - Pisces or Aries - Freddie arrived as an Aries. Rob on some great cajon. The piece is as ready as it will ever be ....
Rob has added some Djembe to this recording and I have re- written the lyric to be more positive - the original version caught me on a bad day.
A strangely uncomfortable two words - particularly with a question mark and perhaps a slightly sneering "Sir" after it . There we go . The flute returns today.
I've been going up and down busy Motorways - getting more and more angry with the congested state of the highways. A pretty minor thing in the great scope of world issues - I know. ( I told you my main concerns are small things- sad really ! ) This is to be turned up very loud when the road system just gets that little bit too much. Mr Angry ..
Lighter Days, lighter evenings - but still a lot ( and I mean a lot ) of rain. Even the synthesiser track on this recording is called "droplets" .
Another recording for the latest "CD" - minimal instrumentation and I can breathe when I'm singing - its amazing how much less "wheezy" I am after a couple of months without the smoking . Its was getting to the stage where I was having to edit out the breathing in bits before I started singing because they were so very noisy.
... is a pot of gold , or so the story goes.
I've been teaching that wonderful song "Over the Rainbow " this term and although todays piece shares nothing with the musical structure of "Over the Rainbow " - it is a positive tune AND of course. - it IS a Friday.
A track from a demo completed last summer .I'm now putting the "CD" together ( does anyone make CD's now ? ) . In an aim to keep it simple, fundable and accessible the instrumentation is sparse and I've given up smoking and cut down on the alcohol to help the voice as much as I can ( God it needs it ).
I love the lute as an instrument. It is gentler and even more subtle than the classical guitar at its very best. This is probably not fast enough or flamboyant enough to be a proper Toccata - but its as fast as I go. A very short and little Toccata.
Not a great name for a tune if you're looking to give a catchy title for a hit single - but I'm not so what the hell...
This began as "The Politician " - around about the time of the expenses scandal in the UK ( that's just faded into the past ). It became the "Politician & the Pauper" but it really is a much broader swipe than just that - its about injustice and it continues to be about injustice. Self serving "great and good" meritocracy by tugging your forelock - or possibly other things ...
The song comes from the "lost " CD from about 2014 - if anyones got one - let me know ( they're very rare - particularly bearing in mind how few I actually sold, and how many were binned ) . It was titled Yesterday's Girl on that recording .
After the Christmas Holidays in the UK - Easter is the next big day for family meet ups. Judging by all the trains on Thursday ( before Good Friday ) everyone who can is on the move. This simple tune is for Easter Sunday.
On the 31st March we all met up to be introduced to the first of a new generation - Freddie Henry who arrived on 25th March all fit and well.
Two contrasting moods - but nothing really to do with split personalities - just a working title that I quite liked. A combination of nylon strung and steel guitar and a bit of latin percussion here and there.
Todays piece sits right in the Middle of the Road - hopefully easy listening wise. Originally titled Lucky 13 - the software some how re-labelled it Lucky 14 - there we go . The weekends here once again. Have a good break if you're lucky enough to get one.
Theatre land in New York - so I learn. A great musical - I didn't realise it started as a musical film and then became a musical .The 42 bit here really relates to the bass riff - that amazing bass player - Mark King
Apparently the band took the name Level 42 by extracting the number from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, in which 42 was the answer to the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything. Thats what I could do with...
I listen to political debate as much I can but still feel poorly equipped to argue in a convincing way. This expression - kleptocracy - rang very true in a recent radio programme. The political elite robbing everyone else blind - effectively so corrupt they do whatever they please to line their own pockets. Surely not ?
There was also some argument over whether only those equipped with an understanding of a particular subject should be allowed to vote on it - a limit on democracy - a sort of democracy by your qualification . That sounded pretty despicable too.
I'm not sure that comparing finding love to gambling is a particularly good analogy - but it sometimes looks like it is - both on the inside looking out and the outside looking in. There are definitely winners and losers.
Todays tune first went up on 26th February - but I was having some technical problems in mixing tunes down - so it felt slightly distorted . Usually the technical problems are my mistakes - so I apologise for that. The cold winds coming off the North East are still dominating so I can imagine that Walk to Bamburgh will still be a chilly one .
I admire that resolute state of mind that says "you're going to have to get me out of here but I'm not going of my own accord " - a sort of determination to stand your ground. Todays tune reflects that "I'm not going anywhere" philosophy !
What I would wish for any young child - it doesn't sound terribly profound or significant but from this perspective it seems important. The book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - by Charlie Mackesy had that wonderful line.. "What do you want to be when you grow up ? " - "Kind" - that'll do nicely
Thank God its Friday - the end of the working week - it can't come soon enough. Wishing the days away - again and again...
"I'd like to get you on a slow boat to China" was a well-known phrase among poker players, referring to a person who lost and was quite happy to keep losing. Frank Loesser turned it into a romantic song, in 1947.
The romantic version is a lovely idea - the odd time I've played poker though I've really taken a hammering.
There's one idea behind this piece - but it wasn't intended to be Xanadu by Dave Dee, Dozy ,Beaky, Mick and Titch - although thats exactly what it sounds like when the electric guitar comes in ... Nevermind.
This riff - played on the piano in the amazing Bruce Hornsby recording -has stuck in my head for many years - my recollection may not be as accurate as it should be ..
This is the final version of this tune . the one I put up earlier I hadn't finished editing - my apologies .
This riff - played on the piano in the amazing Bruce Hornsby recording -has stuck in my head for many years - my recollection may not be as accurate as it should be
The comforting sound of rain hammering down outside but being dry and warm at home - not all of us have that luxury - but its good when you've got it. You may hear a bit of the rain in the background of this recording - it was crashing down on the roof when I was putting the piece together.
A regular Sunday visit - a friendly bar in Alcobendas - I hope it survived all the pandemic stuff. Great tapas - very tolerant and patient of my appalling Spanish.
I've only recently remembered the phrase when the clocks change - "Spring Forward - Autumn Fallback " - so there we have it - tonight the clocks go 1 hour forward and the evenings get lighter. Hope Springs Eternal .
For the world to teachers today is the end of Term - a get-as -much -in -as -you-can sort of term and hard work for exam students. is it worth it for them ? I hope it is . Enjoy the holiday.
Toxic asset - something which has fallen so far that there is no longer a market for. In the financial crisis of about 2008 /2009 - I remember the expression well. The Uk spent the next ten years in austerity to put that right - and failed miserably.
In about 2008 / 2009 there was a rather hushed up scandal about restrictive practices and discouraging union membership in certain industries - goodness how we need strong unions now. Bear it in Mind
Jeff Beck - another great player whose music I was introduced to pretty late on - my school friend Dud - who always has had amazing sound systems - played me the George Martin produced album "Blow by Blow" in the 1970's - absolutely amazing. As I was recording this I heard the Average White Band tune Pick up the Pieces in here somewhere. So there it is Blow it to Pieces. I've only got access to an acoustic guitar at the moment - so an attempt at acoustic funk guitar. Its a Monday why not ?
I was listening to a radio presenter talking about the 50th Anniversary of the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side of the Moon" - which I loved. I was introduced to the music of the late John Martyn - sometimes described as a one - man Pink Floyd - again quite late. The wonderful John Martyn album Solid Air was 50 years old in February 2023. I finally got to see John Martyn play about a year before he died. He wasn't well and had part of one leg removed in an operation. He wasn't a disappointment - even then. A unique character I think.
I heard this style of Jazz very late in life - and the piece this draws on is nearly as old as I am .
My Grandfather on my Dads side was a Greengrocer. When I talked to my Dad about it he called him a Florist - ( I think my Dad felt he was a bit more upmarket than a fruit and veg man ) All I can remember about my Grandfather was that he was deaf for much of his life and that he used to cycle to work even in his 80's.... You got to keep going whatever! What an amazing old chap. Fade out - don't ever stop .
Another tune from the "Lost CD" - Lights in the Mist. I don't think it will be ever be missed - maybe one will turn up on eBay one day - I saw a copy of a CD I made called St.Aidans Dance up there once. It was quite nice to think someone had bought the CD and maybe listened to it a few times. Although it was a bit sad to see they didn't think it was worth hanging on to !
I've never tried it - Online dating- it seems seriously scary - firstly you've got tell a whole load of strangers about yourself and put it online , and secondly work out what attracts you to someone else AND trust what they tell you- Oh Lord - its fraught with difficulties.
The two astrological signs for March. ...So what - I hear you say..
Yeh probably - but its in the stars ??
Someone born in March is Pisces if they're born between March 1 and 20, and Aries from March 21 through April 19. Pisces are said to be "smart, creative and deeply intuitive," while Aries are said to be "passionate and independent.
How many times have you fallen for that one ?- the promise of a future benefit for a short term sacrifice . I can certainly put my hand up to that more times than I care to remember.
On 2nd January I put up - It Ain't Right - about the the song Roundsman - from a CD called Lights in the Mist , which seems to have got lost. I must have sold literally - a handful- I do literally mean ONE hand full.
Here' the song about a lovely old Postman called Alan. One of the jobs I had when we moved out of the rat race was a Postman - and I remember one delightful customer shouted across to me "where's the post - Pat" - actually quite a good joke . At the time we used to read Postman Pat stories to the boys - so I got it . Hence the reference in the song.
What would you do with yours ? I've got no idea what I'd do with mine- so many conflicting and irreconcilable things it would be great to do . Dream on.
Celebrating 50 years of the release of the Pink Floyd album Dark Side of the Moon - in the style of... you've got it ...
A riff from a tune put together with Russell in the 19- somethings - quite a long time ago.
Fellow Travellers - we all are in one way or another. Watch out for one another is the sense behind the song.
Based around an 18th century tune todays piece is about elegant dancing - not something I can do - but I can wish.
I don't know why I haven't felt this before but as your children grow up and make their own decisions the family thing becomes a lot more difficult to sustain , or maybe it just changes. Distances between us are big and linking up to see each other becomes much more complicated. A Jigsaw Family - with a lot of pieces to try to make sense of..
Can you ? I don't reckon so - everything has consequences, everything has a price. Even if you think you've got it all - I bet you'e missing something .. and after all that - who cares , enjoy what you have - its priceless.
The first tune up on the podcast was called "House on the Hill" - back in May of 2022.
Casa Lily is that house - up in the Hills in Asturias - we'll get there sometime.
As a trip out to see Rob comes up - I'm always grateful to the Budget Flights ( although the song doesn't seem to show it ! ) - But we just couldn't get to see him if the flights weren't so cheap - so we'll keep on keeping on for now - moans and all !
A tune from a very long time ago. I can't quite recall when but originally done and re-done in a number of versions.
A sort of dreamscape piece- arising out of one of those dreams where you think you're awake but you're not .
