Ted Ganger - Songwriter.Artist.Storyteller

My friend, the composer Lewis Saul, just featured another song of mine on his fantastic blog, and he spent time pointing things out about it I hadn't consciously noticed myself. So I learned something today...
In any case, it's a song very close to my heart - you might like it, too.

dccc###vi. GANGER, Ted: Okay dccc # # . GANGER, Ted Okay (2020) TG, voice, piano (5:26) Ted is a brilliant songwriter and lyricist. As one example of neat composition, n...

Hello Folks! Yesterday I recorded 12 new songs with my trusted friend/recording engineer Michael Grobe, at the BOSCO culture center in Gauting. They'd taken me over a year and a half to write (and re-write, and re-write etc.), and until a week ago nobody had ever heard 10 of the 12. So I'd invited friends for three house concerts in four days to try them out - an intense and gratifying experience.

It's funny, but until I've recorded a song, I don't feel as if it's really been born yet. So yesterday, after a pregnancy of the 19 months it took to write them plus another 15 months of waiting, I finally went into labor. And after an agonizing, frustrating, exhilarating 4 1/2 hours of recording take after take, patch after patch, I feel like they're...out.

Now I just have to listen for 2-3 weeks, 2-3 hours a day, to every take, every scrap, every temper tantrum I threw yesterday, over and over, and try to find a way to piece all the selected bits together, Frankenstein-like, to make a halfway-presentable monsterbaby of each song. And Michael Grobe will make it happen!

Stay tuned. In the meantime, today I feel rather numb - but still vibrating inside. By the way, I'm a very lucky guy to be able to do this.

Hello Folks,

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. I'm sure you've missed me terribly, just as I've missed you. Right?

I've been playing gigs, practicing the piano, reading books, watching movies etc. - and writing songs to share with you. In May I'll be recording the 12 songs for my next album, so I've been trying to get them all bright and shiny for you. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, some of you may know I made a short film, "Five Moments," with the abundantly talented Magdalena Herfurtner, aka Madil Hardis. It's won a number of awards so far, and we plan to release it on YouTube after it's finished making the festival rounds.

"Five Moments" ends with my song, "Only a Dream," sung live on set, very movingly I think, by Magdalena, with me playing the piano part off-screen. And I'd like to share this scene, i.e. the song, with you. I hope you like it.

Only a Dream (from "Five Moments") - Ted Ganger This performance is taken from the award-winning short film "Five Moments," soon to be released in its entirety here on YouTube.Lyrics and music by Ted Gange...

Folks, I'm not on Facebook much these days, so it was only by chance that I saw this post (already 4 days old) on one of my songs by my longtime friend, the composer and lover of all things musical (and cinematic), Lewis Saul. He even includes a short analysis of the song, my first out-and-out love song, about 12 years ago - nobody's ever done THAT before!
You might like it.
Thank you, Lew.

dxviii. GANGER, Ted: Come Away dxviii. GANGER, Ted Come Away (2012) TG, piano, voice (6:22) from Feeling My Way from Ted's second album. "A song sung in love to someone el...

Folks, I have a question/request/plea: Is there anyone among you who would be willing and able to help me get performances of my songs in English-speaking countries (including the Netherlands and Scandinavia)? Or do you know of such a person? For years now, I have tried in vain to find such a Booking Manager, so I'm reaching out to you for help and concrete suggestions.

Such a person needs the following qualifications:
Knows my songs (or enough of them) and what makes them DIFFERENT from other songs;
Knows of or can find appropriate venues, where people would be interested in hearing my songs, sung and played by me (and gladly others):
Has the energy and perseverance needed to actually land bookings.

Needless to say, I'll be happy to pay for such services - but the compensation must also be dependent on actual results!

Interested? Know anybody who might fit the bill? Then send me a message here, or better on my regular FB page, Ted Ganger, or an email at [email protected].

Thanks!

And now, last but hopefully not least: Song #12 of my new album, "Blind Swimmer"...

This song is about a place, a moment, a state of mind, a feeling. It's different for each of us, but it's something we all carry inside us - a gift from our innermost self.

It's called "The Deep."

