Musical Instruments

[Pammy]

Just wondered if any of the forumites were musically gifted.

Does anyone play any instruments?

[Aleks]

Originally posted by Pammy
Just wondered if any of the forumites were musically gifted.

Does anyone play any instruments?

I can play the fool......................................and the piano.

[TheTramp]

Studied voice while doing a music degree at Cardiff, also play (and have taught) the piano.

Steve

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by Pammy
Just wondered if any of the forumites were musically gifted.

Does anyone play any instruments?

This is two quite separate questions...

I used to play the violin in a past life; more recently (though not for a while) I've been a bit of a closet blues guitarist.

Chris

[Chicklet]

eensy bit of piano but learning as an adult very hard on the left hand after a childhood in treble clef only on the flute.

[Geordieed]

Does anyone ever relate that dancing is like playing a musical instrument. Instead of struggling and following the music join in and become one of the musicians and try to add to the music while you are dancing to it. Don't be a slave to the music.

Or is that a bit spaced out for some folk.

[Lorna]

Hello,

I am a secondary school music teacher. I play several instruments including the piano, violin, voice and percussion. These were my main studies but I can also play a bit of guitar, bass guitar and flute. I am so grateful to my parents for making me go to those lessons every week.

Lotsa love Lorna x-x

[Alfie]

WOW!!!!

All you really talented people on the forum. I got the sack from the triangle in the school band. No timing, no rythm, cant follow a beat, can't create a beat. Dead loss as a musician really
I really envy anyone who can play any thing

[Chris]

Originally posted by Geordieed
Does anyone ever relate that dancing is like playing a musical instrument. Instead of struggling and following the music join in and become one of the musicians and try to add to the music while you are dancing to it. Don't be a slave to the music.

Or is that a bit spaced out for some folk.

Definitely not too spaced out - I can really relate to that. It sounds straight out of kinetic (dance) imagery - something I have found a huge inspiration and help.

[bigdjiver]

Originally posted by Geordieed
Does anyone ever relate that dancing is like playing a musical instrument. Instead of struggling and following the music join in and become one of the musicians and try to add to the music while you are dancing to it. Don't be a slave to the music.

I have seen on a swing forum described as "dancing in the music". As in jazz, where one player does something different from the other musicians, which complements what they are playing, then rejoins them. This takes real understanding to do as a couple.

[Geordieed]

That swing forum sounds great. Do have a link. I have been watching Lindy and West Coast Swing as well as basic swing from around the globe and their techniques for dealing with music leaves me speachless.

[DavidY]

Originally posted by Alfie
No timing, no rythm, cant follow a beat

Alfie, I think you're being too modest - whenever I've seen you dance you seem to have plenty of timing & rhythmn and follow the beat just fine...

[bigdjiver]

Originally posted by Geordieed
That swing forum sounds great. Do have a link. I have been watching Lindy and West Coast Swing as well as basic swing from around the globe and their techniques for dealing with music leaves me speachless.

No, I do not. I lost it after a computer crash. I have not tried very hard to refind it. I got a very hostile reaction there after I tried to tell them about modern jive, and it acting as an introduction to swing dancing in the UK.

I could do with learning some of the style and break techniques from swing. Altough, after a while I realised that, for many, their cool moves were just as repetitive as the arm jive for most Cerocers. However, their gods do seem to be real gods.

[Geordieed]

Yes their gods do seem to reach some unbelievable heights. Shame they had a bug inserted about your approach. Some forms of dancing get a little precious when it seems that's all they have got. Look at the top layer of great dancers of any dance form and they will happily mix. This forum is a good example of how this is the case.


Alot of god like status seems to eminate from our cousins across the pond.

[Pammy]

Originally posted by Geordieed
Shame they had a bug inserted about your approach.

bug, Bug, Did someone say BUG? Hey Barry S. you're squashing capabilities are required again!

[Geordieed]

I would love to know who you were trying to contact. Can you get in touch and let me know.

[bigdjiver]

re: link

I did find this page of links to swing and other dance forms:

http://www.mjames.org/linkhtml.html

He has identified those with video clips

[Boomer]

Just giving the topic a passing nod of recognition I have been known to toot on my harmonica....its not talking to me at the moment though she's a bit jealous of all this dance stuff I've been doing.

[Chris]

Originally posted by Geordieed
Does anyone ever relate that dancing is like playing a musical instrument. Instead of struggling and following the music join in and become one of the musicians and try to add to the music while you are dancing to it.

I've just thought of another analogy and background idea.

Mostly we think in terms of ideas (ie in words, or almost in words) and the words relate to each other logically. But though there might be a 'logic' to music, it seems that most notes relate to each other just by the feel of one note to another. Similarly we 'feel' and respond to music. (Maybe like the way a painter responds to colours.)

It reminds me of a girl I used to have a wonderful dance connection with for a while. One of the things that fascinated me about her and which I admired was that she appeared to think in terms of pure feelings, relating feelings to other feelings the way musical notes relate to each other. She went on to become a fantastic dancer (I won't embarass the lady by mentioning her name but if I say she has nice knees she will know who I mean)

[Geordieed]

I like that explanation alot. The thing I like about it the most is that you have found something very personal to you. We all see things in different ways.

I was very lucky to catch a private class with Robert Cordoba last Autumn and he said that he found that lead and follow was like having a conversation where the words spoken and not forgetting how you speak were all done through the connection. Whether we start the connection through hand to hand contact (combat) or shoulder etc we can explore the range of speach and language about the music. Characterisation really.

What do you think.