Wednesday, December 31, 2025

2025 Musical Projects Review

Here's how I did on my musical projects for 2025.  Overall, the year really wasn't that great, but I made at least some progress in most of my projects.  The intented bits are the goals I started with.
Here are my musical projects for 2025.

Currently, I'm somewhat limited with what I can do in terms of audio recording and video editing.  In late October/early November last year, I started having some computer issues and had to go back to using my old computer, which I'd phased out of regular use in spring 2019.  I got a new computer in early December, but so far I've been unable to find the installation discs for the programs I need, and I'm not sure they would work on such a new computer anyway.  For now, I'm doing only simple and infrequent recordings.
I still haven't found my installation discs, but since last winter, I haven't really been looking for them because I've been busy with other projects.

Continuing Projects

Scales

When I sit down at or with an instrument, I play a scale, provided I know the instrument well enough that I can play a scale on it.  I go in the order of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier and move on to the next one on Sundays.  For the first full week of 2025, I'll be practicing A minor.  When I practice organ every day, I improvise to a backing track in the same key (or the relative major if I'm practicing a minor key that week).

For now, I plan to continue what I started last year and record my nightly improvisation for every time one of my cousin's bands has a show.  I'm leaving the videos unlisted (with some exceptions), but the playlist is public.
Around July, I stopt recording my nightly improvisations primarily because it was a hassle to set up what I needed to record it but also because no one was very interested and I frequently played the same sort of figures.  Additionally, I started having trouble with the backing tracks I played along to.  Just this week, I abandoned that aspect of my nightly practice altogether.

This is my blog for hymns and (occasionally) classical sacred music.  I had been recording a hymn tune from The Lutheran Hymnal every week (here's a playlist), but I took a break in November last year when I started having computer issues.  For now, this break will continue.

Provided I get my software working, I want to record some of my own arrangements of hymn tunes, using the pipe organ sounds on my Hammond SKX.

On Wednesday, I have a post tracing the Biblical sources of a hymn in The Lutheran Service Book, and on most Fridays, I have a short post about a musical feature in a hymn (at some points last year, I'd run out of comments that weren't about seasonally specific hymns).  On rare occasions, I post about classical sacred music on Monday.

Last year, I got pretty far ahead in writing posts about hymns' Biblical sources, and I'm going to try to finish those this year.  I have eighty-one posts left to write.
I finished writing my sources posts in mid-August.  They're scheduled in advance for the next two and a half years or so.

Cover Projects

Initially, the goal for most of these was to learn every part to every song, and while I'm still working on that, the focus now has shifted more to writing about various features I notice.  Here's a list of the projects and what bands they cover:

I've been reading the updated edition of Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees: The Day-by-Day Story, and I listen to the albums and watch the episodes when I read about their original releases and broadcasts.  I'm doing the same sort of thing with The Beach Boys, which I plan to finish reading this year.

For every time that old high school classmates (a sometime singer-songwriter and a self-styled author) post about their projects, I figure out a part from a song by one of these bands and listen to an album (cycling through the projects and in a roughly chronological order within each project).

As sort of a sub-project to Verulam Cover Project, I plan to continue transcribing interviews with the Zombies for my blog where I collect their interviews and performances.  My process, which I think I'll try to maintain, is to transcribe about a minute of audio for every Beatles reference I run across (because my initial idea for this project was a sort of response to the Get Back book, which contains transcriptions of the Beatles' conversations).  I'll probably finish transcribing The Story of the Zombies by the end of January, after which I'll get back to the Rock Solid podcast, which I temporarily abandoned in the fall last year.  The Zombies' panel at the Strand Book Store is an-other one on my list.

I'm going to re-read The "Odessey": The Zombies in Words and Images, which I read only once before, in 2017 shortly after it came out.

I plan to maintain my tradition and watch the Zombies' Live from Studio Two on its anniversary on 18 September, but I also want to watch or listen to some other Zombies and Argent concerts on or around their anniversaries, particularly Live from Metropolis Studios in January, Odessey and Oracle {Revisited} in early March, Set of Six on 29 May, and Live at the Palace Theatre on 7 November.

I didn't get around to it last year, but I might try to figure out the trombone parts in the Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year" by carefully studying the slide positions in videos of live performances.  If I get my software set up, I'm going to make a video demonstrating the organ part in the Beach Boys' "Be Still," which was an-other goal from last year that I never really got started on.

One of my Christmas gifts was The Monkees: Smoke-Filled Dreams, and I plan to start reading this, too.
I finished reading The Beach Boys on 25 November.

