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Classical Masterpieces - Chopin; Nocturne (Op. 9 No. 2)

13/8/2019

Frederic Chopin composed this, his most famous Nocturne, when he was about twenty years old. Along with his Funeral March, Raindrop Prelude and Minute Waltz, the Nocturne in Eb is among Chopin's most recognisable pieces. It is also one of the world's best loved works for solo piano.

The melody is a smooth, gentle lullaby. Simple at first, it recurs three times, becoming more decorated with each playing. The left hand is reminiscent of the chordal leaps of stride piano, albeit with a waltz feel and at a much slower tempo! It is this left hand that really challenges the player, with Nocturne in Eb coming in around Grade 8 standard.

All of Chopin's music is in the public domain, and you can download the full version here: https://www.mutopiaproject.org/ftp/ChopinFF/O9/chopin_nocturne_op9_n2/chopin_nocturne_op9_n2-a4.pdf

If you are looking for a simpler arrangement, my book FAVOURITE CHILDREN'S CLASSICS FOR PIANO includes a Grade 1 standard arrangement of this piece, as well as 24 other classical masterpieces. It is available on Amazon here for £5.99.

You can hear how the Grade 1 arrangement sounds by clicking on the adjacent YouTube video.

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Using Apostrophes - a basic guide

7/8/2019

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If you are an aspiring writer, a grasp of good grammar is essential. Today we will look at apostrophes, when and how to use them and how not to use them.

There are a few occasions when an apostrophe is needed.

1) Single quotes. Not strictly 'apostrophes', I've included them because you at least have to press the apostrophe key on your keyboard. There are two types of quote mark - the single quote (which uses the apostrophe key) and the double quote (which is SHIFT 2 on the keyboard).

In prose, one set of quote marks is used to denote speech. Usually it's the double, but single quotes can also be used. It depends upon the author and publisher. I prefer to use double quotes for speech, as I find single quotes can sometimes look messy when combined with other apostrophes in the sentence.

Double quotes - "I need to go to the doctor's," I said.
Single quotes - 'I need to go to the doctor's,' I said.

Both are acceptable.

The other set of quote marks are used for highlighting an important word, like 'apostrophes' in the sentence Not strictly 'apostrophes', I've included... or for quoting words from a passage of text or speech. If you use double quotes for speech, use single quotes for highlighting and quoting, and vice-versa.

e.g. 1 "Do you know what she said?" I asked. "She said, 'Why don't you just leave?', and so I did."

OR

'Do you know what she said?' I asked. 'She said, "Why don't you just leave?", and so I did.'

e.g. 2 Mark Twain once said that golf was 'a good walk spoilt'.

OR

Mark Twain once said that golf was "a good walk spoilt".

So, make a choice! Direct speech using one type of quote mark, highlighting and quoting using the other. But as I said, I prefer double quotes for speech.

2) Contractions and missed-out letters. What is a contraction? It is making something smaller. In writing, a contraction is when two words are squashed together to make one word.

Did not becomes didn't.
Have not becomes haven't.
Would not becomes wouldn't.
Could have becomes could've

The rule is simple. The two words are squashed together. A letter is omitted (usually the 'o' from not). An apostrophe is used in place of the missed-out letter.

In the contractions could have / would have / should have (remember, it is NOT would of or should of!) the words get squashed together and we omit the first two letters of 'have' and put in an apostrophe.

And then there is one of my pet peeves: the misuse of your and you're! Your means something belonging to you. You're is the contraction of you are. See the apostrophe? It means there's a letter missing, and that two words have been contracted - make sure you learn the difference!

You may wonder if you can contract the three-word 'would not have' into the mega contraction wouldn't've. The answer is... no! Wouldn't've is not a word. Use wouldn't have.

Also, use an apostrophe if you have missed off a letter in slang. People commonly miss off the g sound in ing -

"That is frickin' brilliant!"

3) Possession. This is the trickiest rule to grasp. You use an apostrophe to show that something belongs to something else. Whenever you are wondering whether to use an apostrophe or not, phrase the sentence thus:

The such-and-such belonging to such-and-such.

The pen belonging to the girl.
The car belonging to Harry.

Now, the pen belonging to the girl means that it's the girl's pen. And it's also Harry's car. You add an apostrophe s (which looks like this: 's) to the end of the owner. BUT! Only if the owner is singular. That is, if there is only one girl, and only one Harry.

These are singular possessives.

One girl, one pen? The girl's pen.
One girl, many pens? The girl's pens.

