Category: Music

It is hard to believe that anyone could possibly be unfamiliar with the checkered pattern. It is commonly known as the checks for example, the black and white graphic that resembles a checkerboard. There are many items around us that we find like this. For instance a pianoforte, adjacent to a piano bench or piano benches along with a music sheet cabinet displays this pattern in its keys.

Whether they are the articles of clothing such as; footwear, handbags or other smaller accessories such as wrist bands wallets etc., a checkered pattern is not hard to find. It has dominated the fashion scene since the last three decades. Moreover, it has also been popularly adopted by different kinds of music. Besides, you will find an everlasting presence of this pattern in different forms of art, literature and other items found in popular cultures.

This pattern left a deep impression in the late 1970’s when a music genre arose from England. This form of music was basically a blend of punk, ska and pop music. The blend was famously known as ‘2 Tone’. This was the term that was coined by a musician by the name of Jerry Dammers. It was Dammers who established the checkered pattern image as a representation for the 2 tone movement. This was known as the Walt Jabsco logo.

Apart from this, the black and white checkered pattern perfectly symbolized racial unity and equality. With the advent of 1980’s, a new fashion overtook the decade, in which checks were fit in with bold graphics and bright colors. This time it spread wide across to decorate everything from skateboards to socks and suspenders.

In the late 80’s and early 90’s, the checkered pattern was replaced by the bold graphic prints. However, it was just a matter of time when popular bands such as “No Doubt” brought music back into the new millennium. So the checks became a talk of the town once again.

This is not all, as the musicians of the new millennium, such as Avril Lavigne, are responsible for bringing the checkered fashion back into the mainstream. Their fashion line boasts a checkered print through shorts, hoodies, ties and shirts. Moreover, a retail franchise, Hot Topic, sells several checkered items including earrings, sunglasses, etc.

Talking about the art world, you will find that checkered images are associated with the works of graphic artist MC Escher. He was the one who illustrated checkered pieces in his work. One of his famous work of art is Day and Night. Furthermore, even literature is not spared from this checkered design. It has symbolized Lewis Carrol’s most popular book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which chess pieces have played a central role in the story.

You can also find this pattern in popular cultures. For instance, New York City cabs have the checkered patterns and not to forget the race car flags are also checkered. This pattern still remains to be an important trend of our lives which seems hard to forgo.

BACKGROUND HISTORY: The first musical bands originated in New Orleans among black musicians who have traditionally been the innovators. The first jazz record ever recorded was by The Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917, and of course they were white because racism always rears its ugly head to hold black people back. But during the Roaring 20’s, young white people couldn’t resist the dance beat laid down by the black jazz bands. Fletcher Henderson, a black man, became the first band leader to achieve national fame possibly because he featured Louis Armstrong on trumpet. Duke Ellington, a classicly trained musician, brought a level of style and sophistication to jazz that hadn’t been seen before. But it wasn’t until 1935 that jazz bands with a “swing beat” achieved national attention due to Benny Goodman who I think was the best clarinet player ever to blow air into that instrument. Benny also had the good sense and taste to bring the first great drummer, Gene Krupa, into his band.

When rock and roll exploded into human consciousness during the early 1950’s, black musicians like Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Smokey Robinson pioneered the way, but a white DJ named Alan Freed is believed to have coined the term “rock and roll”. The first real rock and roll record was “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, written by Jesse Stone who was black and recorded by Big Joe Turner who was also black but it wasn’t a hit. The first big hit rock and roll record was “Rock Around the Clock” written by James Meyers and Max Freeman of obvious ancestry, and that one catapulted Bill Haley and his Caucasian Comets to stardom. During the 1950’s and early 60’s, there were countless “do wop” groups, rock groups, singers and songwriters but until The Beatles hit the charts, there had been very few bands which contained talented songwriters. The vast majority of jazz and rock bands recorded songs written by songwriters who were not performers, with occasional exceptions like Duke Ellington and Buddy Holly. As time goes on, it’s increasingly clear that Lennon/McCartney songs are brilliant classics which will never be forgotten. Now here’s why The Beatles are the most creative band of all time:

1. BEST EXAMPLE OF FORM = CONTENT

As I sit here writing this at the keyboard of my computer facing the unique and colorful Beatles poster in my bedroom, I’m aware that I have been directly and indirectly inspired by John Lennon’s music as well as by the way he lived his life offstage. Squarely in front of me is a full color poster of all four Beatles standing in a heavenly-like flower garden at about the time of the Abbey Road album. Paul is angelic in his pink suit with a white laced shirt. John is enigmatic peering out from the background. George is charismatic staring directly into the camera from the lower right. Ringo is on the left with a stylish blue suit and his pink ruffled shirt. I always wished I could dress like those guys but obviously there’s a bit of a problem with a money differential there. Surrounding this gorgeous poster which I have never seen elsewhere are my 45 speed original Beatles hit records, including I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Please Please Me, Twist and Shout, Can’t Buy Me Love, She’s A Woman, Yesterday, and of course, Hey Jude. And surrounding all that is a chain of 1-1/2″ long orange flicker flame lights which are the most beautiful and unique Christmas lights I’ve ever seen. I chose to decorate the wall directly in front of my work station this way because, as I’ve written elsewhere on this site several times, the Beatles were my major musical influence and having them on the wall in front of me inspires me to write web pages like this one. I was also among the millions of people who were inspired by how The Beatles were actually living their off stage lives. The Beatles’ music creatively stimulated millions of people to change the way they were living, and The Beatles behavior encouraged people to have fun by trying new life style experiences. That’s what I call a perfect example of FORM = CONTENT. In this case it means that the creatively and masterfully varied music The Beatles were producing (form) embodied the real life styles which each of the four Beatles were living (content), together as a band as well as separately as unique individuals.

