Guitar Emporium

As a trip out to see Rob comes up - I'm always grateful to the Budget Flights ( although  the song doesn't seem to show it ! ) - But we just couldn't get to see him if the flights weren't so cheap - so we'll keep on keeping on for now - moans and all ! Support the show

Exactly that really - an idea to use natural harmonics - and there it is .. Support the show

A tune from a very long time ago. I can't quite recall when but originally done and re-done in a number of versions.  Support the show

A sort of dreamscape piece- arising out of one of those dreams where you think you're awake but you're not .  Support the show

A dialogue between steel guitars around a simple folk theme which alludes to the gentle Jack Johnson approach - which I first heard around about 2008 / 2009 pre the  Ed Sheeran era. Support the show

The days are getting longer, the nights are that little bit warmer. Gradually here in the UK we're moving out of winter. Time to get out and get moving once again - the hibernation is nearly over. I enjoyed recording this one - no rhythm track but each instrument just pushes the next one into the next bit and so on - until we get to the end . Hence the phrase Stumble in the Dark  Support the...

The flute seems to suit that laid back Brazilian feel so well. A little improvised Bossa Nova . Support the show

Puente- when I lived and worked  in Spain for a brief time I never quite got the hang of what appeared to be almost random occasions for holidays that bridged the week - the Puente. I now know : A puente (Spanish for bridge) is a holiday in Spain, it is the day off to bridge the time between the weekend and a holiday, thereby creating a long weekend. A puente typically occurs when a holiday falls...

One of the most enjoyable times of year is when we get a chance to visit Bamburgh - Sue's home village .. We generally go out of season - its great dog walking country - especially the beach , however bitterly cold it might be. The tune is a derivative of an old piece I played to destruction - also found in this podcast - St Aidans Dance.  Its about time some of the tunes were a bit more upbe...

Another tune from about 2014. The lyrics are, particularly in the latter part of the song , are inspired by the words from the song version of the  Peruvian tune  El Condor Pasa.  I first came across the song on Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits LP from the 1970's . Is there anyone who had an LP collection who hasn't got that album ?  Since then I've taught the tune and the s...

This is a combination of a number of ideas that came together in about 2014. I was ( and still am ) of the mind that you should never relinquish your dreams - however unachievable - thats what holds us together for much of the time. My brother Pete was doing the round the coast of Britain walk at the time. There was much to admire in what he did and I think it changed his life.  Support the show

A recurring theme in pieces, arrangements and songs - this very short piece captures the mood I was trying to portray - the alternation between activity and contentment,  neither lasting for any length of time. Support the show

More early guitar pieces very much the product of American influenced instrumental music. A 1970's feel to todays piece. This has that slightly dated sound about it. Support the show

A band version of the tune taken from a book I produced called 4 hands - for guitar + piano OR two guitars . Bass and drums added. Support the show

Some changes in pulse, time signature and rhythm in this one ...  Support the show

The corkscrew shape - like a spiral staircase - that seems a good description. The helter skelter on the old fashioned fairground was a pretty daring ride - it seems pretty tame by todays standards. I've updated this tune - but its not how I remember it at the time it was written. Support the show

Not all is what it seems - the definition I read is a good one "an image, produced by very hot air, of something that seems to be far away but does not really exist." Like so many I've seen lots of them. Support the show

We're all part of this as time passes. Watching our friends and family get older, adapt, not adapt, fall apart put ourselves back together and just get on with it. Support the show

A Spanish influenced tune for today's piece - in particular the early 20th Century guitar school of Pujol, Fortea and Llobet - pupils of Tarrega.  Support the show

...As in " turn a blind eye" - Too many influences to say here - but an unusual one was Bruno Mars - I was teaching one of his tunes and just liked how he switched a chord progression around. Still sounds like I got the riff from Don't Fear the Reaper...  Support the show

Todays tune is entirely unintentional . Where the Heart is - I just wanted to put up something loud - a bit ot music to drive home to.. Support the show

Ami MacDonald's This is the Life gave me the structure for this tune - but this is not a happy -go - lucky -what-  a -life type tune.  The character 'He'  is everyone with a grievance really - I don't see myself as a suffering minority  - but I can empathise with some of the mighty injustices going on all over the place... Support the show

The winters not over yet - but positive thoughts start turning to the snow drops growing on the edge of the woods and the new shoots coming through. This is a really optimistic tune ( it doesn't sound it - I realise ) . For Matt and Sarah and all thats coming their way. Support the show

Slightly strange title for todays piece, which takes - samples - sections of Tarrega's Capricho Arabe within the piece. Meant to be light and airy in nature its a bit more of a stomp than I ever intended.  Support the show

Influenced by Frederic Chopin , Alexander Scriabin was a Russian composer at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. This is a piece based around Scriabin's Prelude No 5 in Eb minor op.16 No4 composed in 1895 - composed for the piano. The Polish composer Alexander Tansman wrote a set of variations for guitar. The original piece is very short - 12 bars long. The variations I&apo...