Musician broadcasts from his home in Kirkcaldy

Richard has managed to find a way to continue working during the coronavirus pandemic and has not only been able to develop his songbook sessions for BBC Radio Scotland, but he has also found a way of using social media to keep in touch with members of his local church.

He said: “Like all freelance musicians, I saw the work I had lined up disappear like snow off a dyke, once the lockdown came into force. I had a number of broadcasts for Radio Scotland’s “Jazz Nights” to prepare with Fife musician Seonaid Aitken.

“But they were all cancelled because I couldn’t enter the BBC at Pacific Quay because of my age, in case I was at risk.

“However, a few years ago I invested in a pair of high quality microphones and thought, “I can do this myself” and set to work on my regular feature, which is “Richard Michael’s Song Book”.

“Basically I select a well-known song from my record collection, find several other versions of it and then analyse the tune demonstrating it’s construction, and then perform the tune myself.

“So I got to work. Figured out how to balance the sound, cue the tracks, learn all about fade ins and fade outs - and sent the session off to the BBC - and it now can be heard every Sunday night between 7 and 9pm!”

This Sunday (April 26), Richard will be explaining to listeners just what a great tune “Amazing Grace” is.

But as well as teaching online to students as honorary professor of jazz piano at St Andrews University, he will also be playing requested hymns on the Abbotshall Church Facebook page this Friday at 4 pm.

Anyone can request a favourite hymn and Richard will play it - though perhaps not quite as it appears in the hymnbook!

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