plucking at the strings of fortune
Al date..000009
Al Bampton
Leeds based musician, guitar teacher and music tutor
Hi there,
AB – Guitar tabs has just taken delivery of Ed Sheeran’s “The shape of you”
Learn the riff, the chords, variations or the complete song with left and right hand guidance throughout.
Firefly (Ayshea Megyery and Al Bampton) play this song. It was fun arranging this for a duo. The trick is to create enough variation with just one guitar.
Ayshea Megyery and Al Bampton (Firefly)
Enjoy. See ya — Al.
Al date..000008
Al Bampton
Leeds based musician, guitar teacher and music tutor
And the sun is still shinning. Is this England or did I wake up in the wrong country.Great for outdoor gigs and really bad if you grow onions. Thinking about you guys.
Tuesday was fun although I learnt a lesson. My life has so far taught me to focus on the gig. It was only afterwards i realised that this life learnt lesson needs to be tweaked slightly.
If you are going to play on a big stage in Millennium Square (Leeds) with two of the acts you work with do make sure you leave with something to post on the net. Doh, as Homer would say. We’ll get there.
Had a stunning Evening with Tasha Lawes and The Deuce Katz. A serious thank you to all the local folks who turned up to enjoy themselves. We all had a ball so cheers from myself, Tasha and the gang that is The Deuce Katz.
AB. Tasha Lawes and Al Bampton.
“It’s been a long time since I rock’n’rolled”
The Evening was finished off rather well with The Boss and The Beeston Street band. If you like your Springsteen do try to catch them.
The Boss and the Beeston Sreet band.
Gigs
We have a cracking gig coming up on Sunday. Tasha, Ian and myself played a birthday party a few months ago and the combinations were fun. There will effectively be two different duos and a trio. I love playing with these guys.
Al Bampton’s Sunday Evening Project
East of Arcadia (Meanwood)
Tasha Lawes
Ian Fairbairn
Al Bampton
Sunday 5th of August
Anybody interested in a bit of folk rock history may be interested in finding out more about Ian Fairbairn. These links may be of use I’ve included a video from the kind of gig he often plays – The Cambridge folk festival.
Ian “Walter” Fairbairn (wikipedia)
Ian with The Mighty Doonans playing Cambridge
There’s more
Al is trying to get his head around what we call Social Media. Interesting to observe and powerful in a good and a bad way. A bit of a paradox perhaps.
Anyway, feel free to pop by. Al is now active on Instagram and Twitter I promise to be on my best behaviour.
Al Bampton – Instagram account.
Possible right direction
I have a few of my transcriptions and arrangements on a YouTube channel going under the name of;
AB – Guitar tabs
I checked it yesterday to discover that one of my arrangements/transcriptions had been viewed nearly a thousand times. Most of those hits have happened in two months. Little acorns as they say.
Emimem’s Lose yourself was always popular at school. All I did was transcribe the opening piano part for the guitar. Shot out of the door regularly for years. Actually I also taught pupils to play the riff with attitude as well.
Lose yourself – Emimem
New Project
I’m investigating the concept of internet lessons using Skype. I will need to sort out my broadband first. Any tips will be gratefully accepted.
Al’s first podcast
This was fun. A big thank you to The Blind Dead McJones band for inviting me along to their radio shows podcast. Al talking for two hours. Whatever next.
For more information about The Blind Dead McJones band and chapelfm click the following links.
“The blues ain’t dead, it’s just hard to find” – Blind Dead McJones
Moving moment of the week
A couple of days ago I caught a headline and ended up watching a wonderful music video. For me it was powerful and very moving. Rhiannon Giddens is the ladies name and the song is the first track on her new album and is titled At The Purchasers Option
As a very young teenager my father gave me an Alan Lomax recording which taught me many things. The most important lessons were that I learnt where the music I loved came from and how much pain the people who gave me it had endured for centuries. Thanks dad by the way. This lady is telling the world something that to me is very, very important and it would do well to listen. Stunning.
“you can take my body
you can take my bones
you can take my blood
but not my soul”
I would say that before you make any comment about the racial tension that exists in America you need to understand this. The advert in the video is real and was actually written by a slave owner back in the 1830’s. Understanding that slavery didn’t actually end when our history books tell us it did is crucial knowledge.
If you are moving to virtually any kind of modern popular music this is where your fun came from. My dad gave me an understanding of this which has led to lifelong respect. Sadly I cannot rewrite history.
Alan Lomax
This guy was a bit special. As well playing the music, his love of blues led to him recording people in their environment and blues musicians for over five decades starting in the 1940’s. It was real people back in the forties I was listening to on the record my father gave me. That had an impact on my life. The American Library of Congress stores over 17.000 digital files. This guy loved the music and has made sure it is remembered. Thank you Alan Lomax.
If you would like to know more about Alan Lomax click the following links
Time to go. Speak soon.
See ya — Al.
Al date..000007
And the sun is shining again. What is the world coming to? Easily the warmest summer I can remember since 1976.
Sadly there is no new material as yet but we are working behind the scenes as they say.
We have a sensational gig coming up this coming Sunday if you are in the Leeds area.