I finished my transcription of The Story of the Zombies on 21 January.  I went back to transcribing the Rock Solid podcast, but shortly thereafter, I started working concurrently on the Zombies' appearance on NPR's Weekend Edition in 2012, which I finished on 5 February.  Likewise, I did short interviews that Colin and Rod did around the time that Breathe Out, Breathe In was released in 2011.  I finished the one with Colin on 18 February and the one with Rod on the 20th.  Near the end of March, I started transcribing the Track by Track at Gibson videos, still working concurrently on the Rock Solid appearance.  Because each video is fairly short, I did the whole thing at once.
I finished my transcription of the Rock Solid podcast on 7 April.  After that, I started the Zombies' panel at Strand Books in 2017.  Work slowed considerably in the summer, and it wasn't until 23 October that I finished it.  In between, I also did short interviews that Robert Henrit did for NAMM in 2014 and Rod Argent did for O2backstagechat in 2012.  Next, it was a short video Rod and Colin did for BuzzTV in 2015, which I finished on 3 November.  Currently, I'm working on an interview that Rod did in 1994 that's included on Greatest Hits, Greatest Recordings, but my progress lately has been sporadic.  I'm well over a year behind where I should be.

I watched Live at Metropolis Studios on 29 January.  I'd noticed before that Jim Rodford's wife Jean is in the audience, but this time I noticed that Tom Toomey's wife Millie is there, too.  I watched Odessey & Oracle {Revisited} on 8 March and later wrote a post about a few related points.  I also watched or listened to the other concerts listed above on their respective anniversaries.  Additionally, I purchased a digital copy of Hung up on a Dream (the recent documentary about the Zombies) and watched it on 9 October, the tenth anniversary of Still Got That Hunger, which I also listened to again.

I finished reading The "Odessey" on 2 March.  A couple weeks later (on the 14th), I got Times and Seasons: The Rise and Fall and Rise of the Zombies by Robin Platts and started reading it the same day.

I completely forgot about "This Will Be Our Year" and "Be Still."

I started Smoke-Filled Dreams on 1 January and finished it on 10 August.

At the end of August, I started listened to an album included in my Verulam Cover Project every Sunday (going roughly chronologically).  Frequently, this led me to new realizations about the songs, and sometimes, I also figured out some parts.

FAWM and 50/90

These are also dependent on whether I get my software working, but I might attempt FAWM and 50/90 again.
I didn't attempt either.  If I understand correctly, 50/90 didn't even occur this year.

Bach Cantatas

On Sunday, I listen to a Bach cantata, going in order by BWV number.  Occasionally, I follow along in the notation and jot down some notes.

This year, I'll be listening to BWV 167 to BWV 200 (although the box set I have omits a handful in this range) then starting over in the cycle and going from BWV 1 to BWV 24 (missing only two:  BWV 11 and BWV 15).
As usual, I don't have much to say about this, but I did do it.

Mandolin Monday

Every Monday, I post a video of a mandolin piece on Instagram and Twitter, and I upload a slightly edited re-run on YouTube.  Since March last year, I've (roughly) been alternating between Francis O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland and A Collection of Welsh, Irish, & Scotch Tunes Arranged by J. B. Malchair, which I found via the Royal College of Music's page on Internet Archive.  Here are links to the playlists on YouTube:  Dance Music of Ireland and A Collection of Welsh, Irish, & Scotch Tunes.  Occasionally, I do something else, usually pieces from flutetunes.
I finished what pieces I'd planned to do in both The Dance Music of Ireland and A Collection of Welsh, Irish, & Scotch Tunes.  Currently, I'm alternating between a collection of German folk tunes and Francis O'Neill's Music of Ireland.

Hohner Pianet

In 2019, I started a blog where I write about the Hohner Pianet, a German electric piano from the 1960s.  As a continuation of the original demonstration disc, I've also recorded a number of pieces using Pianet samples on my Nord Electro 5D.

Near the end of last year, I started taking advantage of the split function on my Electro and playing Vox Continental on one half and Pianet on the other, which is the closest I can get to what Manfred Mann and Rod Argent did by stacking one keyboard on top of the other.  I did a version of "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" this way.  I'd like to do some more tunes in this manner, provided I can get my software working.  My main goal for this project, though, is finally to finish off a post on Electric Light Orchestra's use of the Hohner Clavinet.  Initially, I'd intended to do this in 2023 but forgot, and when I did start last year, I found that I needed to do more research than I expected, so I'm still working on it.
I finished my post on ELO's Clavinet on 26 January.  It ended up being pretty short for how long it took me to research and write it, though.

Basically the only other work I did on this project was post pictures and videos that featured Pianet or other Hohner keyboards.  The one exception is that I notated the sort of ostinato figure in Manfred Mann's "The One in the Middle."

Telemann Lieder-Buch

In March 2021, I started working through Telemann's Fast allgemeines Evangelisch-Musicalisches Lieder-Buch, a collection of some 400 hymn tunes.  Along with learning to play the pieces, I'm modernizing the notation.  I post a tune every Thursday.  I want to maintain my lead (I'm more than a year ahead in recording the tunes) and ideally increase it.

