Since I haven’t formally said Hello to Everyone as a new member here, well, Hello! Have really enjoyed reading, laughing sharing, etc. Thanks to all. Had a rather interesting thing happen yesterday at work and thought it worth a brief mention. I work at a large regional medical facility(biggest in Milwaukee) which also houses the Medical College - Academic & Clinical, we have all types here!
Took a break from my computer and stepped outside. I ran into one other person, actually the Chairman of the OB dept. We introduced ourselves with the usual weather banter etc. As it is rather chilly now, I indicated I hated being cold; he suggested that I fly to a warmer clime, Arizona, California (I waited for the suggestion of Okinawa but that was not mentioned). I then indicated I would be flying to Ireland regardless of weather before going elsewhere due to my love of the music etc. I then mentioned my fiddle studies. The fine MD laughed and told me he was studying flute & whistles at the Irish Community Center, as am I. How many times does that happen?! If I had been on a bar stool, I would have fallen off! We started comparing tunes, experiences etc. He wants to get together to fiddle/whistle on campus during lunch. Maybe in a few months, I need a new bow as Will suggested and maybe a little more practice. Will have to call it the Froedtert/Medical College lunch Session and offer free exams with the Ear dept.!
You'll find this is an exremely small community worldwide, Deb, but that players crop up in the weirdest places. I've met other players on planes, once in a hot tub, and of course there's always the "my cousin's son is really into that Irish music thing" connection.
I shouldn't wait til a new bow or more practice. Bring your fiddle in and play, for god's sake. Why pass up a chance to learn more and have more fun? Don't let embarassment stop you, just do it. At the very least it's more playing time under your belt (especially important to play with other people), and you might be surprised at how many other players might pop out of the woodwork at the sound of your lunchtime session.
The only real problem is this guy in an OB. I can just imagine tuning up and have him beeped for a delivery! Although, what better way to bring in a new life! Maybe I'll suggest that next time I run in to him, He does the delivery, I accompany with a tunes!
In an old Peanuts toon, Linus says, "You can't play sad music on a banjo. I think everyone should be given a banjo when they're born." Now, he didn't stipulate whether it should be a 5 or 4 string, or what type of music to play, so there ya go.
Actually, I think life demands sad music from us now and then, so a fiddle is more versatile. Go for it, Deb.
Well in our little band/session out here, 3 out of 5 were docs (ob, peds & geriatric), plus a midwife, plus me, an ob/gyn RN. Call schedules do interfere with sessions and/or everything... Hey do you play at Flannery's? Back in May, myself, cuchulain54 & his family all crashed a Flannery's session. I think we're still barred for life, but it was a very nice little session. Wish I'd known you then, Deb!
I don't know his marital status, hmm. Something to ponder!
Unfortunately I hadn't even started my lessons, just became an expert at listening, hence no playing at Flannerys. You will have to come back! I'm checking into a couple of other possible sessions here. Want to verify info prior to posting.
Do come for Irish Fest, there's lots of sessioning going on then as well as the 13 stages with some of the best. Perhaps Tommy Peoples will come back next summer. He gave lessons on ornamentation the week prior to this year's fest and of course performed brillantly!
Well, I'll work up the courage. I think I'll try getting one of the researchers up here (name's O'Brien) to get going on his many great grand da's fiddle. He had the thing restored and doesn't play a note. He's kind of shy as well. But I think maybe the Shakey Egg would be a good start for him!
Am practicing furiously now that I know someone close by, it does help. Perhaps by the time we can comfortably play outside, The O' Brien will have those eggs mastered!
Now, now. Don't go looking for excuses as to why you can't do it -- if the O'Brien is too shy, that's still no excuse for *you*... Industrial stairways tend to have fun acoustics. So do bathrooms. Play indoors until it's nice outside.
The bathroom (unisex) is right next to my office & the stairway is next to that. I'll start something up! Of course if I bring in the 10yr old Bushmills O'Brien gave me last X-Mas, perhaps he might join in!.
Thanks for the encouragement all! I am somewhat of an oddity w/ fam & friends so it's great to hear, I will probably feel guilty if I don't follow your suggestions.
I started bringing my fiddle almost everywhere after no more than a couple of weeks from starting. Brought it to parties, played on lunch breaks etc. Perhaps people didn't think it sounded great, but nobody complained and we had a lot of fun (me, a flute player and sometimes a whistle or a guitar).
