15 Animal and Bird Songs

Ah, do you remember these?

Here's a Fun Friday Fifteen, since I missed the Thursday Thirteen. (Yes, I did just invent the Fun Friday Fifteen!)

1. Old Blue (Bet you five dollars he's a good dog too.)
2. The Old Gray Mare (She ain't what she used to be.)
3. Sweetly Sings the Donkey (At the break of day.)
4. Git Along Little Dogies (It's your misfortune and none of my own.)
5. Mary Had a Little Lamb (Its fleece was white as snow.)
6. Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat (Where have you been?)
7. Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone? (Where, oh where can he be?)
8. Pop! Goes the Weasel (Round and round the cobbler's bench...)
9. Froggie Went a Courtin' (And he did ride, a-hum, a-hum.)
10. Go Tell Aunt Rhody (The old gray goose is dead.)
11. Be Kind to your Webfooted Friends (For a duck may be somebody's mother.)
12. Three Blind Mice (Did ever you see such a sight in your life?)
13. Teensy Weensy Spider (Climbed up the spout again.)
14. Rabbit Ain't Got No Tail At All (Same song, second verse, a little bit louder, and a little bit worse.)
15. The Bear Went Over the Mountain (To see what he could see.)

Now which one of these is stuck in your head? For me, it's "Froggie Went a Courtin'." A-hum.

Illustrations from the Project Gutenberg EBook of Denslow's Mother Goose, copyright 1902 by William Wallace Denslow. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18546 ==Us

The Night Will Soon Be Ending

Story behind an Advent hymn

Early winter sunset in Christian County, KY

When we lived in Germany, I experienced the shortest winter days and longest winter nights I've ever seen! In Berlin, the sun set before 4:00 p.m. in December and January and didn't rise until 8:00 a.m. Winter was a very dark time there. (Berlin lies about 7° farther north than Montreal, Canada, believe it or not.)

"The Night Will Soon be Ending,"  a German Advent hymn, was penned in 1938 by novelist and poet Jochen Klepper (1903-1942). Klepper's knowledge of long winter nights and his personal experience with the Nazi regime were surely on his mind as he wrote this poem about darkness, light, hope, and promise.  Here is the first verse (as translated by Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr.)

The night will soon be ending; the dawn cannot be far.
Let songs of praise ascending now greet the morning Star!
All you whom darkness frightens with guilt or grief or pain
God's radiant Star now brightens and bids you sing again.

In the new LCMS hymnal, "The Night Will Soon Be Ending" is set to the Welsh tune "Llangloffan." But in Germany, the hymn has been sung since 1939 to a melody composed for it by Johannes Petzold.

The story of  Klepper's life is tragic. Jochen Klepper was married to a Jewish lady named Hannah ("Hanni".) Hanni had two daughters, Brigitte and Reni, by a previous marriage. The Kleppers sent the older daughter Brigitte to England in 1938, the same year that Klepper wrote "The Night Will Soon Be Ending." They could not bear to send little Reni too, so she stayed with them in Germany. Later, they tried to get an exit visa for Reni, but they were denied repeatedly. They also faced a mandatory divorce because it was illegal for a Jew to be married to a German.

German stamp honoring Jochen Klepper

In December 1942, Adolph Eichmann, the Nazi official in charge of Jewish deportation, personally rejected their request to leave Germany. Certain that death awaited them in concentration camps  Klepper, Hani, and Reni committed suicide. Klepper wrote a final entry in his diary minutes before they died: "Tonight we die together. Over us stands in the last moments the image of the blessed Christ who surrounds us. With this view we end our lives.”

Klepper's diary was used as evidence in the trial of Adolph Eichmann.* A collection of excerpts from the Klepper diary, In the Shadow of His Wings, was published in 1956. I could not find a copy at any of my usual internet booksellers.

Several short histories of Klepper's life are available online. One article explores the role of German Mennonites in World War II as related to some events in Jochen Klepper's life. Another article on a Lutheran website discusses Klepper's theology and spiritual life in addition to the story of his life.
_ _ _ _ _
*I clearly remember news reports and adult talk about the Eichmann trial during my childhood, though I did not grasp the full significance of it at the time.

Shall We Gather at the River

On earth and in heaven

Shall we gather at the river, where bright angel feet have trod;
  With its crystal tide forever, flowing from the throne of God?

Refrain:
Yes, we'll gather at the river, the beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river, that flows from the throne of God.