But what if the singular word ends in s? Like something belonging to Chris, or belonging to the bus?

There is some conflict between styles, unfortunately. Most style guides say you should still add apostrophe s ('s), just like any other singular possession. Chris's hat. The bus's wheels. This is what I much prefer and would recommend.

Some of the more modern style guides say you need only use an apostrophe. Chris' hat. The bus' wheels. I sigh at that.

The most important thing is to pick a style and stick to it.

You also have plural possessives.

It sounds complicated, but isn't really. Plural just means more than one. Again, we are talking about the owner. Is there more than one girl, and they've thrown all their pens into a pile?

Again, phrase the sentence thus:

The pens belonging to the girls.

Notice that girls is now plural, because there is more than one girl. You do NOT add apostrophe s. You just add the apostrophe: The girls' pens.

The toys belonging to the boys? The boys' toys. (plural)

But if one boy has lots of toys? The boy's toys. (singular)

Look at what comes before the apostrophe. boys' = boys (lots of boys). Boy's = boy (one boy).

Most plural words end in s, and you follow this rule. But what happens if a plural does not end in s? Like children, or men. Then you add apostrophe s ('s) again!

The classroom belonging to the children - the children's classroom.
The beer belonging to the men - the men's beer.

It is NOT childrens' classroom, or mens' beer. Again, look at what comes before the apostrophe. Childrens is not a word, and neither is mens. The pural is children, and so you use apostrophe s.

To be a little technical, possessive apostrophes are only used for nouns, not pronouns. Here are some possessive pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its.

You do NOT use apostrophes for these possessive pronouns. The most confusing ones are the ones ending in s. Yours, hers and its. You do not write that pen is your's or that is her's. You write that pen is yours and that is hers.

Its is the most confusing, because there is a word it's, but this is a contraction of it is!

So only write it's if you mean it is.

It's raining outside.

OR

Its wheels fell off. (You do not need an apostrophe for a possessive pronoun!)

When not to use apostrophes. Commonly, people will mistakenly use apostrophes to make plurals out of numbers and letters. You do not need an apostrophe in this sentence:

Can all the number 7's stand up? Now all the B's.

It should be

Can all the number 7s stand up? Now all the Bs.

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Music Teacher Magazine's review of Favourite Children's Songs For Piano

15/8/2018

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Adjacent is Fiona Lau's review of my beginner's piano book, Favourite Children's Songs for Piano, as printed in Piano Teacher Magazine's July 2018 issue.

I was delighted at how positive the review is!

"If you teach young beginners, get this book. You will not regret it."

Can't get much better than that!

You can buy Favourite Children's Songs for Piano on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Favourite-Childrens-Songs-piano-complete/dp/198051450X

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Piano Grade 1 Sight Reading ABRSM tips

23/3/2018

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1) Don't neglect sight reading! Such an important skill. Don't leave til last minute!

2) For G1 hands never play together, they never move/stretch and range is just 5 notes. When hands are in position DON'T MOVE THEM!

3) No need to work out each individual note. Follow the steps vs leaps. Leaps from line-line or space-space = skip a note/finger. Larger intervals can be worked out during the 30 seconds along with the starting note for both hands!

4) Identify what's in the key signature and place fingers on corresponding sharps/flats before beginning. During the 30 seconds scan the piece to identify accidentals.

5) Count 1,2,3 in head to get pulse if in 3 time.

6) Play it SLOWLY, no matter the #tempo direction!

7) Clapping games can develop a recognition of rhythmic phrases. Practise especially subdivision; clapping #crotchets to #quavers etc.

8) But remember the most important thing: KEEP GOING. Don't repeat stumbled phrases, don't go back and correct - don't stop! Students possibly find this the hardest to manage!

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After you've finished writing your novel...

4/6/2015

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It's a good idea to hear how your story sounds out loud, especially if you've written a picture book parents are going to read to their children. There are programs that do this - read text out loud. Else you could get someone to read it to you or record yourself reading it and listen to it back.

Obviously, grammar and spelling need to be perfect before you send it off, which is why it's a good idea to put the manuscript aside for a few weeks (I usually wait 5 or 6); it's amazing how many errors you can find on re-reading with fresh eyes. You may want to join a writing community like www.mywriterscircle.com (I've been a member for many years and it's helped me a lot).

