It’s yesterday’s Non-Guitar Dosage, today! Singer/Songwriter Scott Spark recorded this with Brisbane, Australia’s Robertson State School’s Cantabile Choir.

It’s safe to say, you’ll have a smile on your face and a slightly warmer heart when the video ends – the teacher’s face says it all. ‘Eat Your Heart Out’ – a beautiful song – is from Scott’s upcoming album ‘Fail Like You Mean It.’ The song is a free download (plus lyrics).

Scott Spark: Site +  MySpace + Twitter

I say “The Third Man” and half of you will say “Orson Welles” and the other half “Zither.” The film’s music theme by Anton Karas is memorable and unmistakable. The story of “Man” director Carol Reed finding Karas at a wine garden in Vienna and then inviting him to score the movie is well known, at least, I think, to film buffs. May not be known that Karas accused Reed of keeping him “like a slave” during the 12-week, 14-hour days, scoring session. Bad Carol, bad!

What’s the history of Zither, homey and cousin of the guitar?

According to Wikipedia:
“The word “citara” is derived from the Greek word kithara, an instrument from classical times used in Ancient Greece and later throughout the Roman Empire and in the Arab world; the word “guitar” derives from “kithara” as well.”

Makes sense to do covers of ‘The Third Man” on the guitar. Even our favorite boy wonder, Sungha Jung, has done it too. There’s the Ska version. The Beatles messed with, er payed tribute to, it. The Band’s version is nice.

Zither-fied: Ekim Beau plays a 126 string Zither. Bradley Fish plays a 21-string Chinese Zither.

How to play: Austrian Lotte Landl has made a series of video tutorials you might like.

But wait! There’s more!!

Nick Barbery posted a link to Ruth Welcome’s ‘Zither Magic’ album (1959) on his great blog Ghostcapital.

Amazing architectural projection created by Seeper.

ACDC Vs Iron Man 2 – Architectural Projection Mapping on Rochester Castle from seeper on Vimeo.

A wonderful segment from last year’s World Science Festival by the great Bobby McFerrin on the power of the Pentatonic scale. It’s happening again this year from June 2-6 in NYC. McFerrin has just released his latest album Vocabularies.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

McFerrin. Encore.

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Improvises A Cappella, Song Two of Two from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Today’s Non-Guitar Dosage is a series of pieces on the legendary composer Bernard Herrmann. This is part 1 of 8. The rest, along with pieces on a host of other film composers are up on this YouTube page (unless they shouldn’t be up on there).

There you are with your dreams, ambitions, and goals. And there they are, far away, the achievements, the accolades, the recognitions. Miles apart some days, oh so near on some.

Not giving up is the hardest decision one can make, esp. if what you create, make, and share comes out of the wounds you acquire each day to make them happen.

After all, are you donating blood, or just bleeding to death?

Today’s Non-Guitar Dosage comes from an (un)likely source. But stories we do tell with out music, don’t we?

Today’s N-GD features Naseer Shamma, an Iraqi Oud player, performing his own composition “Hilal-alsaba.” He has a unique style of playing the Oud (watch 2nd video to see what I mean), and perhaps because he’s constructed an 8-string version of the Oud (usual is 6) based on a 9-th century transcript by Al-Farabi.

[Don't miss tomorrow's guest post by a then 14-yr old (now 15) guitar player from Iraq - Yeman Al-Rawi]

Naseer Shamma: Bio + Site + About Oud.

And listen to this composition of his, Alamiryya. If Flamenco and Blues fused, this is what it would sound like.

It’s Tuesday!! Means it’s Non-Guitar Dosage day! If you don’t take a toy guitar into account. After the hugely popular Muppets version of Bohemian Rhapsody, Beaker has returned with another classic.

Edu Miranda playing the Bandolim.

It’s Tuesday! And a non-guitar dosage is upon us. But lo, a guitar did make an appearance. Then again, Ms. Jones can play the maracas and I’d watch it.