On the margin of the river, washing up its silver spray;
  We shall walk and worship ever, all the happy golden day.

Ere we reach the shining river, lay we ev'ry burden down;
  Grace our spirits will deliver and provide a robe and crown.

At the smiling of the river, mirror of the Savior’s face,
  Saints, whom death will never sever, lift their songs of saving grace.

Soon we'll reach the shining river, soon our pilgrimage will cease;
  Soon our happy hearts will quiver with the melody of peace.

---

Library of Congress,
Prints and  Photographs Division
 Lomax Collection
LC-DIG-ppmsc-00289 DLC

Robert LOWRY, a Baptist preacher and college professor (March 12, 1826 – November 25, 1899, wrote the words and music of this old gospel song. The imagery is based on Revelations 22:1 (King James Version): "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God..."

Many Christians still love this song, more than a century after it was written, because its simple message of faith, comfort, and hope still resonates. I suspect that the song's lyrics have reminded many Christians of river baptisms where their friends and family gathered.

Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division
 Detroit Publishing Company Collection
LC-USZ62-107755 DLC

"Shall We Gather at the River" was sung at the funerals of both my mother's parents, Harry SEES (1893-1957) and Winnie Violet EATON Sees (1899-1932).

Related:
Robert Lowry (Biography, includes the story behind "Shall We Gather at the River")

I hope you'll enjoy these. I certainly did!
Shall We Gather at the River (Nice, traditional version, YouTube)
Shall We Gather at the River (Tennessee Ernie Ford, You Tube)
Shall We Gather at the River (Banjo and recorder, YouTube)
Shall We Gather at the River (Randy Travis, YouTube)
Shall We Gather at the River (A 1955 baptism)

From a stereoscopic image made by Robert N. Dennis in 1898

Can You Identify This Artist?

Unknown Western singer and guitarist

I found this photo in an old book that I purchased. I'm curious to know if anyone can identify this man. It seems likely that his genre was western music, perhaps during the 1940s or 1950s.

Old Time Entertainments

Homemade amusements

A recent report says that sitting in front of the TV or computer for long stretches of time greatly increases our chances of dying . We'd be healthier if we'd turn off the electronics and move around a little more. Here's a thought: maybe we should cut back on the web-and-channel surfing and return to some of the old-time ways of entertaining ourselves!

Before television and radio made their way into living rooms, folks often invited their friends for an evening of parlor games. Many of the games involved mild physical activity, such as "Blindman's Bluff" and "Charades." Others required mental energy, such as "Twenty Questions" and "Hangman".  Competitions such as checkers, chess, and card games were also popular.

Party books offered plenty of ideas for fun with a theme. For example, a 1903 book of Halloween activities contains complete plans for several spooky parties-- invitations, decorations, refreshments, games, skits, etc.

I wrote a while back about music in the parlor -- inviting guests for an afternoon or evening of homemade music.  Anyone with a bit of musical talent might be asked to perform. People liked to sing and to hear music. Sheet music made the latest hits available to all.

Recitations were another favorite entertainment. When guests came for the evening, someone might volunteer (or be called upon) to "render" a piece of memorized poetry or a passage of funny or dramatic prose.

Books, such as the 1903 Comic Recitations and Readings pictured at right, provided material to memorize.  (Some of the subject matter would be considered unkind today.  Stuttering, regional and ethnic dialects, and the accents of immigrants were often imitated!)

When I was little, the cultural memory of rural Nebraska still recalled entertainments of the sort I've written about here. We played various parlor games at school recess when it was too cold to play outside. My friends and I memorized recitations for school and church programs. I remember dressing in a costume and reciting a humorous monologue at the high school gym for a large audience of extension-club ladies. My mother probably thought it would be a good performance experience for me and volunteered my services.

We've gotten away from these active, participatory sorts of entertainments now. We've parked ourselves in our chairs to absorb our entertainment from a screen, and it's not good for us. I've been sitting here far too long. I think I'd better stand up and do something!

I Hear the Train A Comin'...

It's rollin' round the bend.

The CSX crossing on Skyline Drive in Hopkinsville, KY

When the railroad crossing arms drop in front of me, I consider it a challenge to get a photo of the train. This freight train was traveling fast. I was surprised that I got my camera out of my purse, rolled down the window, and clicked the shutter in time to catch the locomotive.

The title and subtitle of this post are the first two lines of "Folsom Prison Blues", a song Johnny Cash wrote in 1951, the year I was born. On YouTube, I found over 5000 search results for "Folsom Prison Blues." Many have sung the song; some sang it better than others.

