In recent years I have had the real privilege of spending time with Martin Simpson, both on a one to one basis as well as in a group situation. I calculated last week that we have now spent 100 hours together and it’s been an amazing journey to date!
I have listened to Martin’s music for over twenty years and have always loved both his songwriting and his performances. I have also seen him live many times and always been really impressed by how he is constantly developing and evolving his music. It’s no wonder that he has won so many BBC Folk awards, but Martin’s material embraces a wide range of influences and this is reflected in some quite extraordinary material over the years. As well as being an extraordinary guitarist Martin plays a wide range of other instruments including banjo, Dobro, ukulele and mandola.
The first time I saw Martin on a 1 – 1 basis and he started tuning up his acoustic with extraordinary dexterity, I felt equally inspired and depressed!
This 100 hours has been a fascinating insight into the songwriting process and I am 100% sure that this has been a major influence on my own writing for The Small Change Diaries. Martin has also opened up my mind to the possibility to exploring other instruments. Martin is well known for using altered tunings and these explorations have helped me learning the ukulele, dobro and walking dulcimer.
I have learned a massive amount in this time. The key lessons are expanding my playing beyond the guitar, learning to step beyond standard tunings, how to construct and write great songs, the importance of good lyrics as well as the importance of constant practice and refinement. Earlier this year with a small amount of trepidation I played him Adam Blames Eve The Small Changes Diaries debut album. I credited him on the sleeve notes as without his influence I would never written or recorded this material! Check out his site at www.martinsimpson.com for some quite sublime and inspiring music!
Here he is in his teaching room and here’s a taster of him in action