2. BEST SONGWRITERS

This should be self-evident, but just because Paul McCartney has the title of the most popular songwriter in history doesn’t necessarily make him the best songwriter in history. The qualities which do make both Paul and John the best songwriters in history go beyond writing the greatest number of catchy classic songs. “Catchy” means that their melodies and lyrics are instantly memorable. “Classic” means that they stand the test of time. But both Paul and John wrote very sophisticated melodies that moved beyond the simple groups of 2, 4 and 8 patterned phrases used by almost all other songwriters. John and Paul’s melodies soared, floated, cascaded, dived and peaked with true dynamics, naturally following the syllabic lyric patterns – but not always. Sometimes the melodic and lyric patterns were independent of each other, almost counterpoint in nature, and as a songwriter, they never ceased to astonish me with their brilliance and originality. In the beginning, their lyrics were simple and their songs were simple love songs. But they soon began exploring new territory by writing about subjects that hadn’t been covered before. Inspired by Bob Dylan, they wrote true poetry with feeling and depth, using evocative and unusual words. Rubber Soul marked the beginning of their evolution as mature songwriters, Revolver was a break-out album, and Sergeant Pepper was an historic landmark album in terms of new and innovative songwriting as well as production. Every song they wrote was significantly different from the last one even though each song had their unmistakable sound.

Most songwriters are only average players on their instruments, but John and Paul are both sophisticated guitarists who were able to integrate their playing into their songs and even into their song structure so that the “licks” they played became as catchy a part of their songs as the choruses and verses. Blackbird and Dear Prudence are only two examples of songs which couldn’t possibly be written by any other songwriter because of the guitar playing which forms an integral part of the song structure. In similar fashion, Lady Madonna is the best example of a great song which derives from the unique and beautiful bass part which only Paul could possibly have created.

Average songwriters achieve the catchy quality by repeating a phrase endlessly or by beating a chorus to death. John and Paul found countless ways to be memorable without ever overly repeating something. The only time they repeated something over and over again for a long time was in Hey Jude, and what they chose to repeat is so gorgeous that one can only wish they had never ended the song. The Beatles were my biggest musical influence and I used to think, “If I could write just one song that’s as good as John and Paul’s worst song, I’d be happy.” People tell me I accomplished that goal and they say one good example is John is Alive, which is my sincere tribute to Sir Lennon.

3. BEST SINGERS

Even Ringo could sing when he got a little help from his friends who lived in the yellow submarine. But to say that Paul and John are two of the best singers in rock and roll is to state the obvious. Combining John, Paul and George created the best harmony vocals the world has ever experienced. Even their two part harmonies were unusual, catching us all by surprise on their first hit record with the fast harmony melisma in the chorus of I Want to Hold Your Hand. John had a knack of placing a unique low harmony line underneath Paul’s high melody line so as to form a second melody which created unusual harmony effects. He did that right from the beginning in the verses of She Loves You. Both Paul and John could blast out screaming rock and roll (i.e. Long Tall Sally and Twist and Shout), and both could break our hearts with touching, deep feeling ballads (i.e. Yesterday and Julia). There seems to be no end to their emotional vocal range, and John even explored the heights of vocal psychedelia in songs like She Said (Revolver) and Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.

4. MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS

Paul brought a new style of melodic playing to the bass guitar, reaching a new high of creativity on Sergeant Pepper with a level of sophistication never heard before. Many other musicians besides me recognize Paul as being one of the best bass guitar players ever. George is underrated as a lead guitarist by people with average or below average musical knowledge or ability, but most guitarists (including Eric Clapton) know better. George’s strength is in melody, pure and simple. It would be difficult to find a George Harrison lead which is not melodic, and each of his leads has a strong beginning, a stronger middle and a well defined ending. In fact, that’s Eric’s definition of what makes a good guitar lead. George continually developed new guitar sounds for each Beatles song. John and Paul are also excellent guitarists and both recorded great leads as well as innovative rhythm tracks. All three of the Beatles guitarists may lack showy technical fireworks but they make that definition of guitar mastery irrelevant by overwhelming the senses with creativity, style, and pure melody. The exact same thing can be said about John and Paul’s keyboard playing. Ringo may be underrated as a drummer by the public but he is not underrated by other professional drummers. Ringo mastered the art of drum sounds. No drummer has ever recorded so many different sounds on so many different sounding records. Ringo invented a new style of slow drum playing, epitomized on A Day in the Life and Strawberry Fields Forever. John said many times, “Ringo has the best back beat in the business” and the successful studio drummers understand why John was correct.

5. TOTAL CHARISMA

A good definition of charisma needs to include “an unusual ability to influence people and arouse devotion” and “a personal attractiveness which enables a person to influence others”. No musical group prior to or after The Beatles features true charisma emanating strongly from the entire group as well as separately from each member. The Beatles stunned the world with their photogenic quality, their charm, their bubbling and lovable personalities, their cuteness and their unique style. Even before The Beatles achieved fame, people in Liverpool were imitating their haircuts, the way they dressed, the way they behaved, and the way they lived. Such a simple subliminal message about smoking marijuana got communicated to all the hippies who were waiting to happen without actual words ever being spoken. The Beatles had a lot to lose by being explicit on that subject, but they successfully avoided trouble by keeping it very subtle while at the same time clear enough so that we all got it. The Fab Four kept changing their styles rapidly, almost with each album cover, and soon the message became one of explicit spiritualism. After visiting India, The Beatles introduced eastern mysticism and meditation to the Western world for the first time through the mass media. John’s long saga with internal angst, drugs, spiritualism, politics, personal battles, and ultimately his marriage to Yoko played out like a movie the whole world got to watch in fascination. Paul’s happy life with Linda, George’s great focus on meditation, and Ringo’s equanimity throughout were all perfect examples of the power, the truth, and the effectiveness of true charisma.

