Sat May 18, 2019 12:32 am
#1694382
The "come from away" and a few comments on other threads got me thinking over the past few days about traditional music that I grew up with.
For more worse than better, I was classically trained, played in orchestras and was a very competent technical musical machine.
My family and cultural background in music was a million miles away from that.
Yep, I have a season ticket with the best Belgian conductor and orchestra, and go regularly to concerts.
I never got "good" at traditional music though. I could play them. I rarely "felt" them - not like the family get togethers when I was a kid and everyone did one song or another.
My mum's last remaining sister past away a few days ago. She was not far from 90, one remarkable lady, and at her eulogy there were some of those "trad" Scots songs that were "family favourites"
At the purvey, one of of my uncles - an ex president of Mensa and Royal Dutch Shell director( we might be daft, but no stupid) asked "what was that song you used to sing, about the boatsmen". Dammit. I hadn't thought about that song in nearly 40 years, it took a minute or so - Mingulay Boat Song.
I'm the first to admit that "trad" music can sound quite utterly carp.
A right good rendition though, pulls ever chord in my being.
A single vocalist, with the best sense of rhythm and a right good range starts off. The song itself has couple of twists, like it's Gaelic origin, it's 9/8 timing - and when sung well (zero instruments) - it's purely the power of the additional voices dove-tailing in, and the room's acoustics.
Yeah, I'm probably feeling a bit sentimental for a time gone by that family, friends, neighbours got together and battered out a song or 5.
Anyway, here's to the past, enjoying doing a song well - and hoping to whatever God you pray to goes with him - but that dodgy jumper and scraggy beard get left behind in the 1970s where it the effin belongs.
btw - the youtube rendition isn't great, but it isn't bad.
For more worse than better, I was classically trained, played in orchestras and was a very competent technical musical machine.
My family and cultural background in music was a million miles away from that.
Yep, I have a season ticket with the best Belgian conductor and orchestra, and go regularly to concerts.
I never got "good" at traditional music though. I could play them. I rarely "felt" them - not like the family get togethers when I was a kid and everyone did one song or another.
My mum's last remaining sister past away a few days ago. She was not far from 90, one remarkable lady, and at her eulogy there were some of those "trad" Scots songs that were "family favourites"
At the purvey, one of of my uncles - an ex president of Mensa and Royal Dutch Shell director( we might be daft, but no stupid) asked "what was that song you used to sing, about the boatsmen". Dammit. I hadn't thought about that song in nearly 40 years, it took a minute or so - Mingulay Boat Song.
I'm the first to admit that "trad" music can sound quite utterly carp.
A right good rendition though, pulls ever chord in my being.
A single vocalist, with the best sense of rhythm and a right good range starts off. The song itself has couple of twists, like it's Gaelic origin, it's 9/8 timing - and when sung well (zero instruments) - it's purely the power of the additional voices dove-tailing in, and the room's acoustics.
Yeah, I'm probably feeling a bit sentimental for a time gone by that family, friends, neighbours got together and battered out a song or 5.
Anyway, here's to the past, enjoying doing a song well - and hoping to whatever God you pray to goes with him - but that dodgy jumper and scraggy beard get left behind in the 1970s where it the effin belongs.
btw - the youtube rendition isn't great, but it isn't bad.
kanga, Chris Martyr liked this