Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Inkspace - Free Open Source Vector Graphics Programme

Inkspace is an excellent open-source programme, freely available from www.inkscape.org/.

It's an alternative to some of the big name graphic software out there. I'm not too sure of how it compares to the likes of Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, but it seems very capable!

I'm no graphic artist, but I've been messing around with Paint Shop Pro for a few years, without ever really getting into it. But the time has come to start developping my own graphics for web-sites, posters, and such and it looks as though Inkscape is going to be my way forward.

Not that I've got anything against Paint Shop Pro (I have version 7 on my computer) but tutorials seem so hard to find! Plus which, it has since been updated and I really can't afford to invest in the more recent versions.

Inkscape, as I mentioned above, is available as a free download, it's opehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn-source, works on Windows, Mac, or Linux and there are a whole host of tutorials available for the beginnger and intermediate user. The doll figure to the right is my first attempt at using Inkspace, and is the result of a tutorial at verysimpledesigns.com.

But after making a quick search I've come across a few others which look very promising too:
www.microugly.com/inkscape-quickguide/
screencasters.heathenx.org/

Friday, March 18, 2011

Sola en concert le 16 avril

Le samedi 16 avril à 20h je vous invite de venir nous découvrir de nouveaux morceaux en savourant des crêpes lors d'une "soirée crêpe/concert" organisé par des amis à notre église.


A l'Eglise Protestante Evangélique, 15 rue de Rennes, 53000 LAVAL. Pour plus de renseignements voir le site de l'église ou envoyez moi un mail :-)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Spectactle - Théâtre à Marans


Free Music - Phenomena

Phenomena were an excellent christian rock group from the West Midlands, England. They were around in the late 80s and early 90s and produced at least two EPs, which are available in this download.

I don't know many more details about the group, apart form the fact that Jon Grant was the guitarist in the group, and he went on to perform with singer Lynsey, who later became his wife. The two know do an excellent job with a youth work called Krunch based in the West Midlands.

The latest I heard there was a possibility of Phenomena reuniting for some gigs! For more info check out their facebook page

The download available here is from 2 EPs Phenomena recorded. They are tranfers from cassettes, using Audacity to clean up and compress the files. Unfortunately Audacity can't remove tape-wobble from years of playing, and believe me these Phenomena cassettes have been well played. Check out the song "So you say" which is a song which has stuck in my head since I heard it back in the early 90s.

Here's the link to download the tracks: http://www.everlightskeep.com/Phenomena_EP.zip

Monday, January 31, 2011

Free Music - Martyn Joseph

Martyn Joseph - free downloads

Martyn JosephMartyn Joseph is a Welsh singer/songwirter. He often performs solo, just him and his acoustic guitar, although he has been known to have a full band set-up, or to join with other musicians (see 'Faith, Folk and Anarchy' below). He's made loads of recordings, but personally I prefer his live acoustic stuff; to me it's where his passion really comes across. And passion is a word you have to use when talking about Martyn Joseph, who writes and performs passionate songs covering a variety of subjects from the mundane to the spectacular.
You can discover or rediscover Martyn Joseph through a variety of mp3s freely available at www.MartynJoseph.net/category/listen/. There are also a whole host of downloadable Windows Audio files (wma) taken from various radio interviews that Martyn has done over the years, including his thoughts on different subjects as well as some live performances.
Visit www.MartynJoseph.com

Monday, December 20, 2010

Song for Christmas

Here's an arrangement I did of the Christmas song "O come, o come, Emmanuel". You can download it from scribD.com, I think. If you have any difficulty but would like a copy, let me know and I'll send a copy.

And just so's you know, this version of the score and the accompanying PDF file was created using Musescore, freely available from www.musescore.org.

O Come, o Come Emmanuel

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Christmas Carol Service

Salut,

Si vous avez envie de célébrer Noël en anglais cette année, voici deux possibilités qui vous sont proposées.

Samedi 18 décembre à l'Eglise Protestante Evangélique, 15 rue de Rennes, Laval à partir de 17h. Et ensuite le mercredi 22 décembre à la Salle Gothique aux Ursulines, (EMDA) à Château-Gontier à 20h.

Les deux soirées sont des occasions pour chanter des cantiques traditionnels de Noël, et d'entendre des lectures tirées de la Bible au sujet du premier Noël, et le tout (presque) en anglais! Tout le monde est le bienvenue, et il y a une collation festive à la fin !