Few reputable publishers accept unsolicited submissions anymore, but there are a few medium sized traditional publishers that do, with Andersen Press probably being the best. I made a blog post listing them here: http://www.walkerproductions.co.uk/blog/13-reputable-uk-childrens-publishers-accepting-unsolicited-submissions

So going the agent route is probably best to start with. They will sell your MS to the best publisher in return for 15% commission. Every writer should have a copy of the current Writers' and Artists' Yearbook http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1408192454/ (the new 2016 edition is out in July), which lists who does what in UK publishing.

Make sure you research any prospective agents thoroughly online before submitting anything. Does their website look professional? Have they successfully sold books in your genre? Most are members of the Association of Authors' Agents, although some reputable agencies are not. Just have a look at what they've sold. Then decide who to send the MS to. The larger agencies have many agents working for them, so you should read their profiles and select the best fit and address your submission to them. Always follow their submission guidelines. Most are either email or form submissions, which is handy (although I have had a few subs and replies lost in the ether from time to time). Usually they ask for the full MS for picture books, either as a Word or PDF file (be aware that formatting may be lost if they have a different version of Word to you). For longer works the first three chapters and a synopsis is usually requested. The synopsis is not a blurb or teaser, but a concise summary of the main plot, including the ending. Try to get it onto one page of A4. Everything, including the synopsis, should be double spaced (select all and press ctrl +2), 12 point Times New Roman, no space between paragraphs unless starting a new section. In other words, the complete opposite of how I've formatted this blog post.

Put your address and contact details, the title, your name and the word count on the title page. Make sure you number the pages. Attach the file(s)to a cover email which introduces you and your work.

Dear [agent's name],

Please find attached my picture book/novel, TITLE IN CAPS (word count). [Short summary of the novel, no more than three sentences, then a little about yourself].

Don't say your daughter and her classmates loved it. Don't say the agent will be missing out on loads of money if they turn it down. Don't say it could be a movie and you will write the script.

Select about a dozen agents and submit to them simultaneously. That is a perfectly standard thing to do, unless they specifically say they only accept exclusive submissions. Do not CC them all in to the same email though!

Expect to wait between 1 and 3 months, and if you haven't heard back send a polite email enquiring whether they received your submission OK.

Everyone gets rejection. Don't let it bother you. They are almost always form rejections that say about how your work is not quite right for their list. But if they take the time to write you a personal rejection treat it like gold dust and treasure it.

If you run out of agents, try the publishers listed on my blog. Then you may want to look at self-publishing (note: use a Print-On-Demand company like Lulu.com where there are no set-up fees. You do not want to be paying vanity publishers thousands of pounds for them to dump 100 books on your doorstep). That's the main thing you need to keep in mind: "money should flow towards the author, not the other way round". You do not want to be paying publishers or agents anything apart from commission and 'expenses' like photocopying and proof copies. Publishers make their money by selling books. Agents make their money on commission from selling books. Do not hand over any money unless they have sold something.

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Four Oaks Cluster Choir win the Manchester Amateur Choral Comp. 2015!

10/4/2015

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Four Oaks Cluster Choir win Manchester Amateur Choral Competition 2015

Four Oaks Cluster Choir - MACC 2015 winners!

A huge congratulations to Four Oaks Cluster Choir, who on the 22nd February 2015 won the annual Manchester Amateur Choral Competition.

We sang three songs - Winter Sings Her Song, London Medley and With Or Without You.

After announcing us as winners, we sang With Or Without You again, and you can see the video of that performance below.

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Andrew Lloyd Webber and his 'original' songs

22/12/2014

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Don't get me wrong, I'm actually a huge fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. A lot of people seem to look down on his music, dismissing it as clichéd and 'safe'. In some ways, of course, it is. But that's because the general public like simple melodies and clichéd chord progressions.

There is nothing new nowadays. It doesn't matter whether you look at literature, art or music - pretty much everything has already been done to some extent. In Western music there are only 12 different tones; and so only a limited number of variations! I'm pretty sure every 'recent' melody you name can be already found somewhere within the wealth of written music generated over the last 500 years or so.

The video below is a tongue-in-cheek poking fun at ALW, performed live in a village pub. Originally written and performed by Kit and the Widow, with a few adaptions and additions by myself.

~ Memory from Cats sounds like Ravel's Bolero.
~ I Don't Know How To Love Him from Jesus Christ Superstar is an almost exact copy of a theme from Mendelssohn's violin concerto in E Minor.
~ The 6 note motif sung with "Jesus Christ Superstar" is the same as one from Richard Strauss's September.
~ Themes in The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera sound similar to Puccini's La Fanciulla (for which ALW was sued by Puccini's estate and settled out of court) and Come to Me, Bend to Me from Brigadoon.
~ The accompaniment to Don't Cry For Me Argentina is a version of JS Bach's Prelude in C.

