You'll find me on Bandcamp ...

BIRCHES (2017) with Allister Thompson

I finally opened a Bandcamp account! 

Here it is:  Philippa Dowding, Bandcamp

You'll find a few tunes from my two guitar albums with my editor, Allister Thompson.

You'll also find recordings from my first book, The Gargoyle in My Yard. The book just turned 10 years in April 2019, and to celebrate I recorded me reading two chapters. 

You'll also find The Gargoyle Shuffle on there.

More to come, stay tuned!

SUMMER, from the album Fifth Season (2015)
with Allister Thompson

The first time I touched a guitar, I was 10 years old and I had just snuck into my older brother's room to crouch before his brand new birthday gift: an acoustic guitar. I drew my finger tips across the strings, and was shocked into wonder by the beautiful voice, the gentle whisper. That was it. Hooked for life.

I've played guitar ever since, and made friends for life through music. I've written dozens of instrumentals for the guitar since then, and have a handful of songs which I sing for friends (usually reluctantly) when pressed. You'll hear me singing in only one place that I know of: on Birches, Moonlight, a song I wrote for my sister-in-law, a song which Allister pressed me to record.

Does any amateur musician like the sound of their own voice?

I still play guitar for about 20 minutes every day, and I record new compositions all the time. Recording acoustic is hard though. You have to be perfect, you can't suddenly get itchy, or have to sneeze. The neighbours can't be cutting their grass, the dog can't bark, the front door can't slam, the cellphone has to be off ... it takes patience!

But there may be a new collaboration soon, so perhaps more tunes to come. Happy listening, everyone.

MORE ABOUT GUITAR on this blog.

Introducing The Gargoyle Shuffle

Gargoyle Image Courtesy Emma Dolan
www.emmadarkandweird.com

My first book was published TEN YEARS AGO today, on April 1, 2009!

That book was The Gargoyle in My Yard, about a grumpy, 400-year-old gargoyle lost in downtown Toronto. To celebrate, I'm posting all things gargoyle here throughout April. 

FIRST UP, MUSIC: The Gargoyle Shuffle 

I wrote this music in 2014, and I've performed it to thousands of kids across Canada ever since. My editor, Allister Thompson, a terrific musician, recorded this new version with me.

Listen to The Gargoyle Shuffle free. 
ENJOY!

Author going door to door
with champagne, 2009.
PHOTO: Andrea Gutsche

Here's a video of children dancing as I play the song in 2014: 
Kids Dance the Gargoyle Shuffle 

Thank you to author Rebecca Upjohn for the video.

Fast forward a decade, and later this year I'll publish my 12th book. Thank you to publisher Sylvia McConnell at Napoleon for getting this party started a decade ago!

I'll be posting more throughout April, including chapters from the book, "10 Writing Truths" on my publisher's website, and more. For now, take a look at the rapturous author, holding her FIRST BOOK, 10 years ago!

More about The Gargoyle in My Yard on this Blog
More about The Lost Gargoyle Series

Next Week, April 8: I'll post a reading of Chapter 4, MOONLIGHT DANCE

My acoustic guitar music goes on tour ...

The author at a coffee house at 16 years

Here are 3 new artist videos that use my guitar music:

Canoe Trip on the River Wye, England
Drone tour of St-Leon-le-Grand, Quebec
Lovely Fall trees 

In my non-author life, I play acoustic guitar.

I've played guitar most of my life. I started with a ukulele that someone thoughtfully gave me when I was nine. I begged my family for a guitar (my older brother had one, it seemed only fair), and when I was 12, I got a Sears guitar for Christmas. I played it until it bent in half (admittedly it wasn't a great instrument, more of a toy really).

For my 16th birthday, I got a truly wonderful instrument which I still have and record with even today: a solid body acoustic Yamaha dreadnought, mahogany top, made in Japan. Glorious deep voice, still. It's in the picture, above.

My first guitar album with
editor Allister Thompson, 2015

But before that, when I was 12, I started guitar lessons with the Sears toy guitar on Wednesday nights with Ursula Davidson, an amazing Russian woman who loved guitar and loved teaching kids how to play. Each student dropped a $2 bill in the jar at Ursula's feet, then sat in a circle and tuned (which usually took a long time). Then we played great old tunes, a new one each week, including some Monkees, Beatles, Jim Croce, even some America and CSNY.

It was perfect for me. Not too intense, no one-on-one unless I needed it, just learned some fun music every week and realized I really loved the instrument.

Ursula told my mother one spring night that I should go and audition for another guitar teacher because I had promise, and she couldn't teach me much more. So I did. I'll never forget how nervous I was auditioning for this man in a stern beard.

My second guitar album with
editor Allister Thompson, 2017

He assured me that I knew how to read music because my mother had assured him that I could. I assured him that I couldn't read music. He sighed. He said he didn't teach beginners anymore. Then he had me follow some complicated picking that he showed me quickly and I thought, sure, I can do that. I'm pretty sure I couldn't, and didn't, but he must have seen something in me because he told me to turn up for lessons the next week.

And that's how, at 13, I met my Julliard-trained guitar teacher. He patiently started at the beginning and taught me how to read music for classical guitar. He cajoled and bullied me, a fairly lazy student, into someone who could actually sight read reasonably well, and play acceptably. But I wasn't up to his standards, not really. He and I both knew that I was never going to play in Carnegie Hall. So at 16, I stopped lessons. But I never stopped playing.

2010, author and daughter doing our favourite things 

In fact, learning new songs and creating music of my own has been incredibly important to me my whole life. I've played with friends from university on a regular basis for almost 40 years now. I have a classical duet flute partner, and we practice regularly and play in public from time to time. And I also record music with my editor, Allister Thompson.

And people use the music in their videos to celebrate whatever it is they are doing in their lives. Honestly, that makes me so happy.

I think it would make Ursula Davidson happy too, and even my old Julliard-trained guitar teacher might say a quiet "well done." Or he might just be able to listen without wincing.

Thank you to them and to my musical friends, for the gift of music.

Here's a link to MORE VIDEOS using my music
More musical posts ON THIS BLOG