When I was in second grade, we moved to the town of Le Center in southern Minnesota - my Dad was taking a job as social worker (but I'd hardly be aware of that). We lived there until I was in fifth grade and although I know I am viewing through rose-colored glasses it was a great place to be a kid. I remember one of my friends playing the Ukulele ( I ran into him a few times after we grew up - he was at St. Olaf when I was at Carleton - he was a rock musician, but haven't seen him for many years). When I started third grade, I started on piano, taking lessons from a Nun at the catholic school in town (remember, we were methodists). They had piano's to practice on, so I'd go there to practice after school. We did get a piano eventually and my playing suffered as I didn't really practice as much. After Le Center, we moved to Mankato and then Shakopee in 1958. (My Dad continued in Social Work - he was the Scott County Welfare Director in Shakopee - these days it would be called 'Human Services'). I continued taking piano lessons through eighth grade. Although I was never a consistent student, I did learn to read music (both bass and treble clefs) and I continued to play in high school. I was the accompanist for the girls chorus (one of my favorite pictures in the high school yearbook is me surrounded by a couple of dozen girls) as well as the 1st service organist for church. I don't remember much about lessons in Mankato, but my teacher in Shakopee was Eunice Schaeffer, who was also the secretary or the Draft Board (more on that some data on Cudgels of the Curmudgeon). I took formal piano lessons again at Carleton from William Nelson. He was also Lynn's teacher - she majored in music and gave a junior and senior recital. I got a lot better, but never 'performed' except in piano class. I learned some Bach, Brahms, Chopin and Debussy but rarely play now. (Lynn is getting the piano tuned soon, so maybe I'll go through a couple pieces.)
In Mankato, I started violin lessons, but there was no string program in Shakopee, so in 6th or 7th grade I started on trombone. My dad was a violinist in college (and played in a community orhestra later) and my mom played trombone in high school. I stayed with it and played in band all through high school, but never 'owned' an instrument or played in college. The year after I was graduated from College, Lynn and I taught High School in Montana. Lynn was the Band director and we started a student/faculty jazz band or something and I ended up playing a school trombone. I remember thinking I was a better player (at age 22) than in high school - partially because I had had more musical training. I haven't really played since, although I can still make a tolerable sound.
My first 'folk' instrument was harmonica - I started learning it when I was about 12 - I remember playing 'moon river' and playing at Boy Scout Campfires. I got semi-serious and picked up a chromatic harmonica: for a couple of church services learned and played some Bach duets: I played chromatic harmonica with my Dad on violin. Although I still own a set of harmonicas and even a chromatic, I don't play much any more.
When I was 15, I started playing guitar and this was probably the first instrument that I had a passion for. My first guitar was a Stella and I used to play until my fingers bled. I was mostly self-taught although at some point in high school I took a few lessons. My friend Dan took up the Banjo (Pete Seeger style) around the same time. This was in the early sixties and I we played at a hootenanny at the high school a few months after we learned how to play. A bit later, our friend Rick learned bass and we were a trio (ala Kingston trio sort of). High point of our career was playing at a super market parking lot and getting paid $90.
On family camping trips, I also discovered that playing guitar worked as a 'chick' magnet. Never really dated in high school, but the bit of 'success' I had came from playing guitar. For high school graduation, my parents gave me a Gibson J45, which was my first good guitar. (I still regret using it as a trade in for my current Martin D-28 - it would be sweet to have both guitars).
Since I have played guitar for almost 45 years, there is way too much detail for this post; however, here are some bullet points:
- started mostly finger-picking (with picks), but used a flat pick
- mostly folk style, but started playing classical pieces on steel string (performed Jesu Joy of Man's Desirine on steel string for my sisters wedding.
- bought 1969 Martin D-28 in 1970 - still my primary guitar - last of the Brazilians
- took classical lessons in the 1970s and had visions of getting a BFA - still own a Yamaha and Kohno classical guitar (rarely, but occasionally played.
- bought 1973 12 string Martin D-12-20 from the homestead a few years ago - had spend the summer of 1967 hearing Leo Kottke and Dave Ray at the scholar coffee house and 30-some years later finally gave in to 12 string lust. Have developed an old-timey technique for it and use it on a half-dozen songs.
- started competing in the flat-picking contests at the state fair in 2003
About 5 or 6 years ago at Danebod folk camp, I was playing mandolin in a rehearsal with about 5 clarinets and called out 'is there a tenor banjo in the house'; sure enough, Jill had one in her tent and I played it for the week for certain dances (usually polkas). The next time that Lynn was in LA visiting her mother, she surprised me with a tenor banjo that she had bought from the Claremont Folk Music Store and Museum (started by Ben Harper's grandparents and now owned by him). I originally played it tuned in 'viola' tuning, which is a 5th lower than the mandolin. However, I ended up playing it mostly with the Danebod and TC Urban Folk School Folk bands and found it easier to use it in Irish Tenor Banjo Tuning (an octave lower than a mandolin). This means that the fingering is the same and I don't have to think so hard ;-)
The most recent instrument I've learned is the concertina. The Twin City Urban Folk School has 'beginning band' and I found a 30 button Anglo concertina on line for $200 and started 'learning' that. For a few months I spent more time playing concertina that anything else. Currently; however, it is in the same category as the tenor banjo: I play it in the folk band, mostly for waltzes. At the Bluff Country Gathering there were a couple people with concertinas, so I may take it to Lanesboro next year. One fellow from South Dakota was really good, playing along on fast Missouri reels with some of the top fiddlers there. He was playing the same type as I was, although of much higher quality. Of course, a 'serious' instrument is at least $1500, and top ones go for 3K-6K.
Right now, my main focus is working with guitar and mandolin as part of the bob-i-lynn band. We have a number of guitar-guitar pieces where I play lead, but more and more with Lynn on fiddle and I focus on accompaniment and bass runs. Every once and a while, we add a number where the 12-string seems to fit. For Danebodium, I try to keep my mandolin chops up and we do add new tunes all the time. I still spend a number of hours a week flat-picking and slowly add new tunes to that repertoire. It looks like the concertina and tenor banjo will continue to be 'occasional' instruments, but I do bring them to folk band dances and to our farmers market gigs with Rhubarbarian.
As long as I have a day job, I don't see any hours coming for learning another instrument, although, I do continue to have instrument lust:
- professional concertina - Morse from Button Box is probably what I'd get
- Irish button accordian (we go to as many John Williams/Dean Magraw concerts as we can).
- tenor guitar: there's a resophonic tenor that just sold at Elderly Music that looked sweet.
- a resophonic 6-string
- a round hole mandolin (would love a gibson f4, but at 6K, I'll probably settle for an Eastman replica).
- trombone ? - Musician's friend has one that looks playable for < 1K.
In less than a week, I turn 60 - if the stock market doesn't totally tank I should be able to retire in 4 or 5 years, so stay tuned.
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