Karl Macrae

In floods of tears right now. Not out of pity or sadness, but out of sheer pride and excitement. Talent knows no boundaries. Disability knows no limitations. Our limitations are born out of fear. Find your thing, ditch the fear and just do it!! I don’t care who wins tomorrow, this performance wins for me every time. This opportunity to show our world that being differently abled doesn’t make you worthless because they/we are not like you/them! We are ALL differently abled. We are ALL able when given the opportunity to be. I love this. This is why I love my work.

Good morning you early campers. Why are you up this early? 5.20am!!! We’re off on an adventure this week. 3 days in Berlin to celebrate my 40th Birthday which was on Saturday. I’m gonna miss this wee pooches face whilst we’re away! As a result, the office is closed, the doors are locked and I’m out of here! Back on Friday afternoon though, to get ready for @tribeporty street party on Saturday! Have a lovely week, see you at the other end! ❤️#staffie #edinburgh #music #musician #folkmusic #holidays #berlin

So, today marks exactly 6 years, when I left full time employment to set up on my own. To leave the rat race behind and create a new path. It’s been bloody difficult. I’ve worked more hours than I care to remember, but almost every single one of them has been worth it. I’ve learned way more about myself than I had ever done in the years leading up to it. Some good, some bad, but on the whole, very positive. I wouldn’t change it for the world. So thank you to each and every on...e of you that has supported me on this journey over the years.
On Saturday, I celebrated my 40th Birthday. I know it’s hard to believe that someone so youthful looking could be that age, but hey, it was gonna happen at some point! I had a HUGE party where we fundraised for the Church that I am a member of Augustine United Church. We raised a massive amount of money to help with the maintenance of the very old building that does so much for society. Believer or not, this church and its building does so much valuable work to support many different people. LGBTQI, mental health, world poverty, homelessness, kindness to others, human rights to name but a few. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping to raise this amount of money. It is so appreciated by everyone st Augustine.
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Week number 6 of #52piecesofmusicscotland I’m VERY tired today after celebrating my 40th Birthday last night with amazing people. We were fundraising for a community of wonderful people that I belong to Augustine United Church. This weeks piece of music is The Dark Island, which was the theme music for TV programme of the same name in 1962! Clearly many many many years before my birth. I hadn’t played my accordion for years, so decided in time for my Rosslyn Chapel concert last August, I’d dust it down and give it a go. It felt really beautiful to get back with it. I desperately need a new accordion, but I’m also very fond of this one. I bought it, just in time to go to Uni in 1997!! Enjoy ❤️

I’ve just signed this. The education system in Scotland is a ticking time bomb. I for one am glad to no longer teach in schools. Our children are being failed daily. Enough is enough.

What a star!

This week has been a double up of pieces as I forgot to post last week. No. 5 is the beautiful song “When I’m Gone” written by Phil Ochs. It’s a stunner. I love this song, it’s just how I need to live my life. #folkmusic #scotland #scottishmusic #musician #professionalmusician #edinburgh #song #singing #piano #pianist

How wonderful!

Wow! I missed last weeks #52piecesofmusicscotland post last week, so there are two for this week. One is a cheat as I recorded it last year, but I do love it. This is Roslin Castle taken from the James Oswald Collection 1743. This is a stunning piece that opened my solo concert with at Roslin Chapel last August. #folkmusic #fiddle #music #musician #scotland #scottishmusic

I’ve just realised that I’ve not posted my #52piecesofmusicscotland posts to this Facebook page at all! So be prepared for a deluge of them now! Silly me. I’ve been posting them to my art page He's Sew Happy so here’s piece number 1. Stars of Lochearnhead, written by me for my friends wedding up at Loch Earn a few years ago.

Will try this with Raven me thinks.....

Week Number 3. #52piecesofmusicscotland Streetlights Of Stoer. This is one of those pieces, the minute I heard it I fell in love. Written by my beautiful friend Clare Campbell, about Stoer in the Northwest Highlands Of Scotland. I decided this one had to have the harmonies included, sung by the beautifully talented Amanda Roberts, a pupil of mine since I started working at The Royal Blind School Edinburgh 14 years ago. Amanda and I have a two our lesson every week, where she could just go on and on and on playing piano and singing. Apologies for the quality of the video, it was the best we could do at the time. Please, like and share far and wide. #stoer #folkmusic #highlands #scotland #music #scottishmusic #singing #piano #beautiful

Week Number 2. #52piecesofmusicscotland. This is Ashokan’s Farewell. A stunner of a piece of music, often passed off as Scottish, but actually American in a Scottish style. Written by Jay Ungar. I’m sure it was used in a advert for ferries sailing form Aberdeen to the northern islands?!

Hee hee

A VERY happy Mother’s Day to all you fabulous mums, dads who are mums, to grannies and/or grandads who are mum, to aunts, uncles and everyone else who identify as mother to many children. This is a video of one lad that I teach who makes his mother most proud every day. Ben is amazing. He is one of the many many many inspirational children I get to work with in my life. I kinda feel like a music mum. A chance to nurture a different side of children that parents can take great pride in, because of who their children are! ❤️

So, on my sister page He's Sew Happy I’m doing a #52buildingsedinburgh challenge, which will result in a exhibition in April 2020! To add to this, I’m doing a #52piecesofmusicscotland on this very page. Every week for the next 52 weeks, I will post a video of myself playing either an original composition, or a piece of music that I love, genre whatever! 52 pieces that make me happy!!
Piece Number 1:
Stars of Lochearnhead
... Written by me for my friends Susan and Kevin’s wedding in St Fillans a number of years ago!
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Wow! This makes me so sad. I have had the delight to work with Maisie and her mum in my work at Perth. I’m astounded by the responses by both Edinburgh City and South Ayrshire Councils. Have the people who wrote these replies actually read what they have written? I’d like to say it’s unbelievable, but in this climate, it’s VERY believable. Please share this post and respond. This just isn’t on!

Absolutely! Couldn’t put it better myself. Let’s see beyond labels. Let’s see every person for who they are.