November 30, 2022 (updated December 7, 2022)

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My latest collection of songs, In The Great Outdoors, is now available for pre-order. This will be for streaming and download only. The release date at most places is December 9, but it has already been available exclusively on Bandcamp since December 2! 

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With the one exception of the final track, all 21 songs are re-creations of spontaneously-improvised flute solos that I did for my YouTube channel. Those of you who have seen some of my videos will no doubt recognize at least some of them. Each was chosen because I remembered how great it felt when these tunes first appeared out of nowhere.

 

This time around, I wanted to have an open, natural, and even primal sound in which the flute is the only melodic instrument, but I didn't want to just do a solo flute album. Hence the instruments used were limited to 17 different flutes and assorted hand percussion. There are both real-time percussion and a number of specially-selected samples for added effect. I played 13", 15", and 18" frame drums, a Peruvian rattle, a Kokopelli shaker made of walnut, some small cedar shakers courtesy of Tree of Life Designs' Ed Dougherty, the ubiquitous Eggz shakers that most musicians are familiar with, and a TOCA guiro. For samples, I used a bell tree, bodhran, a couple of frame drum one-shots (for variety), assorted gongs, a rainstick, additional shakers, a taiko drum, and a vibraslap. 

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Since I am also deeply inspired by nature, especially the sounds of birds and streams, I have included these in all songs for added ambiance. Some of these I recorded myself at my parents' home in Portage County, Ohio back in April 2010. The others came from freesounds.org and were captured in various places around the world. The authors of these are credited on my Bandcamp site and in the album's insert. 

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As with my previous album, the cover and insert feature artwork by the renowned American landscape artist Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902). This consists of two different versions of Valley of the Yosemite (1864, 1868). All art used for this release is in the Public Domain.

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So... please consider streaming or downloading individual songs. You can also purchase a copy of the whole album for just $6.00. Making this collection of songs over the past 11 months was a genuine labor of love. I hope you find it pleasing to listen to!

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Allen Bruce Ray

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August 28, 2021

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It's been quite a while (December 2019) since I last updated the news section, so here it is! 

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Since then, the world has been rocked by COVID-19. Too many people lost loved ones, not to mention  their livelihoods. It has been a very trying time for all, and my heart goes out to those who have had to suffer and endure such terrible despair and deprivation.

 

My wife and I are tremendously grateful as we have been quite fortunate over here in Korea. We are both healthy, and I have been able to keep working steadily at my university teaching job. I have also begun the vaccination process (the AZ vaccine), and that will be completed by the beginning of October. Now that the delta variant is making the rounds, everyone here is continuing to exhibit even greater care than they have already. Eventually, booster shots may be needed. Who can say? Be that as it may, I am cautiously optimistic about the future. Clearly, COVID-19 is never going to disappear, but there is hope that we will all soon find ways to live with it sensibly so that we can get on with our lives.

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2020 Ambient Recordings

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During the height of the first wave of the pandemic, I did a number of long-form recordings for my YouTube friend Jake Folger's Soothing You site. These are mostly hour-long ambient tracks featuring various low-pitched flutes accompanied by subtle keyboard pads and nature sounds (birds, insects, and streams). You can listen to them on my YouTube channel, and you can download the audio files for free on my Bandcamp site. 

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New Music

 

I'm recording a new collection of songs. Right now, the plan is for another solo flute collection since my previous two releases featured accomaniment. Perhaps "new" is a bit misleading: these will be re-recordings of tunes that I originally improvised live in the great outdoors for my YouTube channel. No title has been firmly decided. 

 

Tablature?

 

At various times, I've been asked if I could make tablature for my songs. I take that to mean "Nakai tablature", but I am well aware that there are other ways. Anyway...

 

While I am genuinely flattered that people want this, I view tab-making as a rather daunting task since, for one, I have limited experience in doing it. As a 100% by-ear musician, I have never needed or used tablature myself for anything, so I have to admit that I get a little baffled when someone asks for tabs for a song that can just as easily be played by simply watching the video and mimicking the fingerings. (Do I sound snobby here? I sure hope not.) In fact, when making my YouTube videos, I have always made it a point to focus the camera on my hands so that anyone interested in playing the song can easily see which holes are being covered, how accents are being created, etc. On top of that, videos can also be adjusted for speed if necessary. To my mind, this nullifies the need for any kind of written notation. Apparently, the visual approach has indeed been effective since I've had a quite lot of positive comments about it, and that makes me extremely happy.

 

On the other hand, the times I've tried mapping out flute songs with tablature, even simple songs have taken me quite a long time to complete. Creating songs is instantaneous, but the notation process has so far proved to be time-consuming and tedious. Perhaps this is simply my own deficiency (?) Given that my teaching job already requires a lot of tedious work, I would approach such a project with trepidation. However, if there were a way it could be done expediently, I would be happy to at least give it a try. Suggestions, anyone?​

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December 4, 2019 

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It's finally here! Released on November 18, my 4th complete album of songs is now titled Autumn Muse.  The description from Bandcamp and CDBaby reads, in part, "a melodic collection of both upbeat and reflective instrumentals in a classic pop/rock style featuring Native American-style flutes accompanied by acoustic & electric guitars, bass, and keys as well as drum loops by renown session drummers... The title "Autumn Muse" refers to the singular inspiration borne of that season with its brisk temperatures, vibrant colors, scenes of crops waiting to be harvested, and deep blue skies (if you live where I do, that is). In fact, the atmosphere and energy level invoked by the autumn informs much of how I think and what I do musically throughout the entire year... On my fourth go-around, I opted for a much more energetic presentation. All of the songs are based on solo Native American-style flute improvisations I did years ago for my YouTube channel. However, the decision was made to avoid solo flute pieces in favor of full guitar, bass, drum, and keyboard accompaniment so that I could incorporate my electric and acoustic guitar playing and relay some positive energy through that."