A dialogue between steel guitars around a simple folk theme which alludes to the gentle Jack Johnson approach - which I first heard around about 2008 / 2009 pre the Ed Sheeran era.
The days are getting longer, the nights are that little bit warmer. Gradually here in the UK we're moving out of winter. Time to get out and get moving once again - the hibernation is nearly over. I enjoyed recording this one - no rhythm track but each instrument just pushes the next one into the next bit and so on - until we get to the end . Hence the phrase Stumble in the Dark
The flute seems to suit that laid back Brazilian feel so well. A little improvised Bossa Nova .
Puente- when I lived and worked in Spain for a brief time I never quite got the hang of what appeared to be almost random occasions for holidays that bridged the week - the Puente.
I now know :
A puente (Spanish for bridge) is a holiday in Spain, it is the day off to bridge the time between the weekend and a holiday, thereby creating a long weekend. A puente typically occurs when a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, workers will then take the Monday or Friday as a puente, a day off.
Bit late now - but what a great idea. I'm all for it.
One of the most enjoyable times of year is when we get a chance to visit Bamburgh - Sue's home village ..
We generally go out of season - its great dog walking country - especially the beach , however bitterly cold it might be. The tune is a derivative of an old piece I played to destruction - also found in this podcast - St Aidans Dance.
Its about time some of the tunes were a bit more upbeat - the winter is gradually coming to an end.
Another tune from about 2014. The lyrics are, particularly in the latter part of the song , are inspired by the words from the song version of the Peruvian tune El Condor Pasa.
I first came across the song on Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits LP from the 1970's . Is there anyone who had an LP collection who hasn't got that album ? Since then I've taught the tune and the song to countless students, who all find something in it to relate to. The song version was given English lyrics by Paul Simon. I always wondered if some of the songs meaning got lost in the translation from the Spanish - and I wrote a set of words that fitted the song for my use. I've put them into this tune.
This is a combination of a number of ideas that came together in about 2014. I was ( and still am ) of the mind that you should never relinquish your dreams - however unachievable - thats what holds us together for much of the time. My brother Pete was doing the round the coast of Britain walk at the time. There was much to admire in what he did and I think it changed his life.
A recurring theme in pieces, arrangements and songs - this very short piece captures the mood I was trying to portray - the alternation between activity and contentment, neither lasting for any length of time.
More early guitar pieces very much the product of American influenced instrumental music. A 1970's feel to todays piece. This has that slightly dated sound about it.
A band version of the tune taken from a book I produced called 4 hands - for guitar + piano OR two guitars . Bass and drums added.
The corkscrew shape - like a spiral staircase - that seems a good description. The helter skelter on the old fashioned fairground was a pretty daring ride - it seems pretty tame by todays standards. I've updated this tune - but its not how I remember it at the time it was written.
Not all is what it seems - the definition I read is a good one "an image, produced by very hot air, of something that seems to be far away but does not really exist."
Like so many I've seen lots of them.
We're all part of this as time passes. Watching our friends and family get older, adapt, not adapt, fall apart put ourselves back together and just get on with it.
A Spanish influenced tune for today's piece - in particular the early 20th Century guitar school of Pujol, Fortea and Llobet - pupils of Tarrega.
...As in " turn a blind eye" - Too many influences to say here - but an unusual one was Bruno Mars - I was teaching one of his tunes and just liked how he switched a chord progression around. Still sounds like I got the riff from Don't Fear the Reaper...
Todays tune is entirely unintentional . Where the Heart is - I just wanted to put up something loud - a bit ot music to drive home to..
Ami MacDonald's This is the Life gave me the structure for this tune - but this is not a happy -go - lucky -what- a -life type tune. The character 'He' is everyone with a grievance really - I don't see myself as a suffering minority - but I can empathise with some of the mighty injustices going on all over the place...
The winters not over yet - but positive thoughts start turning to the snow drops growing on the edge of the woods and the new shoots coming through. This is a really optimistic tune ( it doesn't sound it - I realise ) . For Matt and Sarah and all thats coming their way.
Slightly strange title for todays piece, which takes - samples - sections of Tarrega's Capricho Arabe within the piece. Meant to be light and airy in nature its a bit more of a stomp than I ever intended.
Influenced by Frederic Chopin , Alexander Scriabin was a Russian composer at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. This is a piece based around Scriabin's Prelude No 5 in Eb minor op.16 No4 composed in 1895 - composed for the piano. The Polish composer Alexander Tansman wrote a set of variations for guitar. The original piece is very short - 12 bars long. The variations I've played for years as best I can. The harmonies I love and the melody (which I use in the middle of the piece ) is wonderfully lyrical.
The sixth prelude completed on the 6th February whilst taking in the horrors of the Turkey/Syria earthquake.
From the recording of about 2014 - Lights in the Mist ( which I've lost ) - probably not such a bad thing.
I found some songs which I've put back together. This one is about choices - and how its so easy to make the wrong or right choice without even knowing you're making any sort of choice at all.
Stepan Rak was a Czechoslovakian composer and guitarist who became well known in the UK during the 1980's and 1990's. He played a lot of his own compositions and did well with them . I think he must have been a good teacher as well. I remember seeing some of his simpler student compositions and thinking how good they were - as well as fun to play. Just right for a young pupil starting out. Early Allegro is in his "student" style. It takes a technique you learn quite early on -( thumb and finger combinations ) and plays around with it .
I spent quite a lot of time in my twenties arranging and playing the great Irish tunes. With apologies to all the traditionalists - this one is great on the guitar. Its a nice one to wake up to on a Monday morning. Have a good week
I still get asked to teach a lot of music from the 1990's - Oasis, The Verve, and to a lesser extent Blur, Pulp and so on. All good stuff and todays piece comes from that era, with some synthesiser added in..
One song - using a combination of material from a session in a little studio in someones house in Wokingham with egg boxes for sound proofing - or is that my memory playing tricks. Russell was one of the most talented natural musicians I've ever come across - an excellent drummer, singer and great at putting things together. He went on to play in some good function bands before our paths went in different directions.
The bass line rhythm is how I remember the bass line for a great Steely Dan track from a long time ago . Their albums always amazed me - the precision was stunning. I remember seeing a documentary about the album Aja, I think, where they got different guitarists in to play a solo and they sorted out which one would work best for the track . I don't think there is a track of theirs I didn't think was tremendous.
A bit of Fernando Sors - Study No.5 from the Segovia 20 is in here - I think its called something else now - Op.35 No.22 - there you go.
This comes from about 2014 - I have recorded it somewhere else - but I think I've lost the recording ( it was on a CD called Lights in the Mist which I was trying to sell on the Folk market ).
Todays piece had a working title that just didn't get changed. It was a bit grey and wintery and I was trying to cheer things up bit . Nylon and steel guitars against a simple accompaniment.
Also known as "Patience" in the UK. A game for solitary individuals. A bit of very slow melancholy.
Using an old idea for a song that was recorded in about 1975 !! - I can't find the finished recording but the riff is re-used throughout .
There is very little in this piece that suggest its a Bouree. Its a bit slow and its more of a folk dance. The Double bass and acoustic guitar pairing returns after a bit of a break .
Mauro Giuliani was one of the great guitarists of the early 19th Century. I played a lot of his music ( quite reluctantly) in my early days of studying the classical guitar . I didn't enjoy his music much but I've come to appreciate it a lot more in recent times. The piece uses arpeggio techniques similar to those of Guiliani - I've altered the chord progressions quite significantly.
An upbeat Friday tune I hope as the UK continues to shiver in the unusually cold January - As you've probably realised by now I love to complain about the weather.
Two great Leo's I know of are Leo Messi and Leo Brouwer. This is for both of them. The sporting highlight of last year (and this year) was Messi holding the World Cup - unforgettable.
Leo Brouwer is a Cuban Guitarist and composer I admire greatly. I find much of his work difficult to understand and to play . The 20 simple studies are not too bad and I have enjoyed playing some of them. This piece works around the idea of Study No.6 - except it is for two guitars rather than the solo guitar.
After a Bach prelude - BWV 999 is a short piece from which I've borrowed the harmony just for the first few bars before moving way from the idea. Its coming out sounding very dark - that was not the intention.
Continuing the steel and nylon strung combination of guitars. The piece is about commitment - nothing profound - but the basic principle is either have a real go at something or don't - no half measures.
One for a Monday morning. Nylon and Steel string guitars - a nice combination. Based on listening to Philip Catherine / Larry Coryell/ Birelli Lagrenne - who can change a tune but just altering accents very slightly. I've had a go here.
I sometimes hear a bird calling at night - which I don't recognise. Its not an owl - but something else which I don't recognise. If I find out I'll re-name the tune. Two acoustic guitars, ( one steel string , one nylon string) double bass and percussion.
I don' t believe in fate too much - but occasionally it would be nice to think we have the prospect of good things happening its - In the Stars
This goes back to working with a midi guitar in the early 2000's. Easy listening was what I ended up generating out of what was an amazing piece of equipment. A Friday piece - a guitar duo with percussion and bass guitar.
I made a recording of the Chaconne from the famous Violin Partita by Bach once. Its on reel to reel and I won't be sharing that one any time soon. The middle arpeggio section when played by Segovia used to sound absolutely stunning. This piece is influenced by that section of the Chaconne. I'm fully aware it doesn't hold a candle to the Bach piece and I'm ( very defensively ) not claiming it has any similarity - you'll hear it most definitely doesn't. I just wanted to explain where the piece came from...
A tune about being on the road - driving long distances with crazy crazy passengers . from the Can't Stop CD of 2009 .
For me this is jamming in the garage with mates for hours on end. Homespun - from about 1972 to 1975. The riff was off a very old and worn reel to reel tape taken from my Dad's Phillips 4407 ( I think ) - a very coffee table friendly tape machine.
Typical English bloke - obsessed with the weather. I was trying to record today and it was like a hurricane out there ( I exaggerate) . Anyway I was trying to find something jolly for a Monday morning in January . its not a great month. Two more January Mondays to go in 2023. Wishing the year away already .
A tune from the old recordings on reel to reel from 1986. I've extracted the guitar parts and re-worked the backing track. I'm not sure about the 1980's - this sounds like it comes from the 60's or at latest 70's - what was I listening to. ?
Or .. from sorrow to joy in three pieces. yes the joy is a bit subdued ( Round Dance ) but that's how it is sometimes. Two steel guitar pieces with a nylon string piece sandwiched in the middle. To the 3 boys - to reflect the trials and tribulations they are all going through. It will all be OK.
The acoustic /live band version went up on July 9th last year. Here's the original studio version.
This is a positive tune - things are about to change . I feel optimistic about 2023 for people in general for the world as a whole. I started thinking about the tune "as things can only get better" - but that seems almost defeatist.