Al Bampton’s Sunday Evening Project
East of Arcadia (Meanwood)
https://www.facebook.com/eastofarcadia/
James Raftery & Judith Watts
Robbie Anker
Al Bampton
Sunday 22nd July
If you click the link below you will be able to have a listen to James and Judith. Sounds lovely and I for one can’t wait for Sunday.
https://moonshyners.bandcamp.com/track/coalminers
Not too much else to report but here is a video from a recent Deuce Katz rehearsal. I love this track and I love playing with this mob.
Danny’s All Star Joint (Rickie Lee Jones)
If you enjoyed more can heard by clicking the following link.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdpQr-U668XqJHtfUSXt-RA
Time to go. Enjoy your days.
See ya — Al.
Al date..000006
Okay, so we are back online again. Well, part of the way there that is.
My father has been in hospital and he and the family needed the attention. Work on the site pretty much came to a standstill. Apologies to THWOTH.NET for that but the understanding is there.
There is nothing new on the site as yet but the real world musical goings on have been fun.
I have set up a gig in a place called East Of Arcadia which is in the bustling Leeds suburb of Meanwood.
“Al Bampton’s Sunday Evening Project”
I’m chuffed to bits with the way it has been developing over the last couple of months. The ex and current pupils who have joined me have been superb.
The next gig is this coming Sunday (8th of July) and I will be joined by Harry Zalega. Formerly known as Harry Felton-Glen. Harry will be playing a mixture of his own stuff and covers. Great voice and a strong player. Come on down if you are in Leeds. Free admission and a 7.00 pm kickoff. Be there or be Somewhere else and enjoy whatever you end up doing.
I am getting back in to creating content for the site which will take a wee while. I am hoping to work on tuition and GCSE/A-level support videos over the coming months.
The road is long but the journey is fun.
I recorded this video with my mate Tasha Lawes last summer. Just a little something until the new stuff arrives. Fleetwood Mac are a “proper” band.
Rhainnon (cover) Tasha Lawes and Al Bampton
The next video is of Rosa Weiner’s first gig from The Sunday Afternoon Project back in 2010. Tasha joined in as well. I love my job!
Sexy Minx (cover) Rosa Wiener/Tasha Lawes and Al Bampton.
I have also added a few little extras to the side bar as you obviously will notice.
Back in the early nineties while living in Australia I worked with a wonderful singer/guitarist called David Giles. We recorded this version of Blue moon on a battered up old Tascam four track. We got gigs so it did the job but the recording quality obviously ain’t the the best. As I have never tried to get a record deal there are no Abbey Road recordings lying around my house and that is fine by me. Believe it or not I have very little time for the recording industry although the scenery is changing out there.
Have great days and nights and for all the true football fans out there, enjoy. Come on England! (Or in your case come on whoever it is you support. Unless they play my team that is.)
See ya — Al.
PS. Guitar Teacher Leeds.
Got a fair number of pupils heading off to University this year so I have a few spaces that could do with filling. If anybody is after tuition you can find contact info on the main site.
“Over and out” for now.
Al date..000005
I doubt if there are any people out there in cyberspace worrying about where I have been for the last month or so but just in case — Hello again, it’s been a little while.
It’s been a combination of things really. I kind of worked myself to a standstill last year. It was a load of fun and a seriously enlightening experience but having worked so much I needed a break to recharge the batteries.
This sudden need to sit down and play my guitar was accompanied by the arrival of my daughter who flew in from Australia at the beginning of January. I haven’t seen her for two years so needless to say I have been otherwise engaged.
I haven’t been completely at a standstill though. It did occur to me that if I am going to post videos regularly it might be useful to have a stockpile of the little darlings. To that end I am compiling a folder excitingly titled entitled “videos 2018” which is being filled up with videos for future use. This way I will hopefully feel in control of the situation rather than rushing to finish a video to upload.
At some point in the near future I will hopefully be in position to move this website in to another gear.
Definitely busking this project as I have done with many things in my life. As I can never be sure if that is a good or a bad thing I never worry about it.
I have also had to spend a bit of time focusing on the real world, bills to pay and all that jazz. I am hoping to start up a new gig which will hopefully end up being called, wait for it —
The Sunday Evening Project.
I am currently in talks with the manager of East of Arcadia (Meanwood, Leeds) about a regular Sunday night gig in his bar/cafe/restaurant. I’m hoping to perform with Tasha, Ayshea, various older pupils and if we are lucky an acoustic version of The Deuce Katz may materialise. The idea is to have a different gig every week with acts returning every two to three months. Hopefully as with The current Sunday Afternoon Project it will be good experience for my pupils and by an enjoyable evening for the audience. I will try to get the legend that is Ian Fairbairn involved as well. Keep your fingers crossed!
I have also had my head stuck in photoshop which is another very big piece of software I have had to learn to use very quickly. I have been trying to make posters. The first draft took several days as I tried to work the thing out and the one below required less than an hour. Just like riding a bike as they say.
For the time being here are a couple of videos I did last summer with two of my ex pupils Tasha Lawes and Gabriela Griffiths.
I’m off. This blog will be properly maintained from now on (hopefully) but for now,
See ya — Al.