First Performance and a pair of Pink Dolphins

Robin has been having quite an adventure, and seen some fabulous sights, over the last few days.
Unfortunately internet access is painfully slow, if working at all, so he has been unable to send any photographs.

However, after one conversation, which was constantly interrupted by shouts of, "Wow, a pair of pink dolphins," I have found you a picture:



These are incredible, beautiful creatures, which are now at risk due to the rapid changes in the area. You can read more about them here.
The need to preserve this fabulous part of the world is something that Robin has been involved in previously. Here's the post, 'Help Save the Brazilian Rainforest'.

Robin also really enjoyed watching as groups of very small children paddled up to the ship in their canoes, waving and smiling, and generally having a wonderful time.

But there has also been work to do.
During this trip Robin has had two concerts to perform, the first of which was on Friday.
It was an easy job for the sound man on this occasion as all that was required were two microphones and a chair with no arms!
So after a simple sound check the concert got underway and went very well indeed.
Since then Robin has had the opportunity to speak to many of the audience and received excellent feedback.
No comment yet from the pink dolphins...
I do hope they manged to pick up a few sound waves and enjoyed the experience.

Today is concert day once again.
Preparations will have started, and luckily they are now heading towards Devil's Island, and the sea has calmed down a little.
That's a relief as it isn't much fun practicing scales and arpeggios whilst trying to remain upright in ones chair.

Bang & Olufsen Part 2

Better late than never - here, finally, is the post I promised back in November, 'Bang & Olufsen Part 2'. You can read Part 1 here.

The idea was for the audience to enjoy some wonderful music whilst demonstrating some of Bang & Olufsen's equipment.

It was a most successful evening. The venue was full and the audience appreciative.

The evening didn't get off to a fantastic start, as Robin managed to fall over a wall outside, and arrived covered in mud. The staff were concerned and very helpful, but despite numerous attempts to remove layers of mud from his suit, he did have to perform minus his jacket.

Not that this mattered.
The set up used was Robin's own microphone, (Sennheiser 441) and amplifier, (AER Classic), played through the most incredible speakers you could imagine, the Beolab 9.
Not just in the quality of sound, which was very clear and highly refined, but also in their appearance.
They would not have appeared out of place in an episode of Dr.Who as they strongly resembled a pair of Daleks flanking Robin as he played, but the sound was incredible.

In fact here's a picture:



You can clearly see one of the speakers on the right.

During the interval the audience had the opportunity to admire the equipment and chat to the store staff, and later, to Robin.

The combination of high quality equipment and beautiful music made for a highly memorable evening.

Microphones and Hecklers

Judging by the title of this post you may be thinking that the concert yesterday didn't go too well.
Actually, it went very well indeed.
However, (I'm sure you can sense a but coming on), for the first two pieces the microphone wasn't working.
I don't know why, a sound check had been carried out earlier in the day.
So whilst Robin struggled on stage, behind the scenes chaos ensued, as the engineers tried to correct the problem.

Luckily Robin has a magnificent guitar.
On this trip he has taken his Miguel Rodriguez Churchdoor, which is a powerful instrument.
Also, Robin is known for his ability to create a huge sound.
So all was not lost.
The audience could hear, and, after the first two pieces the microphone was fixed.
Mind you, it isn't exactly conducive to relaxing 'into' ones concert...

Just as he recovered from this incident, a passing Spanish man, outside the theatre, shouted, "Concierto de Aranjuez," into the venue, before beating a hasty retreat.
As hecklers go, it could have been much worse!

But what should a musician do in this situation?
Ignore the interruption and pretend it never happened?
Stop playing and break into 'Concierto de Aranjuez' just to show he can?
Run outside and 'deal' with the perpetrator?

Well, as it happened Robin was about to introduce the next piece, through one of his now functioning microphones, so his reaction was to say, "No microphone and a heckler - this is not my day."

It was the right thing to do.
The audience were very amused, and he received a huge laugh.
I've always thought Robin has a secret desire to be a stand up comic.

But the serious point to all this is that being a musician is so much more than just producing the music.
Audiences want to be entertained.
Yes they have come to hear the music, but appearance, and stage presence, is so important.
You have to look in control, even if at times you don't particularly feel it.

Personally, I also feel that talking to the audience is vital.
It's such a great opportunity to engage them and pass on interesting information about the music they are about to hear.
This only enhances the whole experience.

But for many musicians this can be a huge ordeal. They are comfortable whilst playing their chosen instrument, but very uncomfortable with public speaking.

