What Other Hobbies Do You Have

[Sharron]

How do you balance your other hobbies/pastimes/life with playing music?

 

I sometimes feel that it gets a little or even a lot *unbalanced* at times.

 

Do you have a formula for keeping things on track?

 

Answers on a postcard to.............

 

But really I would love to know what the rest of you out there do, apart from playing music as a hobby. Not jobs and household stuff but other hobbies. Or is music all you do?

 

If you have several different hobbies how do you fit them all in. I have great difficulty with this and I want to know your secrets

 

Sharron

[JoachimDelp]

Impossible Sharron, añlthough I do my best _:

 

Hobbies are : My dog, which is obliges to listyen my Concertina Playing. Sometimes he tries to stop me.

I have been playiung the Concertina while walking with the dog through our mountains.

 

Cycling : I still have not. learned to play the concertina while cycling, but I took it with me and played in the pauses or rests. It happended that at the end we made less kilometers than planned in the beginning.

 

Chess Playing : No chance since you cannot play Concertina and play chess at the same time, only with very bad partners, who need a lot of time to think for the next movwement.but it would be unfair, as he/she could not concentrate

 

My wife : I love her, but she almost now a hobby, when she speaks to me IU can hold the Concertina iun my hands and move the buttons without noise, if not she would protest Why ? I ask.

 

My children : Very imporetant, but compatibel, since I can play the concdertina with my youngest daughter and flute with oldest and guitar with her boyfriend, ......

sometimes

 

Ny Business : well it has got the status of a hobby, at least today, when I have been busy here iun the Forum and playing the Concertina. O.k. today it maybe excused, outside people were celbrating Carneval and I must been the sole person sitting in his office. But, really some days I must control myself.

 

Sailing : Thats goods, others control the boat, I observe and give instructions meanwhile I am playing the concertina.

 

Good Food and Cooking : Food very important, but today I even have still eaten, Concertina Diet, you can loose 3 kgs. a week !

Cooking, also not bad, because meanwhile you can listen your CDs

 

But as I started, very difficult to make compatible.

 

It is true, the Concertina gives me a lot, but certainly iut has also its price, not speaking about the cost of Concertinas and Music and Books.

 

Satisfied ?

Joachim

[Ken_Coles]

Music, music, music, music on concertina, music on my (so-called French) horn, music I play on my radio show as a Dj, music preferably with others in a group, dancing to music, working to the music in my head. I got over being self-conscious years ago and want to do as much as I can while I can.

 

I had lots of other hobbies years ago, this is the one that survived.

 

(Grin)

[JimLucas]

...music on my (so-called French) horn...

You, too? Samantha plays one. I used to, but my horn is currently on loan to a friend.

 

How may other concertina players are also "closet" French horn players?

[Rhomylly]

4 dogs, two of whom are very high maintenance, high energy critters. I deeply love my girls, but they are a lot of work.

 

Active religious life. Lots of stuff with this going on at my house (translate: house must be clean pretty much all the time!)

 

Oh, and I still work with a local no-kill animal rescue group.

 

1 non-musician husband.

 

Somewhere in here I'm still trying to get a novel-writing career up and going. My novel critique group keeps me busy and keeps my ego in check. Where am I finding time to write? Beats me.

 

As of Friday, I'll be a once-a-month English Country Dance caller/teacher. I had no idea how much organizing goes into getting something like that started, even with the help of the local contra dance group.

 

I just joined a gym. I even manage to go 3 times a week. It's the only way I can spend time with at least one of my friends.

 

Pennywhistle class starts next week...

 

Swing dance class ends in two weeks...

[Paul L.]

Well, I work *a lot*.

 

 

But in my spare time, there's not much, I am in the process of learning to play whistle, low whistle, guitar, banjo (not well on that though) and my Uilleann pipes will be here soon (I hope) I've been waiting 3 & ½ years for them. I'm set to order my concertina tomorrow which I'm gonna add to the mix. I'm hoping to get good on all of them by the time I retire or maybe sooner. I just love this music. A lot of times nothing else matters. I'm sure some of you can relate to that.

 

I spend the rest of my time with my lovely wife and our 4 cats.