Here's a good, undated video of Johnny Cash singing "Folsom Prison Blues".  It's an interesting contrast to a younger Johnny Cash singing "Folsom Prison Blues"  in 1959.  He picked up steam with that song as the years went by.

In a video of Johnny performing "Folsom Prison Blues" at the Tennessee State Penitentiary in 1974, he appears to be using the Martin guitar that I photographed at the Country Music Hall of Fame museum.

Well if they freed me from this prison,
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom prison, that's where I want to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away...

(Johnny Cash, 1932–2003)

Johnny Cash's battered and scratched Martin guitar

Music in the Parlor

Home entertainment in the Victorian age

Recently, I re-read Life with Father, by Clarence Day (1874-1935). What a funny book, even several generations after it was written! It is a collection of stories, mostly about Day's childhood in Victorian New York City. Life with Mother is a companion volume, collected and published after Day's death.

Clarence Day grew up before radio or television. He was a young man before his father allowed a telephone in their home, and they did not have electricity either. It is interesting to read how the Days entertained themselves and their guests in those simpler and quieter days. Clarence's mother enjoyed being "at home" to visitors on Thursday afternoons and welcomed an opportunity to provide music for her guests.

About this time, Mother's favourite niece, Cousin Julie, was duly "finished" at boarding school and came to live with us, bringing her trunks and hat-boxes and a great gilded harp. Mother at once made room for this beautiful object in our crowded parlour, and the first thing Julie knew she had to play it for the Thursday-afternoon visitors. Julie loved her harp dearly but she didn't like performing at all--performances frightened her, and if she fumbled a bit, she felt badly. But Mother said she must get over all that.

For a grander afternoon musicale, Mrs. Day put together a trio -- Cousin Julie and her instructor, Miss Kregman, with their harps and Julie's nervous, young friend, Sally, at the piano. It was a bleak, cold day with  snow changing to rain.

At the hour appointed for this human sacrifice, ladies began arriving in long, swishy dresses which swept bits of mud over the carpet. Soon the parlour was packed. I thought of Sally, so anxious and numb she could hardly feel the piano keys, and of Julie's icy fingers plucking valiantly away at the strings. Then Mother clapped her hands as a signal for the chatter to halt, the first hesitating strains of music began, and someone slid the doors shut.

When we boys went down to dinner that evening, we heard the news, good and bad. In a way it had been a success. Julie and Sally had played beautifully the whole afternoon, and the ladies had admired the harps, and applauded, and eaten up all the cakes. But there had been two catastrophes. One was that although Miss Kregman herself had been invisible [behind a potted rubber tree], everybody had kept looking fascinatedly at her feet, which had stuck out from the rubber tree, working away by themselves, as it were, at the pedals, and the awful part was she had forgotten to take off her galoshes. The other was that Father had come home during a sweet little lullaby and the ladies had distinctly heard him say "Damn" as he went up to his room.

The ability to play a musical instrument was considered a symbol of gentility and culture. Clarence was given violin lessons. Many homes had a piano and many ladies and girls could play the piano. Men were sometimes pianists, too. George Day, Clarence's younger brother, took piano lesons, and Clarence's father taught himself to play.

He got no encouragement from anyone and his progress was lonely. But Father was not the kind of man who depends on encouragement. He had long muscular fingers, he practised faithfully, and he learned to the best of his ability to play Beethoven and Bach.

His feeling for music was limited, but it was deeply rooted, and he cared enough for it to keep on practising even after he married and in the busy years when he was providing for a house full of boys...

[W]hen he got a chord wrong, he stopped. He took that chord apart and went over the notes one by one, and he kept on going over them methodically. This sometimes drove Mother mad. She would desperately cry "Oh-oh-oh!" and run out of the room.

At the time that Clarence Day was growing up, a wide variety of songs were available as sheet music -- old favorites, classical music, and popular songs of the day. The Library of Congress has a large online exhibit of sheet music that was published from 1850 to 1920. With a stack of sheet music and a willing pianist, a group of friends could spend an evening around the piano, the home entertainment center of that day.

Musical Talent Appreciated

A willing audience

It seems to me that, when I was young, older people genuinely enjoyed a live musical performance of the amateur sort. I grew up in the country, so I'm talking about older country folks. I would include people the age of my parents (born in the 1920s) in this group of music appreciators as well as the elders of the community who were born as far back as the 1880s and 1890s.

