What the Musician in the Middle of Nowhere Does in His Spare Time

This summer, my music partner Scott B. Adams and I released our latest CD “Country Roads…Beaten Paths”. You can find more information on that at http://www.orchardbeat.com/

Also, this summer, my wife and I built a goat shed, and fenced in the grazing yard for them. This took about 3 weeks to complete. We also re-covered our hoop house. This is what it looks like:

 
It was suggested to me, a long time ago, that I should develop interests in something other than music, just so I didn’t dissolve into a one-dimensional person. Through the years, I found an interest in the Civil War, and consequently discovered that I had two relatives who were wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. I began following baseball again; I had played as a kid and have always loved the game, and now I try to attend a major league game every other year as a vacation.

Another hobby of mine is collecting sci-fi space from the 50s and 60s. The black and white are the more desirable, but the whole pre-Star Wars genre is extremely entertaining. I have over 125 titles now. I found that watching the Flash Gordon serials from around 1940 was very enlightening when I heard that it was the model that George Lucas used. Watching Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope” in black and white gave it an entirely fresh look. You should try it sometime.

When I need a break from all that, I revert to my collection of Marx Brothers movies. I can watch them over and over again and they still make me laugh out loud. Or I lose myself in one of the novels of Charles Dickens, one of my all-time favorite authors.

Between my guitar teaching, my church position as Music Ministry Associate and my occasional performing and recording, I get to do a lot of music. But sometimes, just hanging out with the chickens and the goats is very relaxing. Here’s a video of our youngest goat Ruby “helping” me work on the goat barn.

FIRST DANCE

Way back…and I mean Waaaaay back in 1965, when I’d only been playing a year or so, I wrote my first instrumental song. It was called “First Dance”.

The fact is that it didn’t have a name for a long time, but I eventually came up with “First Dance” simply because it was my first tune, and because it was in ¾ time, a waltz.

Throughout the years of recording instrumental music (beginning in 1988), I never had a chance to record this particular song. As I prepare material for a release later this year of instrumental music, I decided that “First Dance” should have its first recording.

The CD will be called “Back in the Window” and will be a reconstruction of all my instrumental songs from the Eutycus Records release “In the Window” which was produced in 1991 as a cassette only. Songs like “Forever in your Heart”, Higher up, Higher In”, and “Was a Man” will be included, along with 2 or 3 new songs.

I consider myself very lucky/blessed to be able to do the work I do. And I hope that “First Dance” will be a song that will possibly get your feet moving. In the meantime, I invite you all to visit my listings on cdbaby which will lead you to all my other CDs.

BEST OF TIMES

Charles Dickens was not a musician. You might have already been aware of that little piece of trivia. The fact is, though, that Dickens had a very musical ear. He also had an incredibly cinematic imagination, which is all the more amazing since the motion picture camera wasn’t invented until 25 years after his death!! [FYI: Louis Lumiere is often credited as inventing the first motion picture camera in 1895.]

So what’s all this got to do with the Musician in the Middle of Nowhere??

Over the years, I have read all the novels of Dickens (there’s around 30 of them), and am now reading through them all again, along with a lot of extra material, such as the travel books, short stories, magazine articles, etc. And as I was reading, I noticed several passages that would make terrific texts for music. So I started to extract them, adapt them, and versify them. The result is that I have composed a set of seven choral pieces (SATB) with piano accompaniment that I am putting under the general title of “The Best of Times”.

The seven passages are from The Old Curiosity Shop, American Notes (2), Pictures of Italy, Martin Chuzzelwit, A Christmas Carol and (of course) A Tale of Two Cities.

I didn’t plan on a rendezvous with any particular event, but the odd fact is that 2012 will be the 200th anniversary of Dickens’ birth. It’s a nice way to celebrate one of my favorite authors.

Here are a couple of pages from “A Small Tyranny” (taken from the first chapter of Martin Chuzzelwit)

The Significance of 10,000.

In Chinese traditions, the number 10,000 stands for “all things in nature”. In internet traditions, the number 10,000 is fairly low, especially when considering hits for a web site or for a video.

Be that as it may, I am celebrating this week because I just passed the 10,000 view mark on Youtube. That means that over 10,000 times, someone somewhere in this wide world took the time to look at one of my videos. The ones that have received the most attention are the “Brahms Lullaby” and my arrangement of “Jupiter” by Gustav Holst.

Hey, I realize that these musical performances aren’t anywhere near as interesting or captivating as some young girl telling us what’s in her purse, but then I like to think that I appeal to a more sophisticated audience…you.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who watched even one of these vids, and to invite you to watch the rest; and to pass the link along to a friend…or 10,000 friends. It would be really remarkable to see the number go over 20,000 sometime this year.