Fortunately, not Robin.
He has always talked to his audiences.
He feels that playing the notes is the difficult part, (and also the part he is so passionate about), so the speaking feels easy.
Having said that, all these years of experience have made a huge difference.
He has learnt what type of conversation people enjoy.
Like anything else, preparation is important.
You need to have thought about what you want to say before you go on stage. Not wait and hope inspiration strikes whilst under the blinding stage lights.
It won't, especially if you find the interaction with the audience difficult to start with.

However, you can't prepare for every eventuality, as Robin found out yesterday. That's where years of experience plays a very large role.
Assessing the situation, and making a split second decision on how to handle it, isn't always easy.

But judging from the comments Robin has been receiving since the concert, everyone was happy.
That's good news, as after all, it is why Robin's there.
To make music and to entertain.

Quiet in the Med, Interest in Cuckoo Clocks and Handling Handel

It has been remarkably quiet out in the Mediterranean sea today.
Other than hearing that Robin had enjoyed a very pleasant alfresco breakfast, on board Crystal Serenity, there has been little news.
I do know that the first of his two guitar concerts takes place tomorrow, so Robin will be hard at work preparing.

This lack of information left me with time to contemplate the latest batch of unusual Google searches.
Why has there been a sudden interest in cuckoo clocks?
A number of different people have recently been searching cuckoo clocks and found themselves here.
I can only assume it is due to one, or both, of these old posts.

The first was back in January 2007, 'Pierre Petit and the Cuckoo Clock Pendulum', which looked at Robin's uncanny ability to judge tempo, acquired after many years of foot tapping.

Or maybe it was, 'Cuckoo Clocks and Microphones', from 2006.
Either way, I hope they found what they were looking for.

There was another search that I haven't been able to figure out.
"Robin Handel you can't Handel Me"
The mind boggles with that one....

Monet for Nothing....

Well here he is.
Robin all set and ready to go.
After all the trials, and tribulations of various equipment and microphones, I felt the final choices should be recorded for posterity.



If you remember, the other day, I blogged about, 'Everyone Wants To Be One - A Musician That Is...', and how Tony Blair was considering reforming his band, 'Ugly Rumours'.
As I said then, Robin has his eye on the now ex-Prime Minister's job.
From the picture, on the wall in the studio, you can see that he has indeed got the 'Houses of Parliament' in his sights....

Neumann microphones and the Art of the Tremelo

All is going well in the recording department.
The microphone we finally settled on is a Neumann.
The reason for this, is that it is the only microphone we have tried, which is able to capture the full natural sound of the guitar without losing any quality.
A problem we had with all the other microphones we tried, was that, although the bass strings recorded well, the treble strings had a 'metallic' sound, which wasn't doing Robin's fabulous Miguel Rodriguez guitar justice.
Not so with the Neumann.
Having reported on the testing process the other day, and all 109 takes, the final test was to shut Robin in his music room, with guitar and also freshly recorded piece, then the rest of the family stood outside, listened, and tried to identify whether it was live or recorded.
The Neumann passed the test, and the children think we've gone mad....

Robin isn't one to make life easy for himself.
His first chosen piece is, 'Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios' by Agustin Barrios, which translated means, 'An Alm for the Love of God'.
This, and 'Recuerdos de la Alhambra' by Francisco Tarrega, are probably the two most famous 'tremelo' pieces which, as well as making huge demands on the right hand, are also very tricky in the left hand.

The tremelo is one of the most difficult effects and techniques to master on the guitar, as it relies on the rapidity of execution between the thumb, anular, middle and index fingers, p,a,m,i, of the right hand, for the 'classical tremelo', and for the 'flamenco tremelo', which has five notes, the fingering is, p,i,a,m,i.

It's made all the more difficult in the aforementioned examples as they constantly change from top string to inner strings for the tremelo notes while the right hand thumb provides the arpeggiated accompaniment.
The left hand , particularly in the Barrios, has many awkward stretches and hardly ever repeats itself. The tremelo is such an impressive technique that, when Robin introduces a piece in concert, involving the tremelo, he now gives a demonstration of how it works, very slowly initially, and then, at full speed.
Audiences love it.

Fortunately Robin is well prepared.
When he wrote 'The Guitar Gymnasium', (or see my links section for Amazon UK and USA), the right hand exercises were written with the intention of developing and strengthening the independence of the right hand fingers, for just this reason, alongside the Tarrega exercises, which are also in the book.

So Robin is now able to record, listen, learn, then re-record until he is satisfied.
As Glenn Gould said, "The tape recorder is the finest teacher."

