UNICEF - Winter Wonderland 2014

Those of you who follow this blog (Hi Dave, hi Keith) might remember that this time last year I was busily engaged in putting together an EP of original music with the idea of raising money for Syrian refugees – http://jmguitartuition.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/the-big-xmas-idea-2013-songs-for-syria.html.

Well, we managed it, and once again many thanks to all those involved. Didn't manage to knock Simon Cowell's latest chew toy off the Number 1 spot, but we still finished the job and got everyone's tracks released on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/songs-for-syria-ep/id786780236

So, this year, it's bigger and better. Everyone has either written a song or contributed to some one else's – we've got everything from guitar pop to blues, orchestral metal to a synthesiser based Robot Love Opera along with the most badass fusion of metal, banjo and opera that you ever did hear (no, I'm not exaggerating).

I've also chosen a bigger and better-known charity – UNICEF, who are recognised worldwide as the leading organisation for children in over 190 countries. So there's a nice symmetry- kids as young as 11 or 12 writing songs to help kids of a similar age in war-torn Syria or Ebola-hit Sierra Leone, and in the process gaining skills, experience and confidence.

We've also got more established local musicians (myself included) donating tracks, a very good artist fiend of mine has donated us a cover – all on a budget of literally £0. So with no overheads, all the money goes straight to UNICEF.

Now, of course all the good intentions in the world will count for nothing unless we can get this stuff out there. Mainstream local media outlets have so far ignored this story, so we're going to have to do it ourselves. You don't need to send money, you don't need to do anything apart from tell people. We've got a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lmcxmas, so go “like” us and share with absolutely everyone you can – we also have a Twitter hashtag #winterwonderland2014.

The album will be around about the £5 mark when it comes out and really does showcase a huge range of local talent, so if you were going to shell out for whatever X-factor winner releases, do yourself a favour and buy this too (or instead...).

The goal we've set is to sell a thousand copies – a thousand copies at £5 each means £5000 for UNICEF. That's an awful lot of Ebola treatments. That's an awful lot of clean water treatments. That's lives saved. AND you get a pretty damn good album for your trouble. Check out the link for a free track from Dave The Rock Band: https://soundcloud.com/jm-guitar-tuition/because-of-you

So I implore absolutely everybody who reads this – spread the word. We can make a difference.

The Big Xmas Idea 2013 - Song(s) For Syria

Okay folks, listen up - we have a mission to perform.

So, the idea I had (helpfully, back in December 2012, waaaaaay too late to really do anything about it...) was to have all my students collaborate on writing a Christmas song, which we would then release over iTunes, knock Simon Cowell's puppets off the top spot in the charts and raise a ton of money for a worthy cause - in this case, Syrian refugees caught in the horrific civil war that's been raging there since 2011.

This (like alot of my bright ideas...) has now mushroomed into looking like a full album's worth of music as my students are taking to this with great enthusiasm, and courtesy of BBC Radio Leicester's Tony Wadswoth, I've had a chance to plug it on the air too, so here's a breakdown of exactly what's going on for those interested:

Everyone who wants to get involved has the option of a) composing an entire song themselves (less daunting than you might think), b) collaborating with another student to write a song together, or c) contributing a guitar, bass or keyboard part to someone else's track, almost like a session player.

All these songs will be arranged here and recorded to a click track, before being whizzed over to my good friend Steve Ward's drum teaching studio in Loughborough (http://www.instrumental-music.co.uk) to have him and his students record drum parts.

Vocals can be handled by the students themselves, or for those who prefer not to sing, Matt from the quasi-legendary Dave The Rock Band (http://www.thedave.co.uk) has ensnared the services of VocalTech in Leicester, including the provision of a choir.

All songs will then be mixed down and mastered before being uploaded to iTunes and distributed digitally.

This is going to be a steep learning curve for all concerned, so there's every chance that things won't go exactly to plan, but as musicians we'll just do what we do best and IMPROVISE!

Already we've got a couple of compositions coming along nicely, so if you'd like to get involved in this, join us on http://www.facebook.com/JMGuitarTuition, - so far it's been a ton of fun and just maybe we can do a little bit of good in the world this year.

All we need now is a name.....