"Journeys"

I’m in the process of writing a new set of songs for a CD that will be released this fall.

I say “songs” because the majority of them will have lyrics written by my very good friend Douglas V. Rose. Doug and I wrote the cantata “God’s Gift of Music” last year for the Norwich-based Monday Evening Musical Club.

The mood and feel of the music is best described as “new age”. Much new age music is expressive of the artist’s spirituality; our songs will do the same, but in our own unique way. I’m pretty excited about this project because it is yet another departure for me; another new avenue of musical expression.

It is also great fun to be writing with Douglas. Not only does he have the most uncanny way of molding words, but our friendship dates back to (dare I say it) 1963! Wow, that would make us…younger than we’ll be next year on this date.

We’ll post an announcement about the new CD “Journeys” as soon as it’s ready, hopefully around September.

2 new songs

Here are two chances to add to your evergrowing Tom Rasely music collection:

OVERNIGHT ON THE RADIO is a catchy, country tune about...listening to overnight radio! You can download it here:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/TomRasely1
and watch the video here:
http://youtube.com/tomrasely

And in honor of our 39 (!) anniversary, a bonus free download, NEW LOVE SONG:
http://youpublish.com/tomrasely

Enjoy!

Free on the First, "Hand to the Plow"

http://www.youpublish.com/tomrasely

A country-style song to start the summer season.

New Single Available

"God Bless the World" is now available as a download; $.99 and it's yours!

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/TomRasely

Practice Makes Perfect...Practicers!

Question: Hey buddy, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Answer: Practice!

Conventional wisdom says, "Practice makes perfect.” Usually, when you take music lessons, you are expected to spend a certain amount of time practicing. The truth is that sometimes the only thing practicing makes you perfect AT is practicing.

My idea has always been that, if you insist on using the word “practice”, use it in the same way as doctors and lawyers.

When doctors talk of practicing medicine, they do not mean that they are rehearsing in order to get better at it. The same goes for lawyers. It reminds me of what Yoda says in Star Wars, Episode V, “Do or do not; there is no try.” I tell my students to Play, even if it’s a simple exercise. Consider that every time you play, it’s a performance, even if you are the only one in the audience.

So, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? PLAY!

My First Composition

The first thing I ever wrote was a very (very) short piano piece called “The Robin’s Song”. Chances are that I was inspired by all that wonderful music in the Schaum piano method books; I think I only ever made it to Book B (I know the series went at least up to G). Anyway, I was 8 years old and riding in the back seat of the family car. I had a small notepad with me and I began by drawing music staff lines. Adding a g clef, I started to pen (or pencil) my master opus. The whole song lasts about 20 seconds. Frankly it isn’t very good, but it’s a first, and I still have that original sheet of paper.

Instead of laughing at it, my parents were quite excited that I had written musical notes of my own choosing. They always encouraged me, and I hope that I am passing that along to my students and friends.

Encouragement--pass it on.

GUITAR BOOKS

Along with recording more music than even I can usually remember, I’ve written quite a lot of instructional material to make learning the guitar easier…and fun. Titles include:

• 
  The Chord Chart Guitar Method


• A Complete Explanation of The Circle of Fifths


• The Un-dreaded Barre Chord


• Unlocking The Upper Neck


• Stuck in a Rut


• Writing for the Guitar
  
  The underlying purpose of all these books is Practical Theory. Too many guitar books either over-explain, or under-explain the operation of music theory in regards to the guitar. With concise text, plus a lot of musical examples and songs, these books can be a terrific help to the guitar hobbyist, or to the professional musician
  
  All these titles, along with a lot more information on each, can be found on my website athttp://www.rasely.com/book.htm and can be ordered through Paypal. They’re all well worth the price (if I do say so myself!).

FREE ON THE FIRST, "Six Days"

March's free download is called "Six Days" and is a fingerstyle piece with a bluesy feel. Enjoy it and share it with your friends.http://www.youpublish.com/tomrasely

CD Giveaway

Late winter seems like the perfect time for some grassroots marketing; let’s keep me inspired with some new readers.

Tell one new person about the Musician in the Middle of Nowhere and then post here about who you are and that you spread the word about Tom Rasely’s music (or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/trasely) .

You don’t have to walk up to strangers either. Write the blog address on a post it note and leave it at the music store. Email a coworker who likes music; leave the Facebook link scribbled on a napkin at the Open Mike night. The idea is to spread the word about the nowhere guitarist and help my readership grow.

So post today who you told and that’s it--you’re entered in the drawing. At the end of the week, I’ll pull a name out of the hat and announce it on the blog and Facebook. Then you email me and I’ll send you the free cd; couldn’t be easier.

