Time further out

Dave says:

"To explain the relationship of the Miro painting to the music is not a simple task. I can point out the obvious link between the numbers in the upper right hand corner of the painting and the time signatures of each of the pieces on the album. There is a more tenuous link in the Miro abstract forms, suggesting human figures moving in a visual rhythym which could be interpreted as a jazz quartet."

I learned how to play the guitar at Strings 'n' Things in Paraparaumu. Strings 'n' Things was run by a German who had had a hit with his band in Germany which I think might have been called Lollipop (the hit not the band). He had a big bush of grey curly hair and a long, lean body. He taught me guitar with a couple of other boys. Basically we sat in a circle, he played the chords for simple songs and we copied him. That's how I learned how to play the guitar. This method had a major advantage and a major drawback for my musical development.

Advantage:

I learned that chords are the thing you need to know, and if you know them you can make your own songs. I have made my own songs ever since and regardless of their negligible quality I have gotten a lot of satisfaction out of this

Drawback:

I know next to nothing about music from a technical standpoint. For example it wasn't until quite recently that I really realised what different time signatures were and that a lot of my favourite bits in pop songs were when they shifted to 3/3 or 5/4 or whatever.

Which leads us back to Time Further Out by Mr Brubeck. Cool idea (each track in a different signature), and cool execution. I've listened to Unsquare Dance for years and never understood that one of the reasons it's good is the unusual time signature and off beats.

I know you can argue that music is all about feel and you don't need to worry about all that technical stuff, but sometimes I feel like I am playing in a cage, or trying to explain something very complicated in another language.

Then again, the only other time I've paid for lessons it was with a guy who wouldn't even let me touch the guitar until I had mastered written music. I would look mournfully at my guitar across the room trying to remember if it was Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit or Fruity Ardvaarks Can Eat Gooseberries. We lasted two lessons together.