A combination of a rhythmic passage from Brian Protheroe's Pinball and some Django Reinhardt ideas. Re- mixed in stereo - I hope it worked this time .
Variations on a theme - The theme is played twice, once at the end of each section of the piece. Its based around a slight rhythmic simplification of a Mike Oldfield theme - in fact probably his most well known theme.
I recorded all 12 of the studies. This is a recent update of Study no.1. Played on the Hybrid 24 fret guitar in 2013.
July 29th last year the folk set version that Rob and I played - a live version - of this song went up on the podcast . This is the original from 2008/2009.
Tracking Back - the piece refers to a chord sequence and a way of finger style playing that has been around for a long time - going back, for me anyway. to playing the Villa Lobos Study No.1 - which I keep going back to ( I'll put up a recent recording over the next few days )
I had a spell in the Lockdowns of putting together very long winded pieces that don't seem to go anywhere. This is one of those. It started with a working title of Trepidation - which is a bit over the top really . The piece is about that anxiety that you get ( I think it increases as you get older) about "things" you can't really put your finger on.. Wow- I've really sold that piece well. Anyway I've tucked it away on a Friday - so if you don't like it we'll move on to hopefully something a bit more interesting tomorrow.
From 2000 a piece taken from the Bunch of Fives collection for young pupils. As school children all head back to school today - best wishes for a good term and a good year.
A re-mix of a tune that worked off one of the highlights of 2022 - visiting our middle son Robert and his wife Marri in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany. I hope this year works out well for them.
The return to work is this morning in the UK . Get ready to tackle New Year. This'll wake you up . Using a very old riff a completely over the top tune for the first work day of the New Year for those of us lucky enough to have had some time off. Go to it ....
Based on the song Roundsman - which I had on a CD called Lights in the Mist in about 2015 - this song has become an instrumental. Re-mixed and hopefully now in stereo.
The first piece of 2023 - its a combination I've used before but I'm returning to the trio - bass, drums and guitar. Easy and quick to organise - but leaves each player quite exposed - mistakes are so easily heard - as you can hear in this tune - Looking Which Way. The New Year always make you do this - look at what's gone before and what is to come. Sometimes one bears no relation to the other. Have a good 2023
Two rock based tunes to see out the old year and take us into the New Year.
Have a Happy, Peaceful and Fulfilling 2023. Thank you for listening
Five pieces for Young Jazz Band - Fairground Suite:
- Roller Coaster
- Ghost Train
- Carousel
- Waltzer
- Calliope
Taking us back to just two years ago in the UK - the post Christmas Lockdown. Observed by the many, abused by the few - frustrating and limiting times . I think I lost the plot for a bit - this piece was written then - and it sounds like I lost the plot.
A Latin American rhythm used in this piece which was completed around about the time I visited Alicante and Elche looking at a new job. This was completed on the way back from there - I liked the place , I liked the job and I liked the area. A laid back tune for a good couple of days back in Spain.
Philip Catherine is a guitar player who I 've always enjoyed listening to. I remember seeing him on an Old Grey Whistle Test TV programme and being amazed by the different way he played. It makes you realise however much you know - Its Never Enough
This is for everyone who works on Christmas Day - those who cook, care, look after, watch over, keep the world going and sometimes enjoy Boxing Day a little bit more than the day itself. I'm sure that includes the Big Man himself. Its based around the rhythm of the words to The Night Before Christmas. Happy Boxing Day
Merry Christmas !
Five tunes to celebrate the day :
Unto us is born Son
Little Town of Bethlehem
Noel
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Christ was born in Bethlehem.
Have a peaceful, restful and enjoyable day
It was 204 years ago when "Silent Night" was first heard by Austrian villagers attending Christmas Eve mass in St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf. On Christmas Eve, 1818, was the first performance of Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht. Joseph Mohr, the young priest who wrote the lyrics, played the guitar and sang along with Franz Xaver Gruber, the choir director who had written the melody.
Have a Happy Christmas.
A re-mix of the tune - in glorious (?) stereo - Something for the Weekend, Sir ? was the original title - from that old barbers shop joke.
The 21st December - the shortest day of this year - the Winter Solstice. The merging of two pieces - Daybreak - using Rob's Hybrid Guitar and Dusk - recorded this year.
From a recording in 2002 called On a Winters Night - a folky version of Dulce Jubilo and I Saw Three Ships - for guitar and bass.
Trivia question - how many kilometres is the sun away from us ? Its sounds quite a lot - and although we have nothing to complain about compared to many countries I'm complaining. Today ( the 15th )when I put this tune up its -6C - and the heatings not working. Huge sympathy for the people who really are suffering.
Five tunes this week from around the world:
French carol, Huron Carol ( Native America) Maninitas ( Mexico ), The Zither Carol ( Czech ) Susan and Catherine ( France I think ) . Another medley .
The Calliope - the final piece for Young Jazz Band from the 5 pieces of The Fairground Suite. The Calliope is a steam organ that plays loud tunes to draw people to the Fairground. The Great Dorset Steam Fair, which we used to visit when the children were young had these - powered by Steam engines playing repetitive tunes all day and throughout the evening if I remember rightly.
I'll put all 5 pieces from the Fairground Suite together over the Christmas Holiday season. This is taken from a collection of pieces I composed with a wonderful musician a chap called Stephen Binnington. Originally scored for Guitar and Piano I've arranged this version for a young Jazz Band. The original piece was called Raggin'It and was taken from a collection of tunes called Bunch of Fives published by Corda Music and the late Ian Gammie in the year 2000.
The title track from a 2004 recording - Phases - midi guitar, acoustic and electric bass in there somewhere.
A rather doom laden version from about 2003. However cute Raymond Briggs wonderful drawings and stories were they always had an underlying current of something more scary. Even the gentle tale of the Snowman doesn't really have a happy ending. I remember how sad it felt at the end of the story. Walking in the Air.
Always with me , Always with you is a great instrumental piece from Joe Satriani's 1987 album Surfing with the Alien. I borrowed the idea for this piano tune - Always - that is influenced by his wonderfully sentimental rock guitar playing - also his amazing playing. There is no amazing playing here just my usual relentless attempt to get to the end of the piece without falling off the keyboard.
Out of Nowhere is a 1979 album by Joe Egan- the other half of the band Stealers Wheel with the late great Gerry Rafferty. The track Back on the Road seems a reluctant admission that he was back touring at a time when maybe he no longer wanted to be - I don't know - anyway thats how it seemed. I'm not touring but I'm back on the road at a time when I no longer want to be - I should be grateful I can still work !!. Happy Monday
I'll put up three Christmas Medleys coming up to Christmas Day - One today - the next on the 18th and the third on Christmas Day.
Here is a group of 5 tunes recorded in 2004 on a beautiful Jimmy Moon steel guitar:
The First Nowell, Ding Dong Merrily on High, Angels from the Realms of Glory, Here We Come a Wassailing, Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
Stephen Lane's compositions around Christmas themes are really enjoyable to play . Here is his take on the Winter Idyll idea. The Sussex Carol appears in the central section and some lovely serene chords introduce and conclude the piece.
No.4 in the suite of five pieces for young jazz band- the Fairground . One of the rides that's easy to do and doesn't cause too much stress - The Waltzer - a family favourite.
not a waltz but a 123-123-12 rhythm that's kept within the acoustic guitar and then used as a basis for the rhythm that supports it.
The Paraguayan guitarist and composer Agustin Barrios take on the Christmas Season - from the Rico Stover collection of Barrios pieces.
A harmonica led version with a guitar solo at the end arranged by guitarist Steve Marsh I believe .
The third piece from "The Fairground" - One theme going round and around - hence the Carousel - Merry -go-Round. This is a piece for a young jazz band . The piece was intended to be learned with no music notation. A simple theme repeated between instruments and a repeated pattern for the brass section. Room for improvisation around pentatonic minor and blues scales.
Winter arranged in about 2004 for steel guitar group. Why steel guitar group ? I have no idea - it may be it was what I had around at the time. Completely unsuited - but there you go - thats what came out.
One of my favourite Christmas tunes. This version uses the late Bert Jansch's accompaniment to give a nice folk feel to the piece .
A re-mix of what is effectively a piece using the add9 chord so wonderfully used by the band the Police on tracks like Message in a Bottle and Every Breath you Take.
A piece for 4 piece rock band this tune is paired with On the Way Out from earlier in the week. Lots of REM type rhythm and a bit of borrowed chord sequence from Oasis and their early tunes.
A Christmas season to look forward to as covid free as we have been since it all started. I'll put a sprinkling of Christmas tunes up as we go along- trying hard not to overdo it . Have a good Advent !
Finally got to re-mix this one with a proper balance - its taken a remarkably long time for such simple piece.
I first played this piece a log time ago when I knew it as Spanish Ballad. I think everyone else knows it as Romanza. Recorded on Robs Hybrid Guitar.
A re- mix of a recent tune - my vocals are notoriously average and require quite a lot of boosting to bring them over any other recorded instruments.
Two pieces for 4 piece rock band - this one and its partner On the Way Back . I'll put the second one up once I've had the opportunity to re- mix it . Its a bit on the rough side.
This will wake you up on a Sunday morning.
A stereo re- mix of a collection of ideas really lifted from the America album - Homecoming. There's a bit of Classical Gas in Dminor in there somewhere but the rest is America inspired at their acoustic best.
A stereo re-mix of the song taken from the CD the Setting Sun - completed in a very rough form in the summer of 2022. I hope you had a good week.
The second piece from the suite of five pieces called The Fairground. Our school trip - infant school trip this is - was to Chessington Zoo. They had a small fairground there and the Ghost Train was considered mild enough to let us 6 and 7 year olds have a ride. It was terrifying. I don't like the dark at the best of times. The bass is the heart beat, a creepy piano and a relentless slow train that just wouldn't go fast enough to get through the place. The Ghost Train
A song from this years recording The Setting Sun. Its about work ( again ) . Wednesday is traditionally not a good day at work - I don't know why but although its half way through the working week it seems to go on and on...
So the sentiment here applies - Count the Hours and see it Through. Friday's on its way !
Another stereo re-mix of a very old tune - dating back to about 1975. The positive view of life and its limitations.
A Renaissance vihuela composition which has the subtitle "imitating the harp in the style of Ludovico".
The vihuela was guitar shaped, tuned like a lute ( a bit higher than the guitar) and double courses - sometimes 7 pairs of strings where the two strings, very close to each other would be struck simultaneously by the player.
In the second half of the piece there is a dissonant section which has the note " This doesn't sound so bad when played well"
The 3 main prayer times of the day. Matins, Lauds, and Vespers.
Matins, the lengthiest, originally said at a night hour, is now apparently said at any hour of the day. Lauds and Vespers are the morning and evening prayers of the church.