The Deep - Ted Ganger "The Deep" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)https://www.sti...

I learned long ago that the phrase "based on a true event" (or something similar) does not necessarily make a book or a movie - or a song - good. Art may sometimes "imitate life," but it also plays by its own rules.

But for what it's worth, this song recounts an experience that really did happen to me, an experience I'm not likely to forget, because it brought me face-to-face with death, and because it taught me an important lesson - it was what you might call an "epiphany" (what the Germans call an "Aha-Erlebnis").

It's Song #11 on my new album, "Blind Swimmer." Listen carefully...

Golf - Ted Ganger "Golf" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)https://www.stimmel...

This is a different kind of love song, a list of adventures, realizations - and in the end, a sense of fulfillment - that the singer will only get to experience with the person being sung to: the beloved.

It's Song #10 on my album "Blind Swimmer."

https://youtu.be/2d3mL9LE1XA

Part of keeping a relationship alive - any kind of a relationship - is the ability, and the willingness, to push "reset" and give it another go.

Sometimes it's better to end it and walk away. But something is always lost that way. And that something might be worth working for after all...

Song #9 of my new album, "Blind Swimmer."

https://youtu.be/TLwBffAax5c

Start Again - Ted Ganger "Start Again" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)https://www....

There are times in our lives when everything seems pretty dark, pretty cold, and the way forward just a blur. But we keep trudging on, stumbling down the road, putting one foot in front of the other, because...because...well, what else are we supposed to do?

This is a blues, song #8 on my new album, "Blind Swimmer."

https://youtu.be/YO0z8i_4efI

Keep On Going - Ted Ganger "Keep On Going" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)https://ww...

My songs seem to ask a lot of questions - questions I often can't answer myself. That's probably one reason why I write them: as a way of searching for answers.

For example, I think we've all had relationships that started out great...and then slowly - or quickly - went sour. And then we're left asking ourselves, What went wrong, when it all seemed so RIGHT?

It's hard to understand, hard to accept, that the needs that draw us to each other can also carry the seeds of our failure to make it last.

And that's what this song is about.
https://youtu.be/BSKofiC2MwQ

Everybody's Got a Story - Ted Ganger "Everybody's Got a Story" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)...

L'amour fou - wild love, crazy love...What is it about certain people that can make us throw reason out the window and caution to the winds, make us ready and eager to jump in and just take our chances, come what may?

Well, folks, frankly I don't know! - but no matter how dire the consequences, I think we're lucky to be able to feel like that. I know I am!

And that's what this song is about, #6 on my album, "Blind Swimmer"!

https://youtu.be/rMhxzq522e4

Sanity Runs Away - Ted Ganger "Sanity Runs Away" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)https:/...

It's strange: No matter how rational we are (or think we are), we all know there's an invisible, intangible dimension to our lives - inside us, swirling all around us. It's our memories, and it's the phantom worlds they conjure up. They come to visit us, unbidden, in our dreams - but also when we're wide awake, seemingly out of nowhere, suddenly triggered by the slightest little thing.

We're always surrounded by these ghosts, ghosts that can instantly transport us far, far away, in space and in time...

And that's what this song is about, #5 on my new album, "Blind Swimmer."

https://youtu.be/i4NwHhZCT2A

Ghosts - Ted Ganger "Ghosts" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)https://www.stimm...

We all know someone like this: big, toothy smile, struts when others just walk, oozes self-confidence, talks and talks about how great everything is going - or will be soon...

Soon. Kinda funny - kinda sad. Kinda sad - kinda funny...

But here he is himself, ready and eager to tell you all about it!
https://youtu.be/9-c3dOCeE4c

(Song #4 from my new album, "Blind Swimmer")

When My Ship Comes In - Ted Ganger "When My Ship Comes In" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)ht...

Song #3 of my new CD bears the same title as the CD itself, "Blind Swimmer." It was inspired by a quotation by one of my favorite artists, the surrealist Max Ernst:

"Den blinden Schwimmer, der ich war, machte ich sehend. Ich habe gesehen. Und überrascht entdeckte ich meine Liebe zu dem, was ich sah, den Willen, mich mit ihm gleichzusetzen."
("I gave sight to the blind swimmer that I was. I saw. And to my surprise, I discovered my love for what I saw, the will to equate myself with it.")

