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.

Guitar Tuner

My electronic tuner has some issues but this handy website helped me tune my guitar in no time: http://www.guitarforbeginners.com/onlinetuner.html

I promised myself I'd practice guitar today and it was way out of tune. I also had to prune my finger nails so I could push down the strings. And once again all my calluses are gone from infrequent playing. It's always like starting from scratch for me in spite of my best intentions.

At some of the archery gatherings people sit around and play guitar. And I want to join them, I really do, but up to now I've never been good enough. But I'm too stubborn to quit.

Celestina

After hearing a NPR special on the Celestina I had to look it up. http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wolff/mechmusic/Celestina/Celestina.htm
Celestina
It makes a very ethereal sound.

Doumbek Drum

I got my doumbek out today, dusted it off, and found some tutorials on line to help me brush up my skills and learn new ones. I wish this tutorial thing had been around in the 70's when I first got my drum. Or maybe it was early 80's. At any rate, I took a few lessons before my money ran out, and for years I didn't learn anything new. So I'm glad to see progress.

Musical Instruments I Have Played

I was pondering the different musical instruments that have come and gone throughout my life. When I was a eight, my parents got us an upright piano so I got to take a few lessons on that. And I remember a neighbor letting us try out her organ.

My father had a trumpet he would play once in a while. I was going to play it in the high school band, but my sister decided she was older so she should get to play it, and my mother said neither of us could. Later on my younger sister did play it in a band of some kind.

In high school I took guitar, choir and snare drum. Come to think of it I was in choir in grammar school, Jr. high and high school.

In college I kept on with the guitar. And somewhere along the way I started playing dumbek. I also have a clarinet I toyed with, a fife, numerous recorders, rattles and so on.

And then about 1999 I bought a mandolin on Ebay. Sad to say I'm not really very good at any of them. I could be a one woman band. Oh and I forgot the didgeridoos we made.

Symphonies

I was most intrigued by a PBS special I just watched about freelance orchestra musicians in the San Francisco, CA area. If you think that might interest you they have a website here. To see their dedication to their careers is very inspiring. I particularly liked Robin, who plays the cello. I can see he clearly loves his work. People with that kind of passion are so appealing to me.

Didge

Last night I pulled my didgeridoo down off the wall and played it until my lips were tingly. In my case that's about five minutes. Then my boyfriend asked me to keep it down so he could watch the Family Guy. To which I said, "You mean people actually watch that on purpose."

Where Does Music Come From

I was talking on line about playing guitar and I realized that if you have the heart of a bard, you can turn even the most mundane of objects into an instrument. In ancient times and even today in primitive cultures, they don't get their instruments at fancy high end music shops. They use what is at hand. Reeds and bamboo to make flutes, gourds to make rattles, drums and banjos, sticks to make percussion instruments, hollowed out logs to make droning instruments and so on. So even if you are broke that is no reason not to get up and make some noise. Remember when you were a kid and you filled an empty plastic container with bottle caps or beans and made a rattle? So no more saying you can't be a musician without a $2,000 instrument. The rhythm is inside you. And me. And everyone.

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The week sure went by quick. I had a lot more planned but didn't have the energy to do it. My hands are still sore from woodcarving, and so I've had to lay off the knitting and crocheting. I'm looking forward to the weekend. My daughter may visit. We'll see.

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