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Neil Turner, a colleague and friend from my teaching days in Germany asked if I would like to construct an electric corrulute from a self-build kit he designed with a team of fellow enthusiasts. I really love string instruments and I’m sure kids would also love to make and play one of these. As it clearly has such great educational value and potential I said I would be very happy to give it a go. The following video made by my daughter Louisa gives you some idea of the process. The audio track playing in the background is the corrulute played through a Boss Katana Amp. It is amazing what you can make from a strip of wood and card. Great fun! Take a look at the website https://www.corrulute.uk for more information.

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Here is something a little out of the ordinary, definitely not my usual offering, but I thought I might share this with you. I created this video with my daughter, it was recorded two years ago on a handheld mobile phone; so all credit to her directorial and editing skills. I put down the audio track in the house because here in the Fenlands it is always windy and you wouldn’t have heard a single note. Did I hear someone say that would have been a wiser option? 🙂

For those who are interested, this is a Gretsch open back banjo, which I have now replaced with a Deering model. Recently, I have focused all of my energies on playing acoustic guitar and learning the Travis finger picking style. I have to say that the rhythmic style of frailing or clawhammer style banjo really helped with the finger picking. Sadly, I haven’t picked up the banjo for a year… the rest of the family are just quietly delighted.