This is a short lullaby or barcarolle – not something you’d describe as a major composition, but a piece I’ve remained very happy with for its fully-realised achievement of my original impulse, and for the lovely vibrant bass tones it…
Read moreWriting the title for a piece of music
One thing every composer has to think about is titles for his/her pieces. I'm a cranky individual and I have my own ideas about titles. I have a set of self-imposed rules. These are not rules for everyone - other…
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“Remember” – explanation of the piece and extracts from the score
My composition “Remember” was written in 2016. It was among my first pieces for classical guitar. It appears on Aleksandr Loginov’s album “Quiet Music” (details of the album are in another of my blog posts). His is, in my opinion…
Read moreEver tried composing a piece?
I had several revelations as I learned to write music for classical guitar, and if I share them now with anyone who wants to go down that route, they might save you time and struggle. My pearls of ineffable wisdom…
Read moreInterviewing other composers for Bergmann Edition
I'm fortunate to have my sheet music published by Bergmann Edition ("BE"). I really like the BE ethos, which is all about working with and for the world's guitar community and getting good quality new music of all styles out…
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Me and my guitars.....
For many years I played only electric and steel-string guitars, and bass. Then some years ago I decided to acquire a good classical guitar and had one made by luthier, Steve Toon . I've bought a few more guitars since…
Read moreHearing your work played by other musicians
Much of the music I write is too hard for me to play well. I started writing my pieces roughly at the same time as I took up classical guitar again after a very long break, and the technique just…
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The album Quiet Music
A couple of years ago I had the great good fortune of making contact online with St Petersburg guitarist Aleksandr Loginov. I was looking for guitarists who were interested in trying out my music; he was looking for new and…
Read moreWhy I started writing guitar music
I've always written music in one way or another. When I got back into playing classical guitar after a long hiatus (30-odd years) I picked up a lot of the stuff I had learned when I was a kid. I…
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