 

Oh- I don't know if you can call this a hobby per-se but I get a huge amount of gratification from encouraging my wife about her home business. She sews high end fabric items (anything really) and teaches sewing classes from her sewing studio (the upstairs of our home) She bounces all her ideas off me and I give her feedback. She's creating something where there was nothing before. she's doing really well with it. I love it for her.

 

 

-Paul

[Wrigglefingers]

How may other concertina players are also "closet" French horn players?

 

I've been researching for my daughter who needs a new french horn and discovered that hornists are just as concerned (obsessive) as we are. I now know more than is healthy about metals, tuning slides and mouthpieces. Tempted to start blowing one but just know I'll put in the garden shed (again) if I do. Does this count as a closet?

 

I'd like to say I have loads of different hobbies but, like teaching, they're just diversions from squeezing.

 

Jill

 

Edited because I can't spell this late at night!

Edited February 24, 2004 by Wrigglefingers

[Richard Morse]

I used to have lots of hobbies but gave up most so that I could have the time to do the ones I really can't do without. Of course time is relative here, not to mention that the my line between hobbies and work is pretty fuzzy too. I don't consider my architecture or Button Box work to really be jobs anyway. They certainly don't pay much, and maybe that's the secret to how to manage everything: be frugal. But if I put aside ANY consideration of architecture or Button Box related stuff (at least the stuff I do get paid for) music is mainly it.

 

Music: I'm a mainly stay-at-home player though occasionally get out to sessions. I spend about half my time on concertina and half at piano. I also dabble in crafting tunes, dance tunes mainly though more recently I've been getting into ragtime which I find really heady.

 

Dance: I go to contradances fairly regularly which include ones that have potlucks which are quite the social bonus.

 

Design and graphics: Creating, organizing, expressing - whatever - from an historical dissertation/presentation to arty greeting cards and posters.

 

Board games: I'm particularly fond of Scrabble and go for which there are several groups that meet weekly in my area as well as some more irregular private gatherings at various people's houses (less players but better food).

 

Reading: Science Fiction, historical novels, thrillers....

 

Gardening: As well as indoor "gardening". I really love plants and like getting into that dirt!

 

Community service: I'm a Trustee of our library and a peripheral with several town boards. I can't quite figure out why I like it so much as a lot of this time seems to be like "work".

 

Yes, a lot of times things don't balance.... but if you live frugally it's surprising how manageable things can be.

Edited February 25, 2004 by Richard Morse

[Boney]

How may other concertina players are also "closet" French horn players?

Heh. I played French Horn in school bands, years ago. I love the sound, and I still have one, but it hasn't been touched in ages.

[John Wild]

I used to play chess until music got in the way. I will also confess that i once was a TRAINSPOTTER, but I gave that up when british Rail phased out steam.

 

- John

[Guest]

Music takes up most of my time. When I'm not involved in music, I play computer games, and take courses in Criminology. My husband also shares my love of music (he plays saxophone), computer games, etc so things work out pretty well.

 

Cheers

Morgana

Edited February 25, 2004 by Morgana

[Chris Timson]

Oh- I don't know if you can call this a hobby per-se but I get a huge amount of gratification from encouraging my wife about her home business

Ditto. My English concertina-playing partner Anne designs and produces lovely greetings cards (see them here) and I do all the technical support for the business - running a small network with a laser printer and broadband router, doing the webmaster bit etc, takes a surprising amount of time. In Anne's case the business has nearly (but not, I'm glad to say, quite) taken over from the concertina - it's the main reason we don't sing together at present - no time to practise.

 

As a result, between Anne's business, the concertina, and its ramifications like the FAQ (and, of course, the day job), I don't really have time for much else. Our garden is really looking a bit sad now...

 

Chris

 

Edit for typo

Edited February 25, 2004 by Chris Timson

[stuart estell]

How may other concertina players are also "closet" French horn players?

I used to be a tuba player, the heavy-artillery equivalent. I loved playing it, but have had dental problems and had to give up; the search for another new instrument to play was what led me to free-reeds in general and the concertina in particular. To be honest though, with me, it's not so much what other hobbies I have, as what other instruments I play Am playing a lot of guitar (esp. electric bass) at the moment, and a bit of banjo. Piano is technically my "main instrument" but it's the concertinas and voice that get used most.

 

Gardening is definitely the next up on the list. I'm not much of an ornamental gardener, except with the mildly exotic stuff in the greenhouse (cacti, tropical dangly things), so most of my back garden is used for growing vegetables and herbs.

