Named after the "father of Bluegrass," Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys -- from Kentucky, the Urban Monroes, from Portland, Oregon, are a bluegrass band that mixes traditional style with new and original songs.  They have been making waves in the bluegrass genre,  being  in the Top 10 "Best of 2015" Bluegrass Song Chart at  Roots Music Report.  

I personally have enjoyed listening to a couple of instrumental tracks from their third album,  Apaloosa Daydream (2014), while doing artwork.  I brought  them with me, in a mix with some other instrumental music, to a painting class I was in this fall.  I think everyone was surprised when the song "Blackberry Shortcake" started out with a strong rhythmic beat that sounded almost like a rock song, and then after we all got into the groove of the beat, it burst into glorious bluegrass!

Here is some music for spring, in a recently made video, with Fran Kent, the guitarist of Urban Monroes, playing; the title is "Periwinkle's Song".  It is a traditional Irish tune.

"Lean on Me,"  a classic soul music song that has been covered by many, was written and first performed by Bill Withers (on his 1972 album, Still Bill).  It is one of those songs that it's really hard not to sing along with;  it seems to have a certain spell that draws in its listeners, and if they aren't singing, they are spell-bound, silently enjoying this song's sounds as well as its message. 

Here it is, performed in New York City on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, by the doo-wop group "Acapella Soul."  

Doo-wop is a style of vocal based rhythm and blues music that emerged in the 1950's in many major U.S. cities. Singers would perform on street corners or in subways, in groups of 3 to 6 performers, taking turns doing lead vocals or background harmonies.

The Acapella Soul group began over 10 years ago, and regularly sings in the streets and subways, as well as being in demand for entertainment at weddings, parties, and other special events.  They have also  performed at Harlem's famous Apollo Theater in recent years. They have released 3 albums, which are available on their website.

I loved watching this video, and seeing the enjoyment of the crowd and passers-by who were there, and wanted to share this song with you . . . please keep it moving forward!

 Several years ago I had the opportunity to hear Tommy Emmanuel play guitar, at a music festival in my area.  His performance was definitely a highlight, for me and many others.  I'd had no idea it was possible for a person to play guitar in such amazing ways, until listening to him.

For some Christmas cheer, here is Tommy Emmanuel along with John Knowles--both are fingerstyle virtuosos--practicing their version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."  It is evident these guitarists are having a great time playing this short piece.

  Tommy Emmanuel is from Australia.  He has been performing music for most of his life, beginning playing in a family band, the "Emmanuel Quartet," at age 6.  Later he worked in a variety of bands, and as a studio musician, before deciding to begin a solo career.

John Knowles, a Texan, majored in physics and math in college, becoming a research lab scientist.  But he had always loved music, playing accordion and ukelele as a child, and then guitar as a teenager.  After 2 years in science he switched careers, becoming a guitar teacher.   He is the author of the "Fingerstyle Quarterly"-- a publication with guitar music pieces in tab format along with recordings to hear, for guitarists.

Both Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles are among only 5 musicians who have been awarded an honorary CGP (Certified Guitar Player) title from Chet Atkins, one of the most influential country-western guitarists of the 20th century.

Music and medicine -- for Suzie Brown these two interests and skill-sets fit together very well.  She is a cardiologist and also a singer-songwriter; treating physical ailments with modern medicine, and also-- when in musician mode-- allowing the power of music to touch the hearts of her listeners.

One of her songs that I absolutely love is "Everywhere I Go."  It is in folk/Americana style, with great-sounding percussion and other instrumentation, and her vocal lyrics -- winsome and clever-- are about  being in love, about having the loved one always with you.

The words give visual images such as these, from the first chorus: 
"Gonna keep you in my mouth like a secret, keep you in a locket on a chain, put you in my wallet next to George and Abe and Ben, we'll never have to be apart again."

She is the daughter of two physicians, and after graduating from Harvard Medical School and then University of Pennsylvania and working for over a decade as a research cardiologist, she made a career shift-- to working part-time in a clinic setting and also beginning to write songs and perform music.

Her first full-length album was very appropriately called "Heartstrings" (2011).  Her second album, "Almost There" (2013) included the song "Everywhere I Go," which you can listen to in the video below.  She has a new album, made with her husband Scot Sax-- who himself is an award-winning musician-- and just released, called "Our Album Doesn't Like You Either" (2015).

To hear the studio version of this song, that uses some very interesting percussion, go to her Bandcamp page: ​https://suziebrown.bandcamp.com/track/everywhere-i-go

It was Christmas, and I was opening a package.  It was rectangular-shaped, and felt firm.  As I got past the wrappings, I was elated to find not one, but six George Winston CD's!  That was one of the best presents ever, and one I am still enjoying today.  

My first time to hear George Winston piano had been a couple of years earlier, with a  CD called December, loaned from a friend.  I was amazed and delighted with the music on it, and my children enjoyed hearing it, too.  It was lively and rhythmical at times, beautifully smooth and comforting at other times.