Pour plus de renseignements :
http://www.eglise-protestante-laval.com
http://apec53.free.fr

Monday, November 22, 2010

FREE - Musescore - Open source music partition/notation editor

Here is an excellent little music partition/notation editor that works on Windows, Mac and Linux systems. It's open-source and free. What more can you ask for? It saves in a variety of ways, from midi, to pdf, to xml, etc.


Find out more at www.musescore.org

Friday, November 19, 2010

Nous deux et compagnie : Théâtre à Château-Gontier

Voilà, je vous invite de venir nombreux pour soutenir une soirée humour/théâtre au Rex de Château-Gontier le samedi 20 novembre à 21h. La pièce s'appelle "Nous Deux et Compagnie" et c'est le spectacle auquel j'étais invité à participer en composant la musique de deux textes du spectacle, ainsi que de jouer des morceaux instrumentale.

La Cie Lionel de Messey
présentera la pièce Nous Deux et Compagnie le samedi 20 novembre à 21h00 au Rex à Château-Gontier.

" L'éternel féminin face à l'éternel masculin, cette alchimie improbable, Nathalie Chauvin (Caroline) et Lionel de Messey (François) l'interprètent en quinze tableaux parfois explosifs où l'humour sort toujours vainqueur. Quant à l'amour..."

Infos pratiques :
Samedi 20 novembre à 21h00
Le Rex
Quai Charles de Gaulle
Tarifs :
plein 8 €
réduit : 4 € (demandeurs d'emploi)
Réservations :
02 43 06 66 71 ou 06 83 02 75 33

Localiser le lieu de la manifestation

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Ta jeunesse - magazine chrétien pour les jeunes

Forgiveness through Jesus

I read this verse today and wanted to note it down somewhere.
"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses."
(Acts 13:38-39)
Forgiveness and justification comes through believing Jesus, faith in Jesus.
Et en fraçais :
"Sachez-le donc, mes frères, c'est grâce à [Jésus] que le pardon des péchés vous est annoncé; c'est par lui que tout homme qui croit est acquitté de toutes les fautes dont vous ne pouviez pas être acquittés par la Loi de Moïse."
(Actes 13:38-39)
Le pardon et la justification vient parce qu'on croit Jésus, on fait confiance à Jésus.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Third guitar scale - G major


And here's a third scale. Once again the fingering is the same as the fret numbers.

(Notation and tab created with Tux Guitar)

Second guitar scale - F major


Here is a second scale to practise, again the fingering is the same as the fret numbers.

(Notation and tab created with Tux Guitar)

Sola on La Compil' Challenge & Musik 2010


Sola is the name the group that Michelle and I sing and play in, along with Mike and Alison, and Catherine.

Recently we had the pleasure of recording one of Alison's songs to be included on the compilation being produced by the association Challenge & Musik, of which I'm a member.

The CD is finally ready, and you can have a listen here : www.challenge-et-musik.org

Thursday, October 14, 2010

First guitar scale - C major


The fingering is exactly the same as the fret numbers. So on the third fret you use your third finger, on the second your second finger, and when you play an open string, obviously you don't use a finger ;-)

(Notation and tab created with Tux Guitar)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Testament: The Bible in Animation


Years ago an excellent series was produced for TV by S4C, showcasing different animators and treating various Biblical characters and stories. The results for the most part were excellent, a kind of predecessor of The Miracle Maker (Il était une fois Jésus).

Some bright sparks have put the episodes on Youtube, so here they are in a playlist for your pleasure and enlightenment :-) Apparently they are also available on DVD now through the Bible Society shop : http://www.bibleresources.org.uk/9780564038862/ for a modest £19.99.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

NoiseTrade.com - Check them out!

I posted a couple of links to some albums available via NoiseTrade.com recently and have been looking into them a little. Personally I really like what they're trying to do: Here's a quote from the "about us" from their website:

"Artists want to know, connect with, and be supported by music fans. Music fans want high-quality, free (or variably priced) music and to be rewarded, not punished, for sharing the music they love with their friends. We believe that if artists and fans work together, everyone can get what they want. . . Who needs peer-to-peer when you can have artist-to-fan?" Derek concludes, "If artists and fans realized how they could help each other and started making direct connections, without a middleman, the whole industry would change overnight. It would start a revolution."

Well worth checking out: http://www.noisetrade.com

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Free music - Esterlyn

Another excellent group I discovered a while ago is Esterly. Thanks again to www.NoiseTrade.com through whom the band are offering two albums - for FREE! One is only a 5 track acoustic EP "Mending the Meaning", but it is so cool! The other is a full blown album, called "Lamps". Check them out while you can!







Again, you can also check them out at : www.myspace.com/esterlyn