So, listen to Zina, bring the fiddle. Always. The most important thing is _not_ to sound great or to know a thousand tunes, but to have fun.
The parking garage for my office has fantastic accoustics, and for a time it used to be the only place I could practise (was staying in a tiny flat surrounded by pensioners who didn't appreciate flute-playing at 1am in the morning).
One night at about that time, after toking a bit on some wackyweed I'd been given by a bagpipe-wielding Zulu backpacker, I drove down to the garage, but just as I got to the gate, my car inexplicable cut out in the middle of the road. Bugrit. Okay, no worries, I'll get out, go up to my office and call roadside assistance for a jumpstart. Gather all my instruments, hop out the car, do one of those derriere-door-slammy things you do when your hands are full, and... realise I've locked my keys in the car. Can't get into the office, can't get into my car, can't call for help, paranoid and not exactly clear-headed on account of the bagpipers, marooned downtown in the middle of the night with nothing but my flute and two whistles and a music stand. What to do? Why, there was nothing for it but to start playing. Which I did, and was totally getting into it, until my audience arrived. It was the cops.
Now, despite the paranoia, I approached their car and started to explain why my car was in the middle of road. Not interested... instead what I get is "C'mon, boykie, give us a tune!"
So, not wanting to draw attention to the state I was in (!) I played them a set (couple of Irish numbers, some SA traditional tunes, some classical pieces). By the end of it, another two cop cars had pulled up, and the station was apparently listening via the walkie-talkies. Eventually it started to rain, so the boys in blue helped me "coat-hanger" my car door, gave me a push start, and back home I went, not quite sure what the hell had just happened.
So maybe what I really need is some wacky tabaky or magic brownies to get my courage up!
I really just started back after 25 yrs of the classic violin lessons. While in theory just doing it is the only answer, but somewhere along the line I need to feel confident in my novice abilities prior to being heard by anyone. I'm sure that will come, but not quite yet.
How long does it take take? Building confidence takes a little longer when you're older than at a younger age. I just started private lessons in Sept. The tunes I am learning are in my head, but it takes the synapses an extra second or 2 to reach my fingers, it isn't automatic yet. Maybe I'm & thinking too much whilst playing, but that too should pass. Eventually what is now thought and then action, should become an automatic response.
Realistically, I would think it would take a wee bit longer (unless I had the aforementioned intoxicants) for the confidence and comfortability to set in.
Thanks everyone, I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum beofre now. I appreciate your indulgence!
Say no to drugs (TM), Debwah! Besides, the backy'll only make you more self-conscious. I recommend tequila instead.
It also helps to keep reminding yourself in a self-congratulatory way (as opposed to trying to psych yourself up) that you're bloody marvelous.
And you're marvelous because you: practice every day, play things slowly until they're perfect, then start speeding them up, play ornament excercises, play scales + arpeggios, play along to recordings, play with other people, play music with other people too, play in sessions, play, don't stop, play!
I will have to think about the tequila, I still have the Bushmills. I do find that the bow slides on the strings in somewhat of a crooked fashion after a dram though.
I can't conceive of stopping. It's just going a little bit before I bump Liz Carrol off to stage left. She can rest easy for a bit!
Listen, if you had 25 years of violin, then your intonation and bowing skills are ahead of your game. Stop worrying about it and just do it. Take the fiddle in. Don't worry, you're not PERFORMING, you're learning from each other. So it doesn't matter whether you're any good yet. Just. Do. It.
You'll never "bump Liz Carrol off to stage left", but keep in mind that she is only about an hour's drive from Milwaukee (just over the border in Illinois) and may be a great source for private lessons. Nothing is better than sitting at the foot of a great master.
As far as needing "maybe a little more practice", what better way to practice than with someone else in a no pressure situation at lunch!!?? Sounds perfect to me. Doooo it!!!
If I can do it, you can Deb! Life is too short and 99 out of 100 times you will always say, "now what the heck was I afraid of and why did it take me so long?!" Happens to me everytime I force myself past the fear. And sometimes great things come out of it, too. Some of my best musical memories are of times I've done just that. Time to start making your own good craic memories, Deb!