And this piano music is still one of my first choices to listen to, when looking for instrumental music to hear while working on artwork or just wanting beautiful sounds in the background while doing anything.

I recently did some research on George Winston, and found out some interesting things I hadn't known:  
About 95% of the pieces he plays are by other composers, though he does arrange pieces.  
He composes about 1 - 2 songs a year.
He is constantly touring and doing live performances.  
He also plays solo guitar and solo harmonica, in addition to solo piano.  
His type of piano music is NOT classical-- it is called "folk piano."
He has never played piano music by classical European composers.
He didn't start playing a keyboard instrument until he was 18, and started with the organ because he liked the music of "The Doors."
His inspiration to begin playing piano was hearing recordings from the '20's and '30's, of "stride piano" ("Fats" Waller and Teddy Wilson).
He recorded his first album in 1972, when he was 25 and had been playing piano for just one year.

One of the piano recordings he is most well-known for is Linus and Lucy-- The Music of Vince Guaraldi, released in 1996, which has some familiar piano solos from the "Peanuts" TV specials on it.  But he has created a steady stream of recordings over the past 35 years, with 10 solo piano full albums and several EP's.  His EP's are benefit albums, with proceeds going to various causes such as 9-11 survivors, Hurricane Relief and cancer research.

Since summer has just ended, I thought it would be fitting to put a song from his Summer album here-- it is called "Living in the Country" and was originally a guitar piece by Pete Seeger, composed around 1956.  George also used a second song as the intro for his piano arrangement of "Living in the Country"-- it is a traditional Irish song, "Do You Love an Apple?"  There are no other pictures with this video;  just the nice yellowish one below, but there is no need for pictures-- just listening is enchanting in itself.  

What do you think?  Does it sound like summer to you?  It is certainly bright and lively.  If you enjoyed hearing this piece,  there's lots more where it came from . . .

​You can investigate George Winston's website at www.GeorgeWinston.com and hear other recordings from this album or other albums, as well as order the mp3 files or CD's (I suggest giving yourself an early Christmas present).

I've been following Matthew Price's music for several years.  He's a folk artist-- originally from my region, but now living in Nashville, working a "regular " job while also working  regularly at songwriting with other writers, refining his musical craft and pursuing his ambition.

His voice sounds a lot like Jack Johnson, and his music ranges from funky folk with rhythm and electric guitar to simple folk with acoustic guitar (with a fiddle, on some songs) to soft rock.

One of his first songs was "One Hit Wonder"-- a humorous view of life as an aspiring musician.  It is not only funny, but really an enjoyable song to listen to musically.  He has rhythm built into the song's phrasing in a way that is very compelling.

You can hear it at this link:
                                                                                    ONE HIT WONDER

I think my favorite line in this song is "So you got to dream big but keep living where you are."  This can apply to all kinds of goals, besides being a musician.  The answer to his question in the song, "What would it take to be a one hit wonder?" may be elusive, but his philosophy stated in the song-- of joining dreams to reality-- is one that really can do "wonders."

"One Hit Wonder" is from Matthew's first album, Stranded,  released in 2010.  His second CD, Gallon House, was made in 2013.

     It was Leonardo Da Vinci's idea, way back in the early Renaissance, just before Colombus crossed the ocean to the Americas  .  .  .

    Just some simple sketches, with no technical details      . . . but the idea was clearly there-- a keyboard instrument that creates the sound of a stringed instrument.

    About 100 years after DaVinci's sketches, German instrument maker Hans Haiden built an instrument that was very similar to DaVinci's idea.  It was not directly based on DaVinci's sketches, but it did make the sound of a stringed instrument through a keyboard.   However, this instrument's popularity was short-lived, and no models remain today.  It wasn't until close to 400 years later, in 2012, that Da Vinci's interesting and beautiful musical idea would be constructed and listened to.

    Although the spark was DaVinci's creativity, the actual enactment of this invention required a great deal of technical know-how combined with master craftsmanship.  This work was the special project of a Polish pianist and instrument maker, Slawomir Zubrzycki, who spent four years building the new instrument-- called a "viola organista"-- beginning in 2009.

     Though it looks like a piano, the sound that comes out is that of a viola de gamba.  This is a stringed instrument developed in Spain in the late 1400's, and used in both renaissance and baroque music.  Also known as a "viol," it looks similar to a cello, but has a slightly different shape (flat back, sloping shoulders) and has 5 to 7 strings (instead of 4, in the violin family), and frets.

     The Italian word "viola de gamba" means "violin of the leg," because these instruments were held upright between the legs of the musician.  The modern violin family (which came later, in Italy in the 1500's) is called "viola de braccia"-- "violin of the arm"-- although only the smallest members of this family are held near the arm.

     Well, this new "viola-organista," built by Zubrzycki, has the distinct sound of a viola de gamba-- when its lower and middle keys of the keyboard are played-- and also has the sound of an organ-- when the upper keys are played.

     The announcement of this new instrument, and its first public recital, was made in October 2013, in Poland, during the International Royal Cracow Piano Festival.  Since then, Slawomir Zubrzycki has been transporting his instrument to various locations in Europe, for concerts.

