The Guitar Gymnasium - Volume 2 by Robin Hill

                                       

  At last, The Guitar Gymnasium Volume 2 has arrived!

It's amazing to think that 'The Guitar Gymnasium' was written 20 years ago...this focused on performance and practice, alongside technique and has been very well received around the world. You can read about it here.

The Guitar Gymnasium Volume 2 continues to examine technique in detail with brand new exercises and insights from Robin. This draws on Robin's lifetime's experience of practice to achieve the high level required to perform in concert or record albums.

Also contained within the book are a large selection of pieces. Some of these are original compositions and some are favourites of the classical guitar repertoire. 

All pieces have extensive fingering and interpretative advice. The book also contains many inspirational quotations, some from musicians and some from non-musicians.

The Guitar Gymnasium Volume 2 is available for immediate download from Sheet Music Plus.

Sheet Music and Plenty of it...

Robin has always composed and arranged music. Some of our regular readers may remember the, 'Fandango in the Fridge' post...

Recently he has been extremely busy preparing many pieces for download with one simple click.

There are now nearly 60 such pieces available from Sheet Music Plus, for a variety of instruments.

The majority are guitar based, either solo or duo, but there are also arrangements for guitar and voice, flute and guitar, string quartet, piano and many more!

Many of the pieces are original compositions, such as, 'Return to Islay', or, 'Canzone', both for solo guitar, but also original compositions for guitar duos such as, 'Esercizio No.1 'Tarantella' for two guitars'.

For those with an interest in flamenco guitar you could try, 'Fiesta de Xabia' which is a fiery and lively piece.

However, there are also piano pieces, 'Joydance' being one.

Arranging music has played a huge role in Robin's life as a musician and he has always spent a great deal of time arranging, performing and recording the pieces of historical giants within the world of classical music. Some examples are, 'Prelude No 1 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, J.S.Bach, 'Sonata L.483 for solo guitar', Domenico Scarlatti, 'Rigaudon (arranged for two guitars)', Georg Frederic Handel, 'Escorregando (arranged for flute & Guitar)', Ernesto Nazareth, 'Pavane (Op.50 arranged for two guitars)', Gabriel Faure, and many, many more!

Traditional music, whether, Irish, or Christmas, can also be found.

There are too many pieces to mention individually here, but please feel free to have a look around on Sheet Music Plus and check back frequently as new compositions and arrangements are being added all the time.

If you feel a few Skype lessons could help get your fingers around some of the trickier pieces, well, just send me a message, and if there's any requests for a particular piece, well, you only have to ask.

'She Loves You' from 'Classic Beatles' by Robin Hill & Peter Wiltschinsky

Early last year we released an album, 'Classic Beatles' which you can read about here, 'Classic Beatles - Robin Hill & Peter Wiltschinsky'.

Today we thought it would be nice to hear one track in its entirety and accompanied by some photographs of the duo taken over the years.

'She Loves You' is a favourite of most Beatles fans and therefore required a sensitive approach to maintain the essence of the piece.
In this arrangement, by Robin, he uses many techniques to grab the listeners attention, such as the canon, counterpoint and some breath taking triplets at about a minute in.

You can hear more examples from the album on iTunes, Amazon and in fact many digital outlets.

Also, for those who may want to try playing these pieces, or many others, there is a large catalogue of sheet music on our website, under Hillhouse Editions Sheet Music.

So, here is 'She Loves You'.

Robin Hill's new website...

We have now launched a new 'Robin Hill' website which I hope you will all enjoy.
It has a crisp, clean appearance to make navigation an easy and enjoyable experience.

The Homepage features one of the photographs taken at the recent photo shoot for the album cover of, 'Standing on Air', by photographer Jonathan Keenan, and required several hours on a trampoline and, after a long haul flight only a matter of hours later, three days on anti inflammatory medication....(I know how you blog readers like a little inside information.)

Some of the features can be seen throughout the site.
For example, the red music player at the top contains 4 tracks which you can listen too uninterrupted as you browse the other pages.
Also, currently there are two videos to watch, 'The Making of Standing on Air', and 'Chill 22'.

You will also notice a convenient box where you can join our mailing list. This will be of particular interest to anyone wanting details of any new recordings, or for the players amongst you, sheet music, which will soon become available.

To move between pages you simply select from the left hand sidebar.
The 'Bio' page tells you a little bit about Robin and his music.
'Blog' brings you directly here...
If you select 'Store' you will find there are currently 7 items available, 6 CDs and The Guitar Gymnasium.
There are many payment options and all you need to do is click the title of the item you are interested in and choose one that suits you.
For some items you can buy directly from us using the 'Add to Cart' button.
Other items are available through iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. Simply click the button which appeals the most.

We had great fun compiling the 'Photo Gallery'. There are 42 pictures spanning Robin's life from childhood to current day, and even a very fleeting glimpse of me... Click on the first photo to enjoy a slide show.

'Press/Reviews' contains many whole reviews, quotes and even samples from letters which we hope will give you a little insight into other peoples' views of Robin's work.

Finally, the 'Contact' page is where you can leave me a message and I will respond as soon as I can.

We hope you enjoy the new site and keep checking in for the latest news and information.