new gig

[a non-amos]

Have you ever had an opportunity that was just so much the right thing to do that you could not possibly turn it down?

Our fiddler is out for the next month, playing festivals hither and yon.  At the same time, a good friend has need of our services.

We had discussed this within the band.  My friend (a violinist) has been taking care of her shut-in mother for many years.  Her mother has never heard my friend playing with other musicians.  Egads!  This is not right!

Her mother had a nasty slip-and-fall in which she broke her tailbone.  She has been released from the hospital and is now in a rehab center.

My friend would like to play some music for her mother, and would like to play with us.  How could I possibly say no?  This is the right thing to do.

[rogue_mother]

Of course you said yes, and it will be wonderful, no matter what! Music has such healing power.

[Matilda]

Do you say "break a leg" to musicians, or is that just for thespians? I'm sure your performance will be great and I hope you musicians enjoy it as much as the audience will.

[a non-amos]

Matilda, no matter how you say it your good wishes are understood.  Thank you.

This rabbit hole has gone deeper than I thought it would.  Many say that we do not know a subject quite so thoroughly as when we try to teach it.  I embarked on a project to write on paper how we have been playing many tunes.  This is not only what sheet music we can find on Google, but what we have done with it.

I dropped a load of sheet music on my friend and she came back with a request for one more tune.

This (traditional Irish) tune was one of my early memories.  I remember my grandmother playing it on the piano when I was about 3 or 4 years old.  I was in tears, so she stopped playing.  They all missed the point.  For me at that time the bass riff was so moving I could not help myself, and I could not find the words to tell her to please continue.

We play this tune on a regular basis, but this morning I set out to put it to paper.  I did some Googling to find something close to what we had been doing, but then I remembered what my Grandmother used to play.  That's what I wrote.  The first half of the second part is so much more lilting and playful!  I could not find the like of it on the internet.

For a short while I wondered where my grandmother learned this, but she probably learned it from her mother who came over from Ireland.

[auntiemo]

Please tell us which traditional Irish tune your grandmother played...and that you now play.

[Les303]

A,

I called you a champion some time ago, when i learnt of the wonderful & selfless work that you do, making home made toys for the underprivileged, i should not have been so specific because in my eyes, you are indeed a champion in many other ways.

It is only when you are a receipient of such generousity & kindness that you really appreciate it.

I can just imagine your friends Mum, out of hospital but still in a lot of discomfort & probably feeling a little bit depressed while trying to recover from her fall.

She will be absolutely delighted when her daughter turns up with an " ensemble " to play just for her although i am sure that within a very short  time the entire population of the rehab centre, including staff, will all be enjoying the music.

One of the saddest things i encountered when visiting my mother at her nursing home was the obvious lack of visitors for some of the other residents.
Sadly & i cannot really fathom how it happens but the reallity is that some people simply " dump " their parents into a home, rarely visit & just wait to collect the inheritence.

After visiting mum, i would always do the rounds & spend a little bit of time with some of the other residents.

Following your vist, i reckon that your friends mum won't need any pain killers that night & she will be the most popular patient there.

Please, do let me know how the day unfolds.

Thanks Les.

[Hobbit]

What you're doing A is fantastic.  It will bring a lot of pleasure to your friend's Mum & also to the other patients in the re-hab unit.
I agree with Matilda. Break a leg!
Les is spot on with what he says.
Penny

[a non-amos]

Dear Auntiemo,

The traditional tune is "The Irish Washerwoman."  It's normally regarded as a fun jig to play and a nice listen, but not much substance.

To my very young ears it was earthshaking at the time.  It made an impression.

As I had hoped, it plays well with the fiddle playing "as remembered" while the rest of us are playing it "standard."  We might need to make some minor adjustments here and there so as not to step on the fiddler's toes, but that's the beauty in playing with a small group.  We can make adjustments like this without an act of Congress.

I realize that not all forumites play music.  I never want to offend.  I tried to describe an uplifting experience, one in which I could also help uplift others.  In fact, they have uplifted themselves; I was only an accomplice.  If you are offended please tell me and I will STFU.

[birdy]

I have relatively little interest in music, perhaps because I'm tone-dim (not quite tone deaf).  But I find your stories interesting and i look forward to seeing them (I don't cook (well) or make wooden toys either, but I like hearing about them too.)

[yelnats]

If you are offended please tell me and I will STFU.

Wikipedia...

Proper noun
STFU

(US, historical) Initialism of Southern Tenant Farmers Union.

?

[auntiemo]

The comments from birdy are very similar to my own sentiments...I love to hear (read) what other people are getting up to....even if my interests aren't exactly the same. I was surprised that I recognized The Irish Washerwoman when I checked on Youtube. I'm sure your audience's spirits will be greatly lifted by such a lively tune.
Up until a couple of years ago, my father and his wife have entertained with a bit of music and singing at a number of Nursing Homes and Aged Care facilities in and around Brisbane....he's slowed down a bit now.....at 94 !

[Matilda]

I know how it feels to perform for the elderly as my (CWA) choir does so regularly in the south-east corridor of the Perth metro area. We spend the first half of the year learning new repertoire and refreshing old, and then do 20+ concerts with a flurry of activity to herald the Christmas season toward the end of the year. We have more than one member over the age of 90 and I'm sure it keeps them young.

I just love to see the audience' faces and hear them sing along to their old favourites. Music goes where no other experiences can in our aging brains and makes connections when we least expect it!

I wish I could be a fly on the wall at your concert. I suspect I would be tapping my toes and smiling broadly. 

Keep on making music, everyone!

[a non-amos]

Dear Yelnats, STFU also means Shut the F*** Up.  Some previous posts have offended others (rather unexpectedly).  Some posts have been regarded as irrelevant (again unexpected, especially for a "whatever" topic).  I really don't have a good feel for what's acceptable.

Dear Auntiemo, you mentioned that your parents have slowed down a bit.  Have they tried playing just a little more slowly?  Although many Irish sessions seem to be a contest in how fast the musicians can play, many of the old Irish tunes can be quite lovely at a more controlled tempo.  Maybe a dance or march tempo instead of a juggernaut?

Dear Matilda, you are a better person than I.  You make a habit of doing good that we have only recently considered (and have not yet done).  I want to be at your next performance, but plane tickets and time zones are a pain.  Maybe you could record it, even if only a cell phone set to record?  I would love to share this with friends.  I'm not talking about Facebook, I mean actually sharing it with friends.

- A

[pat]

The band I'm in doesn't do many gigs, but those we do are nearly all for charity. Our conductor of 20 years' standing resigned last year. He was one of the founder members of the band and was never paid for his role, but in order to replace him (with 17 wind instrument players you need a conductor!) we had to employ a professional musician who obviously needed to be paid. This of course meant a massive increase in subs as we gain virtually no income from our gigs and our subs barely covered the cost of the rehearsal room. But then we found out that because the band mainly performs at charity functions we were able to claim Gift Aid from the tax man. (Any donations to charity in the UK made by a tax payer are eligible for Gift Aid as long as the donor consents, and although we're not a charity, under the rules of the scheme we're able to claim Gift Aid as we support charities. What this means is that the tax man will top up the donation, or in our case subscription, by 20% at no cost to the donor.) All we had to do was get the permission of each band member to claim gift aid on his or her donation. Our annual subscription from subs of around £2,000 is now topped up to £2,500. Whoever would have though that the tax man could ever be useful!

[Matilda]

As a matter of fact A we have just made a CD of a recent performance at a retirement village so I'll see what I can do.