music
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Meet Roaring Lion — My Reggae Family
“Jo, have a listen to Ambush In The Night and Top Rankin’. They’re the next on our list of new songs. Plenty of horns in the intros.” That’s Maui, our lead guitarist, giving me a heads-up on what to prepare for our next rehearsal. In Roaring Lion, you got to practise BEFORE you come to practice There are nine of us and… Continue reading
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How I Became an Online Piano Teacher
I originally posted this article on Medium, but have now removed it from there. If you have considered taking your services online, you might be interested in the essay below. I Became an Online Piano Teacher Because of COVID Now I am living the dream Teaching piano is a lovely way to make a living,… Continue reading
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Roaring Lion at Burleigh Heads BBQ Bazaar Sept 3 2021
I’m in the car with Mike and we’re on our way to the 5.00pm Roaring Lion sound check at BBQ Bazaar in Burleigh Heads. Google Maps says Kooralbyn to Burleigh Heads is an hour and forty. So say two hours with local road works and the school run later… iPad. IPad stand. Keyboard. Keyboard stand.… Continue reading
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Watercolour by Shinji Ogata. Thanks Shinji!
I found this when clearing out some files! I was playing my friend Sophie’s piano, around 2015. Shinji Ogata is an artist in Brisbane. Here’s something about him. Continue reading
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Piano lid up fully for the first time! Bachianinha No. 1, by Paulinho Nogueira
The grand piano has been in my home for 35 days but I hadn’t put up the lid fully until a few days ago, and I wanted to record playing it! This is a beautiful piece for classical guitar called Bachianinha No.1 written by Brazilian composer Paulinho Nogueira. This piano version came about when a… Continue reading
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The Grande Dame arrives
Last week I wrote about my Beale going to a new home. Well that sure did happen and I was texting photos like this to Hanna saying, “They’re taking it now!” Later, she sent back… I’ve said before that buying the Beale felt like putting down roots in Australia – I wouldn’t buy an acoustic… Continue reading
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My Beale is going to a new home ❤️
Buying my little Bijou Beale piano in 2017 symbolised a commitment to making roots in Australia. She was made in 1951, had a lot of TLC and I loved playing her. She’s going to a new home in Logan Village with some lovely people I know. Next time I see her will be via Zoom… Continue reading
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My Hohner Piano 27 melodica circa 1960 ❤️
I’ve been looking for this kind of melodica for ages — it’s the kind that Augustus Pablo played. Hohner piano 27 melodica – called piano because the earlier models had buttons rather than an actual keyboard. It has a very warm tone, not bright at all. I really want to play it in Roaring Lion… Continue reading
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Creatures of the Half Sleep – John Reeves Trio
Step into the world of jazz pianist John Reeves, who is releasing his first CD ‘Creatures of the Half Sleep’, a collection of original compositions arranged for accordion! Here, we geek out over his beautiful instrument, and his journey with it so far. The John Reeves Trio has Helen Svoboda on double bass and Aaron… Continue reading
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Bojan drums J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
Bojan Sambolec is a drummer I met at a heavy metal festival in 2019. He’s part of the Schema Collective community. Now we’re both in Brisbane/Gold Coast reggae band Roaring Lion, a Bob Marley tribute band. Bojan’s wanted to play reggae forever, and I just feel like I’m in the best dream. Like how did… Continue reading
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Chopin’s Nocturne in E Flat, for Bojan — YouTube
Recently, Roaring Lion’s new drummer Bojan said he loves Chopin nocturnes. So I’m in the school music studio, and I’ve got a gap. Here you go Bojan, Nocturne in E flat. Continue reading
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Rehearsing with Bob Marley tribute band ROARING LION
This is a new journey for me… I can’t believe I’m getting to do this. It’s so cool. I went to rehearse with Gold Coast reggae band Roaring Lion. Well, I guess it was an audition really. Band leader Glen sent me a song list and I’ve been listening and playing and scribbling frantic notes… Continue reading
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‘Origins’ by EASTMODE
‘Origins’ is the first music video from EASTMODE, a collective of Brisbane-based Asian Australian rappers. I love that they’re writing, defining, collaborating, making an artistic statement. They care. They’re beautiful. They brought me into The Fam, and I’m humbled by it. Videographer and rapper David Deggs Fischer even included me in the video. When I… Continue reading
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Piano Man. Taking the panel off my Beale — video
I removed the front panel of my Beale piano! I thought it would be fun to see all those moving hammers. Some of my students don’t know what’s inside an old-fashioned piano, so I played a short version of Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man’, the quintessential pub piano bar song, for my kids. Here are a… Continue reading
About Joanna
Joanna is British Australian. She worked mainly in financial news in London. In her forties she moved to her parents’ birthplace, Sabah, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo, where she became a pianist in a hotel and wrote a blog about musicians. The blog became a book before Joanna came to Australia in 2012. In this blog she writes mostly about music, gardening, and trips to Sabah. Oh, and Wookie the Havanese.
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