Those older people valued homegrown musical talent. They loved to hear someone play a toe-tapping tune on the piano, or the guitar, or the accordion, or the fiddle. They admired someone who could stand in front of a group and sing a song. They were thrilled to hear a trio or a quartet sing in harmony. Music was a treat for them!

For us today, music of a thousand genres is available 24/7. We are sated with music. If we don't hear the music we like on the radio, it's available on the television, internet, CDs or ITunes. We pipe it into our brains with our headsets. We don't need to make our own music in our parlors-- and that surely means that a lot of modest musical talent is never noticed, developed, or appreciated.

"The Crow" by Steve Martin

This would be a nice Christmas present, children.

My favorite radio station was broadcasting sports tonight as I drove home from work, so I listened to the bluegrass station instead. There, I heard an excellent ballad -- "Daddy Played the Banjo".

When the title was announced, I thought, "This is going to be corny," but the storyline was not what I expected, and the instrumentation was masterful. I'm still intrigued by the song's last lines:

Now the banjo takes me back, through the foggy haze,
With mem'ries of what never was, become the good old days.

When I got home, I looked up "Daddy Played The Banjo" on the internet and learned that it is a song from the Steve Martin album, "The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo." The singer is Tim O'Brien. The banjo accompaniment is by Steve Martin and Earl Scruggs. The wistful lyrics were written by Steve Martin.

Various luminaries of the bluegrass, folk, and country worlds perform on the album.

On “The Crow,” support is provided by the likes of Vince Gill and Dolly Parton, who duet on “Pretty Flowers,” and Tim O’Brien, who sings “Daddy Played the Banjo,” which also features Mr. Scruggs and his son Gary, who co-wrote the tune. Other guests include Mr.[Tony] Trischka, Jerry Douglas on Dobro, Stuart Duncan on fiddle and mandolin, and Mr. Martin’s high-school pal Mr. McEuen, formerly of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, on several instruments. The stately Irish folk singer Mary Black joins Mr. Martin on “Calico Train.”

Source: "Steve Martin Takes the Banjo Seriously" by Jim Fusilli, in the May 30, 2009, Wall Street Journal

In another article, I read about Steve Martin's playing style. He is not a banjo "picker".

Among country and bluegrass musicians, Mr. Martin is regarded as a master of a difficult five-fingered playing style known as clawhammer or frailing, in which the instrument’s strings are pushed down by fingernails, rather than pulled up with picks.

Source: "Jokes and Film Are Fun, But He Loves His Banjo" by Dave Itzkoff, in the February 1, 2009, New York Times

I am not knowledgable about banjo picking styles, so I offer this link based on its title, not on my expertise: "Steve Martin banjo, frailing, clawhammer medly - Loch Lomond Sally Anne". All I can say with certainty is that he is playing an awful lot of notes per second.

I'm glad that Steve Martin has made an album, and I'd like to hear more of his serious banjo playing. Do you think I make the hint big enough at the top of this post? Just in case I didn't, here's a picture too.

Helen's Place at Kirkmansville, KY

A visit to a unique country store and restaurant

A few weeks ago, I was invited to lunch at Helen's Place, to help celebrate the 82nd birthday of my neighbor. Miss Margie.

I was a little surprised when I learned that this restaurant is located in Kirkmansville, KY. Kirkmansville is a tiny village in the extreme northwestern corner of Todd County. It sets at the intersection of Highways 171 and 107, which are not major highways. (Nor are they wide or straight highways!)

Miss Ardell, Margie's friend since childhood and the inspiration behind this expedition, drove us over to Kirkmansville in her Buick. Margie's daughter Sandra and I rode in the back seat.

We took Pilot Rock Road (Highway 507) to Allegre and turned north on 171. The roads wound around the hills, through the trees, and over the creeks. Usually, I would have enjoyed the scenery, but I felt a little carsick. I'm not used to the back seat.

We pulled into the parking lot at Helen's Place a few minutes before noon, entered the little building, and looked for a place to sit. The main room was full of tables and chairs, but Helen invited us to sit in the back room.

A waitress brought our iced tea, and we went through the line to get our food. The meal was served as a buffet, and the food was very good. I can honestly say it was home-style cooking. I don't remember the entire menu, but I filled my plate with:

BBQ ribs
Chicken and dumplings
Creamed potatoes
White beans
Macaroni salad
Homemade rolls
Johnnycake

My companions decided to have dessert. While they were getting their pie, I took some pictures of the back room and enjoyed the exhibit of old-time photos from Kirkmansville's past. (The white bands across the photos below are the unavoidable reflections of the overhead florescent lights.)