Sound Checks Complete and Wives of Musicians Unite...

My ears and head are aching.
For weeks now we have been testing microphones and trying out various settings.
In just the last 3 or 4 days, I have listened to 109 takes of, 'Un Dia de Noviembre' by Leo Brouwer.
It isn't the playing that I am expected to comment on, but the sound, timbre, balance, etc.
I have added sound engineer to my list of jobs....
Finally, we have settled on a microphone, and now we can focus back on the music.
It was with great joy that I listened to take 109, and enjoyed the piece and the playing, rather than scrutinising the sound.

Hopefully recording will commence next week....

As you know, I have been following the progress of David Juritz in his project, 'Around the World and Bach', as I feel it is not only an interesting concept, but also supporting a worthwhile cause.
David has added a 'round up' of the first week over on his site, which, is a good way to gain insight into what he is doing.
I was particularly pleased to see that he acknowledged the strain that this project puts on his wife Jane.
It's difficult enough when tours are organised down to the last detail, but when you are literally playing to pay your way, there is obviously more at stake.
There's no doubt that it is hard for the performer to be away from home.
Robin always finds this difficult, particularly when travelling alone, although he does of course have his guitar!
But, it is also hard for those left behind.
As David has said, 'Jane is sounding tired and trying not to show her anxiety, alongside the increased workload of updating websites and dealing with 'phone calls'.

In case Jane, or David for that matter, read this, remember, it will all be worth it.
I have blogged before on the situation that 'wives of musicians' find themselves in.
It's pretty well summed up on a post, 'Traits of a Guitar Widow', over on 'Guitarist Widow' site.
The instrument doesn't really matter, if you are married to a musician, then you'll understand.
So as Jane, fends off calls, deals with websites, looks after children, runs the home, and if it's anything like our house, receives many calls from various parts of the world - day and night - just to make contact, then remember, you are not alone....

From Microphones to Britain's Leading Concert Pianist - Stephen Hough

It's a very exciting time here, as Robin has been testing out microphones, and, so far, one in particular, seems to be capturing the beautiful sound his Miguel Rodriguez guitar makes. For the first stage of testing, this is very encouraging, as the guitar is a notoriously difficult instrument to record.
The down side is that Robin remains elusive as to the cost. From experience, this tells me, that I should go and lie down in a darkened room, with a cold compress on my forehead, for at least an hour, before I ask him again.

Meanwhile in the wider world, the virtuoso pianist Stephen Hough, has been barred from performing a concert in Vietnam, 'for his own safety'.
It's such a shame when politics/religion/sexuality or whatever, get in the way of people being able to enjoy music.
But also a reminder to us all, that we should be careful what we say, as we never know when it may come back to haunt us.
For the full report, by Ben Quinn, click here.

Hill is Home and Shakespeare Quotes

Robin is now home and in remarkably good spirits.
Just for the record, he ended up being away for 3 weeks and 13 1/2 hours, due to a delay from Heathrow.
So near yet so far.
This had the result of cranking up the tension even further in two small, excited, children, so by the time Robin finally emerged from the depths of Manchester Airport, the grand reunion brought a tear to even the most hardened of passing business men.

Robin was up with the lark and straight back into the swing of things.
There's guitar practice to be done, and the microphones that arrived whilst he was away, need to be tried out.

It's fantastic to have the 'sounds of music' drifting through the house once more.
Or, as Shakespeare put it:

"How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music creep in our ears."

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
The Merchant of Venice.

I have noticed though, that Robin has taken to practicing in the studio, rather than the music room.
This is on the 3rd floor of the house and therefore quite removed from day to day family life.
I wonder if he has got a little too used to his own company after three weeks...
We'll soon knock that out of him.

Test Drive a Microphone With Legnani

It has been an experimental day and one in which I have been acting as an unofficial sound engineer.
We have been sent a matched pair of microphones to try out. So, off Robin went to the studio, to see what he could do.
He played Caprice No 33 by Luigi Legnani over a few times, and then went for a take, and another one, and another one, etc. (Incidentally, Legnani was Paganini's guitarist).
We played them back and as yet haven't made a decision.
At one point I asked him to play along with the freshly made recording so I could compare sounds.
As I was listening it struck me that if Robin was having difficulty matching his playing exactly, whilst watching the sound waves on the monitor, then it would be virtually impossible for someone else to try and mimic that performance. Yes I am referring to the Joyce Hatto scenario.
The fate of the microphones hasn't yet been decided, although I suspect they are not the ones.