Review of Morley Magic, vol. I -- by Clifford Essex Music

I am going to review the first volume of a new series of books called "Morley Magic", which has been recently published by the Clifford Essex Music Co. This series expands further on their earlier "Morley Memories" series, with the addition of an audio CD, tablature, and performance notes to these previously unpublished solos.

The first volume in this series includes a number of very attractive pieces of varying difficulty and very diverse styles, ranging from challenging pieces such as "Blackbird" and "Czardas" to easier solos such as "Alabama Barn Dance" or "Banjoviality". Several of the pieces are transcripts from the Tarrant Bailey Snr collection recordings which have been hitherto unavailable.

Both volumes -- the sheet music, and the performance notes -- are spiral-bound in the usual Clifford Essex style. The sheet music is very well edited; it includes a standard notation staff which is very well annotated, with full right and left-hand fingerings and positions, and, beneath it, a TAB staff, so both notation-reading and non-notation-reading banjoists alike will be able to enjoy these pieces.

Each piece has about two pages' worth of performance notes, which range from interesting facts about the history of the piece to useful suggestions, hints and indications on how to play them best. The addition of these notes is what really makes "Morley Magic" shine, especially for those who, like myself, don't have access to a teacher and are self-taught.

Finally, the collection includes an audio CD. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get to hear Mr. Middleton's excellent playing, and the tracks are dull, emotionless MIDI. However, for an aural reference, they do work very well and are included in two speeds -- "practice" and "performance".

All in all, I think "Morley Magic" is excellent value for the money and I heartily recommend it to all Classic banjoists -- it is simply one of the best resources available nowadays, and I look forward to getting any further releases in the "Morley Magic" collection.

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Thank you Mike, this is a very interesting review. Will be buying a copy as I too will find the performance notes of interest. It is a shame that the tracks are midi, but I guess that you can guarantee that the exact notes are being played and at the exact timing, something that you can never say about may performances ;-)

It is good that the CE Music company are taking great interest in Classic style, so I hope that everyone on here will support them.

Ian

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