The back room has tables on one side of the aisle and chairs on the other side. On Friday nights, local musicians meet here to jam and to entertain. At the front of the room, a microphone and speakers stand ready. Plaques over the mantle honor two beloved musicians who performed regularly in the past: Frank Phipps and Donnie McGehee.

(To place this music-making in its proper perspective, one must know that thumbpicking originated in this precise area of Kentucky. Merle Travis is from Muhlenberg County, just a few miles north, as is Eddie Pennington. Odell Martin, also a thumbpicker, was from the little town of Allegre, six miles south of Helen's Place. The Everly Brothers learned thumbpicking from their father, a Muhlenberg County native and an accomplished musician.)

But back to Helen's Place and our visit there. While we were enjoying our meal and conversation, the tables in the other room had filled with diners. Many of the customers were men who had come in from the fields. I suppose they find it easier (and more fun!) to come to Helen's for a hot meal than to pack a lunch.

Helen came back to talk to us again before we left. She said that she was honored that we'd come there for a birthday celebration. We complimented her on the delicious meal, and she insisted that it was "just plain country cookin'."

Miss Ardell asked how many people were employed there. Helen explained that she has a staff of five, counting herself. They work together preparing the food, without any firm rules about who's going to make what. Usually, they fix two main dishes as well as a variety of side dishes.

When we went to the front room of the store to pay, I spotted a box of college-rule spiral-bound notebooks on the shelves. I bought a few for Isaac; I had tried unsuccessfully to find them at WalMart the night before. My meal was surprisingly inexpensive. As I recall, it was less than $7.00, including the tea.

Someone at Kirkmansville paints rocks and sells them at Helen's Place. Sandra bought one for Margie that had a fawn painted on it. When we started home a few minutes later, we saw a doe and a little spotted fawn along the road, just outside of Kirkmansville.

After we went around the first few curves, Sandra suggested that we stay on Highway 171 at Allegre and go home by Butler Road, instead of turning onto Pilot Rock Road. It was still a winding road back to Allegre, but after that, the road was somewhat less crooked. I was glad.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Related:
"Seen at Kirkmansville, KY" -- Prairie Bluestem
"Great Road Name Lost" -- Prairie Bluestem
History of Kirkmansville -- Todd County, KY, Family History

Old Pump Organ

Thrift shop treasure

This lovely old pump organ is currently for sale at the Goodwill in Hopkinsville for just $600. It made me think of Miss Wilma Jean Mengers, who had a similar pump organ in her home when I was a child. She even let me play it once, which was very kind of her.

Wil Houchens on YouTube

Gifted young pianist

Recently, I came across some music videos that feature Wil Houchens, a young man who grew up a few miles down the road from us. He's a friend of Isaac, my son, and they graduated from high school together, last year. Wil's about the same age as Isaac -- almost 19.

If your internet connection allows you to view YouTube, I think you'll enjoy the videos he's posted. I believe they were all filmed at Hillcrest Baptist Church, in Hopkinsville.

Wil started taking piano lessons when he was five. I remember one time when the kids came home from Vacation Bible School talking about Wil Houchens. He had played "Great Balls of Fire" on the piano in the church basement.

During high school, Wil was the pianist for the Hopkinsville High School Choir, so I got to hear him play regularly. By the time he was a senior, he had begun study with Austin Peay University's music department and was giving piano lessons himself at the Pennyrile Academy of Fine Arts in Hopkinsville. Now he's completing his first year of college at Austin Peay University in Clarksville, TN.

Wil is also an avid fisherman who likes to compete in tournaments (and he often does very well in them.) You'll notice that his YouTube id is PianistFishermanGuy.

Wil has a lot of natural musical talent but he has also worked tremendously hard to develop his skills. He has poured untold hours of his young life into daily practice. Our community is very proud of him, and we wouldn't be a bit surprised if he's famous someday.

Happy Goodman Family on YouTube

Great Classics of Southern Gospel

I'll warn you right away -- if you don't like gospel music, you should just skip this post. But if you do like gospel, these links will bring a smile to your face and perhaps a tear to your eye.

Browsing around my bloglist this evening, I visited the Cheatham County Rock Star Wife. Marisa's blog is a bit "Goodman-flavored" right now -- that is, she's been listening to the Happy Goodman Family, and the music has affected her.