(Thanks to Jenna at Coldantler Farm for the idea).

My drummer buddy, Bob Tousignant

Not all of my friends are guitarists. Bob Tousignant (too-SEE-nyahnt) is a drummer…an extraordinary drummer. I met Bob through a mutual friend, Chris Natoli. Bob is one of the more serious students of drumming; he practices rhythms that he’ll never get a chance to use, just for the joy of learning them.

You probably have heard Bob play. He was the drummer for The Music Explosion (“Little Bit O’ Soul”) and Crazy Elephant (“Gimme, Gimme Some Lovin’”). Bob has performed at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame where the Music Explosion album is part of the Bands from Ohio display. One of the biggest differences between Bob and me is that I had to pay to get into the R&R Hall of Fame, and he was invited to play in the main foyer.

Bob has no web site, but if you are anywhere near Chenango County, NY you might catch him playing with Eric Porter and/or Jes Sheldon some night. You can also hear Bob on “Tea with the Man in the Moon” on my HALFWAY CD, and “Mon Ami” from my ONE TO ONE CD.

Who is the Best Guitarist?

Get two or more guitarists get together, and the discussion will eventually wander to the question: Who is the best guitarist?

With so many players to choose from, in so many different styles- let's face it, there never was, and never will be just one "best"; and after all, what we really mean by "the best" is "my favorite". Insisting on your favorite will only prolong an argument, not end it. It's a classic case of apples and oranges, or even fruit salad.

Don't get me wrong; it's good to have guitar heroes. It's good to have opinions about players. However, a better question to ask might be: WHY do I think that (fill-in-the-blank) is the best guitarist? When you answer that question, you actually begin to learn something…or teach something!

One of the reasons that guitarists look for "the best" is that we secretly want to BE the best. And even the best players have other players who they look up to. Andres Segovia, the grand master of the classical guitar, had the inspiration of Gabriel Ruiz de Almodovar, of whom he said "I felt like kissing the hands of a man who could draw such beautiful sounds from the guitar"; and although he'd never met Tarrega, the maestro reverently referred to him as the man who "created the soul of the guitar".

So, here's the bottom line: aspire to be the best (at whatever you do), and remember that even the "best" players are trying to do the same thing.

My guitar buddy, Bill Cooley

Bill Cooley is not a household name...unless you happen to live at Bill Cooley’s house…or at Kathy Mattea’s house. Kathy Mattea is one of the truly great musical artists whose voice lends itself to a variety of musical styles. From “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses” to “Where Have You Been?” to her provocative CD “Coal”, her constant musical companion has been lead guitarist Bill Cooley.

I met Bill on the forum at http://www.guitarnotes.com/ and it turns out that we not only share a love of guitar playing, we share a birthday. We also share that birthday with Jimmy Page and Les Paul!! That’s all “good company”.

Bill has released several CDs of his own music that deserve attention. You can find out more at http://www.billcooleymusic.com/

On Writing Music

I write to task. I seldom sit down and write something just because I think I should, although my string quartet would probably fall into this latter category. I write with a specific performance in mind, a particular set of lyrics or idea, a deadline. Because of this I have never experienced what is known as “writer’s block”.

My composition teacher at SUNY Fredonia (NY), Walter Hartley, once said about writing, “If you are a composer, you will pick a note to start on. If you are a really good composer, you will choose a second note and it will be the Right Note.” It took me over 10 years to understand this. What he was saying is that the second note is “right” not only because it leads from the first note, but it also leads to the third note. That’s what makes it so difficult.

When writing a vocal piece, I try to let the words sing for themselves. Words are very lyrical, very melodic, if you know how to listen. This also does not happen overnight.
You can check out some of my music on http://www.cdbaby.com/rasely

Standing out by blending in

Usually a Musician in the Middle of Nowhere works hard at standing out from the crowd--honing his craft to be the best musician he can be, staying in the public eye and ear, being innovative and keeping the music fresh.

Sometimes blending in can be a great way to stand out. Working with local business owners, being a part of the local arts scene, being available to help other artists--these are all good ways to be a stand out in your community.

Here's an artist who has given new meaning to "blending in" and has thereby developed a stand out style:


http://v1kram.posterous.com/liu-bolinthe-invisible-man

LORD'S PRAYER, free sheet music

Here's a new setting I wrote of this familiar prayer. It's simple to learn and simple to sing - 5 notes in the melody line and 4 chords in the guitar line.


http://www.uccnorwichny.org/Portals/1203/The%20Lords%20Prayer%20Rasely.pdf

Chicken Pickings