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"Your  brass-man  is  a  rafting  dog,  well  and  good;  your reed-man  is  a  dab  at   stirring  ye,  well  and  good;  your drum-man  is  a  rare  bowel-shaker -  good  again. But  I  don't  care  who  hears  me  say  it,  nothing  will  speak to  your  heart  with  the  sweetness  of  the  man  of  strings!"

from Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy (1872)​

During a period spanning four decades, Somerset-based folk musician Will Cann has performed on his own and in a number of bands, on the journey acquiring a collection of more than twenty fretted instruments, which between them have well in excess of a hundred strings.

 

So if there's any truth in the quote above, from one of the members of Hardy's Mellstock Quire, Will certainly qualifies for the epithet 'Man of Strings'. And while his style of music may not be sweet to every listening ear, I hope this website can pass on a little of his passion for practising, perfecting and performing his art, at least to those with open minds, hearts and ears.

Botany Bay (traditional) - Will Cann
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This song is featured on Will's 

album The Limits of Longing.

​​Musician, Troubadour, Performer

 Will Cann Music

Multi-instrumentalist, Songwriter

 All material, written, visual and aural, Copyright 2025 Will Cann Music

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