Dan,
Just curious if anyone out there either plays an instrument or is a singer?
First, sorry for the long post...but you struck a nerve. <G>
I used to play the piano, and still have an upright Story And Clark spinet piano here. However, it hasn't been touched since nearly 2 years before my
Mom died 2 years ago...so, it's likely out of tune. Now, being an amateur radio operator, I joke that "I play the radio".
Notice that I didn't say "play with the radio"...although a comedy deal
that I did called "The Ham Radio Wedding" (uniting Ham and Radio in Holy Telephony), and "The Honeymoon And More" (the first night together), was
full of ham radio puns and humor. Those who aren't amateur radio operators likely would not understand it...but the hams did. I had to practice it several times, as even *I* could NOT keep a straight face. <G> Folks can
go to
http://www.wx4qz.net/elk.htm -- and scroll down the page to the file "Selected Ham Radio Humor". There is a lot more humor in there besides
these 2 items.
I had sang in choirs in church, high school, and college...but I have arthritis so bad now, that I can't stand in one spot for very long...
never mind on choral risers. I used to do also do mini concerts, writing
Gospel Songs. It's rare I'll do one with music now, but I'm still doing
Gospel Poetry. Over 500 poems to The Glory Of The Lord (mostly sacred,
but a few secular ones on my hobbies), are designed as "a ministry to
those who've accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, and a witness to those
who have not". Go to
http://www.wx4qz.net/swj.htm to view all of them.
The salvation in Christ is "a free gift to all who would receive it".
As for singing, I need to sing tenor. Either 'ten or' twelve miles
away. Or I should sing solo. 'So low' that nobody can hear it. It's
pretty bad when I try singing, and my dogs run away from me... ;)
That's what I was in high school choir. By the end of the year, I was
voted "Most Improved Chorus Student". I've had no formal ear training whatsoever, but you can play a note on the piano, and without looking,
I'll duplicate it. I used to freak out a ton of folks in churches with
that. <G> I can sight read choral music as well, but I'm not like the accomplished pianists (the late Anthony Burger, plus Emily Bear, both
noted later in this message). These pianists practice at least 8 hours
a day...and sometimes so hard, that their fingers will bleed.
My high school in Florida also had its own symphony orchestra. That year (when I originally couldn't hit a tone in a bucket), I had a bunch of good looking females in the alto section helping me in the tenor section learn
the tenor part of the Hallelujah Chorus by George Friedrick Handel...which
I remember to this day. My favorite version of that now is from one of
Bill Gaither's shows with the late Anthony Burger, playing it. It's at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUBpff5zrV4
Speaking of Anthony Burger, there are several videos on YouTube of him,
who The Lord really blessed with piano playing abilities. It originally appeared that he would never be able to do that. While learning to walk
in his home in east Tennessee, his walker got caught in a floor furnace,
and he got third degree burns on both hands. He had to have medicated
baths for a year, and they said he'd never be able to use his hands, or
play the piano.
But, The Good Lord healed him, and Anthony had an uncanny ability to
pick out tunes and play them after hearing them. He had heard "The Old
Rugged Cross" at church when he was 3 years old, and when he came home
and played that, his parents practically fainted. <G> As an aside, when
I first heard that in high school choir, I broke down and cried. That is
my favorite hymn.
Anthony studied at a conservatory in Chattanooga, noting he was terrified with his first piano recital at age 6. After several years, he learned the classics (Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Mozart, Liszt, etc.). Then, he picked up the styles of Floyd Cramer, Ray Charles, and Jerry Lee Lewis, among others.
But, he said all that changed when he accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Saviour. He eventually became the keyboardist for The Kingsmen Gospel Group, winning a Southern Gospel Musician Award 10 years in a row, and had a new award named after him.
Christian comedian Mark Lowry did a deal with "secular love songs" with Anthony Burger...doing "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face", "Unforgettable", and "Great Balls Of Fire"...in a medley. You can view this video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlAET0Fm8G4
Another video that really highlights his ability is with him playing
"Gettin' Ready To Leave This World". You can view that video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1LTHdFDAhk
Tragically, pancreatic cancer cut short his life while he was in his 40's.
