Having barely survived last week, I have implemented the changes that Charlotte and I agreed upon when I was in North Carolina. I relaid my studio to make better use of the space and to encourage me to play more – which is a ridiculous thing to struggle with as a musician – and it seems to have worked. I found this theme when riffing off the Marseillaise on Charlotte’s old Kimball and I think it has potential.

The tempo is horribly slow and will probably be closer to 114 than the current 101 but then – who knows where it will end up

This is off the Grand Piano sample through Reason and I’m gonna sit and listen for the string melody. Sure the right hand figure is a little repetitive (i.e. it doesn’t change at all for 3 minutes!) but the piece does have that calming fade to the background effect that I like in music2work2.

More coming soon…

Another fantastic TED presentation from Julian Treasure on the power of sound (you can see his first one here). He makes some great points here but I particularly warmed to his statement that “Musician’s have bigger brains!” – who knew?

We’re on a Celtic kick at the moment – not least ‘cos of the free website giveaway that a musician / band or artist can win over at Kilted Chaos – but specifically because this week we’ve been listening to the music of Sora.

Sora is a Canadian Celtic / World singer songwriter who’s new album Heartwood has just been released; you can hear it streaming on MySpace by clicking on the image below.

Immediate reference points are Enya & Loreena McKinnitt but Sora is all about the voice – and what a voice; it reminds me of the double edged broadsword that William Wallace wields in Braveheart – which could sound pretty scary but she has the control to harness its power & deliver some of the simplest and cleanest melodies I’ve heard in a long while. My mum would absolutely love this.

Sora’s music can be found on a number of web sites, but her MySpace page is probably the easiest – there are 10 tracks available for streaming from Heartwood and they’re all worth getting to know. Quick note on her production and the musicianship of her band – they’re great! You can buy Heartwood from CDbaby

One of the things that I think Sora does well is the use of her video blogs – she has an infectious personality and is clearly passionate about what she does – you can see them on her website and her facebook page. Her website looks as though it could use a hand as getting around is a little difficult – she should definitely enter this competition.

Sora’s official web site is www.soramusic.ca.

ReverbNation

Another musician who’s music we are currently listening to is composer/pianist Craig Urquhart. Craig not only produces beautiful instrumental piano pieces, but he’s also a believer that music is helpful to human beings, which is one of the premises on which music2work2 is built.

According to Craig each composition reflects the healing power of music and nature as well as the emotional journeys of life. His songs are relaxing, soothing, solo piano pieces – have a listen to my current favorite "Venetian Snowfall:" click the player below and you’ll be taken to the track page on Last.fm

Listening to this piece, I can envision snowflakes swirling around, some big, some small. As the snow covers trees, grass, roads, rooftops, everything is transformed into a beautiful, pure, glistening, snow-covered picture. Although snow has always been a problem for me – difficulty getting around in the snow – I think it is nature at it’s most glorious.

You can visit Craig’s website at http://www.craigurquhart.com, where he sells his 9 CDs through CDBaby. Apparently he has a new CD coming out to be released in late February.

Craig Urquhart has a history filled with recognitions and successes – I hope you like his music as much as we do.

Early Piano theme development.

Another one of my favorite pieces of music – written in 2006 when I’d just got my hands on a Triton Extreme. Single voice piano all the way through, nods to Beethoven and Wendi’s theme – I really enjoy working to this one – I’m writing to it right now!

The reason this track is called “Late” is because that’s when it was made; late, late in the evening and into the early morning. Most of music2work2 has been done out of normal “business” hours – whether it’s a music gig or a marketing gig – the day job has enabled me to write, to practice, to be a better musician and marketer and as a result – music2work2 continues to develop.

I like to think that this track is a mix between Gary Vaynerchuk and Malcolm Gladwell; take one part “Outliers”, combine with 1 part “Stop watching fucking Lost!” add an incredibly cool and supportive wife and there you have it – music2work2.

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Now playing: music2work2 – Late via music2work2

Multiple strings over two distinct piano themes inspired by my brother, Richard.

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My older brother has his birthday every year on the same day, the 11th of December – it is the most normal thing about him. He is an amazing human being and I love him. This was written for his 41st birthday – the opening cadence was sung in my head, “Richard my brother,” and off it goes.

I experimented a lot with this track. the core piano theme came first and defined the structure. I then laid 4 different string voices on top, one pass after the other without listening to the previous pass. By then removing what didn’t work, I arrived at what you hear now; a piece for a string quartet with piano. This is another piece that I look forward to sitting down and developing if I ever get time!

