Out of my depth

Since my last post I have received a huge amount of encouragement and support, both over the internet and in real life. I have been hugely touched by this, so thank you everyone. It wasn’t a terribly easy post to write, but I am glad that I did. It is always going to be difficult to admit that you have a problem, but I think that it is important to be honest with people, especially those that you care about. I have been particularly touched by those professional melodeon players who have offered encouragement and sympathies, especially John Spiers, Jon Loomes and Andy Cutting.

Why I didn’t give up melodeon

I came very close to giving up box this year. For those that know me (or have bothered to read the rest of this blog), that may seem inconceivable. But I did come very close to giving up.

An Inside and Out Update – Sibylla Brand G/C/F

Hello all!

Some of you may recall that back in March I did my second Inside and Out on Malcolm Woods’ Sibylla Brand G/C/F. Well, it is now the property of someone known only as “Daddy Long Les”, who has just released his version of the story of his new box. There are some interesting shots that I didn’t have, so do take a look. Take a look also at the rest of his videos on playing the melodeon, inspirational stuff for anyone starting out.

Musings on playing for song

So I’ve had a few absolutely manic weeks and things are looking to get even worse, so don’t be surprised if I don’t update this blog much over the next week or two. But I thought that I would take this opportunity (it being 3am) to provide you with some musings on something that I started doing very recently.

The last “Musings” post that I did was on something that I have done for years, namely playing for dance. I still have a long way to go in that sphere, but feel that I at least know what I am aiming for. Last Friday though, I did something that I had never done before – accompanied song in public. I am going to tell you about it.

Musings on playing for dance

I get a real kick out of playing for dancers, whether Morris or social dancing. There is a connection between dancer and musician which if you get it right can be really quite special. I’m not going to dwell on technique here, but on the sensation of playing for dance.

What a week!

I am a Part IIB Engineer, which for those of you not familiar with the bizarre and inexplicable Cambridge Tripos system means that I am currently studying for my Masters in Engineering (MEng) at Cambridge, being in my fourth year of four. You can imagine my delight when I realised that I had three different coursework deadlines for the week just gone (I would explain them, but can guarantee that nobody could ever possibly be interested).