In the Lauds piece there are birds gently singing in the background. In the summer of 2022 I got up at dawn to work for an hour or so at bits and pieces. Lauds was recorded at first light one mid-week morning. Matins & Lauds are both in minor keys whilst Vespers is intended to give some resolution to the day and is in a major key.
This piece is from a suite of five pieces pitched at a school jazz band. The suite is "The Fairground".
One of my favourite big band pieces is Paul Harts "Concerto for Jazz band and Classical Guitar". The balance between the guitar and the brass must be interesting in a live performance - but his piece was great.
Roller Coaster is meant to reflect that slight unease at a Fairground - it could all go so terribly wrong at any minute I've always felt. One my boys had a real love/hate feeling about rides and the enjoyable (?) feeling of the excitement. Hence the funny key changes, occasionally resolving but always moving.
Another re-mix of a track which was recorded with a four piece band earlier in the summer. The mix is designed to bring the acoustic guitar to the front. A Friday piece ..have a good weekend
Two guitars and a rhythm for this piece. Taken from 4hands guitar book which was so successful as a publication I can count the sales of books on 1 hand - ( let alone 4 ! )
Written for a pupil of mine way back in about the year 2000, Brian - a very decent man and a pleasure to work with.
Francisco Tarrega was the great Spanish guitarist of the late 19th Century. He studied in both Barcelona and Madrid and played both the guitar and the piano. Julian Arcas - one of the earlier part of the 19th century great Spanish guitarists - heard him play and Tarrega studied with him subsequently. Of Tarrega's own pupils Miguel Llobet, Emilio Pujol and Daniel Fortea were his best known students and they each went on to forge careers as composers , performers and teachers.
Capricho Arabe - roughly Arabic Capriccio - was composed in 1892 - possibly named to reflect the Moorish influences on the composition.
A new round of podcasts will, hopefully, see an improvement in the sound quality of the tracks being put up.This is a re-mix of my take on Mason Williams Classical Gas- which I played to destruction when I was young - but also Roy Woods Electric Light Orchestra work - 1st Movt. Jumping Bizz. Apparently he too played Classical Gas alot and wrote his own take on that idea. I loved his work - slightly mad always over the top - but brilliant.I think he's still out there doing it. Due to my various technical issues- now resolved - this is the finished version..
A re-mix of a children's song that went up on 30th September. Re-mix sounds quite grand. What happened was my headphones were only working on one channel. I checked back to begin with and I thought it was OK as the final mix was, I thought, in stereo. Turns out it wasn't and its been in one ear for quite awhile. Headphones are now fixed and I'll re- mix the tunes that were in mono whic- honest - sound a whole lot better in stereo. Have a good Sunday.
Its not Christmas just yet but the UK supermarkets are all getting their adverts together ready to take whatever they can out of the season of good will. This piece just starts to set the scene. I love the positive sides of Christmas - family , friends, good cheer and also some lovely music - but I won't start playing the music until December. I didn't originally learn this trio as a Christmas piece but just as a lovely upbeat Folk Tune. This is a 20th Century arrangement of the piece
Really Sorry - technical issues - the earlier version I loaded today had some audio problems - as a friend would say - user error - I got my settings wrong . I've done a number of them like this week and I 'll re- do them over the weekend .
Try again
The title needs a bit of explanation. A lyric in The Who's Pinball Wizard is " he's got crazy flipper fingers " . However this is not a song about The Who - this piece is based on the rhythm of a song called Pinball by Brian Protheroe - a singer songwriter from the late 70's who went on to become a well known actor. Flipper Fingers ? the great Django Reinhardt burnt his left hand in a fire and played a good proportion of his time with Stephane Grappeli and the Hot Club de Paris with two effective parts of his left hand. ( there are some photos of his hand on the internet somewhere if you're not too squeamish ). He used certain arpeggios and scale runs to great effect and I lifted some of those for this piece. That was a bit of a long winded explanation - apologies .
The title needs a bit of explanation. A lyric in The Who's Pinball Wizard is " he's got crazy flipper fingers " . However this is not a song about The Who - this piece is based on the rhythm of a song called Pinball by Brian Protheroe - a singer songwriter from the late 70's who went on to become a well known actor. Flipper Fingers ? the great Django Reinhardt burnt his left hand in a fire and played a good proportion of his time with Stephane Grappeli and the Hot Club de Paris with two effective parts of his left hand. ( there are some photos of his hand on the internet somewhere if you're not too squeamish ). He used certain arpeggios and scale runs to great effect and I lifted some of those for this piece. That was a bit of a long winded explanation - apologies .
The third of 3 linked pieces: Matins , Lauds and Vespers. All significant times of prayer. Vespers being the last of the 3 - taking place in the evenings the sum got down I believe. This is in a major key and is meant to resolve so that the day closes in a positive fashion. I'll put all three up at some point for comparison.
Julian Breams arrangement of this piece which Benjamin Britten brought back to life in his Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra. Part of my collection of pieces I have recorded for a Music Through the Ages CD.
The Police were a band I listened to a lot in the early 1980's. By the time Ghost in the Machine and Synchronicity came out - I was hooked.
But the chord sequence I kept coming back to was what I call an " add9" chord - think Message in a Bottle and the rather sinister Every Breath You Take.
I've used the "add9' chord a lot - tunes like Downshifting, Prelude in E, Regression, Close your Eyes and loads more-- and this one Breathless
An earlier piece I put up in about July - called Running Scared - was intended to generate anxiety - even fear - not easy in an acoustic guitar piece when all the sounds are generally very pleasant. But I mentioned how Eric Clapton diid it so effectively in his score for the BBC series The Edge of Darkness - which he co- wrote with Michael Nyman.. This piece is nothing like that tune but by building a long crescendo was intended to increase tension as the piece developed .
The old barbers shop joke . I don't think I ever remember hearing it said but I so remember the barbers. Once a month, short back and sides, and you could feel the bristles on the back of your neck and the cold around your ears. I don't have much call for barbers now . Our barber was called Mr Belcher - surely that wasn't his real name. Enjoy the Weekend - Bonfire night tomorrow- it would be a good time for Guy Fawkes to come back again right now.
The second of our three major prayer times - Matins came up a couple of weeks ago, Lauds is for Dawn - but varies during the seasons. Vespers to follow...
A return, once again, to the music of South America and this time to Argentina. This milonga was very popular in the 1990's and had a lovely second part to go with it . I may get a chance to put that up at some point. The solo is sad, haunting and melancholy. Enjoy !
Taken from the Phases experiment with midi guitar and various other effects. Flat nines are the chords used within part of the sequence. The recording dates from 2002 and was originally up on the Live365 radio station theguitar.
Choro in F is the full title of this piece. Written for the set with Tony( saxophone) and Lekan( hand drums) - it was an opener which allowed them both to improvise around the basic idea. I quite like the basic idea. Up beat and light for a Monday morning.
The 'Little Hop " dance of the late Renaissance is a very short piece for this Sunday Morning. A duet with Wendy recorded in about 1997.
If I've got this right Bagnoli is a tiny district in Tuscany where my middle son Robert lives with his wife Marri. It is close to Sasseta where Marri's Mother lives and about an hour from Pisa. In remoteness terms Bagnoli is about as remote as it gets. a beautiful place. This is a reflection/improvisation around our very short visit there.
The song of the thread spinner. A tremolo type piece from the Paraguayan Agustin Barrios. I first heard it played by the American guitarist Liona Boyd. My rendition comes from about 1997. - on cassette - so a bit noisy. Apologies.
I enjoy the "natural" times of day- dawn, daybreak - the dawn chorus - but also dusk and the less frenetic dusk chorus with the birds version of evensong. I have always enjoyed working with the flute- its one of the few instruments that when played well doesn't overpower the acoustic guitar. This is a simple duet for the two instruments.
I think Anthony Phillips was a founder member of the band Genesis. I found a book of his pieces in a music shop in the 1980's which I didn't get around to playing for years. This piece is lovely (sorry for the hiss - its off an old cassette tape) . The book of music was called Eight Pieces and the track was recorded on vinyl as part of an album " Private Parts and Pieces" I eventually tracked down an LP as we used to call them .
The dance is everything with this piece - and I can't dance . But I hope you can imagine the enjoyment this piece is meant to convey. One guitar starts, a second replies and then they play together all the while with the rhythm of the dance underlying the chord sequences.
The title does not mean to suggest "take" - as in the meaning "steal " - I suddenly realised that it could be easily misinterpreted. Its a real rough and ready demo - we'll have a look at it again in the coming weeks.
The title is really because a lot of the ideas within this tune come out of an album of the same name by the band America. This same album also started me listening to John Martyn - as the band took his song Head and Heart and did their own version.
Some great acoustic guitar playing and during a period before the band became very established.
The title track of a whole load of recordings put together on a CD this Summer. Playing around with different tunings but all with the same theme. Really looking at bringing the recordings I've made over the years together and cataloging them all - for no other reason than just to make sense of them all.
Optimism - a wonderful thing - the whole glass half full notion seems a really good way of going about things. This tune was originally written when I played in a teenage band called MCC. They released one album called Thursdays Child - I don't think this track made the cut ! The album must be a collectors item by now. Anyway the song has stuck in my head and I recorded it this summer.
The title taken from Bruce Hornsby's great song - the stunning piano playing I so wish I could get anywhere near - maybe another lifetime.
Near to Granada, in Andalusia, close to the mountains, Saleres is a beautiful old village
of narrow streets. This short piece is a reflection on the beauty of the area. Taken from a collection called 2hands guitar for students.
I've missed a few days - sorry about that. The financial markets in the UK clearly had a knock on to my bank who didn't like the look of the amount of money going out of my account. Back now - and once again thank you for listening.Todays tune is one of the 4 themes I keep coming back to. The introduction uses a "gated effect" on an acoustic guitar used in a Madonna single round about 2010 ( I think ). The effect cuts the signal of the instrument when it goes below a certain level ( if that makes any sense ). That idea keeps returning. The rest of it is a race to the end. Its nice to be back.
A new cycle of the podcasts begins today. If you're still out and you're still listening - thanks very much.
The music I put up is a continuing mixture of old and new from about 1997 until the present day with perhaps more emphasis on the newer tunes and arrangements this month.
It Ain't Right - starts the cycle. I generally go on about the small injustices - because thats my world. This piece became a song "The Roundsman" which I can't find. The song was about a lovely old Postman who used to saunter about on his round chatting, passing the time of day, always late , always good company. Some weekenders didn't like his approach and started to complain about the poor service etc.. Lovely people?
He was retired early in the end and just completely lost his way poor chap. The tune is happy and upbeat - because he always was.
Taken from a collection of pieces written for two guitars and published under a title of 4 Hands Guitar Music, Old Friends is a sentimental tune celebrating those Friends who become long established and always around for each other. I told you it was sentimental.
From a collection of recordings done this summer using the CGDGBD tuning. The song was recorded on my laptop and refers to the various ways of earning a living as a musician when the going gets a bit tricky.
From a demo of some more recent work - again experimenting with different tunings, this time CGDGBD. Recorded over the summer of this year.
Matins , Laud's and Vespers- the three major rounds of daily prayer. Matins was the morning prayer. Lauds and Vespers will follow ....
From 2020. A rather forlorn reflection on "luck"- or the lack of it- But it is a Monday .
I always thought when people said " he listens to 80's music" that was me - its not I'm a child of the 70's in particular ( almost the 60's). So here you see the take on Mason Williams Classical Gas- which I played to destruction when I was young - but also Roy Woods Electric Light Orchestra work - 1st Movt. Jumping Bizz. Apparently he too played Classical Gas alot and wrote his own take on that idea. I loved his work - slightly mad always over the top - but brilliant.I think he's still out there doing it.
An improvised reflection on the darker nights, cooler days and changing colours of the Autumn months .
WhenI played along with Tony ( saxophone) and Lekan ( hand drums) this was the tune we used to open with . I can't find a recording of us playing it together - but I hope you get the gist . Have a good Friday
Friday has always been THE night - work finished and a celebration of some kind. I'm a bit limited with the gear I've got at the moment and this is one really rough demo of a Friday night celebration. I 'll do it again when I get access to some recording gear. The 80's synth and guitar is borrowed from Gary Numan's sound - I saw he was going out on tour again - Are Friends Electric and of course Cars . Worth a listen . Anyway have a good Friday night !
Another piece involving the great Andres Segovia - this time a composition. Written for his admirer and I think at one stage biographer - a duet .
David takes the lead - I accompany. From 1997
Todays recording is a bit of an anomaly. Its taken from an old multitrack reel to reel recording and has various overdubs. The title is down to the influences: Burt Bacharach ( the piano part - straight from Close to You) the style ( intended to be Earl Klugh) the wallpaper approach to the arrangement ( influenced by a Claus Ogerman / Jan Ackerman collaboration which I loved.)
This is a recent recording. Talking about new starts, watching other lives, reflecting on what's gone on. It uses a tuning I first tried with Rob's Hybrid guitar. As the string tension was so high you could tune down to C in the bass without any issues so, for those interested this uses, CGDGBD - a sort of DADGAD but lower. I wanted to experiment with different chord shapes and that low tuning helped.
Albert Roussel - an unusual musician . A former Naval Officer he also worked for the Red Cross in World War One before he retired to Brittany towards the end of his relatively short life. A piece dedicated to the great Andres Segovia. Recorded on a Liam Romanillos guitar which I had for a short while.
From the recording Phases - a sentimental version of the St Aidan theme with saxophone and multitrack guitar part for a relaxed Sunday morning. From about 2003.
Taken from the nursery rhyme -
Monday's child is fair of face/ Tuesday's child is full of grace/Wednesday's child is full of woe/ Thursday's child has far to go/Friday's child is loving and giving/ Saturday's child works hard for his living/And the child that is born on the Sabbath day/Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.
but this was written at the time when you realise, as a parent, your children are starting to move on. It feels both good and bad. I am a Saturdays Child. The last track from the Can't Stop
album.
A children's song really. Using a guitar accompaniment a little in the style of Laura Marling - whose relaxed way of playing and writing I enjoyed in the 2000's .
A trumpet plus accompaniment version of an old tune - recorded on the Phases Cd in about 2003.
Famous for its association with the film The Deer Hunter, I just learned it as a lovely guitar piece. Put up today to mark the end of Jakes life yesterday. A much loved friend and companion he will be sorely missed. Played on Rob's Hybrid Guitar.
The last of the saxophone and guitar duets - Spyro Gyra's - Shaker Song. Paul on saxophone me accompanying.
From Phases in about 2003. The rather grand titled Endless Ocean is heavily synthesised with an electric guitar playing a Shadows like tune over the top. I can't quite recall how this piece came about but it stands out slightly in that its completely different from anything else I was doing at the time!
I didn't we had recorded this piece - from 1997 - David at his his best and me on accompaniment. From a set of recordings made at the Shaftesbury Arts Centre - I found this on a minidisc - a technology I loved. Better quality than cassette tape you could copy anything onto it ! I don't think the music industry liked it very much.
Phrygian, Once Bitten, Twice Shy and Steely - 4 pieces taken from a 2003 recording with heavy use of effects, synthesiser and just about anything else I could think of. The top lines were largely improvised.
Between about 2013 and 2016 I did some folk clubs on my own. Not the Time is from that set list. Much slower, and revised lyrics from the original version. Happy Friday
Recorded in about 2005. Really a song without words.At the end of each section the words would be ..at the thought of your precious smile. Thats about as far as I got. For two guitars - the second one a lovely Spanish six string bass guitar.
From 2020 - an unfinished introduction to a much longer piece that, to date , remains unfinished. Its really an experiment in different tone colours. The synth sounds are a bit variable but I hope you get the gist of what was intended.
From 2008 . A fairly negative song about letting people down . Part of the Can't Stop CD recording.
Two recordings of the same piece. The first the duo version- with the accompaniment part added by Julio Sagregas. I accompany David on this recording. The second version is my own recording on Robs Hybrid Guitar. Two very different interpretations of the same beautiful guitar composition.
Recorded in the Spring of 2020. Guitar solos with bass accompaniments once again. There were 14 tracks put together on a recording called "A Luarca " - which is where I was trying to get to during that time. Reig 7 - I smoked as many of these as I could get my hands on !. Harmony was a rather limp reflection on the awfulness of the George Floyd murder, and A Long Way to Go ( feat Scratchy) was just that - Still a Long Way to Go before we could get to Luarca. Scratchy ( our old 18 year old cat - brother to the late Itchy who died in 2016 ) would sit on my lap whilst I was recording until he got fed up . You can hear his claws on the floor as he wanders off after a couple of minutes.
Each of these tunes were used in our folk set and other slightly more expansive recordings. In 2015 I was doing a bit of work in Folk Clubs on my own. Days Gone By was in response to a load of old photographs my Dad had of his father working in the greenhouses of his nursery and his florists shop. Big Society was in response to the Conservative Party's utterly meaningless pledge for a Big, inclusive ,Society. For Big Society now read Levelling Up - equally fatuous. St Aidan was about the early Christian. after whom the church in Bamburgh is named. Its not a particularly religious song - its really about having no regrets in your life ( or a few as is possible ) before the end comes. Cheerful stuff ! Some new songs coming up this week. Thank you for continuing to listen.
One of the most beautiful of Albeniz "Suite Espanola". In duet form- I accompany David on this piece. The reflective opening turns into a celebration of the mixed cultures of this historical city. Recorded in 1997 at Shaftesbury's awfully named Abbey Robe studios. Jon at the controls. Its a bit noisy at the beginning - apologies - but sorts itself out as the recording progresses.
Remembering many, many road trips in various beaten up, and just about roadworthy, old cars. It was always a party, it was sometimes a disaster but we got there in the end. Recorded for the folk set but never used. Rob on Cajon and some backing vocals .
Shortened, no guitar solos, with a new rhythm track - I never quite finished it in 2009 - but I think its done now . This opens the new cycle of podcasts. Thank you for listening.
For the last of this cycle of podcasts this is the last of the recordings with Clive on bass. Back to Brazil and a Choro arranged for guitar and bass. I made 40 or 50 arrangements for us to play during about 2010 . We did a few festivals and concerts of which these 10 recordings or so give a good representation. Not always the tidiest of playing but a lot of fun .
A really good young player and composer for the guitar this short piece is a very English style of composition.
Thanks for listening - we're coming to the end of another cycle of podcasts. Its nice to see so many listeners - I'll keep it going for a while.
The song began as a guitar piece with a feel of "Running round in circles" with the repeated theme that returns to start in a fairly logical way. The title song of the CD Can't Stop from 2008 / 2009 re- mixed in 2012 - I can't remember why.
7 minor is an inexpensive cigar that I grew very fond of smoking in Madrid. This is another old fashioned "Hamlet" moment in the key of Bb. From 2020.
From the recording Phases - about 2003. Using the midi guitar setup- a Godin Multiac with Roland GR33 controller and a Yamaha Martin Taylor Jazz guitar. How do I know that ? - for some reason I wrote it down. I managed to get a quite good saxophone sound on the synthesiser - and it worked OK .
1806 to 1856 spanned the relatively short life of this Austro - Hungarian guitarist and composer. A piece I recorded for an online exams support company ( not sure if they are still going) to help with exam preparation for students in about 2011/2012. The 19th century repertoire is vast and varied but this is an attractive piece. Notturno.
Lullaby, Song and Dance - three pieces forming the Suite in E major. The three were published as pieces to play in notation form, originally - but later on as tablature form.
So here we go - a new term , a new academic year, a fresh start for teachers ( like me ) and for pupils alike . This song was addressed to our three boys - but looking at it again - it seems to be addressed to me just as much. From about 2014 when teaching started to become more tricky( as I got older !) . Making a Start
On June 13 I put an excerpt up from this longer piece. I've now got more time allocated by Buzzsprout and I'll keep the podcast going ( the first 3 months was a trial run) This is the whole of Running Scared , 3 movements: Running Scared, Scared and Scared of Running. From Worlds Apart - 2002. Recorded on a Godin Multiac guitar and Roland GR33 guitar synthesiser.
From Argentina - a simple 2 chord Milonga in upbeat style by Abel Fleury. Recorded on Rob's Hybrid Guitar in 2013.
From the recording Can't Stop in 2008 /2009 another attempt at the close mic style - again influenced by Jack Johnsons intimate approach to acoustic music. A quieter Friday song - but thank goodness its Friday !
The rest of the suite in D minor by Baroque guitar player and French Court musician Robert de Visee. Louis XIV and Louis XV were his patrons. The prelude I put up some time ago. Clive on bass. Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Gavotte and Menuet 1 and 2 returning to Menuet 1 to complete the recording. This was from about 2006 / 2007 I think.
In about 2006/2007 I had the opportunity to work with a very talented Nigerian master drummer. We did a few concerts with a Jazz player Tony. They went OK but there was a certain resistance to hiring Lekan amongst some venues that you could sense and I'd never experienced before. He totally ignored it - to his credit - and he's still out there doing some great work and breaking down that resistance.
Suite in the old style - Three pieces composed/ arranged in 2020 in the style of Renaissance lute music. Stella Caeli - Chant in times of pestilence or plague, Pavane and Round Dance. Stella Caeli is from the Middle Ages recalling a plague in Jerusalem - Chant - one line of song . I have harmonised it - not sure the purists would like it. Listen to the original it is very haunting. No lute at the time so recorded firstly, for Stella Caeli on a classical guitar and for Pavane and Round Dance on a steel guitar.
