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And I even have an old Irish linen shirt with a starched front, and collar-studs, but unfortunately no collars to go with it ...

 

It would probably look even more "trad" without a collar - I love wearing waistcoats with collarless shirts. And cord trousers or moleskins. Fashion? Pah! :lol:

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This place may be worth a visit if you're ever north of the border. Gents - How you you possibly resist the opportunity of generating your own electricity supply by wearing a pair of 1970s nylon Y-Fronts? :blink:

 

Mr Ben Retro Clothing- Vintage and contemporary fashion from 1890-1990s. Voted Number 10 in the independent on Sundays Top 50 independent retailers in Scotland.

 

Host to the official Guinness World Record of largest collection of 1970s nylon Y-fronts.

 

Victorian, Edwardian, 20's, 30s, 40s, 50s,60s and 70s clothing. Specialists in vintage bags and other antique accessories.

 

Opening Times:

Monday to Saturday: 10:30am - 5:30pm

Sunday: 1:00pm - 5:00pm

 

Mr Ben - Retro Clothing, Unit 6 Kings Court

99 King Street

Glasgow

City of Glasgow

G1 5RB

Scotland

Tel: +44 (141) 5531936

E-Mail: mrbenretroclothing@tinyworld.co.uk

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And I even have an old Irish linen shirt with a starched front, and collar-studs, but unfortunately no collars to go with it ...

 

It would probably look even more "trad" without a collar - I love wearing waistcoats with collarless shirts. And cord trousers or moleskins. Fashion? Pah! :lol:

 

Well, I have been known to wear my linen shirt collarless for folk gigs. Goes well with "McAlpines Fusileers" :lol:

 

On the other hand, for "The Rose of Tralee" I'd prefer the watch and chain and a starched collar. There are traditions and traditions, after all! :P

 

Cheers,

John

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This thread seems to have wandered a bit as most do, so pardon me for coming in late. I just want to put a word in for good posture while playing. I play and teach Irish Trad. on the concertina and am often struck by the different habits students get into and how it affects their playing. Learning the concertina tends to generate a lot of concentration and posture closing as one struggles to get the notes right. The mind is trying to control everything at once and everything starts to tense up. Pretty soon the student is having as much trouble fighting his or her own locked muscles as they are remembering what comes next. These beginning habits follow students unless someone brings it to their attention, ( usually many times ) and can cause lots of problems both musically and physically down the road.

 

Good posture from the beginning, relaxed and open really helps to keep the music sounding relaxed even at speed, and greatly reduces fatigue and muscle problems after hours of playing. Playing hunched over with the concertina close to you and severely bent elbows tends to make your music sound tight and restricted. All the stuff people say about changing your posture to change your attitude seems to hold for music too.

 

I sincerely doubt CCE is teaching closed hunched playing, and know that isn't the case with at least one well known teacher, but students do tend to copy their teachers playing styles, so it behooves us to set a good example as well as pay a bit of attention to how our posture affects our own playing.

 

I'm sure English style Anglo playing and Irish Style ( such as there is one ) place different demands on players, but real control comes from freedom to move. The harder you grasp something the more it controls you, not the other way 'round.

Dana

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I changed to the sofa from sitting on the bed coz my back kept hurting..but I find wearing a corset stops that aching..it makes me sit up properly. :blink:

Now I understand that "born in the wrong century" comment in your sig.

It's so difficult to get real whalebone these days. ;)

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But I do think that this brings up a valuble point does what you wear affect your posture and thus how you play?

It certainly does if an improper fit causes you to twist your body in some fashion.

