Not too long ago, I had the idea to weave a storyline into the performance of a series of guitar pieces. Each piece I wrote seemed to have its own musical ecosystem, so  I called them “islands.” Narrating a tale while tuning the guitar between “islands” would draw the audience into a deeper experience  of the music, Creating illustrative paintings for each piece and projecting them behind me during the performance would inspire more imaginative and active listening.

Thus was born Archipelago for Guitar. The music inspired the the artwork. The story tagged along, trying hard to keep up, continually evolving. It’s still evolving. All 9 Islands are now available as a recording and “old-fashioned” CD. When live performances come back full-steam, I hope to pull everything together and premiere the work live.

archipelago for guitar

Not too long ago, I had the idea to weave a storyline into the performance of a series of guitar pieces. Each piece I wrote seemed to have its own musical ecosystem, so  I called them “islands.” Narrating a tale while tuning the guitar between “islands” would draw the audience into a deeper experience  of the music, Creating illustrative paintings for each piece and projecting them behind me during the performance would inspire more imaginative and active listening.

Thus was born Archipelago for Guitar. The music inspired the the artwork. The story tagged along, trying hard to keep up, continually evolving. It’s still evolving. All 9 Islands are now available as a recording and “old-fashioned” CD. When live performances come back full-steam, I hope to pull everything together and premiere the work live

Let’s Get Started

how to listen to this album

Music is everywhere these days, but listening to it is getting harder. Classical music– and all serious “listening” music—-hails from a time before app-driven dopamine hits ruled our consciousness. Listening to this kind of music demands less passivity than we are currently accustomed to. It demands that we retrieve and engage our own imaginations. It rewards repeated listening.
This particular album is program music, to a degree, but it is not intended to program you. I find that it works best if you give your mind room for its own thoughts, even while letting the sounds inspire the state of mind and emotional resonances in which they arise.

Some suggestions:

Using your favorite headphones, go on a long walk in nature, or in a park. Let the music blend with your feet, let your eyes take in what they will.
Sit somewhere comfortable, soften your eyes, and use the screen to look at the artwork which comes with each piece. Let your eyes drift over it, fall into it, follow it where it takes you. Let a story tell itself to you. (You can do this with any music, and any artwork—try it, experiment!)
Read the story snippet that comes with each piece. Listen to the music, and let your imagination carry you through and do the rest.

Let’s Get Started

How to listen to this album…

Music is everywhere these days, but listening to it is getting harder. Classical music– and all serious “listening” music—-hails from a time before app-driven dopamine hits ruled our consciousness. Listening to this kind of music demands less passivity than we are currently accustomed to. It demands that we retrieve and engage our own imaginations. It rewards repeated listening.
This particular album is program music, to a degree, but it is not intended to program you. I find that it works best if you give your mind room for its own thoughts, even while letting the sounds inspire the state of mind and emotional resonances in which they arise.

Some suggestions:

Using your favorite headphones, go on a long walk in nature, or in a park. Let the music blend with your feet, let your eyes take in what they will.
Sit somewhere comfortable, soften your eyes, and use the screen to look at the artwork which comes with each piece. Let your eyes drift over it, fall into it, follow it where it takes you. Let a story tell itself to you. (You can do this with any music, and any artwork—try it, experiment!)
Read the story snippet that comes with each piece. Listen to the music, and let your imagination carry you through and do the rest.