[lit-ideas] Re: Musical Ambitions (was: Cheney's shooting expedition)

  • From: Carol Kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 21 Feb 2006 23:08:15 -0800

I can't possibly top Geary's tale of the bobbited clarinet, but who can? I 
tried with a rented clarinet, too, only I couldn't get my mouth to purse that 
reed tightly enough to make a sound. That's how I discovered my overbite. 
There's always some use for a clarinet, I guess.

All my experiences with musical instruments belong to the land of Useta, a 
place I'm trying not to visit as often as the word occurs to me. So I useta 
play the organ (jazz & Bach). Was pretty good at it, had my union card by age 
16--the whole megillah, even Saturday classes at Juilliard. Took up the guitar 
one weekend, during that period, but never got beyond my intended goal of 
wailing Joan Baez songs in Washington Square Park, Saturday afternoon(after 
Juilliard lessons). Then arthritis set in, blah blah. No muscle memory left. Of 
the thousands of songs I once had in my repertoire--yeah, literally--maybe a 
couple survive, in broken form. Pathetic. I have one of those electronic 
keyboards, in case of severe nostalgia, and my son returned the acoustic guitar 
I loaned him, before he got plugged in. I remembered enough music to teach him 
the same rudimentary stuff I taught myself, one weekend when I was 14. 

Now I'm going deaf, I hear.

 No, really, I've just been told that I'm deaf in one ear and have limited 
upper range hearing in the other. Hearing aid advice, anyone? You'd think 
deafness would be blessedly silent, but noooooo--my form of deafness is 
accompanied by a persistent, annoying electronic hiss in my head. (Tinnitus on 
toast.)

Carol,
attesting that age is not "just a number"
 
 


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike Geary 
  To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 10:08 PM
  Subject: [lit-ideas] Musical Ambitions (was: Cheney's shooting expedition)


  Very interesting, Julie.

  I had always wanted to play an instrument, but no one in our family played 
anything -- not even extended out to the 8 aunts and uncles, all our talent was 
in drinking, we were Irish after all. When I was 16, I gave up my paper route 
and took up working in grocery stores.  The next year I decided to take 
clarinet lessons.  Amro Music Store had tutors and lesson rooms and rented 
instruments by the month.  I loved learning clarinet but I knew absolutely 
nothing about music, and so it was an up hill struggle, and I can only imagine 
that it was heartbreaking experience for that poor teacher.  But after about 4 
or 5 months the Union went out on strike at the store and I found myself 
without any income and so had to give up my musical ambitions.  But that's only 
half the story.  The last day before turning in my clarinet, I was practicing 
it in my room. I set it on the floor, partially on a book and my younger 
brother came in and stepped on it, breaking the male insert off on one of the 
sections.  I was in a panic.  There was no way I could ever buy the damn thing. 
 So I glued the insert back onto the section, John Wayne Bobbitt like, and 
voila, it worked, except for the white circle of glue.  Never fear, black shoe 
polish is here.  I took black shoe wax and covered over the "scar tissue", took 
the clarinet back to Amro and told them how sorry I was I wouldn't be able to 
continue with my lessons.  They opened the case and I broke into a sweat.  
"Everything seems in order," he said and sent me on my way.  For months 
thereafter I expected the police to show up at my door, but it never happened.  
It was probably for the best that I had to give up music.  I have no talent for 
it whatsoever.  I can whistle a symphony but I can't carry a tune across a bar. 
 Universally people ask me to please stop singing.  

  Envious,
  Mike Geary
  Memphis
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx 
    To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
    Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 10:40 PM
    Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Cheney's shooting expedition


    I was taught piano from age 4 and violin from age 8 -- I wanted to play the 
flute, but my Mother had wanted to have violin lessons when she was a kid and 
couldn't, so she wanted them badly for me.  I didn't want to hurt her 
feelings....  I played both through College -- AA in Music, Primary instrument 
piano, secondary violin, some classical guitar.  When I had to leave College I 
couldn't face the instruments anymore.  I haven't touched the violin since.  
Sometimes if I'm alone in the house I mangle some Schubert or Beethoven on the 
piano for old times' sake.  My 14 year old has played violin (HER choice) for 5 
years, flute (HER choice) for 3 (Honors band and honors orchestra), and has 
quite successfully taught herself (because I didn't want to push it on her) the 
piano -- going in 9 months from my showing her middle C and how to hold her 
hands to playing a quite passable Chopin Prelude, entirely from memory.  She's 
begun composing her own music.  Scary.  I hope she doesn't burn out too soon.  
Her music is her destressor -- as it used to be mine.  When she's upset or 
angry or depressed she gravitates to her flute or piano and works it out.  She 
also sings in a local Symphony Society Choir.  Singing always changes her foul 
black moods to upbeat joy.  I miss "doing" music ....but the muscles and brain 
have atrophied and I can't stand the sound that emerges, knowing what I used to 
be able to do.  Blame Marlena -- she had to ask.

    Julie Krueger


    ========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Cheney's shooting 
expedition 
          Date: 2/21/06 10:12:15 P.M. Central Standard Time 
          From: ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
          To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
          Sent on:     


    On Feb 21, 2006, at 6:59 PM, Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx wrote:

    >  
    > Wonder if he has a fishing license, too?
    >  
    > For me, $25 is a bit much--and so I can understand not wanting to pay 
    > for a license.  But, I will--it IS the law after all...but it makes me 
    > cross--I don't want to because of sparing the money, not because I'm 
    > above the law.
    [snip]

    > Speaking of the price of gas, (whine whine), I had to not allow my 
    > child to take the bass lessons he always wanted--the orchestra teacher 
    > in his middle school said that my son could catch up if he took the 
    > lessons form this guy--who's the best in the area--so that within two 
    > years, he'd be not only ready for high school orchestra (he decided to 
    > not continue with the violin--and had always wanted to play the bass 
    > but was not big enough...and he finally is! [this is still exciting to 
    > us...], but his dream of playing jazz would come true. However, the 
    > private instructor is over on the Kansas side and the gas just tipped 
    > the cost of the lessons over the edge beyond the budget.

    Why don't bass lessons come with the cost of a fishing license?!!!

    >  
    > What instrument do you play?  Would you play if you had been given the 
    > opportunity?  What  is it that you like about it?
    >

    I don't play the bagpipes and the piano...until there's no one else 
    home.  It's not a matter of opportunity; it's a matter of aptitude, 
    with which I was not amply endowed.  The music genes seem to have 
    skipped a generation.

    David Ritchie
    Portland, Oregon

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