Dervish

(Composed and performed by Reynold D. Philipsek 2015 copyright Zino-Rephi Music BMI) /recording engineer: Stymie Seamans

This piece is a little exuberant but a quick 6/8 is pretty buoyant by natural design. This brisk music is supposed to be celebratory and I send it out to all in the sincere hope for a good and healthy 2021. As always, there are improvised “choruses” after the statement of theme. I almost always use “first takes” because I want to keep things as “real” as possible.

Over the years I have made quite a lot of “guitar only” recordings either solo or with an overdub or two. This is a process I began when I was 12 years old and my mother bought a tape recorder for me from (of all places) Penney’s.

This reel to reel deck ran quarter inch tape at 7.5 IPS and could overdub sound on sound (two tracks). I began to record either 2 guitar tracks or a vocal and guitar track from the first day I got the machine. This was the real initial impetus for me to write music. I was forced to “make up” songs so I could keep my tape recorder hobby going. I had little idea at the time that I would still be happily occupied by this pursuit more than 50 years later.

Ravel said that the job of a composer is to “better express life’s mysterious thrill” and as I get older I find that is a great description of the central life mission of any dedicated musician.

Happy New Year.

Stay safe now more than ever.

Link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWjE6MbWJCw