6. SEXUAL AURA

Need I say it? Ask the millions of girls who were screaming and fainting at the very sight of them. “The Boys” didn’t move like Elvis or dance like Mick, they just stood there shaking their “mop top” heads around, smiling, laughing, and looking gorgeous as they performed great music and that was it. On their first visit to America, some enterprising weirdo from New York City managed to cut up the hotel bed sheets The Beatles had slept on into 1″ square pieces, and these things were actually sold to girls over the public airwaves by adult DJ’s on the AM radio stations who should have known better. The Beatles phenomenon went way beyond the rock and roll sex star status that had been seen before. Teenage girls in uncountable numbers fell in love, their hearts to be trapped, their heart strings to be continually plucked, and ultimately, their hearts to be broken by the unobtainable object of their love. Worshiping a star from afar? Infatuation? Obsession? Not real love? For many of them, it was their first experience feeling love for a man/boy. Whatever it was, it was very real to all of them, and we all soon understood that The Beatles were The Real Thing.

That’s why I call The Beatles the Most Creative Band of All Time. They were The Real Thing. The Creative Zenith. The high point on the bell curve of musical history.

As one reared in the 50’s and 60’s the artists who performed music at that time were easy to listen to, exciting, and some could raise the hairs on your arms with their voices. Gorgeous bands that played melodies that inspired one to dance and sing all night long were a normal part of my youth. They had voices that sang inside you and tunes that were inspiring. But this is not how I see modern artists and their efforts today.

While still at school I had a part-time job at a milk-bar café opposite the movie theatre in Bondi. As the movies played so did the music ring out across the street and some of it made me stop in my tracks. Artists like Mario Lanza still does it to me when his records play. So do others like Nat King Cole, Frankie Lane, Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, and the list goes on.

Who doesn’t love the music of Glen Miller and other bands like that of Bill Haley. But what have we got today to equal them? They didn’t yell or scream notes at you. They crooned and softly let you know that they were artists.

Today’s musicians have a different approach. The notes are still there but delivered in a more violent, raucous manner. The effect on the ears is hard and when played in shops and centers they frequently result in a head-ache. This was brought home to me again today while shopping for new shoes.

In shop after shop the music was annoying, very off-putting, and tiring. In the end I gave up after telling two of the young shop attendants of the damage it will do to their ears. The persistent loud noise is causing the cilia of the ears to react and this can lead to tinnitus and even deafness before they are much older. In the case of the former they will experience ringing in their ears which is constant and for which there is no cure.

Occasionally one hears a nice song played from those early days and my heart sing along with it. Generally, however, the noise of raucous tunes causes me to run away from it. Having been made aware of the danger of such it is appalling that the work-places of so many are spoiled and polluted with this material.

If shop owners want to do people a favour and get more customers into their stores then please do it with gentle loving music that makes our hearts sing. Turn off the horrible screaming and loud noise that passes for music at this time.

Street performing has been around since, well, ever! It is likely that it has occurred since recorded history began, though there has been a notable evolution throughout the decades.

Whilst it is impossible to know what the first ever street-performing acts entailed (anything from banging on a rock to dancing), it is likely that it was performed to get attention, mating purposes or to receive goods/services.

Minstrels would perform songs with lyrics telling stories of real and imaginary events and places, however these became less popular as courts became more sophisticated, forcing these minstrels into the streets, becoming wandering minstrels. This remained popular until the 20th century, when it became similar to modern busking.

So when did it start becoming recognised as a potentially lucrative venture?

There is no set date, but it is likely that it was a common mean of securing employment for entertainers, musicians and singers, before recording devices had been established. As there was no music device, except for organ grinders, piano rolls and music boxes, music existed mostly in their live form – thus creating a high demand for performers.

Organ grinders were found performing on the streets on a regular basis – providing a simple yet steady job and income for unskilled workers. Unfortunately, the stereotypical image of an organ grinder and a dancing monkey is true, as these provided a means of visual entertainment, ensuring that passers-by were captivated in the spectacle. This was stopped with the introduction of animal rights, increased use of audio devices and a dwindling audience.

In the 1800s street performers were seen advertising their products and wares, as well as medicine shows selling ‘magical elixirs and potions’ that would improve their health. Towards the end of this century, one man bands began to appear, using an array of instruments attached to parts of the body. This tradition is carried on even today, however now uses MIDI instruments or samples to achieve the effect.

In the 20th Century busking saw a major rise, as well as the number of buskers who later became famous from it, such as Edith Piaf, The Blue Man Group, Robbie Williams, Joan Baez and even Bob Dylan. This led to a counterculture where bands and performers would gather at a public place and perform for free – akin to a busking festival, attracting names such as the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix. This is still continued today but is generally more organised and official.

One of the most popular places for buskers is London, thanks to heavy foot traffic and a glut of tourists visiting, most notably in Covent Garden. Often, businesspeople are able to look out of their offices in Covent Garden and see an ‘army’ of buskers – such as jugglers, magicians, puppetry, performers, living statues and singers.

Busking is not a glamorous profession, however it is not exclusively for the homeless or unemployed, as the stereotype might imply. Subjected to the public, buskers might receive abuse from passers-by or competition from other buskers, as well as thieving from their donation pot.

Busking is likely to continue forever, evolving even further (some artists now cyber-busk – which is posting their music/performing for free online) and, whilst not universally appreciated, can really help to brighten a day and add some life to an otherwise dull street.