~ The first few notes of Love Changes Everything from Aspects of Love are identical to the ones from JS Bach's Fugue in E Major (Well Tempered Clavier Book II).
~ The super famous chromatic riff from The Phantom of the Opera is almost identical to the one in Pink Floyd's Echoes.

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Free sheet music to my piano composition 'Walk in the Moonlight'

15/11/2014

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You can download the sheet music (PDF) and have a listen to my jazzy piano solo WALK IN THE MOONLIGHT below. About grade 3 standard.

Walk in the Moonlight mp3 (listen)
File Size:	916 kb
File Type:	mp3

Download File

Walk in the Moonlight sheet music (PDF)
File Size:	35 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Walk in the Moonlight - piano jazz composition by Matt Walker (grade 3+)

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The 'Redefinition' of Marriage (has happened countless times!)

6/11/2014

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I heard recently about Bryan Barkley, the elderly Red Cross volunteer dismissed from the charity over his gay marriage protest. He is absolutely entitled to his views (just as the Red Cross is entitled to dismiss him), however, his placard 'No redefinition of marriage' raises a common misconception. Some people seem to think that marriage is and has always been an unchanging institution, a union between one man and one woman. But this is not the case.

For centuries marriages in England were strictly religious - between one man and one woman before God. This changed only in the 20th Century with the advent of civil ceremonies, when God was removed from the union.

And if we look at traditional marriage as outlined by Biblical law we can see the institution has changed many times. Men could have more than one wife (but of course women could not have more than one husband). Marriages were almost always arranged, and fathers could sell their daughters into marriage as slavers could sell their slaves. If a woman's husband died she was required to marry his brother (Deut 25:5). And if an unmarried, un-betrothed young woman was raped she was required to marry her rapist (Deut 22:28-29). Luckily marriage, like other institutions, has been reformed by superior moral standards. So marriage has been redefined many times, and for the better.

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~ Happy Halloween! ~ Short Story ~ At Night She Lives

30/10/2014

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AT NIGHT SHE LIVES
by Matt Walker
First published by Dark Fire Fiction

“Why the hell is he coming with us?” Jay scowled through his white make-up at the younger boy.

“Because my mom said I had to take him.”

“Jesus, Ben.”

“Oh, leave off, Jay. He’s alright.” Ben put a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. “He just wants to go trick or treating like the other kids.”

“Oh, well that’s just great.” Jay flung out his arms and his pathetic Dracula cape rippled in the October night. “Terrific. So we have to baby-sit an eight-year-old.”

“I’m actually ten.” Ben’s younger brother wore a hockey mask, though his voice came out small and not in the least bit scary.

“Ssh, Owen.” Ben shrugged his shoulders at Jay. His clothes were ripped and covered in fake blood. “He won’t be a nuisance.”

“He better not be. Hear?” Jay prodded Owen in the chest. “Hear?”

Owen looked at his feet and said nothing.

Jay turned back to Ben. “What the hell are you supposed to be, anyway?”

“A zombie, or something, I dunno. Just something dead and mangled.”

“You look like a heap of crap.”

“Well, you look like a woman wearing a face mask.”

Jay gave him the bird.

Ben grinned. “Come on, before it gets too late.”

“Too late? Your mom hasn’t told you to be back by 9 o’clock because of him—” he jabbed a finger at Owen, “—has she? We’re fifteen, Ben!”

“I know.”

“I’m ten.”

“Shut up, Owen.” Jay sighed, and his fangs nearly fell out. “Fine. Let’s get going then, if we’re going to bother.”

Ben nearly threw up his arms and said, “Fine—let’s not bother, you miserable git,” but he would never say something like that to Jay. Later, of course, he wished with all his heart he had.

They went from house to house and tried their best to scare the residents into handing over sweets. (“Or money,” Jay had said, “try and get money, Ben.”) Ben would knock the door with Owen and say, “Trick or treat,” and all without fail would obligingly hand over handfuls of unwanted chocolates and sweets that would soon be out of date or already were.

Jay hid behind the garage, willing a homeowner to say “trick”—possibly with a mischievous glint in their eye—and then Jay would jump out and scream at them and make them crap themselves.

But no one did. It made him angry.

“Why isn’t anyone asking to be tricked?” Jay kicked the gutter.

“Don’t complain; they’re giving us sweets!” Owen grinned, already eating some of the night’s takings.