Now I've been listening to them and it has affected me too.

First, I want to share a wonderful YouTube video of the Happy Goodman Family singing "The Sweetest Song I Know." Marisa has this posted on her blog, and I understand why. If you like Southern Gospel, I promise you'll enjoy seeing and hearing this masterful performance from 1968.

If you want more (as I did after watching that great clip), here's a great gospel hit by the Happy Goodman Family -- "I Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now." It's also on YouTube -- apparently a cut from Tennessee Ernie Ford's television show during the 1960s.

Two more great performances -- "He's Coming Again" and "Looking For a City."

Don't miss "When God's Chariot Comes" with J.D. Sumner.

Ah, they were great. They put their whole hearts into their singing.

We recently got satellite internet, which makes it so much easier to enjoy things like this.

UPDATE: Corrected the link for "The Sweetest Song I Know"

Safe and Secure from All Alarms

Skittles and her can

Skittles is such an intense little cat. When she decides she likes some particular place to sleep, she sleeps there fervently and often. Some of the places she favors are a little odd. For example, she's always been fond of sleeping in the trash can.

Recently, she took a liking to the little rug in front of the kitchen range. That didn't work out too well because people stepped on her all the time. One night, as I tried to stop stepping on her and she screeched in protest, I almost fell into a pot of hot soup.

Something had to be done. I had a big, empty, popcorn tin so I put an old towel in the bottom of it and set it in front of the range. She jumped right in, curled up, and took a long nap. I guess it reminded her of the trash can.

Since then, Skittles has been spending a lot of time sleeping in her popcorn can. She loves it, and it amuses me to have her there now that I don't have to worry about stepping on her.

Today, after I broke a glass in the kitchen, I vacuumed to clean up any splinters I might have missed with the broom. Usually, Skittles would have to leave the room while the vacuum was running. She's always very careful not to get caught in close quarters with that noisy monster.

But today, she felt so secure in her popcorn can that she didn't have to leave, not even when I vacuumed her rug. After several minutes of noisy vacuuming, I passed her can again, and she was half-asleep.

As I put up the vacuum cleaner, words from an old hymn came to mind -- "Safe and secure from all alarms." That's a phrase from the chorus of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," a hymn we sang in the country churches I attended as a child. If you're not familiar with it, you can read and hear it at Cyberhymnal.

Related:
Another midi of this hymn
And a piano midi version
And one more version

A Nervous Pianist With Modest Skills

Playing the piano at church

I've been playing the piano on Wednesday nights at church for the last three or four months. We usually have just a small group, so it doesn't make me very nervous. I choose the songs myself, or at least have veto power over what's been chosen, so I don't have to play anything that worries me.

I am not a very good pianist, so all of the above is important to me!

Here are some of my worst weaknesses:

• I don't practice enough, and I never do any finger exercises.
• I am particularly bad at reading time markings. I struggle terribly with unfamiliar music if it has lots of dotted 8th notes, etc.
• I have favorite fingers. I like to hit the keys with them instead of using all my fingers equally. In other words, I have bad fingering habits.
• I keep my eyes glued to the music while playing and never look at my hands. This was drilled into me by my piano teachers so thoroughly that it has become an instinct. When there's a tricky place in the music, I mark it to remind myself to check whether my fingers are going to land on the right keys. (How weird is that?!)
• I can get very nervous.

Still, over the years that I've been playing Lutheran hymns, my skills have improved slightly. I'm better at sight-reading the bass clef notes, and I've become much more comfortable in some keys I'd never played much before.

In the 16 years we've attended our church, I've played the piano for Sunday School for about half that time. I've probably played for church a couple of dozen times, when Pastor couldn't find anyone else to fill in for the regular organist.

Playing for church is more nerve-wracking than playing for Sunday School. Our church service includes a liturgy that is mostly sung, and we also sing 3 or 4 songs that I don't get to choose. I make terrible mistakes sometimes, but I just play on. You can't stop and correct yourself when folks are singing along with you.

Several other ladies in our church have taken piano lessons and own a piano, but they all try to keep it a secret. It's taken me years to find out. I don't know if they are out of practice, or if they are just nervous about playing in front of a group.

I understand both of those problems very well, but I do think they should "let their light shine." I'm sure that with minimal practice they could play as well as I do or better. Really, I am more than willing to share the church piano!

