Drowsy Maggie on St. Paddy's Eve

Drowsy Maggie, our Celtic duo, had a last-minute gig at Dale Brothers Brewery last night. We were invited by the Sons of Claremont to join them in playing Irish music for Shameless Saturday which was also a fund-raiser for the Claremont Folk Music Festival which will be June 15. 

I've never played in a brewery before, but with our pay being free Pomona Queen beer and food from Hillbilly Tacos, I would consider doing it again. After all, our audience could only get happier the more we played and the more beer they drank.

I rarely smile when I play, even when I'm having fun....

Students, students. Shhhhh....!

I should also say that not everything that pops into your head needs to be spoken aloud in class. Have students always talked so much, or is it just worse these days?

My Paddle Video

I know that Yahoo employees are unhappy about the new requirements of having to actually go to work, but I know that productivity and creativity increases when you actually have conversations with people. (This means actual conversations and not texting/emailing/FB'ing, etc.)

Case in point. I was sitting in the lunch room this week talking to the third grade teachers. One said that he had updated some information on his classroom webpage, and it occurred to me that I could reach some of the parents and students of his class that way. I could make little recorder videos to help students practice at home.

At first I thought I could make a demo video of me playing various pieces on the recorder, but then I thought that the students should be able to see the notes, as well. I know that there are probably sophisticated ways to animate the music as it rolls by, and I know that I couldn't do that today. Or even tomorrow.

Then I realized that in the Sibelius program, the cursor moves over the notes as they are played. I wondered if I could take a video screenshot of that, and after a little googling, I discovered that I certainly could with Quicktime. I had a little trouble getting the audio figured out, but the help in Quicktime set me straight, and after some trial and error (and about 8 aborted attempts), this is what I came up with. A first pass, for sure, but I am imagining all the possibilities!

Keeping Track of Technology

So, when my iPod nano suddenly turned off yesterday and would not reboot, I started thinking about what I would do to (quickly) replace it. Thank goodness my husband got it up and running again keeping all of my data intact.

This got me to thinking how I would know what to put on a new iPod so I would have all of my trusted  mp3s when I needed them. I especially use the music for my recorder class, and I have lots of homemade backtracks. I have all the original mp3s on my desktop (I learned that lesson long ago).

This morning I plugged in my iPod into my computer and took screen shots of all the important playlists for reference. Of course, I hope I never had to use them, but now I feel better knowing that the information is at hand.

Viola Strings

I thought it might be time to change my viola strings when some of the low sections of the orchestra music were playing sounded a little too gravelly while trying to be quiet. I tried a different kind of string from Tomastik - the Superflexible variety which are only $60 for a set. They sound brighter than the Dominants, but I am still getting the gravelly sound on the C string in the piano sections. I am trying different bowing techniques, and perhaps I will hit upon one that will do the trick. These particular strings have stayed in tune pretty well since putting them on - one reason I like the a manmade core.

Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Celtic

Lynn and I have been playing Celtic music for violin and cello for about 4 1/2 years now. We love listening to and trying to emulate Natalie Haas and Alasdair Fraser. After the Bluegrass concert last week, Lynn and I are thinking about expanding our repertoire to include Bluegrass and Old-Time music and perhaps see if we can add some vocals, too.

This has got me working on an arrangement for us of The Storms Are On the Ocean, an old Carter Family tune, performed in this youtube video with Raymond McLain.

Bluegrass

One of the best grades I got in college was from a half-course on Bluegrass music. It was a course designed for non-majors, but I was so taken with the McLain Family Band when they came to Carleton to perform and record Phil Rhodes' Concerto for Bluegrass Band and Orchestra that I had to take the class.

Last night Pomona College hosted a Bluegrass and Old-Time Music concert with resident professor Joti Rockwell and guests Richard Greene and Tom Sauber. Little Bridges was pretty full with an enthusiastic crowd, and even though I was tired, I'm glad I made the effort to go to the concert.

Being at the concert has revived my memories and interest in the McLains, so I started doing a little looking on the internet, and Ruth McLain Smith has a youtube channel with some videos of the family (loving that 1980s hair...) Some of their recording are archived and accessible here.