“Halloween isn’t about the sweets, it’s about scaring people. God, this is lame.”

They got to the end of the road and stood looking at the house on the corner.

“She won’t answer,” Ben said. “She didn’t last year.”

Mrs Lovejoy was an elderly widow, diagnosed as ‘batty’ and ‘off her rocker’ by the neighbourhood kids (and their parents too, truth be told).

“Just ring the doorbell,” Jay said, taking his position out of sight behind the garage.

Ben sighed and did so. To his surprise, Mrs Lovejoy answered almost immediately, as if she’d been waiting to dish out her old sweets to any kid brave enough to ring her doorbell. It’d have been better for everyone if she hadn’t. Especially herself.

“Trick or treat!”

“Ooh, don’t you two look a picture!” the old woman cawed, taking some snack-sized chocolates from the dish on a nearby shelf and dumping them in the sack Owen carried. “Don’t eat them all at once, now.”

“We won’t, thank you very...”

“Roooaaar!” Jay decided to jump out anyway. He’d been dying to all night, and he laughed as he did it. Ben and Owen jumped, and they knew he was there. Mrs Lovejoy gasped. Her eyes bulged.

“Jay, you idiot, that wasn’t funny...”

Jay laughed, and then his smile faltered. Mrs Lovejoy clutched her hand to her chest and choked out short, shallow breaths.

“Mrs Lovejoy... stop screwing around...” But Jay knew as well as anyone that the old lady wasn’t joking. It was etched on his terrified face. “Mrs Lovejoy?”

She fell to the floor and was still.

“Oh crap,” Jay said. “Oh crap.”

* * * * *

“We’ll have to leave her.”

“We can’t leave her!” Ben put both hands to his head. He was suddenly very, very hot.

“She’s dead, isn’t she!” Owen cried until snot came from his nose.

Jay looked over his shoulder. The street was almost completely hidden by the row of trees lining the front garden. “No one can see us. No one needs to know we were here.”

“You killed her!” Ben said.

“She had a heart attack! She was old! It was about time she died.” Jay’s eyes were as wild and feral as a rabid dog’s. “They’ll arrest you, too. You were here with me. They’ll take you away from your mom.”

Owen cried harder.

“Jay...”

“I’m not getting done for this, Ben—they’ll put me inside this time. And everyone will think you’re a murderer too. We have to leave her and tell no one.”

Ben felt his own eyes burning. “I don’t know...”

“Yes. Yes. Promise me. We tell no one.”

And his eyes were so wide and scared and mad that Ben could only nod. “O... okay...” he said.

* * * * *

“Oh no, listen to this, kids.” Their father ruffled the local paper as he said, “Mrs Lovejoy from down the street died of a heart attack last night.”

Ben caught Owen’s eye, feeling his stomach knot. She’d come to him last night, you see. Crawled across the carpet and grabbed his ankle. “Jay will try to blame you for it all...” she’d said. “You can’t trust him...”

The cereal suddenly tasted like cold gruel and sank uncomfortably in his stomach. “A heart attack?”

“Yes. It says she phoned for an ambulance complaining of severe chest pains just before 9 o’clock last night, but she was already dead when they got there.”

The words punched Ben clean in the stomach. “She phoned for an ambulance?” His voice came out muffled and sounded like it belonged to someone else.

“Yes. That’s what it says. Are you alright?”

Oh Jesus, she was still alive when we left her... He closed his eyes, hearing Owen stifle a sob and dash from the table. Oh Jesus Christ of Nazareth... we might have saved her...

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Forward>>

Classical Masterpieces - Chopin; Nocturne (Op. 9 No. 2)

Using Apostrophes - a basic guide

Music Teacher Magazine's review of Favourite Children's Songs For Piano

Piano Grade 1 Sight Reading ABRSM tips

After you've finished writing your novel...

Four Oaks Cluster Choir win the Manchester Amateur Choral Comp. 2015!

Andrew Lloyd Webber and his 'original' songs

Free sheet music to my piano composition 'Walk in the Moonlight'

The 'Redefinition' of Marriage (has happened countless times!)

~ Happy Halloween! ~ Short Story ~ At Night She Lives

AT NIGHT SHE LIVES
by Matt Walker
First published by Dark Fire Fiction

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AT NIGHT SHE LIVESby Matt WalkerFirst published by Dark Fire Fiction

Archives

Categories

AT NIGHT SHE LIVES
by Matt Walker
First published by Dark Fire Fiction