And Then I Was In An Orchestra

We were up first.

Me with my guitar.

Setting up.

Once I started studying the Law of Attraction I realized it was imperative for me to get music back into my life.  So I started putting that energy out into the universe. Now that I have a car, I have a lot more options. So I decided to pursue the free orchestra at the Apple Valley Library. I started last Saturday and today I got to join them in a concert at Spice of Life in Victorville, CA. I played my guitar.

But that is just the beginning of it. For the past few months I've been taking many musical paths. I just ordered harmonicas and picked those up at the store today.

I also took my mandolin to last week's orchestra practice.

And my boyfriend got me a digital tuner that covers ukelele, violin, mandolin, guitar, and chromatic. It is so much easier than tuning an instrument by ear when everyone else is trying to tune theirs at the same time.

And I got two books on making stringed instruments. I'm having a blast. I'm only going to play in fun situations so it won't trigger my performance anxiety.

The most important thing for me is that being in this group is teaching me how to combine a whole bunch of instruments into something that sounds like music. I could never figure out how all the parts went together. The director is very good at answering questions like that. His orchestra is for people from 3 to 104. I do take my own instruments (because if you don't, how are you going to practice when you go home)? But he has some loaner instruments.  If you are in Apple Valley or nearby and have Saturday afternoons free, I recommend joining.

Dinner and Mandolin

We were at a friend's house having dinner, and just after eating he whipped out his mandolin and started playing. We had all worked hard all day, and he needed dinner, a musical interlude, and a shower before going back to work.

So before you grab that donut, remember, music can be refreshing too. Especially live music. Even if you are just noodling around. I should play my mandolin today. I'm sure it is lonely hanging up there on the wall.

Guitar Pratice Another 20 min.

Today I got to play guitar for my grandson who came for a surprise visit.  He seemed to like it. Then again he's only 8 months old. So I think that gets me to the 1 hour mark. Only 999 hours to go.

Guitar Day 2

Today I managed to play for 25 minutes before my fingers were screaming at me. I found a book of children's songs on my bookshelf so I can learn some songs to play to my grand-kids. I worked on making my fingers stronger for barre chords. I practiced scales. I'm annoyed that I can't read a music book anymore without glasses. That's inconvenient. But all the more reason to memorize the song.

Guitar Practice

My new goal is to practice my guitar for 1000 hours. So I just did maybe 15 minutes until my finger pads got too sore to play. I need to find a widget that keeps track of my goal.

I found the widget, which you can see to the right. My 15 minutes barely shows up on it! 1000 hours equals 60,000 minutes. I also made a treasure page to inspire me which is here. These are the singers and musicians that I would be if I could be. Somehow I thought I'd have lives like theirs. But somewhere along the way I either ran out of talent or motivation or moral support. But I'm no quitter, so here I go again.

Black Kilt Clan

If this doesn't wake you up, you may already be dead.

Four Shillings Short

This is the duo we heard on Sunday at a ranch near Springville, CA. They played many instruments including a sitar, a hammered dulcimer, a bohdran, a dumbek, some flutes and recorders, a psaltery and a banjo. Fascinating. I don't know how they get it all into one van.