     Would you like to hear this musical invention?  You can both see and hear it, in the introductory video below:

     What do you think?  Does it seem strange to hear a stringed instrument sound coming from a keyboard?  Well, maybe not today . . .  with the use of electronics, a "piano" can mimic all kinds of instruments .  But the viola-organista is not electronic, and it is a very unique and interesting creation in the acoustic music family of instruments.

     In my opinion, it's awesome to see this new-and-old viola organista;  the product of several people's combined creative energies, over about 500 years.  It certainly looks and sounds wonderful.  Kudos to Slawomier Zubrzycki!

A free download of this song is available at his website: http://parrygripp.com/sotw/2012/Raining_Tacos/  Donations are appreciated; there is a donation option on the page.  It is also on itunes and Amazon.

When I was still a homeschool mom, we had a blast singing this song with a group of homeschooled kids that met at our house.  Listening to the song is fun; I think singing it is even more awesome.  Maybe you'd like to try it?  You can warm up by singing with the video.  But you might want to develop your own arrangement.  I worked out some guitar chords for key of G, capo 5 -- it has G, D, C, with some Em and Am thrown in here and there (easier for us to sing than the key in the video; it's slightly lower than the key there) .

I think I'll go have a taco.

A friend told me about this song, and now it is one of my all-time favorites!  If you like tacos, you will like this song.

It was written by songwriter Parry Gripp, who has created a whole series of kind of bizarre songs . . . and in my opinion, at least so far I think this one is the cream of the crop.

And if you watch the video, with animation by Boone Bum, you will also enjoy some interesting, cartoonish artwork:

My finger was throbbing.  I had accidentally slammed it in a door, and now-- OW!  Ice was the immediate treatment,  and that was very COLD-- but it did somewhat numb the pain and reduce inflammation.  

Enter my teen son . . . I am so thankful he came to the rescue with Vitamin String Quartet!  Yes, soothing, wonderful instrumental music -- the likes of which I'd never heard before!  As I was soaking in the beautiful sounds, I asked him what music group this was, and he told me it was "Vitamin String Quartet."

This was my introduction to a collection of well loved, currently popular instrumental music-- and I think VSQ is very aptly named . . . it was music that was like a vitamin, bringing health and wellness!

Though they were new to me, I now know that in general, Vitamin String Quartet is very widely known; maybe that's because they don't play just any sort of string quartet music . . . instead of typical chamber music, renditions of popular songs in pop, rock, and misc. other genres are arranged and produced, in classical music style.  It isn't just one certain group of players . . . various musicians play on different albums that are all produced by VSQ.  And it isn't usually an actual quartet . . .  for example, on a tribute album for Coldplay, there were 10 instrumental performers, playing various instruments-- however, there WERE four instruments: cello, violin, viola, and bass. There were also 3 arrangers, 3 producers, and 6 composers, plus an engineer and graphic designer; so this is a large, collaborative effort.

Most of the VSQ videos available on the internet have only the album cover . . . but I did find a couple that are interesting to watch as well as listen to.  Here is one with a ballet dancer, dancing to a string quartet version of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus's song, "Your Guardian Angel":

And here is a pretty zany video showing lots of things going BACKWARDS,  accompanied by the Vitamin String Quartet playing their arrangement of  "Pressing On," tribute to Relient K.

One thing I noticed in listening to several VSQ songs in a row, while my finger was getting iced, is that the sound is both soothing and interesting.  And in comparison to the original pop/rock/other original songs,  this strings only sound has a softer effect even when the music is dramatic and tense; it takes the "edginess" off just a bit.

Are you getting enough vitamins?  How about vitamin M (for music)?  Here is the website for the Vitamin String Quartet: http://www.vitaminstringquartet.com/  You're sure to find a large assortment of instrumental vitamins.

I knew it was a wonderful adaptation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" . . . and I knew there was a ukelele playing . . . and I'd heard this upbeat song numerous times, but until I learned more about this song and its arranger, I never knew it was played by a native Hawaiian singer, beloved first in his own region and later throughout the world.

His name was Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, and he had a career as a musician in the Hawaiian Islands, dying at age 38 due to health problems, just before his music was about to become world famous.

His band, "The Makaha Sons of Ni'iahu," was very popular in Hawaii, and won many awards there.  After recording 21 albums with his band, he began a solo career, recording albums by himself.  "Facing Future," his 1993 album, became the best-selling Hawaiian album of all time.  And one of the songs on this album was later to become a #1 hit on the World Digital Songs chart, as well as being a number one single in Germany, France and Switzerland.

It was "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World," sung simply and with ukelele accompaniment.  This is a medley of two songs, and they differ in various ways from the well-known originals.  There is something both joyful and soothing about the way "Iz" sang this medley.  And it has the honor of being the longest lasting number one hit on any Billboard song chart, having spent 185 weeks at #1 on the World Digital Songs Chart.

The song was used in 7 different films, as well as being in TV shows and commercials.

Here it is, for your listening enjoyment, with a still picture of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: