Potter mania.

Great excitement at the Shrimps as the publication date for H.P arrives. Martha is disappointed she won't be available to attend the midnight launch at Waterstones and dress up as Trevor (Neville's frog).

That aside, a friend of the girls found this on "You Tube". Rather unusual, quite funny, but definitely has creative possibilities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4

Death by Recorder.

Have just been to a recorder day at a theatre with 800 recorders all playing my music. Really amazing!.

There was every colour of recorder all being played with a variety of techniques!!.

I was playing in the rhythm section to accompany them, and the drummer commented about all the kids being "armed" and their instruments were pointing at you!.

It was brilliant seeing everyone with a recorder in their hands really enjoying their first musical experience.

Musical memories

I have just been in Yorkshire with my Mum.

We were staying in this amazing hotel that looks like something from "The Adams family". The picture was taken in 1901, but it honestly hasn't changed much!.

The stay was made more horrific by a huge thunder storm which set off the hotel fire alarm at 4-00 am so we all (half asleep) had to grab clothes and evacuate the hotel (scary!).

Anyway the trip was for Mum to relive a few memories.

She played in a dance band during the war and toured the Dales playing for dances and events. The hotel was one of their "big gigs".

Bassoon is beautiful

Have just been to a woodwind competition at a school.

The high spot of the morning, was a beginner bassoonist playing "Ten toe tapper" from "Razzamajazz Bassoon" accompanied by piano, and also his friend who "solo'd" on just bassoon reed in the (tap dancing break ) rests.

FAB!!!!!!.

Sibelius

Yes, this is a picture of the real Sibelius, but its the computer programme I am struggling with at the moment. Well I'm not struggling with using it, just "should I be using it?".

I am about to embark on a second "easy band book", and writing it on computer does make sense time wise, its just that I feel far more creative with a pencil in my hand.

I often write out music in random places like coffee shops, on trains, on holiday, and there is a strange creative process in this, which is even enhanced by my situation at the time. I couldn't really do that, even with the lap top.

This may sound a bit romantic, but I wonder if writing on the computer would make the whole experience too mechanical and not organic or natural any more.

Editors often say its nice to get hand written manuscripts these days and learn more about the personality of the composer. I wonder if we are losing something by writing straight onto a computer programme.

Razz 2 nearly finished!

Have spent the last few days frantically writing to complete the new improved "Razzamajazz 1" and all the new pieces for book two.

The books are going to be bigger than before with many new pieces, better backing tracks and practise and performance tempo's. There will be twenty two pieces in each book, all in the Razzamajzz "Feel good" style.

Having nearly finished book two, I have actually been back over them to simplify them more. the whole idea of the second book, is to have SIMPLE pieces to take the player up to the next octave. Often when the player goes higher in range, the pieces get harder, I find there are a lot of pupils that just can't manage that, and the upper register takes longer to master.

This book is meant to build pupils confidence.

I am (as usual) very excited about the books, and want them to come out NOW!!!, but it should be Sep/Oct. I am speaking at a few teachers conferences/workshops about that time and it would be a good time to launch them.

Writing nearly thirty new pieces, I have had to think of thirty new titles!, but that's another post for another day.

Harmonica man.

Thought the world should see this photo of the renowned (legend in his own lunch box) harmonica player Chris Shrimpton rehearsing with his pianist this weekend at the NHL chromatic weekend.

He is currently working on a transcribed version of "Everything is Somewhere else". strangely it goes very well on bassoon AND harmonica.

I wish I'd concentrated at school

Its exam city in our house at the moment, both our girls are head down revising for GCSE's and Alevels. I am very impressed with their attitudes towards revision, and can't help thinking "Why wasn't I like that??". Perhaps we weren't so academically driven.
Then it got me to thinking "Why am I like I am (!?)". What teachers influenced me at school, and what did they actually teach me?.
Well, I suppose it was music teachers who had the biggest impact (probably because it was the only subject when I was actually paying attention). I had a woodwind teacher called Eric Webb who was ex Army band. He was quite a character, and I think offered me the bassoon because I made him laugh. That was probably a turning point in my life. I had an instant love of the instrument. He then introduced me to chamber music.
My class music teacher was called Dennis Tear ( I would really love to know where he is now if anyone knows). He influenced me by accompanying songs with cool rhythms using chord symbols. I thought "I want to do that, its much easier than reading music!" (only partially sensible).
My piano teacher for a time was a friend of the family called Peter Stevens. he influenced me most by coming around to our house in the evenings and playing Mancini and Bacharach on the piano. He introduced me to a lot of good music.
So that's it, my education. I was quite good at rounders as well.

Razzamajazz thieves

I have few friends who ring me up from time to time to let me know if they've heard my music in concerts or have come across people in their area using it. This is really brilliant, as it shows that its being used.

One of those friends rang tonight to tell me she has been visiting some wider ops schemes in schools and that many have been using "Class Act" which was of course written with groups like that in mind.

She also told me that one school had been using "Razzamajazz" and had a class set of books. She was told by the teacher that they aren't using them any more because the books kept getting stolen by kids wanting to take them home.

I guess that's kind of good ???.