Flying up the Gulf of Siam in a Boeing 727 at 37,000 feet we were in and out of the cloud tops and experiencing moderate turbulence at times. With the 727s high wing loading we couldn’t request a higher level because we were already quite close to “coffin corner”. That’s the top area on the performance chart where the two lines converge to show a very small margin between the low and high speed buffet boundaries. Aircraft with large wing areas such as the Boeing 777 can comfortably climb straight to 41,000 feet and fly above most of the weather on short to medium sectors.

Off the coast of Cambodia, one of the young stewardesses came into the cockpit visibly upset by the rough ride we were having. It was her first solo flight after completing her training. The seat belt sign was on and cabin service had been suspended. We smiled and asked her politely to get rid of the food trays, so we wouldn’t have metal projectiles in the form of knives and forks flying around the cockpit, then to come back and sit in one of the observer seats and keep us company for the rest of the flight. We quickly managed to restore some of her self confidence but added that flying in rough weather occasionally was part of the job she had chosen and that she had better get used to it.

I was going to give her the universally held definition of flying; that is, hours and hours of sheer boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror, but I thought better of it. Instead I gave her the definition of a pilot to divert her attention away from the lightning flashes.

“The average pilot, despite the sometimes swaggering exterior, is very much capable of such feelings as love, affection, intimacy and caring. These feelings just don’t involve anybody else.” She started laughing until tears rolled down her cheeks. I quickly added that the definition did not apply to the three of us, who were overflowing with compassion, affection, and caring for others.

Approaching Rayong we copied the ATIS (automatic terminal information service), briefed the approach, and asked for descent clearance. We were radar vectored in a wide arc and we were number 9 in landing sequence. Eventually we were cleared for an ILS (instrument landing system) approach to runway 21R at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport. At the final approach fix we were handed off to the tower for landing clearance. A trainee air traffic controller asked us to maintain 1,500 feet which was contradictory to the approach clearance we were flying. When we were over the runway threshold, still at 1,500 feet, she cleared us to land. That’s asking a bit much of any pilot of a large aircraft, despite the 13,000 ft runway. I suppose with the pressure of trying to handle so much inbound traffic, she simply forgot about us. In any case, it meant following the published missed approach procedure. Realizing our plight she had us handed back to approach control who gave us radar vectors to the back of a long queue for another approach. It was 6.30 pm with aircraft converging from many points of the globe.

We eventually landed after 11 other aircraft. It was not critical, just a little inconvenient, as we had plenty of fuel. As we were leaving the runway, a trainee stewardess came through the cockpit door bearing a silver tray on which were placed three crystal glasses containing champagne and brandy – this was called a “reverse thrust”. Normally this kind gesture would be handed out at the gate, if at all, and not while taxying to the gate. She returned a few minutes later and stuffed 3 cold lagers into everybody’s flight case for the “fourth sector”. No objections here! The schedule involved flying three sectors terminating in Bangkok. The trip into central Bangkok in the hire car was called the “fourth sector” because at that time of the day it could take almost as long to get to the hotel as it did to fly up from Singapore. The flyover had not yet been constructed.

As I had a flight into Bangkok about every 14 days, I got into a routine for my 16 hour layovers. On arrival at the hotel I showered, changed into casual clothes, then hailed a tuk tuk (motorized samlor) to take me to the Oriental Hotel on the Chao Phraya river. I would relax with one, or perhaps two, cocktails in the Bamboo Bar listening to jazz while soaking up the atmosphere of this excellent watering hole. Afterwhich I would wander up Charoen Krung road to “the Wall” restaurant which was partially hidden down a small soi (lane) off Suriwongse road.

This restaurant was unusual for two reasons. Firstly, in the evenings there was always a log fire burning in the fireplace. Outside the temperature was 30+ degrees Celsius, but inside it had been cooled down to a chilly 18 degrees. Requests for tables by the fire were common. I usually managed to get one because I was a regular who arrived after 9.00 pm. The place was very dark and the only illumination came from candles which were placed on every table as well as the glow from the log fire. The menu clearly indicated that the proprietor was Swiss. The food was very good and not at all expensive.

The second unusual feature was that there was another menu on the table featuring a wide selection of music. Every evening, except Tuesdays, a big white-haired Frenchman sat at a table grand piano and played anything that the diners ordered from Rachmaninov to Blues and everything in between. He was a likeable character and extremely versatile as a pianist.

After dinner I would take a taxi up to the bar area centered around Patpong, and spend two or three very pleasant hours in the “Other Office” or “Lucy’s Tiger Den” imbibing the local beer and chatting to some interesting characters, or listening to the exploits of a group of Air America pilots who had been involved in the secret war in Laos, and were now resident in Bangkok. In these two bars the girls did not hassle patrons, but were available if you wanted them. Often I’d finish up the evening with a massage to loosen up a little before walking back to the hotel. On Friday and Saturday nights the bars stayed open until 1.00 am which made it just that little bit harder to go to work the next day. However, with an 11.00 am departure time it was still quite legal and well outside the “eight hours bottle to throttle” rule. The next day was an easy single sector day of just under two hours flying.

Of all my South East Asian layovers I enjoyed Bangkok the best. The girls were friendly, the food and beer was cheap, and there were plenty of interesting and slightly eccentric characters to talk to. My only regret was that we saw Bangkok by night and didn’t have the opportunity to get out on the river or do any of a myriad of other interesting things in the daylight. The sort of things that make up real Thai life!

Fingerstyle technique is one of the most exciting ways to play the guitar. It’s a technique that will enable you to turn the guitar into a complete solo instrument playing several different parts at the same time. If you’ve been looking for an easy to follow fingerstyle guitar course, than the “Fingerstyle Guitar Method: A Complete Guide With Step-by-Step Lessons and 36 Great Fingerstyle Songs” from Hal Leonard Publication would be a good book worth checking out.