Oh, here's a tip--Bach Rescue Remedy--it's a homeopathic remedy made of flower essences--don't ask me how it works--it's for extreme stress and trauma type situations and that definitely includes fear and nervousness. It takes the edge off, stops the shaking. You can get it at a health food store or natural market.
Well, let's see...I played viola in high school, and then one day picked up the fiddle when I was 38. So, not much of an excuse to ME. *grin* Try calling the OB dept. I'm sure there's such a thing as a department phone list.
And how blessed you are to have the Irish Center up there, Deb! Don't pass up their Scoil Samraidh. Was up there this past August and it was a ball. Some fun sessions around it, too. BTW, also ended up at the hospital after an unfortunate ceili dancing accident -- if you're at Columbia/St. Mary's, thank you -- their E/R is great -- and the staff is a hoot!
Have fun,
cat.
Yes I do feel blessed. There is a lot going on in what usually is referred to as a hokey little town! Not with Columbia/St. Mary's but glad to see you got good care. You will have to come back!
Thanks, Deb, and I was really impressed with Milwaukee. Nice scene, nice architecture, nice people, and of course, the lake, the lake .... and the summer school really was lovely. Not too big so it made things more accessible. And some great players up there, too. In the words of the California governor, I'll be back! Meanwhile, have fun! ~ cat.
In All the Gin Joints....
In All the Gin Joints....
No Bogart or Bergman, sorry to lead you on.
Since I haven’t formally said Hello to Everyone as a new member here, well, Hello! Have really enjoyed reading, laughing sharing, etc. Thanks to all. Had a rather interesting thing happen yesterday at work and thought it worth a brief mention. I work at a large regional medical facility(biggest in Milwaukee) which also houses the Medical College - Academic & Clinical, we have all types here!
Took a break from my computer and stepped outside. I ran into one other person, actually the Chairman of the OB dept. We introduced ourselves with the usual weather banter etc. As it is rather chilly now, I indicated I hated being cold; he suggested that I fly to a warmer clime, Arizona, California (I waited for the suggestion of Okinawa but that was not mentioned). I then indicated I would be flying to Ireland regardless of weather before going elsewhere due to my love of the music etc. I then mentioned my fiddle studies. The fine MD laughed and told me he was studying flute & whistles at the Irish Community Center, as am I. How many times does that happen?! If I had been on a bar stool, I would have fallen off! We started comparing tunes, experiences etc. He wants to get together to fiddle/whistle on campus during lunch. Maybe in a few months, I need a new bow as Will suggested and maybe a little more practice. Will have to call it the Froedtert/Medical College lunch Session and offer free exams with the Ear dept.!
Anyway, a bit of fun!
Deb.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
You'll find this is an exremely small community worldwide, Deb, but that players crop up in the weirdest places. I've met other players on planes, once in a hot tub, and of course there's always the "my cousin's son is really into that Irish music thing" connection.
I shouldn't wait til a new bow or more practice. Bring your fiddle in and play, for god's sake. Why pass up a chance to learn more and have more fun? Don't let embarassment stop you, just do it. At the very least it's more playing time under your belt (especially important to play with other people), and you might be surprised at how many other players might pop out of the woodwork at the sound of your lunchtime session.
It IS fun, ain't it?
Zina
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
The only real problem is this guy in an OB. I can just imagine tuning up and have him beeped for a delivery! Although, what better way to bring in a new life! Maybe I'll suggest that next time I run in to him, He does the delivery, I accompany with a tunes!
D.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
In an old Peanuts toon, Linus says, "You can't play sad music on a banjo. I think everyone should be given a banjo when they're born." Now, he didn't stipulate whether it should be a 5 or 4 string, or what type of music to play, so there ya go.
Actually, I think life demands sad music from us now and then, so a fiddle is more versatile. Go for it, Deb.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Will CPT
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Oooo, is he single? *snort snort*
Well in our little band/session out here, 3 out of 5 were docs (ob, peds & geriatric), plus a midwife, plus me, an ob/gyn RN. Call schedules do interfere with sessions and/or everything... Hey do you play at Flannery's? Back in May, myself, cuchulain54 & his family all crashed a Flannery's session. I think we're still barred for life, but it was a very nice little session. Wish I'd known you then, Deb!
