Last Thursday we went to Douai Abbey for the Eric Whitacre concert. Wow! The acoustics were perfect for their style of music, but as Eric explained, the reverberation at this venue went on so long, they had to sing at half speed!!

That’s the perfect example, of course, of working with your circumstances, instead of fighting them.If you get the chance to hear his stuff, don’t miss it. It’s quite other-worldly and beautiful, especially for music with frequent clashes of simultaneous minor and major thirds, resolved and unresolved suspensions and also teeming with augmented 4ths – my favourite interval!

I couldn’t help giggling at the last chord of Oculi Omnium – yet another augmented 4th – outrageous!! I particularly loved it when I realised the last words were, “My eyes are opened.” Brilliant!

I appreciate that many of my readers will wonder what on earth I’m talking about or why I’m writing about this! Many of you won’t even know that I’m a musician and composer – and so this might be a complete surprise.But back to my point. The daleks say, “Resistance is futile!” And perhaps it is! Instead of wishing things were different, the first step in making changes is to acknowledge how things are now.

It’s a bit like looking at a map. I might know where I want to go, but unless I’m clear when I am right now, I’m going to have a helluva time getting there!  🙂

Exam Stress

There’s an enormous amount of pressure on our young people around this time of year, and many come to me to help them, not with their revision technique, but also with stress, depression and exam nerves. If you would like to see what I can do for your teenager, give me a ring or email me so that we can look at how I can help them.