I thought about putting the 12 studies up one at a time - but they are intended as a collection of concert studies and that was how I recorded them. It may be a bit of a hard listen - and I apologise for that, But they are individually wonderful pieces and collectively a very strong representation of just how good a guitar composer Villa Lobos was. Apparently they were written between about 1924 and 1929. Published in France in 1952. No.1 had a huge influence on pieces I have composed such as Daybreak and Setting Sun with their intricate right hand patterns. Listen out for No.5 - a simple repetitive pattern underlying a folk melody and the powerful 10, 11 and 12. I think I recorded them straight on to cassette tape so they are noisier than I would have liked.
A recording taken from a collection of pieces recorded in 2000 on a CD called Worlds Apart. Midi guitar, the 4 themes - Why? When? How ? Where ? ( see earlier recordings on 21 st August ) . Da Capo - Back to the Start - as we approach - every September - the beginning of the academic year we get a chance to reset. For me this time of year is the beginning of everything( as opposed to January ). All the exam results are in, young people have a new focus, and off we go again. Bit strange but there we go. Happy New Year ?
3 Dances finish the week . I am an appalling dancer - so I 'm told by almost everyone. A Slow dance is about all I can get away with. Moonlight in Magaluffe is light hearted and up tempo a bit and Milonga you've seen before. The Milonga was put up on July 26th . The YouTube link to a performance in 2016 in St Albans with Clive Batkin's improvised top line is here:
https://youtu.be/aiPQxNlBm5I
From a recording called A Luarca - made in the lockdown of 2020. Jakes Bark ( a play on J.S Bach) is intended to be a " Hamlet moment " like the ( very) old TV cigar advert . Last thing at night Jake would remind me he needed a walk as we sat on the balcony in Madrid.
From about 2012 a light hearted tune to get through the middle of the week - Wednesday - not my favourite day.
Lachrimae Pavane perhaps the most beautiful of John Dowland lute pieces here arranged by Brian Jeffery for the guitar, is paired with a Fantasie - a 2 and sometimes 3 part contrapuntal piece. An Irish Catholic Dowland worked in the Renaissance Courts of Europe for virtually everyone except the English monarchs - their loss. His dates 1563 - 1626 - right across the reign of Elizabeth I. The Lachrimae was used as the basis for the Flow my Tears song and many variations and arrangements. Here it is in its original form - as an instrumental solo.
I'm not sure that any white lower middle class male has any reason to be playing the blues - we really don't have that much to be protesting about. This is (another) one of my dislikes in the world of work - The Bosses Man. All things to all people -he's a creep, in it to win it - at all costs - and doesn't really care about who gets in his way. We've all met a few of them I'm sure. I've taken out the obscenities. Recorded first in 2009 for the Can't Stop CD. Re-recorded about 2012 for a modern folk song writing event.
At the time I was trying to get going I made some recordings on an old Revox reel to reel in about 1986. The recordings were based around 4 themes or ideas : why would I want to try to do music, ( Fragment ). When ( Ferdinandos 6th's) , How ( Regression - or Back to the Start ) and finally Where ( definitely not In London where I was based at the time but couldn't afford to live ) The piece for where was called Downshifting a trendy expression at the time for getting out of the rat race. If you've listened to guitar emporium you'll have heard all these themes - they're here together. Recorded in 1997 at the Shaftesbury Chapel Arts Centre with Jon at the controls.
The tune Chapter One, which I put up on the podcast on 16th August, was the starting point for Close Your Eyes. The lyrics are nearly the same - but Close Your Eyes is less about the idea of "the book of life" but more about the ending of the book. Rob on cajon, recorded in 2013 and re-mixed in 2020.
Recorded about 2004 the 3 Cuban dances are , El Velorio ( the Fiesta ) Los Tres Golpes ( which I think is a district in Cuba- its also a much love food !!) and Intima - ( closeness-intimicay). I put up El Velorio a few days ago - but here are the 3 together. Cervantes lived in the second half of the 19th century and these are originally piano pieces.
Melancholy. In Madrid in the lockdown of Spring 2020 all the buses in my part of the town , Alcobendas, kept running - with nobody in them. It seemed a bit sad, although perhaps a bit of a strange subject for a piece of music.. The Last Bus.
Recorded for a CD called St.Aidans Dance the piece is for guitar and acoustic bass guitar. I think we experienced being in the complete stillness of the centre of a storm on one occasion - quite eerie. For those of us experiencing the end of the hot spell and its thunderstorms.
The initial idea for a song called Close Your Eyes which Rob and I recorded for the folk set a couple of years later. I'll put that up on the podcast later in the week. This is from a recording called Can't Stop on which most of the songs I've put up so far have come from.
Renaissance lutenist and composer Francis Cutting begins the week with a Galliard arranged for the guitar.
Marimba and Guitar. Jean Bosco Mwenda or Mwenda we Bayeke was the starting point for this piece and two other pieces I've written - "Bosco " and "Your Time will Come". Toumani Diabete's first recording Kaira ( recorded in one afternoon in 1988, apparently) with his amazing kora playing also influenced this composition . Other musicians which influenced my attempts to write African influenced pieces - Tim Walker, John Williams, Hugh Tracey, Ali Farkre Toure
Before Ed Sheeran there was Jack Johnson - and I used to teach young enthusiasts a lot of the laid back relaxed style of playing epitomised by Jack Johnson.Heavily influenced by Johnson's approach Bedtime Story was written for the boys when they were young but I didn't record it until they were long past their Bedtime Story age. All Jill Murphys books or Olive Postgates tales were greatly enjoyed re-visited and listened to again and again as part of the nightly routine. From the CD Can't Stop in 2007/9.
The Fiesta - El Velorio from a set of 6 Cuban Dances by the late 19th century Cuban composer Ignacio Cervantes. The original is a piano piece I think - arranged for guitar by Jesus Ortega. A Friday piece !
Unlike the song Stop - this is not a "Stop the world I'm happy where I am song ". The tune Bring it On is about just how much crap you need to take to work in the way that you think is right. Like many of the worlds less successful musicians there are things you have to do to keep going sometimes - literally keep money coming in. I've had the support of the family in keeping it going and we've shared some of the nonsense you're asked to put up with just to get paid for stuff you do.. Bring it On - from about 2014.
I arranged this for guitar and bass in about 2006. A lovely contrasting slow section in the middle of the piece has a very expressive bass part. With Clive on the huge sounding double bass as before.
From the new recording collection the Setting Sun ( which should be finished in September ) .
Suppers Ready was influenced by the Genesis guitarist Steve Hacketts guitar piece Horizons.
The piece is found on the genesis album Foxtrot and precedes their longest track Suppers Ready. Clive Batkin added a top line in 2016 . Here's the link https://youtu.be/CjDeBC42tyA
My tune bears little resemblance to Steve Hacketts piece other than the key - Gmajor and the sentiment - a sort of gentle refection.
The second of three Spyro Gyra tunes - for saxophone and guitar. Recorded in about 2006 I think. I had access to a Martin Taylor Yamaha Jazz Guitar which had a nice sound. An upbeat Monday morning tune.
Like the piece Minors Strike from a few days ago , Sambinha is an arrangement of a piece for two guitars I made so that I could play it on my own. Its by the Brazilian Celso Machado and its seems quite OK for a lazy hot Sunday
A tune, intended to be positive, but actually sounds quite negative. There are times when you want time to stop - because you're happy where you are and you'd like it to stay that way. There are also times when something awful is going happen and you'd rather not ... This was actually the first a positive " stop the world I want to get off song" . Written about 2015 - finished in 2020.
John Etheridge seems to have played for everyone - from incarnations of Deep Purple to Soft Machine and with Andy Summers amongst many others. He contributed to a series of books called Guitar Styles edited by Michael Stimpson with this piece for the Jazz book - Minors Strike for 2 guitars. I arranged the piece for me to play on my own. Recorded, once again , on Rob's hybrid guitar in 2013.
Terpsichore, or Terpsichore, Musarum Aoniarum, is a compendium of more than 300 instrumental dances published in 1612 by the German composer Michael Praetorius. My arrangement of Ballet for guitar and bass has that huge twangy sound Clive produced on his double bass for this recording. It used John Williams and Kevin Peeks arrangement of Ballet for two guitars in the crossover band "Sky" as a starting point.
Harpsichord music has been a rich source of material for guitarists. Julian Bream's transcription of this Sonata brings out the joy of the piece really well. Recorded on Rob's Hybrid Guitar in 2013 - the excellent intonation on the guitar is really clear on the high bits !
Taken from a collection of recordings called Parables in 2014 this is a take on the allocation of "talents" and how they are dealt with. Finished in 2020 and re-mixed during the first covid lockdown. The vaguely religious overtones must hark back to my Junior School education in a C of E school.
This is a recent recording from a collection of compositions completed in the last two years. It pairs with a piece called Daybreak taken from the CD St.Aidans Dance.
Amid all the discussions about who should tax what - this ones gone strangely quiet. So many organisations that could well afford it are tax exempt in the UK because they are charity. Tax ing the poorest just doesn't make sense - but you won't here the leaders talking about this. This song is based on experience of working for a charity - almost more business like than your normal business. Recorded 2015 mixed and finished 2020. This is the songs first public airing.
Two saxophones, strings and a guitar - the midi guitar. A laid back tune - for what looks like a very hot day. From the CD Phases - about 2002
From the sublime to ... Take it Easy . Title taken from the old Eagles song - sentiment from the contented Ralph McTell album Easy . Light hearted - don't let the world get you down - song from the CD Can't Stop in 2008/09. Recorded in 2013 with Rob on Cajon . The weekend's here !
28th July 1750 - J.S Bach died. A date he shares with Antonio Vivaldi who departed 9 years earlier in 1741. A multi tracked arrangement I did in late 2015 for guitar and double bass.
Taken from a suite of 4 pieces for 2 guitars this is an early experiment with multi tracking. Recorded in two sessions at the Abbey Robe Studios in Shaftesbury with Jon on the desk, me and a metronome. The recording dates from 1997 but the idea from 1986 when I bought an old second hand Revox A77 reel to reel tape recorder, took a week off my rather unpleasant office job and tried to compose some tunes.
From the world of the Tango - Buenos Aires, Argentina and Astor Piazzolla. I had the chance to play Histoire du Tango by Piazzola with two wonderful flautists- but never recorded it unfortunately. This tune is based around two Milongas- one by Jorge Cardoso, which was very popular in the late 1990's, and a second by Abel Fleury. I'll put both of those tunes up at some point. Clive Batkin put a lovely improvised top line over the chord sequence in 2016. Heres the YouTube link https://youtu.be/aiPQxNlBm5I
The Bert Jansch album A Rare Conundrum is the musical starting point for St Aidans Song. In particular the song Daybreak and its lovely gentle introduction - bass harmonics combining with guitar. Its a return to the 2013 recordings with Rob on Cajon and the song is about enjoying the simple things - to dance , to sing, to love and to care . The song developed from the guitar piece St Aidans Dance - I put that up on May29th.