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by emily_bmore
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Emily,
I don't know his marital status, hmm. Something to ponder!
Unfortunately I hadn't even started my lessons, just became an expert at listening, hence no playing at Flannerys. You will have to come back! I'm checking into a couple of other possible sessions here. Want to verify info prior to posting.
Do come for Irish Fest, there's lots of sessioning going on then as well as the 13 stages with some of the best. Perhaps Tommy Peoples will come back next summer. He gave lessons on ornamentation the week prior to this year's fest and of course performed brillantly!
D.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Hey, "A" tune, or even half a tune, is better than no tune at all. You start bringing that fiddle with you.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Well, I'll work up the courage. I think I'll try getting one of the researchers up here (name's O'Brien) to get going on his many great grand da's fiddle. He had the thing restored and doesn't play a note. He's kind of shy as well. But I think maybe the Shakey Egg would be a good start for him!
Am practicing furiously now that I know someone close by, it does help. Perhaps by the time we can comfortably play outside, The O' Brien will have those eggs mastered!
D.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Now, now. Don't go looking for excuses as to why you can't do it -- if the O'Brien is too shy, that's still no excuse for *you*...
Industrial stairways tend to have fun acoustics. So do bathrooms. Play indoors until it's nice outside.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
The bathroom (unisex) is right next to my office & the stairway is next to that. I'll start something up! Of course if I bring in the 10yr old Bushmills O'Brien gave me last X-Mas, perhaps he might join in!.
Thanks for the encouragement all! I am somewhat of an oddity w/ fam & friends so it's great to hear, I will probably feel guilty if I don't follow your suggestions.
D.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
I should also mention, the words I live by:
It's the blues without tunes!
Deb.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
I started bringing my fiddle almost everywhere after no more than a couple of weeks from starting. Brought it to parties, played on lunch breaks etc. Perhaps people didn't think it sounded great, but nobody complained and we had a lot of fun (me, a flute player and sometimes a whistle or a guitar).
So, listen to Zina, bring the fiddle. Always. The most important thing is _not_ to sound great or to know a thousand tunes, but to have fun.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Pontus Adefjord
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
The parking garage for my office has fantastic accoustics, and for a time it used to be the only place I could practise (was staying in a tiny flat surrounded by pensioners who didn't appreciate flute-playing at 1am in the morning).
One night at about that time, after toking a bit on some wackyweed I'd been given by a bagpipe-wielding Zulu backpacker, I drove down to the garage, but just as I got to the gate, my car inexplicable cut out in the middle of the road. Bugrit. Okay, no worries, I'll get out, go up to my office and call roadside assistance for a jumpstart. Gather all my instruments, hop out the car, do one of those derriere-door-slammy things you do when your hands are full, and... realise I've locked my keys in the car. Can't get into the office, can't get into my car, can't call for help, paranoid and not exactly clear-headed on account of the bagpipers, marooned downtown in the middle of the night with nothing but my flute and two whistles and a music stand. What to do? Why, there was nothing for it but to start playing. Which I did, and was totally getting into it, until my audience arrived. It was the cops.
Now, despite the paranoia, I approached their car and started to explain why my car was in the middle of road. Not interested... instead what I get is "C'mon, boykie, give us a tune!"
So, not wanting to draw attention to the state I was in (!) I played them a set (couple of Irish numbers, some SA traditional tunes, some classical pieces). By the end of it, another two cop cars had pulled up, and the station was apparently listening via the walkie-talkies. Eventually it started to rain, so the boys in blue helped me "coat-hanger" my car door, gave me a push start, and back home I went, not quite sure what the hell had just happened.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Q
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
So maybe what I really need is some wacky tabaky or magic brownies to get my courage up!
I really just started back after 25 yrs of the classic violin lessons. While in theory just doing it is the only answer, but somewhere along the line I need to feel confident in my novice abilities prior to being heard by anyone. I'm sure that will come, but not quite yet.
How long does it take take? Building confidence takes a little longer when you're older than at a younger age. I just started private lessons in Sept. The tunes I am learning are in my head, but it takes the synapses an extra second or 2 to reach my fingers, it isn't automatic yet. Maybe I'm & thinking too much whilst playing, but that too should pass. Eventually what is now thought and then action, should become an automatic response.
