Photo by Chris Nelson
I first heard Ralph Towner play guitar in the early 1970s when he played with the Paul Winter Consort. He later became a founding member of the group Oregon. Today he’s a prolific solo artist on the classical and 12 string guitar.
Recently, I picked up his album Time Line, which was recorded at a monastery in the Austrian Alps. I immediately set down to learn one of the tunes, Always by Your Side, which is is a gem to play. Leanne Hansen, of NPR’s Weekend Edition, interviewed Towner in May of 2006. He discusses the lyrical nature of the piece as well as other aspects of his musical journey. Definitely worth a listen here.
Earlier this week, I recorded my progress with the song. I find both listening and seeing my performance a great help in identifying where improvement is needed. Wish I could have an hour session with Ralph to soak up his technique and knowledge about the guitar. I understand he lives in Rome. What a gift that would be!
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Always a pleasure to see & hear you play, Rick. Your music has always been a rich blessing to me. Always by Your Side is a beautiful piece you’ve chosen to play. Thanks.
Beautiful. Especially impressed with how cleanly you played the artificial harmonics. I’d have to stop and spend 10 seconds getting my fingers in place.