This month...a free short piece, a final update on Three Evenings, more new music, and an interview/performance...

This Month's Free Piece

Well, that's it for summer. I wrote this month's short piece late in the afternoon on the final day of August, hence the title. I hope the piece captures the lazy, melancholy feeling of late summer. I know my fellow teachers would say that most of August feels like a Sunday night...full of the dread of going back to school. I actually recorded the video in my classroom today after I unpacked 20 new Yamaha classical guitars and a bunch of other supplies.

The short piece has some cross string melodies, using open strings whenever possible, and a couple tricky jumps and stretches. I hope you enjoy playing it.

As August Fades (standard)

As August Fades (TABs)

As August Fades (video)

Three Evenings

I am so grateful for all of the support Three Evenings has received. Thank you to everyone who has purchased a CD, download, and TABs. Thank you for streaming and sharing the record. It has been doing exceedingly well.

Three Evenings came in at #11 on Echoes Radio Top 25 for the month of August. I am extremely thankful for John Diliberto playing my music at Echoes Radio, which reaches 200,000 listeners weekly.

I am really proud of this record Tom Eaton and I made, and it makes me very happy to see that the music speaks to so many people. 

More New Music

While I was making Three Evenings, I recorded my medley arrangement of two beautiful Celtic songs. The first is "Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife". This gorgeous, melancholy tune was written by the most famous Scottish fiddler of the 18th century, Niel Gow.

I paired this with the Irish/American "Rosin the Beau". The lyrics of the song relate the story of a man who was popular in his youth, and later in life, the ladies refer to him as "Old Rosin, the beau". In the song he reflects on his life as he prepares for the grave. This is often sung as a drinking song, but I slow it down and approach it as a waltz.

And don't worry...I'm not singing it. 

"Niel Gow's Lament for the Death of His Second Wife & Rosin the Beau" will be released on Friday September 2nd on all streaming platforms.

If you use Spotify, please hop over and pre-save it. Here's the link:

Spotify Pre-Save

The tune is also available as a download for $1 over on Bandcamp.

Bandcamp

TABs are availble on my website. Just click the store tab and scroll down to individual TABs.

Gallery of Guitar

Interview/Performance

I recently had the great honor to be interviewed by one of my favorite guitarists, Matthew McAllister, for his Gallery of Guitar YouTube channel.

Matthew is widely regarded as one of today's most exciting and talented classical guitarists. Along with being a successful concert guitarist and recording artist, he teaches at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and directs its classical guitar retreat.

Our interview, as well as my performance video of "The Tree Still Thinks of Tom", will premiere on Gallery of Guitar in the near future. I will send out more info as it approaches.

Matthew's Patreon page is a really wonderful. Highly recommended whether you play or just enjoy classical guitar.

That's all for this month. I hope you all enjoy your Labor Day Weekend. 

And for my fellow teachers...it was nice while it lasted, wasn't it? Back to all those smiling faces next week. Have a great school year. 

Talk soon...

Cheers,

Vin