You can view the video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXeI0CF3QwU
Over 20 years ago, in a church choir, the female director said "Who needs
a pitch pipe, when you've got Daryl??" <G>. When she turned 40, her husband
and her Mom were in cahoots on a surprise birthday party for her. She's 6 months younger than I am, and I had been given the perfect shirt when I
turned 40...it noted "Forty's not old...if you're a tree". <G> I wore that shirt there, and after folks chuckled at the shirt, I noted "But, even the trees lift their arms in Praise To The Lord".
One of the tribute poems in the Gospel Poetry collection that The Lord
have given me was for this woman, and when I got done reading it (I had it engraved on a plaque for her), the woman had tears streaming down her
face, and everyone gave a standing ovation.
I wish I had the knowledge and tools to have gone into becoming a piano tuner. It would've been something I really would've enjoyed doing. Many churches still have spinet pianos that need tuning every so often, and I understand that piano tuners are in high demand; so, they get paid rather well.
I can still sing, but have gone from Tenor to Baritone (it may be more
like Barely-A-Tone <G>), as the vocal range has become limited from "lack
of use". I sang "The Vows Go Unbroken" by the late Kenny Rogers at my wedding...there wasn't a dry eye in the house. :) You can listen to this
at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSOoMPlrtd8 -- to me, this is the
ultimate wedding song. I still get tears in my eyes listening to it.
The funny part was that a video was made of the wedding, and I played
it for her family in Florida, so they got to meet the new bride and groom.
When it got to the lyric "Though I have been tempted...no, I have never strayed"...her cousin quipped "Oh!! He's Been Tempted!!". I nearly said
the S-expletive...I would've been dead meat. <G>
My favorite now is barbershop quartets...there is a group from Tennessee called "Lunch Break". They did a performance just after Christmas several
years ago at Carnegie Hall, with the medley called "Old MacDonald Had A Deformed Farm". You had critters such as a lisping snake, a dyslexic cat,
a lactose intolerant cow, a hyperactive sloth, a narcoleptic pig, and an attention deficit disorder dog. <G>
You can find this video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea2WYe-sTFE
However, I would advise that you not be eating, drinking, or driving...
and that you empty your bladder before watching this...or you will have
a mess on your hands. <G>
In the famous musical, which became a movie, "The Music Man", had Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, and an all star cast. The "school board" was actually the barbershop quartet known as "The Buffalo Bills".
Clips from the movie can be found on YouTube. The movie came out 50 years
ago, and is still a classic today. Some of the items are:
Opening Theme (Rock Island):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ9U4Cbb4wg
Ya Got Trouble:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI_Oe-jtgdI
How Can There Be Any Sin In Sincere?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO0DFttQoJc
There are several others in there as well. The total length is nearly 3 hours, but it's an enjoyable one for the whole family.
Every year, the mens group of the Diamond State Chorus, and the womans
group of the Sweet Adelines, do "Singing Valentines" each February. The recipient gets a card, a love song, and the ladies get a rose, or a box
of candy. They are sung to by a quartet of the opposite sex. While some
may consider the cost a bit high, the emotional reward of showing your
love to a boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, or spouse, can't have
a price on the joy on their faces. :)
The proceeds go to their yearly competitions, with travel and other
expenses. These are done around the country, and are in high demand. Sometimes, they will do these to raise money for specific charities.
I never remarried after losing my wife almost 15 years ago now, but
I would've loved to have had one of these for myself, or for a special
lady friend.
An example of these is at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6CWJrCskvU
with the Orange Blossom Chorus in Orlando, Florida.
I will say that barbershop quartet singing is not as easy as it looks!!
Another lady, Emily Bear, started playing piano while she was only 2.
Two of my favorite videos of her (both when she was younger) are:
Bumble Boogie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ3w7U_ZJJg
Rhapsody In Blue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To7EG40KofU
The one thing in her videos that I noted the most, is that she was always smiling.
Daryl
... Are cranberries healthy?? I never heard one complain.
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