catty Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Nowadays, the main reason is to justify the 1300 euro I spent in my last concertina... I know, is very sad Of course, the ubiquitous reason: to justify musical instrument acquistion disorders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 .................it reduces my sexual appetite . Maybe adjust the position of your concertina above the belt line would help? Thanks Leo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meltzer Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Hmmm.... because playing music and singing helps keep me sane. Not being the world's most emotionally articulate man (I'm British, for god's sake ), there have been times when playing music has felt like the only way I could express myself. Nothing I could write or say myself would come close to "Black is the colour of my true loves hair...." so I'll stick with that, thanks. NB: it helps a lot if your true love actually has black hair on these occasions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_boveri Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 All the above reasons; Love to play, prove myself and please the others, passtime, good exercise for my poor brain... but in the case of Irish music, I'll add a couple more - these where more important when I was younger -: - Free pints ( yummy! ) - Sometimes, I even got paid... - The possibilty of to impress some nice girl in a session or a gig - I'll deny this in front of my wife -. Nowadays, the main reason is to justify the 1300 euro I spent in my last concertina... I know, is very sad in a math class i was in one time two fine gentlement who happened to be my peers thought it was great fun to grill me daily on why i was going to spend $5,000 on an instrument that was not going to make me any money in the immediate future. i was not amused . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catty Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 in a math class i was in one time two fine gentlement who happened to be my peers thought it was great fun to grill me daily on why i was going to spend $5,000 on an instrument that was not going to make me any money in the immediate future. i was not amused . Ouch...I think I can count at least three errors in this scenario. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiddlehead Fern Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I said it one other time on these forums: I play because I'm not suicidal. It goes further though, there's nothing close to being able to play music, even just by yourself in the evenings and being able to create something to enjoy for a moment that can change the way you look at things for a moment, while it lasts. At least, it's that way for me, I dunno about anyone else. So, personal enjoyment although proving something to myself has never been something I've ever thought to really associate with music. Perhaps in the music I choose to listen to, perhaps to some extent the music I choose to play, but never the actual playing of it. Maybe it's because I don't find the actual making of sound difficult, only the technique and challenging music, I don't know. At the risk of being universally hated I'll admit that I don't remember any real difficulty feeling unnatural while making noises on violin (fiddle), singing or, when I got there, the concertina. It was challenging and frustrating to some extent, yes, but it always seemed (and seems) the perfectly natural thing to do. To please others? Yes, I suppose so to some extent. As a little kid I made noise (usually by humming and singing) whenever I was happy--playing with my trolls (those little plastic figures with crazy colored hair-I loved them!), or my dolls (I loved those too), or reading (alone in my room I still sing when I'm reading without music on), running around outside or sitting perched in trees watching the woods and animal life, building forts or simply in the company of people I liked. One vivid (and recent) memory is of myself, age 12, after going out to eat somewhere (a treat) in the car on our way back I just started humming because it was a way of thanking my friends. Of course, I've realized now that some people find it annoying, but it's still my quickest response to start making noise when I'm happy, or when I want to thank someone and I don't have words. However, I don't require an audience, most of the time I play by myself with no one around. Of course, I like it when people enjoy the music I play, and I try to play for them when I can and I know they enjoy'll it because it's still one of the easiest ways for me to express that I'm content. It's also nice to be part of a huge community of musicians, whether or not I speak the same language, play the same kind of music or instrument or even know that their brand of music even exists it's still nice to know that there's some sort of a connection to these people all around the world. One time at a Smithsonian Folklife festival there was a group of Chinese musicians who spoke no English but we were able to completely understand what they were trying to tell us when my mom was asking questions about some of the instruments. It resulted in an impromptu jam session and huge grins all around. At the end of the day they spotted us walking back to the car and waved happily, I'll never forget how amazing it was to be able to make friends through sharing music. So, a long winded answer to a short question. Sorry 'bout that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 in a math class i was in one time two fine gentlement who happened to be my peers thought it was great fun to grill me daily on why i was going to spend $5,000 on an instrument that was not going to make me any money in the immediate future. i was not amused . I know exactly how do you feel. This is even worse in my country, where you're not a 'true' musician if you don't play flamenco on guitar ( ole!... ) and concertina is regarded - if somebody knows it - more or less as a funny toy. Anyway, when I said 'justify', I meant justify to myself and to my wife, who is not very happy to see I spent such amount of money in an instrument... obviously, she doesn't know about Jeffries's About another people, I don't bother. When they ask me something similar as the 'two fine gentlemen' asked you, I answer: - I don't have a mortgage or a car. You're going to spend 15,000 euro in a car that after 3 years is going to be scrap. Not lilely my beloved 'tina. .................it reduces my sexual appetite . Good Lord, deliver us from that! Cheers, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 *puts on glasses*I was wondering the other day.... Why do you play music? Is it to please others? or to prove something to yourself? is it just a way to spend time? A technical excercise? For the social aspects? or something else? And how dose that affect what and how you learn? it reduces my sexual appetite . too much information there Nowadays, the main reason is to justify the 1300 euro I spent in my last concertina... I know, is very sad Bit of that reason too...I paid all that money I'm going to get my moneys-worth out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 I don't crave music or enjoy it like other people...but I feel I need to master it. I think that's my problem....why I get bored with tunes so quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Mansfield Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Nowadays, the main reason is to justify the 1300 euro I spent in my last concertina... I know, is very sadBit of that reason too...I paid all that money I'm going to get my moneys-worth out of it. But do musical instruments have to 'earn their keep'? It's not an attitude I can really relate to, but I guess I would say that the money I spent on my EC has been paid back several times over by the companionship that comes naturally when you can play music and are in the company of other like-minded people, the entertainingly nerdy conversations that strike up with friends and total strangers about serial numbers and dates and actions and bellows and ..., and above all by the sheer joy of being able to produce (hopefully) beautiful sounds and move people to dance, just by moving your arms in and out and pressing some metal buttons down in a vaguely organised fashion. Given the way the exchange rate is plummeting I spent 1300EU+ on my concertina and I don't regret a single penny of it. And I guess what I've written also answers the original motivation question as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergus_fiddler Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I don't crave music or enjoy it like other people...but I feel I need to master it. I think that's my problem....why I get bored with tunes so quickly. Same happened to me when I began to learn Irish fiddle... but there was a great competition at sessions, and after a while I stopped trying to master the instrument in the less possible time... just relax and play, don't give importance to your mistakes! Some of my major improvements happened when I was playing and watching telly at the same time. So, don't hurry and let It happen! Changing subjet, I don't regret either a single cent of any of my instruments. But this is the first time I paid the real price for an instrument; my fiddles - both! - were real bargains for whom I paid A LOT less than their real value. Thus, I'm afraid I'm a little badly accustomed On the personal side, I reckon that music gives me too a little balance & makes me forget once in a while about this foolish world... Is sort of a rest for everyday troubles. Cheers, Fer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted January 28, 2009 Author Share Posted January 28, 2009 Some of my major improvements happened when I was playing and watching telly at the same time. So, don't hurry and let It happen! Its nice to know I'm not the only one who practices and watches TV....well its something to do during the adverts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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