I've lost my mind

by asleif_dufansdottir 13 Replies latest jw friends

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  asleif_dufansdottir

  If you like old bluegrass, check out this cd...(you can find it on amazon)

  Traditions of a West Virginia Family & Friends The Hammons Family

  It's from a Library of Congress archive. It's truly amazing.

  One of the reviewers said "Both the banjo and fiddle pieces are almost all from the 19th century or earlier and seem free from any commercial influence whatsoever, even though the family was recorded in the early 1970s. This is traditional music of the region in its rawest (and rarest) form."

  What I really like about it, is some of the songs have them telling stories before they play. The old man talking on "Turkey in the Straw" (there's a clip on Amazon) sounds so much like my grandpa and his family it makes me homesick.

  I suppose that's what I like about bluegrass, it's a direct link to my most beloved (and lost) family members...grandma and grandpa have been gone for years and I miss them still.
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  blondie

  I'm impressed. I was trained in the woodwinds, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, as well as piano. Could never master a stringed instrument except for the guitar.

  It only proves it is never too late. I started piano as an adult; my teacher said that I advanced 6 years in 12 months. Of course, I knew how to read music already.

  I have met people who started up on the flute and guitar in their 40's. One plays in a local band.

  As Malcolm Forbes said, "It is only too late when you are dead."

  Blondie
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  asleif_dufansdottir

  Could never master a stringed instrument except for the guitar.

  That's funny, because guitar was the one stringed instrument that totally escaped me. As a music ed major, you have to nominally learn to play all the instruments in band and orchestra. One semester of brass methods, one of woodwinds, one of percussion, one of strings. Brass was cake (they're not that different) since I'd played F Horn since 5th grade. Woodwinds was hard (flute and oboe were nearly impossible). Strings I was OK on because I'd had lessons on violin, viola and a little on cello, and bass was hard but we weren't expected to do much more than learn enough to get a kid started if we taught school orchestra. But when I tried to learn guitar, it just was not happening. My hands just do not contort to make those damned chords!!

  People who think guitar is easy and can't play violin think I'm wierd.
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  blondie

  Asleif, maybe if you held the guitar under your chin..............

  I love the portability of the guitar, e.g., you can take it camping for sing a longs around the campfire. I can chord most songs which actually helped my piano playing.

  I have some facility with the violin but it is hard to know where to place your fingers. The guitar is conveniently marked.

  I am currently teaching myself the recorder, another portable instrument. I have taken it with me on trips and played it during our outdoor excursions.

  Keep up your music. We are never too old to learn. One of classes in college was audited by a 92 year old man, a US history class, 1945 to present. He lived it and his insight/experiences were more interesting than an old dry book.

  Blondie