Author

Pieces for Classical Guitar and The Rosewood Book (duets for flute & guitar) introduce classical guitar students to the master composers of the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries—Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and others. Both anthologies are comprised entirely of transcriptions from keyboard works and both contain brief essays that introduce the cultural, artistic and musical spirit of the baroque, classical, romantic and modern periods.

The Clave Matrix
Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins
David Peñalosa

I co-authored (and edited) The Clave Matrix; here is an excerpt from my note to the reader

The Clave Matrix As Rhythmic Study For All Musicians

In the early years of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky, in The Rite of Spring, shocked his audience with jagged, asymmetrical rhythms meant to convey primitive ritual. Purely a theatrical conceit, it couldn’t have been further removed from the real thing. ‘Primitive’ music has always and everywhere been bound to the rhythms of nature, that is to say cycles—the rising and setting of the sun, the seasons, the tides of the sea, the tides of breathing, the beat of the heart. The function of cyclical rhythm in traditional music and dance is to align the community, each to each, each to all, all to the forces of nature. And so, while Stravinsky’s dancers in Paris were desperately trying to stay in step (with him in the wings, frantically counting), dancers, singers and drummers on a small island in the Caribbean were playing, singing and stepping rumba, perfectly locked into their symmetrical, four-beat cycle.

Art music would follow Stravinsky’s lead for the next 50 years or so until the appearance of composers who, less concerned with reflecting the rhythmic and psychic turbulence of modern life, were enjoying the more grounded, life affirming qualities of non-western music. One of those, Steve Reich, applied his study of West African drumming to his compositions and created music of a wholly new order; his Music for 18 Musicians is an outstanding example.

The purpose of this brief, biased background is to persuade/inspire you to explore the untapped potential of cyclical rhythm in general and the Afro-Cuban clave system in particular. You have in your hands a brilliant exposition of a highly sophisticated system of rhythmic organization—The Clave Matrix. Here, for the first time in print, is an in-depth analysis that shows, in a logical, step-by-step manner, precisely how all the rhythmic elements of this music relate. It does for rhythm what classic works, such as Gradus ad Parnassum by Johann Fux did for 18th century counterpoint or Harmony by Walter Piston does for that discipline. And, in its rigorous thought process, The Clave Matrix stands shoulder to shoulder with the pedagogical work of Paul Hindemith, one of the greatest thinkers the art and science of music has ever known.

Eros, Love & Sexuality
The Forces That Unify Man And Woman

I ghost wrote Eros, Love & Sexuality from recorded lectures and interviews with psychologist, John Pierrakos, a collegue of Wilhelm Reich.

Editor

ProEdit
Clarity • Continuity • Integrity

Good writing depends on clarity, continuity and integrity. The guiding precepts of ProEdit are that clarity produces good style, continuity creates natural form, and integrity generates meaningful content.

As editor, my primary objective is to ensure that the author has said precisely what he or she has intended to say and that the style, form and content of the work all serve that intent. Whether it’s a book or website text I can help with all phases of the writing process, from bringing the vision into focus right down to dotting i’s and crossing t’s.

I entered publishing many years ago when Music Sales accepted my anthology Pieces for Classical Guitar and asked if I knew anything about drum music. I did, they handed me an unruly stack of pages on rock & pop drumming and so began my other life as an editor. Since then I’ve edited books and articles on psychology, alternative medicine, yoga, nutrition, dance, bodywork and music (instruction, aesthetics, rhythm). My work has been published by Grosset & Dunlap, Music Sales, LifeRhythm, Carl Fischer, Station Hill Press, Ellipsis Arts, Warner Bros., Bembé Books, Pentatonic Press et al.

Writing, like the guitar, sounds better when it’s in tune. Whatever you’re writing—a book, website text, manual, dissertation—Proedit can help you tune it up.

Project development • Consultation • Collaboration
Line editing • Proofreading

Peter Greenwood’s natural capacity for clarifying substantive material is the gift of a fine editor – Siegmar Gerken, publisher, LifeRhythm

Working with you was not only rewarding in outcome, but the process itself was a great pleasure. Your insights were deep; they considered the poetic nature of the work. – Stan Rushworth, author: Sam Woods/American Healing

Artifice y pieza esencial en la construccion de esta belleza . . . Thank you very much for your help, support, encouragement, enthusiasm and more. – Sofia Lòpez-Ibor, author:  Blue is the Sea

The lion’s share of thanks goes to Peter Greenwood who stayed with me through the thick and thin of the past 12 years. Where the writing sings, I have him to thank. – Doug Goodkin, author:  Now’s the Time

I express my deep appreciation to editor Peter Greenwood for his dedicated help in developing and writing the text for this book. His clear vision brought clarity and focus to the material; his interest, care and love were an invaluable encouragement. – John Pierrakos, M.D., author: Eros, Love & Sexuality

Peter’s belief in the project never wavered for the decade and a half we worked on it. His provocative questions urged me to dig ever deeper: without him the work in its present form would not exist. He raised the level of my writing . . . I’m grateful for his priceless work. – David Penalosa, author: The Clave Matrix.