 

Now available pretty much everywhere: Amazon, CDBaby, Bandcamp, Pandora, Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, ... I'm really proud of this album and encourage you to listen to it:

 

https://allenbruceray.bandcamp.com/album/autumn-muse

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As of right now (and for the foreseeable future), this will only be available as a digital download or stream. The reality is that CDs of this sort of music simply don't sell at all anymore, and at any rate, I wouldn't have the budget to print them. Please don't let that stop you from listening, though!

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~ Bruce

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April 7, 2019

 

Hello everyone! Apologies for the long absence, but rest assured that much new music is currently being shaped and refined on its journey to YOU, the listener. I've been working steadily on a new album of 16 songs since January of this year and expect to have it released sometime in August. Tentatively titled "Autumnal," all of the tracks are developments of songs that I had previously improvised on Native American-style flutes for my YouTube channel. One track, "Moonlight Wandering," is a re-imagining of the final song from my 2012 Moonlight Meditations album. This song and all of the others will feature full accompaniment.

 

I've long wanted to incorporate some 6 & 12-string acoustic steel string guitar, nylon string guitar, and possibly even electric guitar work alongside my flute melodies. Well, I've finally taken up the cause! Having always been something of a rocker since the early 1970s, I wanted to bring some of that youthful spirit and vigor into my new music. To that end, there are some very up-tempo tracks that include drum loops from the Loop Loft (https://www.thelooploft.com) recorded by world-famous session drummers such as Omar Hakim, Matt Chamberlain, Ryan Gruss, and others. They sound fantastic and make it seem like I'm playing with a highly-skilled live band! There are also a few mellower tracks that feature only flute and acoustic guitar. Keyboards are present as well, but flute, guitar, drums, and bass will likely be the dominant forces here.

 

Speaking of bass... I'd like to find a good bass player to fill out the bottom end since I don't really play the bass. Are any sympathetic bass players out there reading this? Let me hear from you! 

 

Incidentally, the flutes I'm using this time are from Butch Hall, Laughing Crow, High Spirits, Darrell Hibbard, Paul Jones, Rick Heller, Dennis 'dg' Hatch, and Jonah Thompson. Look for some continuing updates in the next week or so. I look forward to sharing these songs with you! 

 

~ Bruce

 

August 3, 2017

 

In case you hadn't noticed, I recently uploaded two videos to YouTube. The first was created to display and demonstrate two beautiful new flutes sent to me by the talented Ontario craftsman Darrell Hibbard. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaL6N6Qe3GM

 

The second upload is the complete Moonlight Meditations album, which I spent pretty much all of 2012 putting together while living in Wonju, South Korea. I have it set up so that the whole thing plays seamlessly from start to finish. It's 60 minutes of flutes, a consistent rhythm supplied by frame drums, a Bm tongue-drum made by Stephen Roberts, some shakers and rattles, and subtle underlying keyboard textures. I found all of the moon photos used throughout the video on public domain sites such as Pixabay. Go have a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS4TeaXzDxo Those interested in downloading the files for this album can do so here: https://allenbruceray.bandcamp.com/album/moonlight-meditations. You can also download the whole work as one continuous file here: https://allenbruceray.bandcamp.com/album/moonlight-meditations-complete-album-as-a-single-track

 

Currently, there is not a CD release of this album.  

 

July 10, 2017 

 

I'm extremely humbled to have received a couple of new flutes that were made for me as gifts by Darrell Hibbard of Kincardine, Ontario, Canada. Darrell is a retired environmental engineer who was/is also a musician. He then became a luthier who made violins, and he has been building Native American-style flutes for 6 years now. He uses his own unique design, which includes both his distinctive "scroll" fetish and a flat fingerboard for easier playing. Darrell shapes all of his flutes by hand and very often combines at least two kinds of wood. Interestingly, he does not use a lathe at all, but he does in fact make many of the tools that he uses to bring his special creations to life. So far, he has made 40-50 flutes for the Oliver M. Smith School at The Six Nations in Southern Ontario, and they are apparently quite happy with his work.  He has sold a similar number of his instruments throughout Canada, and on top of that, he has just finished 10 more for the Canadian music education charity MusiCounts. A busy man, this Mr. Hibbard! I'd never met or corresponded with him prior to this past March when he contacted me out of the blue and wanted to send not one but two (!) of his creations for evaluation: a low Bm and a D#m. He said he just wanted to hear me play them. Seriously, who could turn down such a generous and gracious offer?! He has also sent me photos documenting the whole flute-making process. A video is in progress as I write this, and it will include those photos as well as others taken by a colleague of mine here in Korea. These two flutes are rapidly rising to the top of my 60+ collection as far as playability, craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal, and TONE are concerned. Wait 'til YOU experience them on video, and you'll quickly see/hear what I mean. You're gonna want one...!