I composed most of the 5 Preludes in the 1980's and early 1990's but I didn't really made half decent recordings of them all until about 2013.
Prelude No.1 - in A . To J.S.Bach - and in particular influenced by his Prelude from the solo cello suite No1,
Prelude No.2 - in Dminor. To Fernando Sor - the idea from his study No.13 from the Segovia selection of 20 Sor studies. Subtitled Con Calma.
Prelude No.3 - in Eminor . To Miguel Llobet.- He created beautiful arrangements of Catalan Folk Songs. This piece has the subtitle Oracion.
Prelude No.4 - In E . To Heitor Villa Lobos. The 5 preludes are a tribute to Villa Lobos. They are probably the most influential pieces on my playing and writing. This piece takes the structure of his Prelude No. 2.
Prelude No.5 - in D . To Agustin Barrios Mangore. The piece which influenced this composition is Danza Guarani . My tune has the subtitle Fiesta.
From a collection of songs recorded in 2014, Let your spirit shine through is an unusually positive song ( or meant to be ) for the 20 somethings - "what happens now". Confronted by the need to earn a living the world can appear a very disappointing place. The album was called Lights in the Mist.
As we go through this week I'll mention each day how you can buy tracks, even albums.
A track is £2.00 ( It comes as an mp3 - as you can already download the tracks for free it comes with 2 bonus tracks from the same album ) A whole album costs £10.00. You just email me saying which track /album you want , I send you details of how you pay , you send me the money and I send you the music. Have a good weekend ! My email. richard.j.hill1@btinternet.com
The Paraguayan guitarist Agustin Barrios Mangore's La Catedral was composed in 3 movements and is a beautiful piece to play. The first movement is the Prelude Saudade and was recorded on Robert's Hybrid guitar in 2013.
This is the last of the second cycle of podcasts I'm allowed free. In the next cycle I'm going to try seeing if anyone out there wants to buy some of the music - either individual tracks or old fashioned CD's. It will allow me to keep the podcast going beyond the end of August. Details to follow. Happy Friday.
The last of the 6 pieces of Jacinto Freire Camacho's I have recorded - and the one that first attracted me to play his music. With elements of Antonio Lauro's Venezuelan Waltzes in its guitar style a lively race across the fretboard. I recorded this in 2003 /4.
Back out to Ecuador - and the music of Jacinto Freire Camacho. A folk tune from the Quito based guitarist. Taken from a Latin American CD recorded in about 2003/4.
From a CD of 2003 / 2004 a collection of multi-tracked and fairly heavily processed midi based recordings. This is the first from that collection.
Recorded on Rob's Hybrid Guitar in 2013 this also was put up on YouTube in 2012. Gets the occasional listener. Harmonics, simple idea - a folk tune for a very hot Monday morning .
Here's the You Tube link if you want to view it https://youtu.be/GQsBx2Kh9b4
Clive and I recorded this about 2008/9 I think. Loads of energy, loads of mistakes and great bass. The Fiesta - for this amazing heat. The tidier version was loaded up on June10th as Fiesta - but this version represents the spirit of the piece.
Prelude in Dm in its original form, the second of the Five Preludes that I'll try to put up in their entirety next weekend. The form of the piece - using the interval of a 6th as the basis for the tune is taken from the 20 Studies of Fernando Sor - the great 19th Century Spanish guitarist. The 20 studies were selected (and often edited) by Andres Segovia. I don't think they get played so much in his versions these days - but I spent a fair amount of my teenage years playing them. The piece is based on study No.13 which is headed Con Calma - hence the title. This is with the midi guitar, a string accompaniment and acoustic bass guitar. The CD that this version was on dates from about 2002/ 2003 and was called Phases.
Bosco was first recorded in about 1997 as Searching for Mr Bosco coming out of an album of guitar music by the late Tim Walker " Classical Folk Guitar", a guitarist from South Africa, and the piece Msanga by Jean Bosco. An attempt to write in an upbeat West African style this piece evolved in to the song Big Society and was also recorded with bass, hand drums and with a second guitar. Friday's here!
From Rico Stover's Guide to Latin American Guitar Playing - a bit of Brazil in the summer heat . He dedicated this to Luis Bonfa of Black Orfeus fame. Recorded in about 2014/15 - for the cruise liner jobs !
I'd forgotten about these tunes. Guitar and saxophone. 2005. An arrangement of Spyro Gyra's " Catching the Sun" . Paul on saxophone.
A direct contemporary of Bach, Weiss was the great lutenist of his time. After Weiss the lute did not really hit the levels of virtuosity again again until its relatively recent revival. This is played on Rob's Hybrid guitar - recorded in May 2013.
An arrangement I did of the prelude from the 1st sonata for unaccompanied cello. It follows John Williams version quite closely - less support for the main line of the piece than a lot of other versions and the drop D tuning. Recorded on Rob' s Hybrid Guitar 25th May 2013.
William Lawes. Salisbury born. Brother to the more famous Henry and a court musician to Charles I. Shot in a battle at Rowton Heath, near Chester on 24 September 1645 in the English Civil War despite being put in a post by the King that would "keep him safe". This is part of a beautiful three movement suite. Arranged for guitar by the late Julian Bream as a duo for two guitars.. Wendy Partridge - a fine guitarist and I worked together for about 10 years between about 1997 and 2007. We recorded this on electro acoustic guitars I'm not sure why
The chord sequence is taken from a piece by Emilio Pujol in his 3 volume Guitar School. Rob on cajon and finally finished and re-mixed in 2020.
A second piece from Manuel Saumell the 19th century Cuban composer. He lived between 1818 and 1870. The father of Cuban nationalistic music. Recorded on a CD of Latin American Guitar Music in 2002.
Three short Cuban pieces from the early 19th century take us to Friday this week. Brian, a pupil of mine in the late 1990's collected the Contradanzas when he visited Havana and was kind enough to bring them back. The first today opens in classical style before heading off into something quite different in the second section. Recorded in about 2002.
Sunday evenings between about 2001 and 2003 meant jazz rehearsal with Kenneth - a very serious concert pianist - and his assorted band. 'Round Midnight - Thelonius Monk's tune was a favourite. This is not a piano piece but for guitar - certainly late night with a little bit of improvisation.
A piece in the style of a West African guitarist Jean Bosco. Written in the early 1990's - recorded in about 2012.
From 2008/2009 - a recording of songs we later used in our folk set in 2013. A mythical figure in lots of cultures, I was looking at old nursery rhymes and their history. It had come up in the Lord of the Rings and Tolkein wrote an imaginary song "The man in the moon stayed up too late". I was just looking at "Hey Diddle Diddle" in particular. Talk Talk's the Colour of Spring, Mark Knopflers guitar style and John Martyn are influences on the sound.
Pat Metheny, the great jazz guitarist and the late John Martyn are the two main influences on Changing Time. In the album Solid Air John Martyn uses a pedal - I think it was called a duoplex - to create echoes /delays in his playing. The interesting bit, which I think he probably did instinctively, is to then play along with the rhythm he created. I 've had a go here - instead of "tapping" an electric guitar right and left hand technique, I tried to create the pattern by repeated hammering with the left hand alone. The album Watercolours by Pat Metheny is one of his best and uses a 15 string harp guitar - with resonating open strings. The gentle sound he produces is wonderful and almost obscures the stunning playing which is just assumed and understated. Changing Time was used in the last round of playing I did in 2016 with Clive Batkin. Another internet sensation - here's the you tube link https://youtu.be/tRsg0q_fqNg
A Rumba - by Paco Pena - a real upbeat end of the week piece. I saw him play when I was about 10 - quite incredible...and he got better and better. I recorded this in about 2011/2012.
A piece for bass and guitar - I arranged it in about 2010 for Clive and I to play. Robert de Visee was a court musician to Louis XIV. A baroque guitarist, the Suite in D minor is probably his best known music . Baroque music has been used in jazz a fair amount. This is not a jazz arrangement but is a straight division of the three parts into the guitar and bass. The guitar is a bit less subtle than I would have liked but the bass is wonderfully twangy. I don't think the purists would go much on this version. But its very short ...more to follow ( there are 10 movements )
More midi guitar. Using delay and reverb on the synthesiser. From Phases in about 2002 .
Taken from a CD recorded in about 2002. "Phases". I was using a midi guitar - Godin Multiac - a lovely instrument. The acoustic guitar combines beautifully with loads of instruments - the trumpet being one of them. But in reality the acoustic guitar always has to be amplified to work with the much louder trumpet , which changes its character. I had the pleasure to accompany a 16/17 year old jazz trumpeter, Henry , who at 16/17 was already many leagues ahead of me. Anyway this was written for that trumpet/guitar combination.
From about 1975. I didn't get around to recording it until 2000 for a CD called Worlds Apart. A cheerful upbeat tune.
After the reminiscence of the pandemic- in thirty3 + 2 - this tune goes further back. It was written in about 2008/9 about family stuff - phrases parents and grandparents used - the timeless element of each generation falling at the same hurdles. Rob on cajon and I tarted it up a bit with some layered guitar stuff. We played it in the folk set in 2013.
A whole album for Sue's birthday. Happy Birthday. It was written to celebrate 30 years of being married. Seahouses in the Autumn was where we all met up. Cold , windswept, but a lovely place to be - as always. I tried to put together a new recording of pieces. Here they are. They were completed 3 years late, in 2020 and took a further 2 years to get in listening form. They were recorded in Alcobendas during the lockdown between March and late June 2020. Scratchy the cat features in more than one recording - he wouldn't get off my lap - so I let him get on with it in the end.
Tracks: 1. Stella Caeli - plainsong in the time of plague. A parent at the school I was working in sent me a haunting recording. It kept coming round in my head - probably not a very good thing ! 2. Matthew's Lament . Matt had his car vandalised and written off in the lockdown.
3. Round the Block Rob . In Lockdown Rob, Marri, Sue & Jack all lived together. Many , many walks - fortunately in some lovely countryside. 4. To the rescue. This is for Jack - who came to the rescue when we were trying to get to the UK . Jake was so heavily sedated before the ferry ride that Jack had to carry him on to the boat. 5. Light up another 7minor. My trip up to the Tabac became a real highlight. 6. Slow dance - they are the only types of dance I can do .
