January 2022

New Year, New Directions...

Happy New Year!

I thought that creating a monthly newsletter might be a fresh way of staying in touch with listeners and musical friends. I plan on using this platform to share updates on my current projects, notation/TAB downloads, music and book recommendations, and just random thoughts.

Each month, I will try to compose a short piece or study and share the notation/TABs here for free.

Current Projects

Ten Studies for Classical Guitar - Vol. 1

Believe it or not, I haven't played a steel string guitar, or a guitar in an alternate tuning since recording my last album "Belonging Just Where You Are" back in June/July 2021. Since the pandemic began, and scheduled performances were canceled, I didn't really want to play any of my music. I felt a need to do something different and new.

I have been playing mostly classical guitar since the start of the pandemic when my teaching shifted to all virtual. (I teach a high school classical guitar program here in NJ). Since it was always in my hands, I began writing short pieces for classical guitar in standard tuning.

It was refreshing to go back to standard tuning, and as I composed these short pieces, I had the idea of putting them together in a book. After I had ten pieces that I was happy with, I reached out to my friend and fellow NJ guitarist/educator Keith Calmes for some advice on getting it published. He introduced me to Manley Mallard at Guitar Chamber Music Press, who agreed to publish the book.

The book is now available here: 

Ten Studies for Classical Guitar - Vol. 1

Guitar Chamber Music Press will be publishing two of my older pieces, "When All Was Still" and "Waiting for Fullness" in the coming months (standard notation only). I have also started writing "Studies for Classical Guitar Vol. 2" as well as some stand alone short pieces for future publication. 

In the meantime, here is a free download...

This is the standard notation PDF of "When All Was Still" from my "Something in You Remembers" album. Check out world renown guitarist (and one of my favorites) Matthew McAllister performing it for his Gallery of Guitar YouTube page.

When All Was Still - PDF

Matthew McAllister - When All Was Still by Vin Downes

Composing & Transcribing with Sibelius

I have also been working on a large scale transcription project that I started back in December 2020. The project required me to learn how to navigate and use Sibelius (Guitar Pro just wasn't cutting it). It definitely took some patience (which I don't have), but once I got the hang of it, I realized that there is no going back. Sibelius is now my go to notation software for all of my music. I would love to go back and redo all of my notation/TABs using it, but that would take forever. Maybe I eventually will, but for now, everything going forward will be done in Sibelius.

New Music/Recording?

I've had a lot of people ask me if and when I will be recording a new full length CD (my last two releases were digital EPs).

I have decided that all of my future releases will be streaming & digital download only...at least for now. This will allow me to release an album every year, instead of one CD every three years. I do still think I may try to release something on vinyl in the future. We'll see...

Tom Eaton and I will get together at least once a year at his studio in New Hampshire to record and produce a handful of songs. I am planning on recording new music sometime in late spring/early summer. 

Stay tuned. 

Multi-tasking...teaching, writing, transcribing, editing, practicing.

Music & Books

I always love getting music and book recommendations from other people. Here are some things that I have been listening to and reading that I think are worth recommending...

Music 

Giovanni Piacentini - Between Worlds & Chiaroscuro

Vladimir Ibarra - The Dream of a Shadow: Phillip Houghton Solo Guitar Music

Benjamin Verdery & William Coulter - Happy Here

Jeremy Denk - c1300 - c2000 & Goldberg Variations 

Nils Frahm - Solo & Old Friends New Friends

Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh & Thomas Batlett - (Self Titled)

Ye Vagabonds - The Hare's Lament

Bert Jansch - Living in the Shadows

Books

Leonard Bernstein - Humphrey Burton

Say Nothing - A True Story of the Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland - Patrick Radden Keefe

Vanity of Duluoz - Jack Kerouac

Different Hours - Stephen Dunn

Michael Forsythe series & Detective Sean Duffy series - Adrian McKinty

Harmony for Classical Guitar - Dusan Bogdanovic

Nopalito - A Mexican Kitchen - Gonzalo Guzmán

Well that's one month down. Let's see if I have anything to say in February. There is a free download of "Dark Blue Wind" attached to this newsletter. Although the piece was inspired by Carl Sandburg's poem "Sleep Impression", which describes an early autumn evening, I think the music is very fitting for these cold winter months as well.

Just a reminder that all of my music is available on all streaming sites. You can also find me on Bandcamp. CDs and Notation/TABs can be purchased on my website. 

As always...thanks for listening and for your continued support. 

Cheers,

Vin

Gary is looking forward to 2022.

Happy New Year to you and yours...