Technorati tags: playing the piano, piano lessons, church pianist, Sunday School pianist

Concerts -- Real and Fantasy

What concerts have you attended? What concerts would you like to attend?

We ate supper last night with Keely and Taurus (her boyfriend.) The conversation turned to concerts and music stars. Keely asked an interesting question:

If you could see anybody in concert,
whom would you choose?

She named some bands of the past that she wished she could see -- the Beatles, the Beach Boys in 1970, Guns N' Roses, and others.

I've been thinking about that. I don't follow popular music at all. But of the musicians and groups I like, who are still performing, I'd choose Asleep at the Wheel.

Some musicians of the past whom I'd like to see in concert are:

• I agree with Keely that it would be fun to see the Beatles, and I think 1966 or 1967 would be a good time.
• I would like to see Steve Goodman.
  
• I'd also like to see Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys during the 1930s or 1940s.
• And I'd enjoy seeing the Blackwood Brothers when Wally Varner was playing the piano and J.D. Sumner was singing bass -- maybe about 1960.

Here's a list of some people and bands whom I did see in concert (back in my younger days.)

• Mac Davis in 1970 or 1971, in Chadron, NE, when I was a college student in that town
  
• Henson Cargill, also at Chadron. Actually, he played at a dance, not a concert.
• the Beach Boys in the late 1970s at the Missouri State Fair, an unforgettable experience
• Neil Diamond, twice in Kansas City (1977? and 1983?) and once in West Berlin (1990?)
  
• Linda Ronstadt, in Kansas City (1980)
• Kris Kristofferson in Kansas City (1984)
  
• Arlo Guthrie, in Kansas City (1985)
  
• John Prine, also in Kansas City (1985). (Arlo Guthrie was his warm-up act.)

Of this group, Linda Ronstadt was the only one that I organized a trip to see. She has a great voice, and I really liked her music (up to that point.) But at the concert, Linda sang only a couple of her past hits. She was in the process of changing from country/rock style (Linda Ronstadt's Greatest Hits Volumes I and II) to punk rock.

I was a little disappointed by that concert, but it foreshadowed Linda Ronstadt's future style -- eclectic. Through the years since then, I've enjoyed only a small number of her recordings (most notably, those with Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton). However, I suppose she has enjoyed her musical adventures, even without me.

My husband was the organizer of the trips to see Neal Diamond. I had a great time at the concerts even though I am only a lukewarm Neil Diamond fan. (I like his music OK, but I've never bought an album.) He is a dynamic performer. If anyone ever offers you a ticket to see him, you should take it.

What concerts have you attended? What musicians or groups (from any era) do you wish you could see?

Technorati tags: concerts, rock stars, country music stars, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Nashville, TN

Life in The Upper South...

Dennis had an appointment yesterday at the VA Hospital in Nashville. When we finally finished there, we decided to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. (It's true -- in 16 years of living 90 minutes from Nashville, we had never visited the Country Music Hall of Fame!)

The front of the building sweeps to a high peak on one end. I couldn't get it all in my camera from any position I tried. I think a wide-angle lens might have helped. However, here is the museum from the side, with a huge banner advertising the Ray Charles exhibit that is currently featured.



Here are some photos from the museum. (Most are less than 150k in size.) It was very dark in there, but these images were captured without flash, as the museum requests.

A very young Johnny Cash
Detail of Gene Autry's guitar
Old show bills from Hatch Show Print
Old sheet music
Tex Ritter's saddle
Wurlitzer jukebox
Minnie Pearl's dress
Costume-maker, Nudie, honored
Jim Reeves "Touch of Velvet"
Flatt & Scruggs guitar and banjo
Detail of Merle Travis's guitar
Bill Monroe's Gibson Mandolin
Patsy Cline's blue dress
Chet Atkins's D'Angelico Excel
Faron Young's guitar and a costume
Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys
Hank Snow costumes
Early photo of Ray Charles
Roy Rogers, "Bells of San Angelo"

Johnny Cash's battered and scratched Martin guitar

In the photo above, the reflection in the glass is a wall of platinum and gold record albums. They are displayed in the order that they occurred. Some of them open out, and you can listen to selections from that album.

In fact (brace yourself for the shock!), there are many places in the museum where you can listen to music, watch videos of performances, listen to interviews with stars, etc. Much of the museum's ongoing preservation and research is centered on its immense archive of country music recordings.

The Country Music Hall of Fame is housed in the rotunda, a large, light room. It would be possible to browse for quite a while there. Every inductee has a bronze plaque mounted on the wall, with an image of his or her face and some biographical information.