 

I'm very interested in instrument repair and I fear that could become the next big obsession. I've a couple of "project" instruments waiting in the wings which are becoming gradually more playable, and have definitely caught the bug...

 

I have a couple of loud and very entertaining birds - a canary and a Bengalese finch, the latter being an aggressive brown ball of feathered fury. And I used to read a lot but that has become more and more of a sporadic thing nowadays.

[Robin Madge]

Well music is my hobby to which all the others have to give way.

 

DIY is more of a way of life than a hobby at the moment as we are doing up one house and getting it ready to move into while living in another. One thing has led to another with this. When you have an estimate for £5000 to re-wire the house you suddenly aquire an interest in electrics! Likewise plumbing, plastering, tiling, painting etc. At least we will have a designated music room when we are finished!

 

All of my hobbies seem to be creative in some way and on hold at the moment:-

 

Model railways, with an emphasis on the scenic side and vernacular architecture.

 

Watercolour painting, though out of practice.

 

Photography, I will go digital some time in the next couple of years once I have a decent PC and printer.

 

I want to produce some card model kits like the old Micromodels and have a few preliminary designs done.

 

Pottery, we just have to get the wheel down into the cellar somehow first.

 

Walking. We do plan to have a walking holiday this year. Perhaps 200-300 miles over a fortnight or three weeks, just have to fit it in between the festivals!

 

Robin Madge

[Sharron]

Now look you lot this just isn't fair.....

 

You all have more hobbies than me and yet you all still manage to fit it all in.

I had more, then had to give them up for the music.....but i still don't have enough time.

 

I have my dogs, 5 at the moment, steadily decreasing due to old age, except that 2 are ultra high energy (younger ones). So they need their time and a lot of it too, the concertina and fiddle need playing, tunes need learning, etc.

 

You all seem to manage so much more than me, it is just not on.

 

And it is amazing how many hobbies you all have.

Most of you all seem to play more than one instrument too.

Creativity also seems to be the main hobby route.

 

I am just gobsmacked about how much all of you do.

And hey! it's not often that happens

 

Sharron

[Aquarussell]

Hobbies. Learning Concertina, and learning to read music. Music theory along the way.

 

Vintage ballroom dance, folk dance. Vintage Folk dance (Early California dances).

 

Model railroading, which includes for me building and painting and decaling little model railroad freight cars and locomotives.

 

Making decals for the little trains on my computer and the ALPS printer (The ALPS can print white, metallic silver, and metallic gold).

 

Which reminds me, does anyone need one or two decals for something? Do you have art for it? I think the ALPS could be useful in replacing decals and hand applied decoration on instruments that are being restored. If I can't do it, I probably can find someone who can.

 

Science Fiction. Amazing the number of Science Fiction fans who are also Folk Music and Dance/SCA/Ren-Fair people around Southern California.

 

Russell Hedges

[Robert Booth]

Outside of learning more concertina and melodeon, I have been a home brewer for some time now, and take a lot of satisfaction in creating healthful, delicious glasses of beer (OK, gallons) with my brewing buddies. It's a team sport.

 

Gardening is also high on the list, but reading takes the prize. I keep books, magazines and other printed stuff in every room in the house so that I can just pick up the next one as I enter the room. My wife shares this passion so there is usually agreement about it. Would that she shared my obsession with the concertina!

Rob

[Richard Morse]

Now look you lot this just isn't fair.....

 

You all have more hobbies than me and yet you all still manage to fit it all in. I had more, then had to give them up for the music.....but i still don't have enough time.

 

I have my dogs, 5 at the moment, steadily decreasing due to old age, except that 2 are ultra high energy

Seriously - your dogs may be your problem. Imagine what life would be like if you didn't have dogs. You could go anywhere without having to plan for them, even to overnight festivals, whatever. No feeding them, no walking them, no taking them to the vets....

 

I've a friend with only two dogs (which are getting on and having some problems), and they take up so much of her time and energy that she can't hold down a job, doesn't go out socially, or have much in the way for hobbies. A couple of her friends and her therapist recommended that she give up her dogs as the time and affection she lavishes on them contributes to her deteriorating (mental and physical) health. I'm not saying that the dogs are causing this, but that not having dogs would really help her situation.