7. Saturday's here. The queue to Al Campo, walking the dog, and a few ceegars - love it !
8. Is anybody flying ? You could see the planes take off from our balcony in Alcobendas - there weren't any. I reckoned I saw a UFO one night - nonsense 9. The Grace Darling Song. I finally got to finish the arrangement of the tune. 10 Galicean Song. When we were in Santiago de Compostela I heard a piper playing - sounded very Irish/ Gaelic. 11. Harmony. 12. Alocobendas 13. The Last Bus . Buses kept going in the lockdown - always empty .14. Furloughed - nobody who was furloughed had a bad time - may be I'm wrong but it seemed pretty good.15. A long way to go. Driving out to Asturias in a Fiat 500 with the cat sat under the pedals in the car and Jake gasping for air. In the recording you can hear the cat walking off across the floor in disgust. 16. House on the Hill
A Friday piece . David Caswell and I did some concerts in about 1998. The piece was recorded in the Shaftesbury Arts Centre studio with Jon doing the sound. Its about an old car . I've had lots of those - the piece is by Celso Machado again - and the discordant sounds every so often is the car mis -firing.
In 1997 & 1998 I had the opportunity to work with David Caswell - a Latin American guitar specialist who regular visited and played for some of the great Latin American guitarists.
He introduced me to the music of the Brazilian guitarist Celso Machado. Here is a lovely duo piece - recorded by the studio engineer at the Shaftesbury Arts Centre recording studio - Jon Pickard
In about 2000 to 2002 I played guitar for the Brian Heeley Quartet for the Bolling Guitar Concerto with Jazz Piano Trio , The Flute Suite and Picnic Suite. This is the 6th Movement of seven movements from Picnic Suite - Tendre and finishes this cycle of podcasts. Keep listening - a new cycle begins tomorrow !
Dave Betts - a very fine multi skilled percussionist - look out for his band if you ever get the chance. Perhaps more importantly a really decent bloke. He played on this recording when I was trying to get some arts council support for playing opportunities. It dates from 2006 - the duo was called Darabukka.
Steve Howe, the great guitarist with Yes, is the starting point here. His tune the Clap - a mix of all kinds - is a great upbeat acoustic piece. I first recorded this in 2000 - this is a version recorded on Rob's hybrid guitar in 2013.
Yusuf Islam ( Cat Stevens ) lovely song Father & Son is the starting point for this tune on Fathers Day. Thank you guys for the card and the good wishes. This tries to express how it works between a Father and children- constantly changing but hopefully always the same steadfast love and support. Happy Fathers Day all you Dads.
Written in about 2002 when they were about 13, 10 and 7. Three themes all distinctive and different and yet they interact pretty well. When its fast they're all going at the same time - amazing energy. By the end of the tune they all come back together and run out of steam. Like a day on the beach, or at the park or on the home made ( and potentially lethal ) skatepark. Happy Birthday Rob, Good luck today in the paddle board challenge in Copenhagen, Jack and Matt enjoy the day before the run up to the end of term.
29 yesterday and 34 forecast today - its hot !
Jake doesn't like this too much - as a 14 year old collie cross he's got a lot of hair . This was written for him in Madrid - that also was hot .
Following on from the original Grace Darling music earlier this week is a version of the song Rob and I arranged for the 2013 folk set. The lyrics are unchanged just the melody tweaked a bit .
June 15th - Dad's birthday. Towards the end of his life he used to sleep quite a lot .
Henry's Lullaby
An excerpt from Steve Reichs "Electric Counterpoint". First recorded by Pat Metheny. Also more recently performed by Jonny Greenwood. 10 electric guitar tracks and 2 bass guitar tracks plus a "live " guitar. This was recorded in about 1998 / 1999 at Shaftesbury Chapel Arts Centre studios. Jon engineered it and it took a few weeks to record - layering another track each week . The 3rd movement -"fast" has a Chic like bass line running through it - thats the bit I've put up . The rest will follow over the coming weeks .
A midi guitar piece from 2000. The recording was a CD collection of various styles called Worlds Apart. I sold a few of these.... ( " few " being the operative word ).
This piece was drawn out of listening to what I think is one of Eric Clapton's very best collaborations. Apparently his first go at film music . Clapton worked with Michael Nyman to compose the music for the BBC film Edge Of Darkness in 1985. The piece that I particularly liked was called Obituary ( I think ). Clapton uses an acoustic guitar in a way I'd never heard before - to create a sense of fear and anxiety. Usually the acoustic guitar has a romantic, gentle, conciliatory sort of feel. All the music for the film puts you on edge - and the acoustic guitar track in particular is really effective.
An arrangement of the folk song celebrating the heroic rescue of shipwrecked sailors in 1838 by this Victorian 22 year old from Bamburgh. Sue found the piano music - I arranged it as a guitar piece and then later did a song version using the original lyrics. I'll put up the song version that Rob and I did as part of our folk set. Grace was the first great heroine of Queen Victoria's reign ( she came to the throne in 1837). The celebrity Grace's heroism resulted in was not to her liking and she tried hard to avoid it throughout the remaining 4 years of her very short life. Tragically she died of tuberculosis at the age of 26 in 1842.
Not to be confused with the drink. This was a tune for my late Aunt Margaret. Oldest of my Mums sisters; Margaret, Joan, Dot. Betty and Lyn.
She taught in East London all of her working life , got an MBE as a mark of her service and was like a Mum to my Mum and a Grandma to us ( our grandparents died relatively early in our lives .
Christmas was always great when she came to us - games, quizzes, and a general air of calm.
She used to iritate my Mum by getting up in-between dinner and pudding to clean the dishes. My Mum tells a great story of her thoroughness - she scoured all the non - stick teflon off a pan one day - thought she was doing the right thing. It makes me laugh anyway.
This piece was an internet sensation, it went viral on YouTube - 127 listens in 10 years !
Boost its numbers if you want - here's the link https://youtu.be/1qI9VSCBczw
An end of the week tune. Fiesta. Its the 5th of 5 preludes dating from , originally, the late 1990''s. In the style of a guitar composer. Agustin Barrios Mangore, from Paraguay, is the composer on this occasion. I really liked the sentiment in Guarani Dance. I can't match the playing but I hope I got something of the happiness of the piece. Thank God its Friday...
At the height of the Tory Prime Minister David Cameron's rule his mantra was to create a Big Society ( as opposed to Thatchers no society ) . For Big Society now read " Levelling Up" .
This was part of our folk set in about 2013 ( some great Djembe playing from Rob ). The lyrics make reference to Ralph McTell's " Streets of London " and to a lesser extent the sentiment of Ed Sheeran's " A Team" - but not the chord sequences of either tune. The accompaniment is a West African style guitar piece from about 2000 - when I was trying to find music by a player called Jean Bosco - the piece is recorded elsewhere under the title "Searching for Mr Bosco".
Recorded in about 2005 for a CD of folk tunes called St.Aidans Dance. I sold a few of these and even had the experience of seeing the CD being re-sold on eBay. Its appeared in various forms since - with drums, as a song and with a band.
This is a piece taken from 5 preludes - each in the style of a famous composer. There was ( an attempt) at the style of Bach, Sor, Tarrega, Barrios and this one a pastiche of the 2nd Prelude in Villa Lobos collection of 5 preludes.
Written in about 1997 this is a recording on Rob's magnificent Hybrid Guitar - 24 frets , amazing intonation, huge sound. The nicest guitar I've ever played . He designed and built it during late 2012 early 2013. The recording was made on 25th May 2013.
I keep returning to Jazz pa Svenska ( an album I first heard at Exeter in the late 70's) It stripped back the jazz combination to just piano and bass - and every so often I go back to guitar and bass. This is a 2010 recording with a great jazz bass player Clive taking the lead.
This is from 2013. Rob and I got a folk festival booking. The fee meant we had could afford 2 days in a B&B and the last night in a tent. This is the opening number from the first night. A string broke, I forgot the words, but we got there in the end. I think this is my favourite performance time - a lot of fun.
Named after Tomos Roberts children's poem in the early stages of the pandemic - about April 2020 (the YouTube version is worth a viewing). A story of optimism and hope for young people at a difficult time. Its view of the future is laudable if, with hindsight, unrealistic. The piece is in a minimalist style with themes that I use repeatedly as the piece rises and falls. Beginning and ending with the same idea.
This is a very old tune of mine I've re-worked many times - this time with a rough old bass line running beneath just to give it a bit of rhythmic support. Everyone I know who was furloughed loved it . This tune is meant to reflect the smiles it put on people's faces at a pretty difficult time for so many.
Lockdown May 2020: Thursday night clap for health workers, teaching remotely, Jake and the cat going crazy - as was I.
Bamburgh, Northumberland. Windswept, sometimes bleak but always stunning.
This dates from about 2005. I had access to a beautiful Classical bass guitar with a quite unique sound.
The pieces were passed to me by the late Chris Kilvington, a teacher, writer for Classical Guitar Magazine. Four pieces composed by Jacinto Freire Camacho in 1982. They are dedicated to his teachers Carlos Bonilla and Cesar Leon at the Conservatoire of Music in Quito, Ecuador.
The full titles of the pieces are :
- IMPROMPTU - Pasillo ( Originally a Colombian Andes form - so I'm told - which spread to Ecuador and other regions ).
- FIESTA CRIOLLA - Tonada . A Folk music style of Spain - Asturias and Cantabria are credited with its origins
- YUMBO - El Cotopaxi. Yumbo the folk music style - subtitled "Cotopaxi " the active volcano about 50km from Quito
- SAN JUAN - Bailecito ( a dance ). San Juan villages / towns appear regularly - the one in Ecuador is in a rural region .
Lovely pieces drawing on elements of all the South American guitar composers I've come across. Certainly there are elements of Villa Lobos from Brazil, Barrios from Paraguay, Ponce from Mexico and Lauro from Venezuela clearly and beautifully incorporated.
Recorded in about 2003 in West Orchard, nr Shaftesbury, Dorset .
Not only is the landscape in Ireland and Galicia a bit similar but the music is ... I heard a bagpipe in Santiago de Compostela I think its called the Galician gaita which sounds not so dissimilar to the Irish Uilleann pipes.
This is a tune which was written in Spain and reflects that Irish/Galicia link - it also reflects a little of the cross string playing of Pierre Bensusan and in particular his piece the Last Pint.
Written for 4 of us to play - Matt, Rob and Jack all play guitar. We just haven't had a chance to learn it or play it yet. The chord sequence was based on a Dominic Miller idea although its in different key and its rhythmically different. I think that just about covers it.
Ryan's Rant : Irish folk tune arranged by Richard in late 1980's with some great Cajon from Rob.
Visa fran Utanmyra translates as Song from Utanmyra.
Its an arrangement of a tune from Jan Johansons 1964 album " Jazz pa Svenska"
Instead of piano and bass - guitar and bass.
Influenced by the Fool on the Hill. This was written in lockdown when I was in Madrid and quite keen to get out to our place in Asturias, in a village called Turuelles near Luarca.