Joe Samuel
I am a Musical Director specialising in comedy and improvisation. I also teach piano, Music Technology and theory. I am developing my system of music analysis called SeeChord I live in Brighton with my wife and two children and am generally very happy with my lot.
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Songs for the betrayed world
Last night I was privelidged to play with the life and death orchestra, playing the piano for a disturbing and moving performance of “Songs for the betrayed world”. We were performing in the University of Essex which is in Colchester. … Continue reading
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The warmest church in Sussex.
It is healthy to be reminded why we do what we do sometimes. Last night was a prime example of this. The quiet village of Poynings nestles snugly behind the South Downs, safely shielded from the brashness of Brighton, guarding … Continue reading
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The life of a musician
I have just had a typically strange and gloriously diverse weekend of being a musician. I guess this is why I love doing what I do, gets me out meeting all sorts of interesting people, especially Brighton people, and always … Continue reading
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Music, improvisation, and non verbal communication.
Musical improvisation and Non Verbal Communication While studying music at University I was fortunate enough to play the violin in a string quartet. Being students, there were many convoluted and bizarre relationships among the four people playing, and we … Continue reading
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On Bach to Shostakovich
On Bach and Shostakovich About 15 years ago I discovered Shostakovich’s preludes and fugues for piano. The story goes that he was a judge at a Bach piano competition and heard Tatanya Nickolyova playing the Bach preludes and fugues. He … Continue reading
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SeeChord-A new approach to music harmony
J.Samuel Seechord.co.uk A New approach to understanding harmony. The “rules” of harmony have consistently provided some of the greatest teaching and learning challenges in music. Even simple chord progressions can become dauntingly complex with the addition of a few extra … Continue reading
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Notes on improvisation
Improvisation is become my main source of expression nowadays. I work closely with an improvised comedy troupe in Brighton called The Maydays. I am solely in charge of providing the music for anything that might happen on stage; songs, dramatic … Continue reading
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The blog starts here
This is my first blog so I’m guessing I am going to take a while to find my feet. My feeling is that I will be blogging about music and improvisation mainly, as that is where my life seems to be … Continue reading
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