 

And the various parts of a person's body are always interacting, often in ways too subtle for one to be aware of, and sometimes in unexpected ways. Here is a personal example, which has led me to wonder seriously about how little we (I particularly include "the medical establishment") understand about our bodies' "mechanics":

I, who "never" have trouble with my back, was experiencing significant stiffness and pain after about 8 hours riding in someone's small car, where the stowing of other items had forced me to sit in a twisted position. The stiffness and pain continued for a couple of weeks, and neither professional help nor folk remedies had any effect. But then I went to the dentist to have a broken tooth reconstructed, and within a few minutes of leaving the dentist's office the stiffness and pain had completely -- and it seems permanently -- disappeared. No anesthetic was involved in the dental work, nor did it involve any real pain (so scratch the "acupuncture" theory). Is it possible that a change in the alignment of my jaw of a couple of millimeters or less led to subtle changes in the alignment of other parts of my body, which were sufficient to "cure" my back problem? Am I (are we) so sensitive to small changes? Well, I haven't yet found a more reasonable explanation.
:unsure:

However, most of the discussion in this thread is about posture on a much larger scale.

 

Edited to change one word.

Edited by JimLucas
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But I do think that this brings up a valuble point does what you wear affect your posture and thus how you play?

 

I just occured to me, reading this question, that making music is not only physical, but mental as well. A good "mental posture" is important, especially when performing for others. And for me, "dressing up" for a gig improves my mental posture. It reminds me that I'm not here to noodle about. I am (I hope) the centre of attention, not only of the ears but also of the eyes of the audience. So I'd better do my best! I want people to take my music seriously, so I show them how seriously I take it by not just "coming as I am".

 

There are many ways of dressing up. Classical musicians and choir singers usually have the standard dark suit or evening suit. Some C&W singers would be naked without a cowboy hat. For folkies like me, there's no expected dress code. This, however, is a modern thing; the old men from the West of Ireland from whom we learned our traditional songs back in the 1960s, wore their Sunday best when they were invited to sing at the University Folk Club in Belfast. I rather like to keep that tradition alive - treating music as special enough to have to put on your best attire.

 

The old men's black shoes, blue suits, Fair Isle pullovers, collars, ties and cloth caps would be out of place today, so I've taken to reserving a pair of black trousers and a black shirt for performing in. I don't wear them every day, so they remain special, and remind be that making music for others is special, too.

 

Cheers,

John

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I changed to the sofa from sitting on the bed coz my back kept hurting..but I find wearing a corset stops that aching..it makes me sit up properly. :blink:

Now I understand that "born in the wrong century" comment in your sig.

It's so difficult to get real whalebone these days. ;)

It uses plastic bone-ing (cheaper)..nearly got the one with metal bone-ing though. (can't belive I'm discussing corsets on a concertina forum) :o

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Hi

It's to do with squeezing of corse(t), tho I sort of wonder why Jim would know about the apparent shortage of whalebone- I hope it's not from any attempt to buy for his own use in corsets- I don't think my imagination is quite up to handling that concept :ph34r:

chris

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...I sort of wonder why Jim would know about the apparent shortage of whalebone....

I'm quite fond of whales -- live ones -- and I try to keep informed about those commercial demands that potentially threaten their existence.

 

I hope it's not from any attempt to buy for his own use in corsets... :ph34r:

Naw. I leave that to Rudy Giuliani. ;)

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  • 1 year later...
But I do think that this brings up a valuble point does what you wear affect your posture and thus how you play?

 

I just occured to me, reading this question, that making music is not only physical, but mental as well. A good "mental posture" is important, especially when performing for others. And for me, "dressing up" for a gig improves my mental posture. It reminds me that I'm not here to noodle about. I am (I hope) the centre of attention, not only of the ears but also of the eyes of the audience. So I'd better do my best! I want people to take my music seriously, so I show them how seriously I take it by not just "coming as I am".

 

 

 

Ha h'm....not a concertina but me in edwardian get-up;

tsme2.jpg

Edited by LDT
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Ha h'm....not a concertina but me in edwardian get-up;

 

I thought at first you'd put a mark on the image to obscure your face and protect your (relative) anonymity in the wide world of the internet--but no, that's your hat (which is having the same effect as such a mark, but is more dignified).

 

My posture while playing is much like my posture under most circumstances: dreadful. Efforts to improve it may eventually succeed to some degree.

 

jdms

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