I majored in clarinet and still play in the community band. I played violin in high school but sold my instrument a few years ago. My major was in music therapy so I’ve also dabbled in piano, guitar, and percussion.

A lifetime on the piano and a few hours with a flute (Puff the Magic Dragon – ;-)). Also a short time on guitar but nothing worth mentioning there either. So, piano and harp are the only ones that have produced anything worth talking about.

Guitar, harp, banjo in that order. Can play lute derivatively, because I played lute and vihuela music on guitar. On trips, sometimes take along a bowed psaltery because it’s so eminently portable.

Double up on some things on harp and guitar but not so much on banjo, that being a cheeky, twangy, inherently disrespectful instrument.

Hi Briggsie,

Nice that you earned a B. Mus in organ! I wanted to do that but my school didn’t offer it. I went back to college after many years and earned my B. A. in 2007 at the age of 37 (in music, on organ), but with a lot of other studies as well, so that’s how I came to the harp. My husband (many years my senior) is a retired public school music teacher, church organist since 13 and carillonneur at two area colleges in Vermont. His website: http://community.middlebury.edu/~gmatthew/index.htm

I don’t perform live at all anymore – if you read my post to Angela you know about that – but I was very interested in music theory and arranging, so I’ve just pursued that primarily now, and doing the recording work.

Where are you playing organ now and what is your primary interest? My husband George really goes in for Bach. I always like the French Romantic, myself. Widor, Boellmann, that sort of thing. Ever do anything with handbells? He did that a lot at the church where he was playing a few years ago.

Hi Angela,
Natural voice? (as opposed to operatic, etc.?) I prefer natural voice actually, when it’s well done, breath support, good intonation and all. I haven’t pursued singing per se, but I’m somewhere among alto/soprano, maybe mezzo soprano. Some of the higher notes I can’t comfortably hit, and if I can’t then I think it doesn’t sound good and probably isn’t good for the voice either. Any suggestions on how to work gradually up to higher notes without causing strain/damage? How long it would take?

Hi Angela,
When I was learning to multitrack record, I studied Enya’s albums a lot and modeling my layering techniques after hers – only it’s organ layered many times, not voice. (That took me a few years to master, because in the beginning it just sounded like mud, but now it’s gotten a lot easier to do and everything comes out very lush but clear.) But I guess I meant singing like that, or some of the Gregorian chant I heard sung by nuns when I visited a convent in Ireland. Very light, not operatic or heavy or belting type singing, but yet trained at the same time.

I can get some head resonance going, so the check bones buzz. And my throat doesn’t hurt either so I guess I’m doing something right there. But I don’t want it to be particularly loud (would overwhelm microphones) and I’ve never been terribly fond of the shouting on pitch thing, as you describe. Just something appropriate to chant, if I could get that going.

Would be great if you could teach me, but yes, it’s a bit of a drive getting over the mountains. You’ve given me some food for thought though…. have to see what I am doing with my voice next time!

(and thanks Madeline, for putting up with my likewise thread hijacking, but I think I’ve learned something here! 🙂

Getting back to your original thread, I do in fact have a violin, a student one and I think it would be fun to carve a few hours out of the day to learn folk tunes on it. Classical is fabulous, but a serious time and energy commitment. I had always wanted to play violin, since a child, but there was no string program in my grade school and it just never came about. I think now as an adult maybe I would like some of the French-Canadian and Cape Breton folk tunes I’ve heard, and some of the Nova Scotia styles of playing. And here I am, talking about voice lessons too! 🙂 Always music I want to learn!

Sherri, I play at a large Presbyterian church nearby, and yes I am the handbell director. I have composed for handbells, (and children’s choir) but so far haven’t gotten it together to send anything to a publisher. My plans for that include writing several short pieces for handbells usable on various Sundays in the church year which are possible for 3 octaves and not so horribly long as many are which can be done for offering or a shorter prelude. I love both French romantic and Bach/Buxtehude/Bach-Vivaldi and other Baroque pieces…..but I am so over the organ thing. I keep my skills up, but I’m not driven to dig into any huge pieces right now. I just want to concentrate on the harp and on singing. BTW, I also got my B.Mus. degree when I was in my late 30’s. My parents couldn’t afford to send us to college, so I had to do it on my own and that’s the way things worked out. I was a serious student though, and I think I got my money’s worth so much more than I would have had I gone as a young 20’s student. JMO…..