Tag: Piano

Family musicianship

I never knew until today that four year olds possess the capability to draw Les Claypool and to tolerate his works alongside Primus. I was sat down at my desk doodling, then my brother Freddie comes upstairs asking why I’m playing music and calling it “weird”. He came over sat down and added to what I had started, I have a picture on my desk as I had just finished drawing Les properly and I think Fred picked up that he is tall…

He has started Primary School in September, ever since his vocabulary has expanded and hes beginning to understand what I tell him and what I am listening to, which is Primus most of the time so a part of me feels bad as he does not know what is going on especially when it comes to the music videos.

When it comes to any music that’s being played round the house by me and Harvey or in the car he always picks out the drums and keeps a steady beat with his head or feet, its hilarious but on the other hand it’s fairly impressive for a four year old. I am definitely going to keep on encouraging him towards music because all my other siblings so far have picked up an instrument or something musical.

  • Harvey picked up the bass when Ben joined school which is cool, hes picking it up fast and he’s trying to pick up guitar alongside learning theory with me, at the moment he is in year 9,
  • Jack has singing lessons at school which he enjoys and doesn’t let his autism get in the way of what he wants to do with himself, he’s currently in year 10 and working through his GCSE music with Ben,
  • Sadie has just started secondary school and has begun piano lessons in school with Ben’s influence through his engaging lessons which is great for her to try and push herself with,
  • Max is in year 5 at the moment and at the beginning of the new term he has picked up the clarinet with high hopes of progressing through to playing the saxophone when he gets the hang of it,
  • And finally we have Zach he is in year 2/3 I can’t recall, he hasn’t had any interest with any instruments, he is into technology and all that fun stuff so I am not too sure on what he wants to do, he isn’t a big fan of loud noise either so we shall see.

Tapestry – Carole King

By the early 70s Carole King’s legendary status was already assured by her work as a staff writer in New York’s Brill Building during the previous decade.

To me ‘Tapestry’ is definitely one of the most successful albums in pop music history. It’s a fairly remarkably, expressive and intimate record non the least, it’s a work of pure craftsmanship and precision all in one album.

The album was released within 1971 under a record label called Ode Records and it was produced by Lou Adler.

Her second album still to this day overflows withe emotionally honest, subtly soulful singing; masterfully written pieces that merge many genres like Pop, Folk, and R&B; this is all wrapped up with a toasty, organic but very smooth and laid back production.

The sheer intimacy right from the beginning with the album which is what hooked me in personally at an instant, the steady pace and pulse make the songs very enticing for everyone listening to join in and enjoy what they’re about to experience. “I Feel the Earth” is my favourite track with its piano riff right from the start which is soon led on by the inviting bass part alongside the guitars input!

Highlights such as “It’s Too Late” and “You’ve Got a Friend”, perfectly demonstrates how compassionate Carole is when it comes to song writing and production even upon her second album, it’s clear that she is more than capable to create many masterpieces at her very fingertips.

As a lover of Primus, Ghost, and all things fun – it may come as a surprise to say that this is one of my all time favourite albums to just pop on whilst working or trying to calm myself down to get to sleep eventually.It is a timeless and gorgeous album with lyrics that are still relevant to today.

When Carole King started making music, she was just writing, that was the thing in the early days of pop – there are writers and performers – this is what makes this album different to most of the others from the time and what makes it a crucial part of music history!

For the following reasons not only did it become the best selling solo album of all time (until Michael Jackson’s Thriller) but it became a cornerstone of every thinking woman’s record collection and a new edition to mine.

Tapestry will always remain a classic because it never forgets the innate urban r&b understanding of great pop while it covers itself in patchouli, satins and silks.

I highly recommend that everyone goes out and gets a copy of this album on any platform and or all of them, I could go on for pages about each of the songs but we’d be here for days so I kept it short and sweet, because her songs should be how you see them and not how other people do. It’s practically an essential album for any and everyone no matter what you listen to, without her we wouldn’t have the music industry we have today.

 

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