March 2026 Challenge – Sunjamr Steve

[sunjamr]

I stole the concept and some licks from David Gilmour, then tweaked it a bit. For me, this was the most fun challenge I’ve participated in lately. I like the freedom to just do my own thing and see what happens.

Sunjamr Steve

[John H]

Steve
That was nothing short of brilliant. I love where you took this. It started so simply, then I felt I was thrust into a symphonic montage of beauty . I love how you synchronized the Frere Jacques nursery rhyme (which was very powerful) with multiple instruments providing a variety of layers. Your intensity piqued at the right place. Well done my friend.

John

PS-This is music

[Alan L]

Great ambiance, some ear catching and interesting licks in there. And the round for part 2 was a charming surprise . Glad you had fun, I can tell! 🙂

[Michael L]

Hi Steve, yes! Loved it! I appreciate your creativity, and I agree it’s fun to just see where things go. Start to finish, this was a pleasure to listen to!

[Michael Krailo]

Great job Steve. I love the way this just sucks you into the dream of what is happening musically. Well done my friend. Plus you pushed it over 3 minutes which is something I give extra credit for.

Go slow and practice correct technique, and your abilities will dramatically improve.

[Pap]

Brilliant creativity. I like the call and response. I also think that the first time Ive seen you deploy the banjo. I bought one for my wife last year and she is trying to figure it out. As always, great job here Steve and well played on all instruments. Pap

[AndréM]

Yep Steve, this has a David Gilmour vibe.
I wasn’t expecting Frere Jacques in this challenge.
Very nice, makes remember my youth.
I might do a heavy rock version of it someday.

AndréM

AndréM

[Werner]

Well, Steve, another excellent contribution. I like the openness of the composition. You can follow every melodic progression, and yet there’s something psychedelic about it. And “Frère Jacques” fits right in, of course. It’s a shame I didn’t think of using a canon.

Thank you, Werner

[Guido]

A huge fan of Gilmour’s work like me can only appreciate your acoustic song, Steve!
Very well crafted and played first part: it has the same pastoral vibe of ” A pillow of Winds”, but with a different musical development.
Then when it turns in “Frère Jacques”, with the bass and banjo, it’s a stroke of genius!
Lovely rendition.

Guido

[Raffaele S]

Your interpretation is very original….the melody is relaxing and very pleasant to listen to, very good.

[JoeD1]

That was outrageously awesome, unique, creative, and wonderful.

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[Mark T]

Absolutely brilliant, Steve – the interplay of the two guitars in your first piece was excellent, feeding off each other and sometimes intertwining – beautifully done. – Mark 👍🎶😎

[Wayne Nunez]

Love the feel of this one Steve,such a great trance like vibe!

[charjo]

I enjoyed the acoustic call and response lending into harmony in the first half and then you took that “From Dusk til Dawn” like musical turn with all your multi-instrumentalist skills. Nice one, Steve.
John

[James B]

Musical artistry, Steve. Love what you’ve created here. Unique and original. We used to sing “Frère Jacques”, In rounds like you did it in my youth choirs.

James

[sunjamr]

When I was in elementary school in Florida our teachers often got the entire class to sing Frere Jacques, both in English and in French. They would divide the class into 3 – 4 groups, and it actually sounded pretty cool.

Sunjamr Steve

[Denise]

I like that drone rhythm! The alternating guitar duet sounded fantastic.
The Frere Jacque reminded me a bit of Mike Oldfield’s playing.
That was a very unique performance.

PS: thanks for your comment about my submission. Yes you are right about the acoustic guitar. It would have sounded better. I was actually thinking to play the rhythm with my acoustic but somehow I was too lazy to record with different guitars….shame on me.

More Blues!

[Paul S.]

Larry’s drone gave his brother Daryl and his other brother Daryl lots of opportunity to experiment — and it was captivating.

(I don’t envy you recording the drone part, even though you change pitch once in a while.)

As an innocent listener I was greatly entertained –until the peal of thunder. It caused me to jump! I was wearing headphones and it sounded really close by. I didn’t have time to worry about it though because the Frere Jacques section kicked in. That was as cool as it was unoriginal. I loved it.

[Catherine Arsenault]

That was beautiful Steve!!loved this yep it’s making up your own groove !!!enjoyed so much

[Manfred M]

You really show off your versatility here, Steve. It’s wonderful how your piece unfolds. Great idea to have it all culminate in “Frère Jacques” at the end. It fits surprisingly well. There’s so much musicality in what you do. Simply amazing!

Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup will be May/June
There will be a detailed announcement here in the forum
I look forward to meet you.
Manfred

[Martin W]

Love the simplicity of the first round it’s almost enchanting with the subtle groove ,
Then frere jacques was a surprise but fitted in with the main theme and worked well with the multi layers .
Very creative , I can see you had a lot of fun with this .

Martin

[Gary W]

This spoke to me Steve, that drone idea mesmerised me & then you really surprised me toward the end – great arrangement, very creative. Well played.

Gary

[JoLa]

That was a real aural treat for my ears, Steve! Love the whole concept of “let’s see where it takes me”, stuff like that is just the best. I do feel like that’s what happens whenever I start composing something, I never know which direction it’s gonna take. Your instrumental versatility is remarkable, there’s no stopping you whatever you decide to do. The old PF vibe was of course a bonus, Frère Jacques was a cool surprise – I also remember singing that in French class in school 😀

🎸JoLa

[Laurel C]

Creative Steve, unprepared for the thunder midway but the rainbow came out with Frere Jacques, what a synergy of musical delight. Spot on brilliance with your instrumental versatility.

[Jonathan Amos]

Yes, very pink but I can’t pin it down so I give you full credit for originality and creativity. Just goes to show how we should not be afraid to break the rules and break free from time to time.

Jonathan Amos, Matsuyama, Japan

[snakechisler]

I found it quite hypnotic
Also
Put my hurried video production skills to shame

It was sooooo polished, well done

[Bruce D]

Steve,
Best one word take for this is ‘pleasant’. Nice to listen to 👏
Nicely played and great production.
We did Frere Jacque in school too. What a hoot.

Bruce

Just focus on the notes you DID get right . . . Frank Vignola

[Dieter]

Wonderful impressing performance.

Dieter

[Author]

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