 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: chipper
Date: 2004-07-30 13:29
First, thanks for the encouragement on my "third chair" gig. Mama is proud as she allways wanted her children to play music.
Funny story: My wife and I were staying at a B&B on a bicycle trail in Pennsylvania a few weeks back. I decided to have a little quiet practice on the front porch one afternoon and durring the course of the practice I came across The Stars Spangled Banner in the collection of music I regularly play. I was engrossed in playing and when I came back to reality there were about twenty people with thier hands over thier hearts, hats off facing the flag hanging off the front of the porch. Must be cool to be a good enough player to take an audience on a ride. I remember how I've allways felt moved after a concert.
C
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Author: sbbishop
Date: 2004-07-30 16:31
Ahhhh.... that isn't funny. That is GREAT!!!!
I do get misty eyed under the same conditions. But then, I am just an old softy, Viet Nam Vet. and so forth. Keep up the GREAT playing!!!
Can you do as good on 'Taps'?
Stephen
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-07-30 21:51
Much easier to play than to sing. Great story and very reassuring in these times.
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Author: Rick Williams
Date: 2004-07-31 15:00
It is very cool when you can connect in with listeners. I told this story before but last year my wife was in the hospital for an extended period after fracturing her femur. She told me that she missed my practicing so I brought my clarinet, closed the door and was playing as quietly as I could. When a nurse stuck her head in I was thinking "oops, too loud" but instead she asked if it would be ok to open the door because the staff at the nurses station wanted to listen.
After about 20 minutes another nurse came in and asked if I'd be willing to play for some other patients so for an hour I went from room to room. The last room I played in had a stroke patient and his daughter in it and I noticed he had an anchor tatoo on his arm so I played the Navy Hymn followed by Anchors Away. I'm ex Navy myself and if you can't play those they keel haul you...g By this point the clarinet was gurgling and dripping on the floor so I headed back to my wife's room.
Sometime after that one of the nurses came in and litterally dragged me out and took me down the hall where the daughter of the Navy guy was standing. She had tears running down her face and my fist thought was that he had died, but instead the daughter hugged me and told me her father had started talking after I left and it was the first words he had said since his stroke. That was a pretty special moment.
Best
Rick
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Author: john gibson
Date: 2004-08-01 03:43
great stories.
I was a rock and roll drummer in San francisco during the 60's. ONe day I decided to take mt "kit" up to Tilden Park in Berkeley. Just wanted to play outside instead of in a club. Double bass, 4 toms on top, double floor toms on each side with a hi=hat and five cymbals. Plus four wooden palets I used to "nail" the kit to so it wouldn't move. You want to talk determination in playing outside! Took two pick ups to haul. Anyway, me and the guys found a secluded place, and I set up. About 10 minutes into it there were up to a hundred people sitting on a field of grass doing what we used to do in the bay area in the 60's......and applauding my every beat!
By the way....I always ended drum solos playing "mary had a little lamb" on the drums. That's how I tuned them from top to bottom, so no matter where I "started" it was the same.....and always amazed the audience as well as other drummers....
Maybe I should have tuned them so I could play the star spangled banner...
JG
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Author: claclaws
Date: 2004-08-01 07:19
Even by reading the above stories one can feel deeply moved. Thanks !
Lucy Lee Jang
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Author: Bani
Date: 2004-08-02 08:42
I'm not American and I don't live in the US (Hong Kong actually). The Star Spangled Banner was one of the works in the exercise book which my teacher gave me. One time I was practicing this song in my flat when someone knocked on the front door. I thought it was my next door neighbor coming to complain about the noise. It wasn't him but an American friend of his who was visiting. He told me he hasn't heard it in years. Apparently my playing was good enough for him to recognize the song and appreciate it. Isn't that cool?
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