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Confessions of a music addict

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Orbert:
It occurred to me that I've done some pretty strange things sometimes in the name of music, things that only a musician would do or understand.  This is the place to share these stories.


Our last gig was "Oktoberfest" at a small but popular place known for their German beer and food.  They take Oktoberfest pretty seriously there.  One of the guys jokingly asked if we were going to learn some polkas, and if I have an accordian.  I've played accordian a few times, but don't have one.  I do have a melodica, however, and they sound the same.  Basically a small reed organ, powered by blowing into it rather than a set of bellows.  So just for shits and giggles, I brought it to the gig.  You never know.



Driving out to the gig, I'm listening to the setlist, as usual.  When we just played classic rock, songs I literally grew up with and have heard thousands of times, learning songs was easier because they were already in my head; I just needed to teach my fingers what to do.  Now that we do 80's, 90's, 00's and newer, plus some country and pop stuff I would not usually listen to, I play these songs over and over in the car so they can work their way into my brain.  I mentally "play along" with them as I listen.

Anyway, I get to the break of one song, and it occurs to me that I'm not quite sure what the chords are.  I pause the iPod, back it up, play it again, and I'm still not sure.  I hit Pause again.  Shit, we're playing this song tonight, and I don't know the break!  The melodica is sitting next to me on the passenger seat.  You can see where this is going.

I set it on my lap and put the mouthpiece into my mouth.  Oddly, this does not seem odd at all.  One hand on the steering wheel, one on the keyboard, I play a few notes.  Yep, I can do this.  I play the break, just single notes to get the tonality.  Cool, got it.  Then I try chords, just fourths and fifths to get the feel.  Got it.

I hit Play, back up a bit, then play the break along with the song.  Ha ha!  It suddenly occurs to me how absurd this must look to anyone who might see me.  I'm doing 75 mph on the freeway, one hand on the wheel, playing a melodica, jamming to some country and western song.  Practicing on the way to the gig.

Players gotta play.

JayOctavarium:
 :corn

Sycsa:
When I was in college and thus away from my drum set, I set up my double bass pedals underneath the desk with a cardboard box to bang against. Needless to say, it was quite a fragile construction, the box moved around a lot, so I had to experiment with stuffing the whole place with pillows and dozens of books. Eventually I replaced the worn-out, dented box with a huge pillow, which worked out a lot better. I was playing video games, surfing DTF, and writing my final thesis while blasting out those 16th notes for hours every day, getting my speed up from 110 BPM to 150. Great times!

Orbert:
Awesome!  Players gotta play.


I got a new car a few weeks ago (used actually, and nothing fancy) and I'm still getting used to the sound of the stereo in it.  Different frequency responses often mean that I hear things in songs that I've never heard before.  A piano line, some acoustic guitar during the break, etc.

Some song comes on the radio, and there's this Latin percussion during the chorus that I've never noticed before.  Sounds kinda like a shaker, only more precise, more like a clicker.  It's a clicking sound.  It's... my turn signal.   :blush

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