Since reading it for the first time, this quotation has resonated deeply in me: the sense of swimming blindly in the world, in life, wishing I could also open my eyes and SEE - the longing, the frustration, the longing...

And that's what this song is about. Perhaps it will resonate with you.
https://youtu.be/AMTu9KHmIvY

Blind Swimmer - Ted Ganger "Blind Swimmer" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer." This song was inspired by a quotation from the surrealist artist Max Ernst:"Den blinden Schwimmer, d...

Hello, folks! Here's song Number 2 of my new CD, and it's totally different from the first one last week. It's a call, a shout, a warning - to you, to me, to all of us:

Don't get too comfortable and settled, don't give up too easily. Keep the drive, the wildness, the need inside - and act on it.

Feel the Hunger!

https://youtu.be/J5JzjyEJ7gI

Feel the Hunger - Ted Ganger "Feel the Hunger" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."Recording engineer: Michael GrobePhotography by Thomas Stimmel (modified by Birgit Satzger)https://...

Hello, folks! My new (8th) CD, "Blind Swimmer," is finished at last - 12 songs I wrote between 2018 and 2020 and recorded last fall. I plan to release the songs one a week as lyric videos on YouTube and Spotify in their order on the CD itself.

So here's the first one, titled "Back to Stay." It's sort of an experiment with the listener: Most songs that address someone in the lyrics want you, the listener, to like the singer and what he or she is singing to you. Well, in this song that's...questionable. It's sung by someone who left and now has returned. And how YOU feel about him and what he's saying depends very much on whether you identify with the singer or the one being sung to - and what you've experienced in your own life.

So I'm curious about your own reactions to the song - please feel free to share them with me here!
https://youtu.be/CjGz8mxqOxM

Back to Stay - Ted Ganger "Back to Stay" is taken from the album "Blind Swimmer."You might also enjoy this portrait created by Thomas Stimmel:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeBTyTzDb...

My friend Andy was generous enough to make a video to this song of mine a few years ago. And now he's been generous enough to post it on his own page here. Thank you, Andy!

"One of the best things about social media is occasionally you get to meet some of the people on it in person. From the few I have met I can't say that I was ever disappointed and I have been doing this for a few years now. I stayed with Ted for a few days on my travels. A consummate musician, who has taken to crafting songs later in life (experience counts in songwriting) he has a unique sound. A fine wit, and a lovely turn of phrase, check his music out. You will get a lot from it. Here is a vid I made for him a few years ago. Sit back and enjoy."

All Right Lyrics and music, sung and played by Ted GangerVideo by Toracube (Andy)I've always had a gift for finding out the hard way,If there's a flame around, I'm cer...

Folks, I've been trying to learn how to play the piano every day for well over 60 years. And in the words of Pablo Casals, I think I'm making progress! (At least I think so...)
I had some wonderful teachers, but nobody ever gave me advice on HOW to practice - in other words, how to learn. I'm still working on that - which is perhaps as it should be.
But I suddenly thought today of writing down some guidelines that have sort of accumulated in my mind, some of them recently. Since most of my friends are also performers of some sort, somebody here might find the one or the other helpful, so I'm happy to pass them along here, in no particular order.
Help yourselves - literally!

HOW TO PRACTICE EFFECTIVELY

1. Stay concentrated, stay conscious, stay clear.
2. Stay relaxed, be aware of how it all feels: in your mind, in your heart, in your body.
3. Always listen to yourself.
4. Force yourself to practice slowly and methodically.
5. Don't waste time: always be thinking actively.
6. Always phrase - after all, it's music.
7. In fast passages, try to get faster - even faster than necessary - without losing control.
8. Practice doing things from memory.
9. Be completely in the moment - but also think ahead.
10. If you're getting tired and your concentration is slipping, take a break - if necessary for the rest of the day. Don't get stuck.
11. Try to get a good night's sleep. It makes a difference.
12. Be ruthlessly honest with yourself when practicing, because in performance the truth will come out!
13. If you repeat a mistake, slow yourself down and try to figure out the misunderstanding behind the mistake, and then correct it.
14. Avoid distractions, as difficult as that is these days.
15. Try to understand the composer's thinking - i.e. why the piece goes the way it does - and make it your own.
16. Alternate taking the piece apart with running the whole thing without any interruptions, no matter what. Don't look back.
17. Don't change things spontaneously (for instance, for pianists, fingerings, for singers, breathing). Be open to changing your decisions, but "in the heat of the battle," stick to what you've decided.
18. Try to stay fresh and keep experiencing the piece anew. Breaks of a few days can help, if possible.
19. Don't listen to too many recordings. Find your own way.
20. Give yourself time, and don't beat yourself up. Tomorrow's another day.