It was Richard who opened a door to this magical musical world in which I now live and adore, I will be eternally grateful for his invitation.

The dramatic change in the piece at around six and half minutes is a variation on one of Richard’s creations. We have played music together for most of our lives and he is a terrific singer songwriter guitarist and musician. This is a variation on a song called “This Way Out” from the Stirling Brig years. I always loved his lyrics, they were always – and still are – from his heart – and “This Way Out” spoke volumes to me.

Coming out of that variation back into the core theme at ten minutes or so, I’m trying to create a sense of hope and optimism. Which is of course what I wish for him and his family.

If you like the track you can share it across your Networks – just click share on the right of the player.

Richard is part of The Thinker’s Playlist.

I have fallen horribly in love with this song – it happens – the last time was with Handlebars by Flobots and yes I can ride my bike without them – thank you Ms. Balchen! There’s so much to love about this track – the presence of the initial guitar tone, the arrival of the keys but I guess most of all – it’s the Lyric.

[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/shaynekaye/3201389499/[/flickr] From Shayne Kaye on Flickr.

Kelli and I used to comment that a good song needs great music but a great song needs great lyric too.

It was a roundabout way of saying that not everybody is a musician – not everybody thinks in melody or can manipulate sound to create a platform – but pretty much everyone can speak, can write, and can string words together. Everyone’s a songwriter and if you ain’t got something to say – then best not say anything at all.

It is typically the music of a song that grabs my attention, but it is the lyric that allows me to fall in love. And it’s not necessarily the semantic – the meaning of the lyric – it’s how the whole thing fits together. Listen to Rihanna’s Dream written Umbrella – it won’t win a Nobel for literature but that whole “Ella, Ella” lick just feels so damn good in the track.

Finally there is the guitar solo – and it’s perfect – I suspect that God always had the electric guitar in mind when he was developing anguish.

You can:

Listen to Lord I’m Discouraged on youtube

Visit The Hold Steady’s Website

Buy The Album – Stay Positive Other recommended cuts:
Magazines and One For The Cutters – good stories all!

I’m thoroughly enjoying the post Christmas gift card euphoria – I love buying music – there’s something very noble and rewarding about it.

There’s a website that I’ve been digging for a while – Live from Daryl’s House -  it has this killer show that captures Daryl Hall and his band – they welcome in a different  artist every other month, hang out and play music.  They cover some of the guest artist’s songs and then some of the Hall & Oates classics.  It’s all shot and recorded live – the music sounds and feels real – you get a sense of what it is was like to be there – you also get a sense of the musicianship required.  Check out the trailer below:

The episode that turned me onto the show was K.T.Tunstall’s  – she was brilliant – check out this version of Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.  The current episode is with a band called Company of Thieves – I’d never heard of them but checked out the show – 30 minutes later I have their EP Ordinary Riches playing through my iTunes and my gift card is $5.99 poorer – 15 tracks too – amazing value!

This is the music business – it is alive and getting better all the time.

Classic music2work2 – pianos, strings, alternating time signatures and themes – oh, and it’s long.

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2007 was the year that music2work2 really started to take shape. I was working with a Korg Triton and my recording and mixing chops were getting better. New gear is funny – there is just something about sitting down at a new toy and playing with it – experimenting with what sounds good and what doesn’t. As usual the piano track was played first and then subsequent voices recorded on top – you can hear strings, electric pianos and even some funky frequencies as I got deeper into wave forms – Ooooh!

There are a number of different themes going on in this piece – Heath was a guy I met through the Kelli gig – he was a freelance template developer who also happened to be a musician. We collaborated on a couple of things musically but the tech work would get in the way. I learned a lot from Heath including how to manipulate photoshop and how to freestyle on beat tracks – it was fun while it lasted but we eventually went our separate ways.

There’s a theme that comes in around 17 minutes – it’s called "Andy The Barman" and is a theme that I have promised myself I will develop further. It reflects a particularly bizarre time of my life when I was indeed working a bar in London – strange times but all good grist for the creative mill.

If you like the track you can share it across your Networks – just click share on the right of the player.

Heath is part of The Reader’s Playlist.

One of the blogs that I subscribe to is a musician centric blog called http://www.musicianwages.com – essential reading if you’re going to make a career of this music thing!  The content might be a little specific for most readers but they recently sent out an all inclusive request asking for input on the question – What is a Musician?

I’ve been asking myself that one for decades now and couldn’t resist a slightly tongue in cheek response – you’ll find it at the bottom of the list – What is a Musician?