I was born and reared in Portrush – a seaside town on the North Coast of Northern Ireland. Many years ago, when I was at primary school my mother suggested to my younger sister that she should take piano lessons. My sister, who apparently was not particularly interested in doing so, began the lessons. I […]
I get great pleasure in reinterpreting the meaning of some lyrics. For example, the lovely tune entitled ‘The Wind Beneath My Wings’ which the sheet music states it is from the soundtrack of the film entitled ‘Beaches’. I have no idea what this film is about, so I have interpreted the words for a different […]
When faced by the news that your long-time keyboard player is leaving the band for a residency in sunny Spain, I had to make a conscious decision to jump ship from guitar to keyboard. Having convinced my wife-to-be, that we should invest the £500 we had saved for our wedding on the purchase of a […]
As a child of the early forties, it was the norm for girls to receive piano lessons whilst boys go out and play with their mates, I was therefore left to my own devices but, like my dear old Dad, who could always strum out a tune on a piano or ‘mouth organ’, I decided […]
Please excuse my title pun, it rather aptly reflects my experience in upgrading from Tyros 5 to Genos! Due to a combination of age and the increasing difficulty humping gear, I retired 5 years ago from over 40 years of working the gig circuit. For my sins in 2005, I was appointed Musical Director for […]
Have you ever needed several hands to turn pages of music whilst playing the keyboard? Do you need larger text and music notation to make it easier to see? Let me tell you about MobileSheets Pro app for Windows, iOS and Android that can help with this and many other problems. I have been using […]
I have played various Yamaha keyboards over the years, but have long since recognised that I will never be anywhere near as good as Chris, David and many other professional players and at one time nearly gave up playing. Then I thought about the fact that 95% of the music I played had lyrics and […]
WELL ‘ORGAN-ISED’ ‘Ramblings from Home’ I remember my father’s grey column change Bedford Dormobile van swinging into Stonebridge Road one evening after his long day’s work at the council tip. You see, the song ‘My old man’s a Dustman’ has a very special connotation to me because my father drove the Bulldozer at the local […]
LEFT HAND ACMP ON ELECTRONIC KEYBOARDS (Playing Chords with Less Movement) UNDERSTANDING CHORD CONFIGURATIONS. You might find yourself looking at a melody with added chords above looking like this At this point it is worth pointing out that your keyboard ‘fingering type’ should be set to FINGERED on BASS (if you have that facility!) Let’s […]
It was discovered from an early age that I had a ‘musical’ ability which was fostered by my Parents, by finding me a local Piano teacher (in Bradford, West Yorkshire) near where we lived. So lessons were duly attended on a regular basis, with progress being made, so much so, that Piano exams were taken […]
