Super Mario, Shame Nose Flute, Guitar Strings Revisited

It has been quiet on the blog front since Robin's return from the Amazon but be assured there has been plenty going on.
The majority of time has been spent in practice, and lots of it, for concerts that are coming up and also working on new pieces.

However, there also seems to have been a stream of guitars arriving at the house, three in total, all to be tried, tested, and enjoyed.
Although all three are lovely instruments, none have passed the Hill test and will be returned in the next few days.
I shall not only be breathing a sigh of relief, but also very pleased to reclaim the downstairs of the house.
Three guitars in large flight cases, plus three huge boxes and the accompanying packaging, all take up rather a lot of space.

While all this has been going on I have rounded up another couple of unusual Google searches for you.
They are always popular and also serve to remind me about some of the strange things I have written about over the years.

1) How to play Mario on the guitar?

As we have two young sons I am fully aware that the person making this search was far more interested in Mario and Luigi than the Mario I was discussing..., but I hope they enjoyed it anyway. Here is where they landed:
'Hill/Wiltschinsky Guitar Duo Play Mario Gangi'

2) Polynesian nose flute national instrument

The post I wrote in 2007, 'Shame (Flute) about the African Nose Trumpet', has been a surprise hit for me. This post gets so many hits, mainly from America, and I have yet to figure out why???

3) Opera tea cosy

This search landed on the post, 'Opera House Odessa, Snails and a Tea-Cosy', one you may well remember from earlier Google searches due to the tea-cosy element.

4) Recorder notes to old house

One of the more unusual requests but none the less, they found their way to, 'Notes on a Recorder to Notes on a Scandal'.

5) Bird paintings by Robin Hill

This final search left me a little baffled as the unsuspecting researcher landed on five different blog posts, none of which I can really figure out. So if any of you can offer up a theory then feel free to leave a comment!

i) 'Classical Guitar Sound Waves...'

ii) 'Monet for Nothing...'

iii) 'An Eerie Quiet in Hillhouse'

iv) 'Domenico Scarlatti and the Honky Tonk Piano - Revisited'

v) 'The Many and Varied Uses of Savarez Guitar Strings...'

Guitar Practice and the Paraguayan Harp

People often ask me how much guitar practise Robin does.
The answer is a lot, a point highlighted by the comments of a passenger on board the QE2, who happens to have the room next door.

The guest heard him practising and was amazed, he said:

"I went out on deck, came back, and still you were practising, I went for lunch, came back, and still you were practising, went to a lecture, came back, and still you were practising."

Luckily for Robin, this gentleman didn't mind, he was just incredulous that someone could keep up this level of commitment, for the last four days.
I hope he's still enjoying it after two weeks...

Being heard whilst practising is an issue when away, and Robin does often go off, and find an isolated spot somewhere.
He's even been known to put a sock underneath his strings to dampen the sound.
But, in order to give the performance that is expected of you, practise you must.
Good job Robin enjoys it.

However, he did take time out to go for lunch with Francisco, a Paraguayan harpist, who he has met a few times before.
The conversation, as often does with musicians, turned to strings.
We seem to have inadvertently found yet another use for the thousands of guitar strings that we have around the house.
He has now discovered that Paraguayan harpists use guitar strings for their treble register.
We have hundreds of them, so, it has been arranged that we will send some onto Francisco.
So the next time you hear, 'Guantanemera', played on a Paraguayan harp, some of those strings may well have previously been on Robin's Miguel Rodriguez guitar, and played just one concert, somewhere in the world!

Too Many Heifetz Spoil the Paganini.

My apologies to anyone who may have checked in this morning to find six videos of Jascha Heifetz performing Paganini's Caprice No.24 in A Minor.
I actually tried to post this video two days ago, but, it seemed to take a while to get here, and then, like buses, arrived en masse.
I have since deleted them as you may have thought I'd lost my mind.
Oh well. Maybe I'll try again another day.

Today has been busy yet productive.
I have finally finished all the relevant paperwork for the release of the next CD.
You'll have to wait a couple of weeks for CD Baby to do their part.
I will, of course, update as and when I have news.

This has taken rather a lot of time.
But as Robin frequently pointed out over the last few days, as my patience started to wear thin, it didn't take anything like as long as recording the notes had.
Fair point.

It hasn't all been work.
I did manage to think of another use for old guitar strings, and put it into action.
You thread the guitar string through the middle of a couple of straws, and tie a knot.
This homemade item, then very loosely, represents a bow. Specially designed for the imaginary play of a 5 year old.
You should know that this bow doesn't actually work, and, that the arrows are also straws, making them rather useless.
But believe me, that's actually a good thing.....

Sea, Strings and a New CD

I know it has all been rather light hearted recently, but behind the scenes, there's still a lot going on.
In the next few days we will be announcing the release of a new album. I'm very excited about this, so, keep checking in for more details.

But this blog is about the life of a musician, and many people enjoy seeing the places that Robin goes, the people that he meets, and the music that he plays.
It is after all his life at the moment.

Whilst Robin is away it can be difficult to keep up to date with what is actually going on, as there are many communication problems to overcome.
Frequently we are unable to talk via 'phone, although last night there was a bonus call, as the Queen Victoria was sailing only a mile off the coast of California, so we were able to get an intermittent signal.
He is sure that I have perfected the art of talking as if the line is breaking up. He swears that our conversations are always fine until he asks any taxing questions, at which point, "I...sorry....can't...he..ar..you".
I'm not so sure there isn't a little projection going on.

Also, email can be patchy.
Some days it's fine, other days no messages.
Add in a constantly changing time difference and you can see how it becomes difficult.

One message that did manage to make it, relates to a blog I did a long time ago, which has always been popular, 'The Many and Varied Uses of Savarez Guitar Strings'.

Here's another to add to the list.
Often in hotels, and on board ships, the clothes hangers are designed to only be used in the wardrobe. Understandably, they don't want everyone packing them and taking them home.
But it doesn't help if you want to dry a shirt in the bathroom. There's nothing to 'hook' it over the rail.

Answer: Savarez guitar strings, as demonstrated here:



Musicians have to be versatile.