Although the book is not for the complete beginner, it does start off with a topic on how to choose a guitar before moving on to fingerpicking basic and builds on them using the styles of great artists such as The Beatles, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Adrian Legg, and many others as examples. Lessons on fingerstyle solo guitar arrangement are broken down into two parts, with the melody of ‘Silent Night’ being introduced as you learn how to turn a melody into a complete solo guitar arrangement by adding other element such as bass and additional notes. In between these two parts, the use of a ‘Capo’ and playing on ‘Alternate Tuning’ are discussed. The second part features lesson on a more advance solo guitar arrangement that incorporates the use of the newly learn techniques.

The 104 pages book also features fingerstyle arrangement to 36 songs although it would’ve been nice if all the songs were completely tabbed. Nevertheless, about a dozen were completely tabbed, enough to keep you busy for some time. Included with the book is an audio CD that contain all audio to examples and the featured songs which are; Dust in the Wind, Fire and Rain, Georgia on My Mind, You’ve Got a Friend, Imagine, Tears in Heaven, What a Wonderful World, Annie’s Song and Yesterday among others.

Overall this is a good book for anyone who already been playing for a while and ready to expand their playing technique beyond strumming.

The Goldberg Variations is often displayed as an unsurpassed model for contrapuntal composition.

While the perfection of the canons is often emphasized by music theorists, the most important aspect of the work, in my mind, is the instrumental extravaganza.

Those variations are the “Etudes d’execution transcendantale” of their time. They expand and raise the harpsichord virtuosity to levels never heard before. In this work, J.S. Bach has written the most fantastic and outrageous keyboard idioms of his time and he has pushed existing ones to their limits. Visionary hand choreographies (Var.5, 20, 26), double thirds and sixths (Var.23) double trills (Var. 28), alternating chords (Var.29) and many other keyboard acrobatics make this work one of the greatest instrumental achievements of musical history together with the above-mentioned studies by Liszt, the “Gaspard de la Nuit” or the “Three Movements from Petrouchka”. The contrapuntal music writing styles (fugues and canons) have acquired an aura of seriousness and almost religiousness during the romantic epoch.

After having been forgotten for a century or so, when J. S. Bach was “discovered” by Mendelssohn, he was seen as the musician par-excellence for the salvation of romantically tormented souls. The prominence of J.S. Bach’s church-commissioned works overshadowed his profane and purely instrumental works. In all his compositions, it has been a “tradition” to seek the Divine Signs and connections to the Scriptures. This so called tradition led to such insanities as the “research” of divine numerology in his fugues, the “discovery” of the Holy Trinity when a voice jumps a step of third and other ridiculous things. The religious sensibility in his Masses, Cantatas and Passions has been extrapolated to all his other works. Religion, for J. S. Bach, was a “normal” and “natural” part of his life. He was not just employed by religious authority, but he was a man who deeply and sincerely practiced Lutheranism. Yet he was a true composer in the sense that he had the aspirations and the artistry to compose a variety of music.

Although J. S. Bach never composed operas, probably because no one hired him to do so and because such works might have offended his Lutheran community, he was certainly capable of doing so. His operas might have rivaled those of Haendel and Rameau. Similarly it is wrong to view Bach’s fugues and canons as “pure intellectual music.” The joy is not so much in the analysis of their forms, but in listening and performing them.

After centuries of homophonic music writing we have forgotten how simply enjoyable are the musical forms of canons and fugues. By captivating the mind with an attractive theme and leading it through contrapuntal mazes, one can “almost easily” achieve, if not good, at least a decent music. When the Bach family gathered on Christmas evenings they sang improvised canons to have fun. I believe that music analysts who stress the perfectionism of the counterpoint in Bach’s canons are missing a point.

Today, it is possible to produce the most complicated counterpoint in less than a second with a programmed machine. It is a simple matter of following rules to construct a perfect canon. The genius of J. S. Bach is revealed in the places where he deviated from the rules. Every composer knows (even if some would never admit it) that the most difficult compositions are the “free” ones.

A simple melody (an “aria” for example) can be much more difficult to compose than a 6 voice fugue. This is why I find that the free variations (Var.1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29) reveal more of the composer’s genius. Still more striking examples are the Aria and variations 13 and 25. It is also worth noting how those slow variations, number 13 and the “adagio” number 25 are placed in the whole set. The set is divided into two main sections: Aria – Variations. 15 and Variations 16 to Aria (da capo).

The numbers 13 and 25, which are the emotional climaxes of the whole work, are placed in strategically symmetrical positions. For the framework of the composition Bach chose to include one interlude and one canon, based on the harmonic framework of the previously composed aria, because that seemed to him to be the most entertaining form. There is no shame and should be no fear in using the word “entertaining” here. In the hands of J. S. Bach, an entertaining form such as a canon would assuredly turn out to be a masterwork.

The Goldberg Variations stands high in the history of keyboard music, alongside the innovative studies of Chopin and Liszt or Igor Stravinsky’s Petrouchka, for its a revolutionary instrumental accomplishment. Similarly to works like the Studies by Chopin and Liszt or the Petrouchka Suite by Stravinsky, The Goldberg Variations is one of this kind of music which extends and revolutionize the instrumental idioms of its time.

Earl Klugh is a smooth jazz guitarist and composer. At the age of 13, Klugh was captivated by the guitar playing of Chet Atkins when Atkins made an appearance on the Perry Como Show. Klugh was a performing guest on several of Atkins’ albums. Atkins, reciprocating as well, joined Earl on his Magic In Your Eyes album. Klugh was also influenced by Bob James, Ray Parker Jr, Wes Montgomery and Laurindo Almeida. His sound is a blend of these jazz, pop and rhythm and blues influences, forming a potpourri of sweet contemporary music original to only him.