Aside from actually learning to play the pieces, the two aspects of this project that take the longest are creating digital copies of the notation and editing videos, and they've been hampered even further because I have to use my old computer to do them, but I'm going to try to stick to my schedule.
I recorded fifty tunes, so I lost a bit of my lead.  Because of technical issues, I had to re-record two that I originally did in 2024, so if those are counted, I did actually make my goal (one a week).

I don't remember exactly when, but early in the year (by the end of February maybe?), I started doing the digital notation on my new computer, which saved some time, I guess.  Eventually, I started working ahead by doing the digital notation for easier tunes (not necessary the next one in order), but it's still a struggle trying to maintain my schedule.  Occasionally (especially in these last two months, when I've been a bit under the weather and not very motivated), I rendered the video for Thursday on Monday of the same week.

Mellotron

In 2023, I started recording selections from Telemann's ouvertures (TWV 55) and Corelli's trio sonatas (Opp. 1-4) using only Mellotron sounds, posting one piece from each collection every month:  the Telemann on the Friday on or after the 14th and the Corelli on the following Friday.  I'd recorded enough pieces before having computer issues to maintain this schedule until March this year, but I don't know if I'll be able to continue it.

If I get my software working, I also want to record a movement from a Telemann sonata for two flutes I've been working on.
I didn't do any work on this project.

Parroting the Bird

I've become increasingly frustrated that my cousin's band is getting more popular (and frankly more absurd) while I'm working hard on my musical projects and seemingly getting nowhere, so I started copying (to some degree) what he does.  Usually, though, this just means that I listen to the albums he mentions and try to figure out parts to the songs he posts and alludes to (provided it's music that I'm interested in; I'm not going out of my way for this).  His band is named after a sort of bird, so I felt that "parroting" was a good term to use, although it's not entirely accurate.  I've been doing this for at least a year or two already, so I might as well make it an official project.

In February last year, he gained something like 6,000 Instagram followers after posting a video where he put one of his own songs over a clip from some cult classic cartoon (which I don't think is exactly legal), and I have something specific I want to do in response to this.
I never got around to doing what I wanted.  I couldn't find the time to practice, let alone record it.  I did figure out a few song parts, though.

Projects Specific to 2025

BBC Albums

Sometime around late 2021 or early 2022, I had to idea to cycle through what live-at-the-BBC albums (and other recordings) I have.  If I remember correctly, I delayed doing this for a while because in 2019, I did this with just the Beatles' BBC albums and wanted to take a break from listening to them.  I'm going to listen to a disc on Saturday (because one of the shows was called Saturday Club), going roughly chronologically though:
  • The Zombies - The BBC Radio Sessions
  • The Beatles - Live at the BBC
  • Manfred Mann - Live at the BBC 64-66
  • The Rolling Stones - On Air
  • The Beatles - On Air - Live at the BBC, Vol. 2
  • Manfred Mann - Live at the BBC 66-69
  • The Who - BBC Sessions
  • Manfred Mann Chapter III - Live Sessions & Studio Rarities
  • Led Zeppelin - BBC Sessions
  • Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Live at the BBC 70-73
  • Argent - John Peel's Sunday Concert, 14 February 1971, which was available on Russ Ballard's website a number of years ago
  • Badfinger - In Concert at the BBC, 1972-3
  • Argent - Live at the Paris Theatre, 14 December 1972
  • Electric Light Orchestra - Live at the Guildhall, 1976

I also have Roy Orbison's Live at the BBC, which I might listen to a couple times, but I'm not including it in the rotation because - unlike all of these other bands - Orbison wasn't British.
I maintained my schedule, and sometimes, listening to these albums gave me something to write about.  I listened to Roy Orbison's Live at the BBC on his birthday, 23 April.

Mozart Symphonies

A number of years ago, I got a box set of the complete Mozart symphonies performed by the Mozart Akademie Amsterdam.  I plan on listening to it again in January to mark Mozart's birthday (on the 27th).
I don't really have anything to say about this, but I did listen to the box set in January.  I finished on the 29th.  On Mozart's birthday, I listened to Symphonies 31, 36, and 40 (also this string quartet on YouTube).