It was late in the afternoon when we left the Country Music Hall of Fame, but we still had a few minutes to walk a block down to Broadway, Nashville's famous honky-tonk street. The Ryman Auditorium, historic home of the Grand Old Opry, is right behind Tootsie's, the purple building in the photo below.

Tootsie's and other honky-tonks and tourist traps on Broadway

On Broadway, we visited the Ernest Tubb Record Shop where Isaac bought a CD of Johnny Cash hits. (He's always been a closet Johnny Cash fan.)

We listened to it on the way home. It was fun hearing Isaac's reactions to some old songs he hadn't heard before, such as "One Piece at a Time," the song about a car built from many years of parts stolen from the automobile factory.

More images:
Many images of the Country Music Hall of Fame on Flickr
Another image search for Country Music Hall of Fame on Flickr

Technorati tags: Country Music Hall of Fame, country music, Nashville, museum, Nashville Tennessee, Nashville TN,

Ducks in a Row

Not Easily Classified...

Seen at Target

One of These Things (Is Not Like The Others)
Words and Music by Joe Raposo and Jon Stone

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!

Me? Band?

My Various Hobbies... Not Easily Classified...

As Mom has said, I was in choir for all of high school, and also for two years in middle school (Sixth grade choir was not offered at the school I attended). Also, I took piano lessons for longer than I care to think of. So you can say that I've had musical experience.

Taurus was fixing the computer of some friends of ours a couple of days ago, and I was over hanging out in the meantime. In typical me fashion, I was singing to something in my head, and the friends we were visiting overheard me. They decided executively that I should sing back up in their band. They later also made the executive decision that I should play my lap harp on several of the songs.

So, apparently I'm in a band. And by band, I don't mean like six teenagers who practice in their parent's garage. This band actually gets gigs and payed for stuff and such. It's even a pretty good band. The songs are pretty decent and all original.

And I'm going to be on a CD. Like a real CD. So I have kind of mixed feelings about this whole thing. While I have spent a lot of my life singing, there is a difference between singing in a choir of 120 people, and singing with one other person. Also, there is the nagging fear that I am not doing it right/somehow offending the lead singer/guitarist/author (all of which are the same person).

However, it is pretty cool. And, I'm trying to figure out how to put this on my resume, even though I'm not really sure what this has to do with virology. Unless they decide that they want to throw a lab musical, in which case I'm the woman for the job.

Technorati tags: backup singer, music student, serendipity

Hopkinsville High School Choir Spring Concert

All In The Family... Life in Christian County Kentucky

Advanced Choir at HHS Spring Concert 2007

Last Thursday night, the Hopkinsville High School (HHS) Choir performed at Second Baptist Church in Hopkinsville. I thought we were arriving early, but as you can see, we didn't get front-row seats.

I tried taking a few photos during the concert, but this is the only one that turned out at all. I had to hold my camera high above my head and I wasn't steady enough to get a clear photo. Isaac is somewhere in that photo.

Both our children were members of the HHS Choir, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every choir concert I've ever attended. I'd like to attend future concerts, but I'll have to pay attention to learn when and where they are since I won't have a ready source of info (no choir member in the family anymore.)

Keely was fortunate to be in the HHS Choir while Barbara Felts was still teaching vocal music. Isaac also sang for Mrs. Felts for his first year of choir.

Then Ms. Felts retired and we've had a young but promising director for the last three years: Rebecca May. She is leaving HHS to take a job in a high school music program in Clarksville, TN, next fall (a shorter commute for her and more money.)

During Isaac's choir years, the choir pianist has been Wil Houchens, a classmate and friend of Isaac's from our neighborhood. Wil is a gifted pianist with a great future in the instrument. The HHS Choir is going to miss him next year!

All of this leaves the HHS choir in a state of flux and vulnerability. I hope HHS finds a competent vocal music teacher to fill the position. HHS has a long history of prize-winning choirs. The program has been a pride and joy to the entire community.

More importantly, the HHS choir has been a great place for young people to learn music, performance skills, and discipline, to develop talents they'll enjoy the rest of their lives, and to excel in a non-athletic, non-academic, non-competitive setting.

It would be a shame if the excellence of the HHS choir program erodes, and mediocrity take its place.

Technorati tags: HHS Choir, Hopkinsville High School, Hopkinsville KY, Hopkinsville Kentucky, high school choir, music education