Klugh first took up piano but at 10 switched to guitar, facsinated by the sound of the guitars on western shows he saw on television. Once exposed to the music of Chet Atkins, Earl learned very quickly and had cut his first record deal at age 22. His career rapidly progressed to working with the likes of George Benson, George Shearing, Chick Corea, and many others.

For their album One on One, Klugh and Bob James received a Grammy award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance of 1981. He has since received 12 Grammy nods, millions of record and CD sales, and continues touring worldwide to this day.

Klugh has recorded over 30 albums including 23 Top Ten charting records – five of them No. 1 – on Billboard’s Jazz Album chart. With 2008’s The Spice of Life, Klugh earned his 12th career Grammy nomination.

TR: Can you tell me a little bit about your musical childhood?

EK: I started playing guitar I guess when I was 10 but before that I was taking piano lessons like many kids did. I started when I was about six. It was my mom’s idea for me to play the piano and it really wasn’t my favorite instrument. But, I’m really happy that I started on the piano because I was able to get a good musical background. I’ve kept up piano well enough that I write quite a bit of my music on piano these days as well as guitar.

TR: The piano lessons probably helped you get to know and understand the fretboard on the guitar too?

EK: Yes, absolutely.

TR: How about guitar music? Did you start hearing some particular guitar music and think “Wow! This is what I really would like to play”?

EK: I was always fascinated by the sound of the classical guitar and I remember whenever they had westerns on television, I always liked that Spanish flavor and I really gravitated towards it. Growing up in Detroit that “Spanish sound” was so exotic, it sounded like something so far away.

TR: Did you have certain artists that you particularly liked?

EK: Not really as a kid, I just knew the sound of that instrument and knew I wanted to get my hands on one.

TR: So eventually you get your first guitar. Can you tell me about your first guitar?

EK: It was a nylon string classical. When I was 10, I convinced my parents that I really wanted to play the guitar. That was in 1964.

TR: Now, when you were 10 years old and playing a classical guitar, did you have a standard 2 inch neck to get your fingers around?

EK: Yes, absolutely.

TR: How did you manage that?

EK: It was somewhat frustrating for such small hands but I adapted to it as best I could. I wanted to play so much.

TR: That probably helped you later in life in making some of the more difficult stretches.

EK: Yes, I think so.

TR: Do you remember when you were first exposed to Chet Atkins and jazz music?

EK: I can tell you precisely because up to that point in time I had really only been exposed to a little bit of guitar – mostly classical and flamenco. In those days I thought of the guitar as something that people would play to accompany singing. This was January of 1967. My mom liked to watch all kinds of musical shows and I usually watched them with her. One night there was a Perry Como special and there was this gentleman named Chet Atkins on the show. He had that beautiful Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar and he was playing the theme from “Dr. Zhivago”. When he came on and started playing, it was like the way a person plays a piano. Nobody was singing and he was playing all parts on the guitar. Right from that moment I immediately knew that this was what I wanted to do. I was 13 at the time. It changed the course of my life.

After that my mom would take me out shopping on the weekend and Chet had a large array of albums out so I would go out with my mother a couple of times a month and buy one of the records and play it for a week on the record player and learn as much as I could.

He was my teacher that way for years. Probably for a solid 2 years it was the only way I learned, there was just so much there.

From that I got into jazz and classical some, listening to Laurindo Almeida, Howard Roberts, Charlie Byrd and others but it was Chet’s music that really got me going.

TR: Somebody cynically might say that the 2 years you didn’t have an instructor might have been a waste of time. Do you think the time you spent with the record player could have been as instructive in some ways as opposed to formal lessons?

EK: I think so. But of course before hearing Chet’s albums there was a time I took lessons for about 8 months, and I had an instructor who had great right hand technique. Good right hand technique had been drilled into me up until I began hearing Chet and that helped me advance faster. From playing the piano I had developed a pretty decent ear for harmony as well. So after I heard Chet, I began to develop really quickly. I went to school, and I was an okay student. But I knew at that point I was not going anywhere else. Music was going to be my life. I didn’t have to pretend I was going to school to become a physicist.

TR: A lot of people have trouble categorizing Chet Atkins. He influenced you in classical and jazz, but some would think of him as a country artist. How would you categorize him?

EK: He is someone who played a very wide variety of music extremely well, and had a real affinity for many styles. He was really a one of a kind artist, especially at the time. Nowadays you go on the internet and find that everything is readily available to help you get exposed to different styles. But he was able to adapt to so many different styles on his own. When you think of the limited things available to put those styles together, his accomplishments were really incredible.

TR: Do you remember the first time you met him?

EK: It was in the late 70s. I think it was 1978. By then I had made a few records and they had started selling well. I called my manager who also handled Kris Kristofferson and told him that I would like to meet Chet Atkins because I had always admired him. So when I happened to be in Nashville to do some recording my manager set it up so I could call Chet, he came by and picked me up. We went back to his house and played a little bit. He was such a wonderful person. I tried not to wear him out or go on and on about stuff, but I was a huge admirer. We developed a pretty good friendship and did quite a few things over the years. We did a telethon up in Toronto together and some TV specials. I even did Hee-Haw with him twice and we were in the corn field together!

TR: I did not know that.

EK: It was a lot of fun. Pickin’ and grinnin’!

TR: And of course you played “Goodtime Charlie’s got the Blues” together. For many Chet fans, that was the first time they were exposed to you, when you and Chet played together in 1994 on the TV special called “Read my Licks”. How do you think the two styles match?

EK: I think we sounded great together. For me, I could do my own thing, and I think I knew so much about Chet’s playing that I never got in his way when we played, so I think we sounded really good.