Realistically, I would think it would take a wee bit longer (unless I had the aforementioned intoxicants) for the confidence and comfortability to set in.
Thanks everyone, I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum beofre now. I appreciate your indulgence!
Happy TGIF!! Deb.
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Say no to drugs (TM), Debwah! Besides, the backy'll only make you more self-conscious. I recommend tequila instead.
It also helps to keep reminding yourself in a self-congratulatory way (as opposed to trying to psych yourself up) that you're bloody marvelous.
And you're marvelous because you: practice every day, play things slowly until they're perfect, then start speeding them up, play ornament excercises, play scales + arpeggios, play along to recordings, play with other people, play music with other people too, play in sessions, play, don't stop, play!
# Posted on December 4th 2003 by Q
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
I am rather great aren't I!!
I will have to think about the tequila, I still have the Bushmills. I do find that the bow slides on the strings in somewhat of a crooked fashion after a dram though.
I can't conceive of stopping. It's just going a little bit before I bump Liz Carrol off to stage left. She can rest easy for a bit!
Deb.
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Listen, if you had 25 years of violin, then your intonation and bowing skills are ahead of your game. Stop worrying about it and just do it. Take the fiddle in. Don't worry, you're not PERFORMING, you're learning from each other. So it doesn't matter whether you're any good yet. Just. Do. It.
Zina
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
'I still have the Bushmills' - drink the bushmills - it will transform you into the best fiddler in the world...
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Yohan
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
You'll never "bump Liz Carrol off to stage left", but keep in mind that she is only about an hour's drive from Milwaukee (just over the border in Illinois) and may be a great source for private lessons. Nothing is better than sitting at the foot of a great master.
As far as needing "maybe a little more practice", what better way to practice than with someone else in a no pressure situation at lunch!!?? Sounds perfect to me. Doooo it!!!
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Tusong200
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Zina, No it's been 25 years Since I had studied (even held) the violin!
Lunch, Fiddling with Ms Caroll whilst enjoying the liquid repast, I'm convinced! D.
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
If I can do it, you can Deb! Life is too short and 99 out of 100 times you will always say, "now what the heck was I afraid of and why did it take me so long?!" Happens to me everytime I force myself past the fear. And sometimes great things come out of it, too. Some of my best musical memories are of times I've done just that. Time to start making your own good craic memories, Deb!
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Andee
Oh, here's a tip--Bach Rescue Remedy--it's a homeopathic remedy made of flower essences--don't ask me how it works--it's for extreme stress and trauma type situations and that definitely includes fear and nervousness. It takes the edge off, stops the shaking. You can get it at a health food store or natural market.
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Andee
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
You guys are great!
To recap (I need to"write things down):
Wacky Tabky
Tequila
Bushmill's
Bach's Resue Remedy
Perhaps I'll be ready to join Dow in his Okiniawan Pub, but I'll be the one on the floor with a smile on my face!
Now off to find the OB guy. I have been out there 3 times since talking with him, where did the bugger go????
Thanks Everyone!
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Well, let's see...I played viola in high school, and then one day picked up the fiddle when I was 38. So, not much of an excuse to ME. *grin* Try calling the OB dept. I'm sure there's such a thing as a department phone list.
# Posted on December 5th 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
And how blessed you are to have the Irish Center up there, Deb! Don't pass up their Scoil Samraidh. Was up there this past August and it was a ball. Some fun sessions around it, too. BTW, also ended up at the hospital after an unfortunate ceili dancing accident -- if you're at Columbia/St. Mary's, thank you -- their E/R is great -- and the staff is a hoot!
Have fun,
cat.
# Posted on December 9th 2003 by cwildeky
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Cat, Hiya!
Yes I do feel blessed. There is a lot going on in what usually is referred to as a hokey little town! Not with Columbia/St. Mary's but glad to see you got good care. You will have to come back!
Deb.
# Posted on December 9th 2003 by Agnes Nutter
Re: In All the Gin Joints....
Thanks, Deb, and I was really impressed with Milwaukee. Nice scene, nice architecture, nice people, and of course, the lake, the lake .... and the summer school really was lovely. Not too big so it made things more accessible. And some great players up there, too. In the words of the California governor, I'll be back!
Meanwhile, have fun! ~ cat.
# Posted on December 10th 2003 by cwildeky