Random Musical Musings

 

Today was a fairly uneventful day at work. I did wake up from a dream I couldn't quite remember, but which made me very concerned for someone until this person responded to my text so I knew they were still alive. I also got an email about maple syrup festivals in the area, and one was the one at the Mackenzie Center that my band played at for two decades, until they suddenly didn't want us in 2020. Of course, the whole festival was canceled that year due to the pandemic, and I have no idea if they had it last year, but I went to the link for this year, and among the attractions it listed was "live music." So apparently they are having some band, just not our band. I forwarded the link to Hardingfele, and she said we should crash it. Of course, you can't really "crash" a public event - they'll just let you in. I said I was tempted to call the venue (it said to call with any questions) and ask about the live music. She said, "Do it." But do I really want to know who they have replaced us with?

Speaking of Hardingfele, our bandmate who just retired posted on social media that she was invited to jam with two professional musicians, and she was going on about how she can't jam, she has to play from music. Hardingfele said invite the whole band to jam, and the other woman said, "Famous is the only one who could keep up with them." And I know why that is: Suzuki violin lessons. All the other members of my band learned music from reading notes, but the Suzuki method insists that you learn by ear first, and it was many years before I realized what an advantage that was for me. I used to dread those group lessons, where I was only one of two five-year-olds; all the other kids were three, and I thought, "It's too late. I should have started this years ago." We had to bow and kneel, and once I knelt right on my violin. How humiliating! I was only in Book One, but I had the records and books through Book Five, so in Book Four I discovered the Vivaldi Violin Concerto in A Minor and would listen to it over and over, following along in the book. It was pretty obvious that where the pitch went up, so did the notes, and so I kind of got in trouble when I went into my next lesson playing Vivaldi and having accidentally taught myself to read music before they had deemed me ready. Still, I learned by ear first, and so I can jam and harmonize and figure out chords. Everyone should learn music by the Suzuki method.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not wish Johann Sebastian Bach a most happy birthday today.

Famous Hat