TR: I saw a video clip of Chet saying that he really loved your song “If it’s in your Heart”. Do you know if there were particular songs of yours that he really liked?

EK: That one I knew that he really liked because whenever we got together or we played somewhere in a show he wanted to play that together.

TR: Would you say you learned other things from Chet besides things related to playing guitar?

EK: The biggest thing was when I was young and started making money. Chet was trying to get me to move to Nashville. “Chet, I can’t come. I can’t do Nashville, my mom is getting older and I should stay in Detroit.” I figured I would buy myself a big house. So we bought a house and it was like: “Well, now that’s over”. Meaning, don’t spend all your money on anything like houses.

TR: You mentioned some early success. Was that a part of your life where most of your financial success was coming from recordings? Did you play a lot of shows?

EK: When I was younger, I used to really hate going on the road. Part of it was because it was just so hard to really get a career started. You start right at the very beginning where you can hardly pay a band, driving in cars and in vans. You make bad decisions with record deals and it’s hard to get the money. After 5-6 years, if you’re lucky you get out of that first deal and move on. Things become better, you hopefully learn from your mistakes. As for me, after 5-6 years I really embraced everything about what I did. I had always worked hard on my music but I also I tried to concentrate on having the best band that I could, making sure the players got along, and that there was positive feel to the music. When you straighten out those things, things become good more quickly.

TR: I would think some of those things might be difficult for folks who maybe very talented musically. Those types of thing required managerial skills, don’t they? You are managing relationships, and egos, and facilities.

EK: Absolutely, everything.

TR: I think people who listen to your records would think “Wow, it’s gotten so much airplay. This guy must be making a mint out of this”. But they don’t realize that there are a lot of fingers in the jar there.

EK: Yes. Back in those days, it was really hard to do it without a major record company, because they were the only game in town. It is very different now. There are problems now, but different types of problems. I was very fortunate because the gentleman who signed me first with Capital was a very honest individual. And to this day, I’ve been with Blue Note, Capital, Warner, and several labels. But the most honest deal was the first and the royalties still come from the first record deal.

TR: I remember hearing your music being played when I was watching golf on Sunday. Is that CBS Sports?

EK: Yes. They’ve used that for years.

TR: I like to watch people’s playing styles and I noticed you get a great amount of sound from your guitar but looks like your right hand is really not attacking the strings very much. It looks like a softer touch. Tell me, how do you get the sound out of your guitar with your technique?

EK: That’s interesting. You’re the second person who has mentioned that I don’t seem to do much with my right hand. From my perspective, I really do, maybe not as hard as some players, but I am trying to pull sound out of the guitar. When I came along they were quickly developing better electronic pickups and other things for the electric nylon string guitar. So I never had to sit down on the edge of the stage like Julian Bream and bang it.

TR: Where is your playing these days?

EK: I have been doing solo a lot gigs the last couple years and I’m really enjoying that. I’m looking forward to doing more of them. I think things at this stage are getting easier and more peaceful.

TR: So, tell me about your recent projects.

EK: The biggest thing I’m doing right now is a solo album. I am taking my time. I think the last solo record I made there were a lot of standards. This time I’m going another direction and do some of the music I grew up with. It’s hard for me to sit down and write good solo guitar pieces. I’m up to about 6 or 8 of them now. I’m going to start to record soon. Once I record the initial songs, I know it will write some more. But I want to have a good variety of stuff and I have some good ideas about the kind of things I want to do that will make it an interesting recording.

Also, I’m really looking to do more solos shows, some strictly guitar-oriented shows.

About 2 years ago I did a three guitar thing. It was myself, Bill Frissell and Russell Malone and we played solo pieces but also with each other and it was just so much fun because you improvise so much. You are not glued to any paper or anything, you are just playing and having a great time. I really enjoy doing stuff like that now as opposed to just playing with the band all the time. I have come to really enjoy playing by the seat of my pants in live shows, either by myself or with a couple of buddies.

TR: Well, you mentioned you like to play whatever you want but don’t the fans want to hear hits from your albums, I mean they expect to hear them like they are on the records don’t they?

EK: That’s a very good question. We do cover those songs but also try to change it all around. And it still goes well because people really react positively to the fact that you’re trying to give them something special.

TR: But I’ve heard other artists say that when they’ve done some new projects, they were like “Wow, that’s a relief because my big hits, I always felt like I had to play them exactly like they were on the radio station”. So to be able to branch out and just play less scripted was liberating.

EK: I still do plenty of band shows where I play those songs. I went over to Japan for shows with Bob James and that was really good, because we’ve made a couple of albums together. And so we both played each other’s music as well as the music from our joint projects. Since we had made those records together, it’s kind of makes sense to the audience for us to do those songs.

One thing I’ve noticed though when I began doing solo shows is that afterwards I always come back with new ideas because nothing is really scripted. So, you are constantly moving ahead, and generating new ideas. Now if I play “Living inside your love”, “Dance with me” or “Heart String” in a solo show I really have to think about what I’m doing because it’s just me up there.

TR: Of course you have been nominated for multiple Grammy awards, and you won a Grammy for your “One on One” project with keyboardist Bob James who you mentioned earlier. Can you tell me just a little bit about that project?

EK: That was a really fun and very musical record. Around that time Bob and I had the same booking agent, and they booked us on a tour that started in San Diego and went up to Seattle. In those days everybody was going by buses and we shared the same bus. I think we made about 15 stops between San Diego and Seattle. We were staying in the same hotels, so we started talking and going to the movies and doing whatever you do during the day.

So we developed a friendship and after that we decided that at the end of the show, we would all just come out together and play a couple of numbers for the encore for everybody. It was a lot of fun and we sounded good.