Bob Dylan and the Band

For Christmas, I received The 1974 Live Recordings box set by Bob Dylan and the Band.  For my first time through it, I plan to listen to the concerts on their original dates (3 January to 14 February).  Some days have two shows, though, so I'll probably listen to one a day early or a day late.
While listening to these songs, I noticed that many of them exhibit the same pleonasm where there's an unnecessary pronoun following a noun (I referenced the studio versions for what's below, which isn't an exhaustive list):
  • "The times, they are a-changin'" and "The line, it is drawn; the curse, it is cast" ("The Times They Are A-Changin'")
  • "Hollis Brown, he lived on the outside of town" ("Ballad of Hollis Brown")
  • "Relationships of ownership, they whisper in the wings" and "The foreign sun, it squints upon a bed that isn't mine" ("Gates of Eden")
  • "Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn" and "Advertising signs, they con / You into thinking you're the one" ("It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)")
  • "All your seasick sailors, they're all rowing home" ("It's All over Now, Baby Blue")
  • "Well, Georgia Sam, he had a bloody nose" ("Highway 61 Revisited")
  • "Queen Mary, she's my friend" ("Just Like a Woman")
  • "Well, the judge, he holds a grudge" ("Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)")
  • "Business men, they drink my wine" and "The thief, he kindly spoke" ("All Along the Watchtower")

Carl Perkins

Four years ago, I got a Carl Perkins compilation album in the Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection series.  For some reason (maybe the mastering or just the song selection), I liked this much better than the two-disc set I'd already had for years.  I listened to it a couple times last year (once, just by coincidence, on Perkins' birthday) and still really like it, and I want to figure out at least one of the guitar solos on the album.
I intended to figure out a guitar solo in April, after listening to this album again, but it wasn't until August that I actually got around to it.

Duke Ellington

In September 2023, I started reading a biography of Ellington (Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington by Terry Teachout).  I had been reading it fairly consistently, albeit slowly, since late April last year but lost some momentum in late summer/early fall when I was sick, never really got back to it, and then set it aside for all of December when I was focusing on other books I wanted to finish by the end of the year.  I want to finish it this year and also listen to two box sets I have, a two-disc set in the Classic Jazz Archive series and a ten-disc set titled just Duke Ellington.  I plan to listen to the ten-disc set in April, since Ellington's birthday is 29 April.
I listened to both of these collections in April, but I made very little progress in reading the biography.

Carl Nielsen

In 2023, I'd found a piece that Nielsen wrote for two recorders, and I'd intended to do this as a sort of bonus to my project of recording his chorales on my Moog last year, but then I had computer issues.  I'm going to do it this year, even if I have to record it on my old computer.  I also want to listen to a ten-disc set titled The Danish Symphonist, probably in June since Nielsen's birthday is 9 June.
This was an-other piece that I never really got around to practicing, so I didn't even attempt to record it.  I did listen to the box set in June, though.

Other Things to Note

I started reading The Band FAQ by Peter Aaron on 21 January, after hearing that Garth Hudson died.  In fact, I found out while I was listening to Bob Dylan & the Band.  Likewise, I started I Am Brian Wilson on 11 June.  I've made very little progress in either, though.

Weekly (on Thursdays) from mid-February to the end of March, I watched the lectures in this series by Marina Frolova-Walker titled The Life of Chords.

I suppose this started with the Ellington collections and Nielsen box set in April and June respectively, but especially in the second half of the year, I dedicated a month to a certain type of music.  July was French music (mostly Edith Piaf and Rameau); August was a ten-disc Woody Guthrie set, along with various collections of blues; September was Gershwin; October was organ music; November was piano music; and December was harpsichord music (I also watched this Library of Congress lecture on Wanda Landowska, although it's mostly a demonstration of her instruments).

I maintained my usual vinyl listening traditions:  one of my grandfather's records on his birthday (Lawrence Welk's Moon River this year), the Apples in Stereo's Fun Trick Noisemaker on 12 October, and the Bill Evans Trio's Portrait in Jazz on 28 December.  I also watched ELO's Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley on 30 December (Jeff Lynne's birthday), which I've done every year since I got it in 2022.

I figured out 126 parts, down from last year's 179.  Here's a compilation of some videos I took on my phone throughout the year:


  • Del Shannon - "Misery" - clavioline solo (without vibrato)
  • The Buckinghams - "You" - electric piano solo
  • Bill Haley and the Comets - "Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town)" - electric guitar solo
  • Carpenters - "Druscilla Penny" - harpsichord solo
  • Carl Perkins - "Movie Magg" - electric guitar solo
  • Billy Joel - "Sleeping with the Television on" - organ solo (Farfisa, I think)
  • Argent - "Infinite Wanderer" (the live version on Encore) - Moog phrase
  • Colin Blunstone - "It's Hard to Say Goodbye" - Moog in the bridge (with organ chords for context)
  • Rod Argent - "Spirits" - two synth parts in the introduction
  • Argent - "Cast Your Spell Uranus" - Hohner Pianet in the introduction
A string on my electric guitar broke in November 2024, and I still haven't replaced it yet (it was only a couple weeks ago that I finally got a replacement string), so I had to use my acoustic guitar for any guitar work.
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