My hospital has an ongoing medicine and the arts program. Three rotating venues: entrance hall in one of the smaller buildings, an enclosed rooftop lounge and the post-surgery family waiting area. Mostly “modern” classical with occasional jazz, mostly students from the Cleveland Institute of Music. I’ve played 3 times over the years. Once I played vihuela while gowned up for someone in reverse isolation. It’s all typically well received but obviously it’s more in the genre of background music to help relax people who are stressed out rather than hard core rep that requires intense concentration. Also, 2 of the 3 locations are worthless for the lute without amplification.
Don’t know if this turns anyone on to a lifetime of music concert going but it’s making art and it’s appreciated. > On Jan 4, 2018, at 6:22 PM, Nancy Carlin <na...@nancycarlinassociates.com> > wrote: > > I have played in them as well and most of the people there are in the 80s, a > lot with some kind of dementia, so they like pop tunes from their youth. I > talked with someone at one of those places last year and she said that our > kind of music works better in retirement homes in upscale communities with > more of the demographic that might have been concert goers in their youth. > > I have also played in restaurants and coffee shops over the years. Chains don > not work at all - they want each of their places to be exactly the same and > lute music does not fit with their corporate image. Here in California even > the ones that are not part of a chain like to look they are a chain and have > done their research about the local communities they draw from. The last one > I played at was fine until a new owner came in and decided that looking like > a sport bar was a better image to make more money. That said, if I had a > mailing list of active lute music fans, I probably would have been able to > stay there playing in what was a dead time in their schedule. > Nancy >> I remember playing at a "retirement home" once. Most depressing thing ever - >> the pensioners were all down on heavy drugs and one foot away from the >> grave... or one push of the wheelchair away, more accurately. After that, >> playing at the veterans hospital was a truly joyful experience. You do the >> gigs you can, specially when they are payed. >> >> One of my friends, a jazz player with a golden album, used to play in local >> bars and got minimal audiences with minimal attention spans for music. Jazz >> is still popular in Europe, but all but dead here. Part of it I think are >> the venues: streets, metro stations and restaurants in Europe lend >> themselves to music, particularly in the summer. >> >> Any brave soul tried to play at a McDonald's or a Starbucks?? I am wondering >> how many seconds it would take to see them ejected by "management". >> >> Also, watching The Blues Brothers does not encourage acts of musical bravery >> in local bars deep inland... >> >> >> >> >> >> On 01/04/2018 01:57 PM, John Mardinly wrote: >>> I played my lute at a hospice once. Went over like a lead balloon. >>> Classical guitar was better received. >>> >>> A. John Mardinly, Ph.D., P.E. >>> The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters >>> Francisco Goya >>> >>> On Jan 4, 2018, at 2:38 PM, Tristan von Neumann >>> <[1]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de> wrote: >>> >>> My proposition would be the following: >>> Assemble a team: three lutists minimum! >>> If possible, add recorders, Renaissance guitar, cittern etc., a dulcian >>> and a trombone, and for the sake of beats some Renaissance percussion. >>> If you have a portable organ, get it on stage. >>> Go to your local jazz club and pitch "Early Music Jazz Jam Session". >>> When playing, have the musicians occupy the functions of respective >>> jazz musicians. >>> Jam the hell out of Passamezzi, Romanescas, Bergamascas etc., throw in >>> some song standards like Vestiva I Colli or Can She Excuse, do virtuoso >>> solos. I bet the audience will have fun. >>> Get that stick out of your spine and rock the venue. >>> Am 04.01.2018 um 20:52 schrieb >>> [2]theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu: >>> >>> Having friends in psychology, economics, and >>> marketing/advertising, we >>> have had this discussion over beer. And the general conclusion >>> was that >>> most artists (including early music artists) ought not be >>> lamenting >>> about why people don't show up to appreciate their art, but >>> rather they >>> should be discussing how best to draw in an audience. Think about >>> it, >>> if a graphic artist wants to put on an exhibit, they will >>> bringing >>> alcohol, maybe food, hire a musician, and create an inviting >>> atmosphere >>> for socializing. Moreover, symphony orchestras also have this >>> problem >>> and their partial (yet successful) solution are the multimedia >>> programs; live performance of film music over film clips of Harry >>> Potter, Star Wars, etc. >>> The fact (sad or not) is that audiences have MANY distractions >>> pulling >>> their attention nowadays. Music alone, no matter how pure or >>> inspirational, won't draw an audience as much as music PLUS >>> something >>> else - drama or a story, visuals, alcohol, dance, etc. I think it >>> would >>> behoove early music artists to start thinking about this and >>> corroborating and creating more engaging programs. And there are >>> successful examples of this out there, but there needs to be >>> more. >>> One more thing, I am also reminded of a program done years ago by >>> Steven Wade (?) called 'Banjo Dancing' (?). He performed as one >>> man >>> with a banjo. He played, told stories, sang, and had a truly >>> engaging >>> performance. And it drew audiences. There is absolutely no reason >>> why >>> something similar couldn't be done by a lutenist given some >>> talent and >>> hard work in creating such a stage performance. And as a >>> disclaimer, I >>> am not a professional musician, so these are merely my opinions, >>> looking in from the outside. >>> -- >>> To get on or off this list see list information at >>> [3]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmo >>> uth.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp >>> 9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6mpKZONBRt >>> 90E&m=zLSUUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw29MD4UirX >>> a5aFHV6UuLzftDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e= >>> >>> -- >>> >>> References >>> >>> 1. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de >>> 2. mailto:theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu >>> 3. >>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmouth.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6mpKZONBRt90E&m=zLSUUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw29MD4UirXa5aFHV6UuLzftDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e= >>> >> >> >> > > > -- > Nancy Carlin > Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA > http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org > > PO Box 6499 > Concord, CA 94524 > USA > 925 / 686-5800 > > www.groundsanddivisions.info > www.nancycarlinassociates.com > >