About two months after that tour, I got a call from Bob and he said “I don’t know about your label, but my label might be good with us doing something together”. His career was already established and we were able to work out a deal where I was able to do the album on his label, Columbia. So that’s how the whole thing worked out. I wrote some songs and Bob wrote some songs. Interesting thing about it is that when you look back, it was only a three-day recording session for the whole record. Three days including the band, orchestra and everything. That absolutely was the quickest record.

And the success was almost immediate. It was one of those things that just took off from out of nowhere. I had never experienced anything like that. The stuff that I did with George Benson, “Collaboration” was really successful too and great musically but the “One on One” album with Bob James stands apart, it just took off.

Nobody expected “One on One” to be anything but a really good jazz record.

TR: Well is was a huge success and a grammy-winner.

EK: Exactly.

TR: By the way, I had heard that Chet and George Benson had recorded a bunch of duet stuff together that never came out because of some disputes between the record labels.

EK: Yes, I believe they did record quite a few tracks.

TR: George was in Nashville I guess. It’s a shame that they couldn’t find a way to come to agreement and release an album.

EK: That’s the kind of stuff about music that drives you crazy. And you never know, it could still happen I guess. I’m sure any thinking person would transfer the tapes into some digital format where later on somebody can make a deal work. I talked to George during that time, and he was really excited about it.

TR: Have any funny memories of Chet?

EK: I’ll tell you one thing that was funny. He invited me to join him the Cracker Barrel in Nashville and he had a bunch of friends with him. I was the new person in the group. I think he was doing TV commercials for Cracker Barrel at the time. Well after we were done eating I pulled my money out and I reached out to get the check and Chet beat me to it and grabbed it. But the waitress said “Oh no, Mr. Atkins, you can’t pay this. This is on the house for you and your guests”. After she left they all looked at me and laughed and said “You haven’t seen Chet pull that trick before?”

TR: How big was Chet’s influence in the world of music?

EK: You could start by just looking at the amount of his own records, I think close to 100 albums? Then you see what an influence he had as a producer and executive. I was in Japan for a couple of weeks in January and I’ve been there probably 30 times. It’s frustrating because you can’t find a record anymore in the United States. But in Japan, almost every time I go, I am able to find Chet’s CDs in the Tower Records or other stores there. Not every record, but probably 5 or 6 every time. There were 15 Chet CDs that I picked up once in Japan.

TR: Internationally he is so well known and loved isn’t he?

EK: That’s for sure. The music stands on its own.

TR: Thank you so much for your time today Earl, I hope you have a great week.

EK: Thank you, Tom.

Have you ever wondered why some talented artists don’t get proper exposure to showcase their creativity to others? Well, there are a good number of reasons behind the downfall of these talented stars. A musician spends countless hours in creating new tracks. Before launching these tracks, the artists don’t decide the promotional strategy. The singers upload their tracks in the popular audio sharing site like SoundCloud and sit their finger-crossed thinking about high recognition within few hours. Moreover, most of the artists don’t even know how to engage in an effective marketing process. Though they usually release an outstanding track, but being successful becomes impossible for them.

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Folk music is the music of a nation, culture or ethnic group. Each such group has its own characteristics, which includes such things as behavior, food, language, history, traditions, etc. The music and dance reflect these aspects and, as aesthetics, are communicated with soul. Folk music is almost like a language that tells of the various victories, hardships, sorrows and other survival factors that have transpired, usually over centuries. This gets passed down from generation to generation, without the formalities of academics and, most often, not in written form. But it is ingrained in the hearts of its people. It tends to apply to all of its people, regardless of social statuses or classes, and is therefore embracive but unique to its group.

The melodies are usually simple and could be no more than four notes. They are often repetitive with very simple harmonies and little to no modulation to other keys. However, some can have complicated rhythmic patterns, such as West African and Indian folk music. The instruments are unique, but quite often very similar or even the same in neighboring regions, such as the Chinese sanxian and the Japanese shamisen. However, the essence of each culture’s music has its own characteristic, just like language. While there are nuances of each micro-region of a nation or area, just like a language and its dialects, they each possess the unique essence of their nation or area.

Listen to a traditional Persian folk tune and then an Irish one, or a Mongolian song and then a Balinese one. You will instantly note the flavor of each one.

Being simplistic does not mean that the artistic value of folk music is lost. It has its own intrinsic aesthetic value as it comes from the soul of the people and is performed with emotion, spirit and meaning. It tells a story.

Many classical composers have incorporated the folk melodies from their own cultures to their masterpiece compositions, such as Alexander Borodin (Russian) or Aram Khatchaturian (Armenian). In such a case, one cannot look at that piece as being folk music anymore, but instead, it becomes a more refined creation. It sophisticates into something finer and more worldly as opposed to something just localized. Its aesthetic quality is of a different nature.

However, certain world-class classical composers have incorporated folk elements from other cultures outside their own to their own compositions. We hear Russian, Chinese and Spanish elements by composers who are not of those ethnicities. Inspired by various melodies, masterpieces have been created. Again, one has to look at this from another perspective.

A great analogy would be Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. This is strictly a work of fine art but it is obviously inspired by ancient cultural phenomena. Though, it does not reflect the exact customs and aspects of that culture in the way folk art would. The figures of that work all possess Western European features. The bread on the table is shown as leavened. These are peculiarities, perhaps even anachronisms, included by the creative license of the artist, which immediately show this work to be one of a fine art composition and not just a cultural artifact. The same principle may happen in music too, as in any other form of art.

Folk music is one of the key essences of a people, and is the aesthetic beauty that binds a culture. And this has expanded into being a major influence on music of an international level, which makes it even more special.