“Now I’ll be bold as well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart
So tame my flesh and fix my eyes
A tethered mind freed from the lies”

This is just another piece of Mumford & Sons gold from my favorite new song I Will Wait. I’ve loved Mumford & Sons for so long but it wasn’t until they put out their newest album Babel that I was ready to make the leap and declare them my favorite band (kind-of a big deal). Might as well face it, they are pure genius and quite easily the greatest thing since french-press coffee. (Which is pretty great…)

So just for the fun of it, I’ve put together a little present for all you fellow Mumford addicts. I call it, “The Secrets of Mumford”. Or perhaps I should call it, “The Former Secrets of Mumford”, since after this day they shall no longer be secrets….

Here they are:

1. Must have a muscular right arm. 

I discovered this secret last night as I was attempting to learn the guitar strumming patterns in I Will Wait. If I ever have the good fortune to meet the guitarist that played on that track, the first thing I’m going to ask him is if his right arm is larger than his left arm. Because there’s no way on earth that a person can strum that fast a furious without developing some serious arm bulge. For those who are thinking of taking on these songs, I recommend investing in a gym membership because having a trainer is invaluable. Just be sure to ask for a discount since only the right arm needs the workout.

2. Develop a British accent.

This is barely even a secret. I think we all know that people with British accents have cooler music. The good news is, one does not have to be British to have a British accent. Like an instrument, an accent must be faithfully practiced in order to sound natural and beautiful. And that’s why we have youtube accent training videos. I recommend at least ten minutes of uninterrupted practice daily to truly master it. 20 minutes if you are tone deaf or if you come from any of the southern states in the US.

3. Use Un-cool instruments. 

A few years ago a banjo was only good for civil war re-enactment dances. Then Mumford came along. I even heard some trumpets being used on their new album, and let’s face it, trumpets are social suicide. Until now! So dust off your kazoo and bagpipe because nothing is off-limits! (Wait, what am I saying…? Bagpipes have ALWAYS been cool….)

That’s it for now. Hope these three secrets changed your life and turned your world upside down.