Forgive me sharing this post by my friend and colleague Lewis Saul...
Thank you, Lew!

lxxii. GANGER, Ted: This Might Be Happiness lxxii. GANGER, Ted This Might Be Happiness (2019) TG, piano. vocal (6:25) From Inside and Out . I've written one song with lyrics in my life...

I just recorded the 12 songs for my next (8th) CD. Now of course they have to be mixed and edited, but I guess it went pretty well, and the album should be finished in 1-2 months. Feeling tired and empty and a bit dazed.

The Game

On this warm spring day, when all the life forces are blossoming, here's a fun song that asks the interesting question: What attracts us to another person? (Spoiler alert...I don't know.)
Enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/ted-ganger/the-game

soundcloud.com Writer (and singer/player) of songs for voice and piano Every song is different - different subject, different musical language. The texts are about very personal experiences and feelings that are a

RADIO MUNCHEN

A short interview with me, including half a dozen of my songs, will be broadcast tomorrow, February 16, (as a "Local Sounds Special") on Radio München - right after the news at 9 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. (15 Uhr).
http://tunein.com/radio/RADIO-MUNCHEN-s226004/
My wonderful colleague, Angela Sandweger, a true pro who genuinely loves music, conducted a long interview with me, cut it down to size, and picked out the songs. I'm curious myself about the result!
Tune in if you've got a few minutes!

tunein.com Listen to RADIO MÜNCHEN on TuneIn

Nerds

You all know what nerds are, don't you? In fact, you may have even met one or two in your life. Here's my early valentine to the nerds in the world, including, sometimes...well, modesty forbids...
https://soundcloud.com/ted-ganger/nerds

soundcloud.com Writer (and singer/player) of songs for voice and piano Every song is different - different subject, different musical language. The texts are about very personal experiences and feelings that are a

Could Be

Yesterday evening, in a session lasting 5 1/2 hours, I recorded 12 new songs for my 6th CD, which should be out in a couple of months. In the meantime, as this year is finally, finally winding down, here's a quiet song about the possibilities all around us.
May some of them come true for you in 2017!
https://soundcloud.com/ted-ganger/could-be/s-XAK9J

soundcloud.com Writer (and singer/player) of songs for voice and piano Every song is different - different subject, different musical language. The texts are about very personal experiences and feelings that are a

Performance

Here's a Sunday song for you, a hard-edged little ditty about modern (in)authenticity. All the world's a stage, today more than ever...
https://soundcloud.com/ted-ganger/performance

soundcloud.com Writer (and singer/player) of songs for voice and piano Every song is different - different subject, different musical language. The texts are about very personal experiences and feelings that are a

Nothing Personal

It's been months since I've shared one of my songs here, so here's one to help finish off the week just ended and start the one just beginning, a good-natured song about how we act towards each other - and how little it has to do with the other person...Enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/ted-ganger/nothing-personal

soundcloud.com Writer (and singer/player) of songs for voice and piano Every song is different - different subject, different musical language. The texts are about very personal experiences and feelings that are a

A note can be small as a pin or as big as the world, it depends on your imagination.
- Thelonious Monk

Nerds

Independent of my song concert this coming Friday in Munich (Be there!), I'd like to share this little song about certain outsiders and those who make fun of them...Enjoy!
https://soundcloud.com/ted-ganger/nerds

soundcloud.com Writer (and singer/player) of songs for voice and piano Every song is different - different subject, different musical language. The texts are about very personal experiences and feelings that are a