The Hobbit is one of my favourite books. I read it almost annually and I also have the audio book (it’s the only way the ironing gets done). Bilbo speaks the truth when he says to Frodo,
“You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Sometimes it’s years later before you look back and wonder at where the road has taken you - often through unambitious beginnings and unexpected pathways. As Bilbo says, sometimes it’s just a matter of stepping onto the road. I never really planned on working in music and I’m constantly surprised to find myself doing what I do. However, I was quite emotional when I came across an item that started the ball rolling, years ago - if only I’d known it… Read More…


Regardless of whether you take an exam or not, learning a new piece of music always requires repeated and regular practise. Read More…

I think it’s safe to say that the volume of information that is freely available to us today than at any other time in history. Whatever you want to learn, all you need to do is to find a computer and a world of knowledge is at your fingertips. Read More…

We are all familiar with certain pieces of music, but what actually makes up the music we know and love? What makes “Away in a Manger” so very different from “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”? Read More…

I spend my days tripping my fingers over keyboards of one sort or another. I seem to remember writing an article with the very similar title, ‘Let Your Fingers Do The Walking’ discussing the various merits of playing the piano. However, I’ve also been busily tapping away on my computer keyboard and I’m now enjoying seeing the fruits of my labour in my first published books. Read More…

When father papered the parlour (or when I papered Handel's Messiah everywhere). Papering here, papering there. Paste and paper everywhere… Read More…

The Open University Graduation ceremony was the starting point on my thoughts for a local village magazine. Read More…

In 1997 Dame Shirley Bassey released a single, ‘History Repeating’ and I’m sure that it’s something we can agree is quite true - history really does repeat itself.
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Christmas is promoted as a holiday season, a time to relax and have fun with friends and family. For many this may indeed be the case, but it is by no means the norm. I know that there are many effective adverts that highlight the loneliness that many suffer (although this need not be restricted to Christmas). However, there is another side to that coin.

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In my recent article for a local magazine I tackle the subject of the foundation of learning. With the start of the new academic year now seems like a good time to take stock and to start afresh - start as you mean to go on.
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For the Summer Edition of our little village magazine, in my role as private music tutor, I attempt to answer to question ever present on a new pupil's lips: 'How long will it take?" It's an impossible question but I do my best in my usual article… Read More…

Aesop's Fables, in choral presentation, featured in my submission to our local quarterly village magazine. As ever, there was a moral to the story… Read More…

In a past article for our quarterly village magazine I comment upon how music makes a soundtrack for our lives… Read More…

The phrase "Classical Music" can mean two entirely different things. In my contribution, as a music tutor, to our village magazine I attempt to clarify the distinction. Read More…

Is learning to play an instrument a discipline of the arts or the sciences. It's surprising how history and culture shapes how we view learning. As a music tutor I write for a quarterly parish magazine. In this article from last year I grapple with the way society now approaches the arts… Read More…

This review of the Film "Quartet" featured in a local quarterly magazine that I contribute to.
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As part of my private music tuition practice I write a quarterly article for a local parish magazine. Here is a piece I wrote some years ago explaining the history and basic mechanisms of the piano… Read More…

With all of the recent World War Remembrance I recall the story of local effort - where everybody did their bit. Although the concept of peace and goodwill to all men is traditionally associated with Christmas time, such sentiments needn’t be restricted to just once a year. Here is an article I wrote in our parish magazine some years ago… Read More…

As part of my private music tuition practice I write a quarterly article for a local parish magazine. Here is a piece I wrote some years ago… Read More…

Music can be enjoyed on many levels. As part of my private music tuition practice I write a quarterly article for a local parish magazine. Here is a piece I wrote some years ago… Read More…

You'd never put Parry's Anthem "I Was Glad" in the same sentence as Football and EXCPN TV - but we did. As part of my private music tuition practice I write a quarterly article for a local parish magazine. Here is a piece I wrote some years ago… Read More…