Hello Ardith,

On Wed 2039-Mar-30 20:16, Ardith Hinton (1:153/716) wrote to Richard Webb:

RW>  For piano and organ folks one learns about intervals
RW>  and scales in the process of learning music


AH>            Sounds good to me!  I'm glad I started on piano because
AH> it made the theory so much easier to understand.  At beginner level
AH> the sharps & flats are the black keys.  If you can't see them you
AH> can feel that they're assigned to a different position on the
AH> keyboard and, on older instruments, may be made of a different
AH> material.  Even now I visualize the piano keyboard at times when I'm
AH> struggling to get a handle on a chord symbol or a theoretical
AH> concept....  :-) 

IT always did for me too.  YOu learn to think in intervals,
especially when you learned braille keyboard music notation, because the
notation on staves isn't possible, so interval
indicators are used to tell you how the chord should be
voiced.



RW>  often all that's written is the chord notation and the
RW>  melody line along with words.


AH>            Ah... I've seen a similar style of writing in the "fake
AH> books" used by dance band musicians.  In this context, if Joe Doakes
AH> asks for a song which the musicians aren't familiar with they can
AH> probably look it up... and he will probably be quite content if the
AH> tune is more or less as he remembers it.  ;-) 

YEp, very similar for a lot of what I"ve done.  USed to
transcribe stuff from them, but usually found it simpler to
just learn it by ear.  MOre on that in a minute .


AH>  If I'm expected to memorize or play by ear or copy what
AH>  somebody else has done, I feel like a fish out of water.
AH>  [The blind woman in our community band] probably did too.

I'm sure she did .  sHe might have done a lot of
memorization by hearing the part in rehearsal played by
other instruments in her section too.


RW>  I guess that's why I'm a jazz person .


AH>            Dallas is a jazz person too.  That's how I know about
AH> "fake books", and that's why I was wondering how you managed to pull
AH> off a gig in a style of music you don't usually play.  At a formal
AH> concert one might have a few pieces up one's sleeve... but I imagine
AH> a C/W gig as an informal situation, where one might be expected to
AH> deal with requests.  Quite a challenge, in any case.  :-) 

AS long as somebody on the bandstand knows the changes I'll
do fine, I'll lay back usually the first time through the
series verses choruses and any bridge, play fill and make
sure I've got the chord changes in my head, and/or melody
line if I'm supposed to support that as well.  Even if a
colleague doesn't know it, if he's got the fake book we're
fine.


AH>  Now you've got me wondering about that C/W gig in
AH>  Lethbridge....  ;-)

RW>  WAs fun and interesting for a few days.  I couldn't
RW>  quite get used to the fact that if I had a drink, even
RW>  nonalcoholic while on break and wished to take it to the
RW>  bandstand I couldn't do that, one of the wait staff had
RW>  to bring me my drink on the bandstand.


AH>            We have... or used to have... a law in BC to the effect
AH> that anyone drinking an alcoholic beverage must not walk around with
AH> it in a public place, including (e.g.) a restaurant open to the
AH> general public.  I think the law has now been changed.  But perhaps
AH> Alberta had a similar law 'way back when... and perhaps some folks
AH> find it easier to make a blanket prohibition than to bother keeping
AH> track of whose soda, coffee, etc. may have been spiked with what. 
AH> :-) 

Indeed, am sure that's what it was.  They told me was
provincial law iirc.  At least it was summertime when I was
up there.

RW>  OTherwise, was just another 6 day stand in another
RW>  town basically .


AH>            Uh-huh.  Dallas did that sort of thing, and you've just
AH> reminded me of an Oktoberfest experience after which he resolved not
AH> to do it again.  :-)) 

Can understand that.  Did a lot of the one nighters too,
both as sound person and musician.  They're almost worse,
don't get enough sleep, etc.
WHen we'd do the multiple night things though I'd try to
look for the unique things to visit or enjoy wherever I was
and check them out.  ONe band I played with (the same one I
did LEthbridge with) used to do a lot of fishing after work. We'd end the show
around 1:00 A.M. and late night television was a vast wasteland, with or
without cable which not every
hotel/motel we stayed at offered.  FIshing was cheap
entertainment.  But, if we caught anything we had to be
careful, because we almost never acquired the local permits
because they're a pita often for transient folks to get.
IF we thought we'd be coming back there throughout the rest
of the year though we'd go ahead and find the place to
acquire them.
I think we spent most of the lEthbridge week cruising the
national park area in MOntana next door, etc.  Guitar man's
girlfriend was with us that week, and she was a nature
photography buff.  I'd ride along with them just to
alleviate boredom sitting around the motel room.  I think
first couple days I wandered around lEthbridge a bit,
otherwise I rode with them to various scenic spots where she could burn some
film.

Regards,
           Richard
--- timEd 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin:  (1:116/901)