Some personal observations, If I may: People in Convalescent and Recuperation facilities come in two varieties, those who are recovering from debilitating injuries which limit movement or self-support enough to require that kind of care, but not hospitalization, or those who are utterly debilitated or dying and for whom care other than immediate hospital facilities are not required (or have been refused.) In general, these two subdivide in three groups as well: those who are depressed by their condition, and those who are not, whether by a naturally sunny disposition or Faith. And the people you will encounter there are not only those in care: they have families who visit, and the staff are not deaf. As part of our family's ministry, we visit a nearby convalescent home (nearby in Rural Southeastern Connecticut means within 30 miles) with members of our church, which makes a very small group indeed. We provide accompaniment for hymn singing, largely. As many of our family as can come do, and depending on our forces, we also sing a few of our family-group's songs, among which is Praetorius' Psallite. As with all performance which is successful, sensitivity to the needs and minds of the audience is as important as 'flogging our stuff'. Some of our audience are completely unresponsive in appearance, but some of them can still hear and understand. They are usually brought because the staff wants them to have some experiences even if it doesn't seem like they are. All the rest are their because they choose to be. Often, we get their families, as well, some of whom make a point now of visiting extra when they know we will be there. We have a set time of the month that we come, arranged with the home's recreation director. This has the benefit that they know we're coming and we know they're going to be expecting us. The real point here, though, is that most of these folk are suffering and/or sad. They don't need an intellectual exercise in melancholie, so we don't do a lot of Renaissance music: the times, they have a-changed, and that lovely, noble and serious mode that sounds minor today is perceived as sad and mournful. That frivolous mode that was considered so inappropriate for Church and State is now considered the noble and enjoyable major key. I am, I have to admit, appalled by 'serious musicians' who 'didn't get a music degree to play elevator music at faires', who 'can't play that gig unless I'm paid' and who don't enjoy making music for the pleasure of making music. It has long been my feeling that, regardless of their fine speeches, such people tend to become lazy, finding that their audiences will pay just as much for poor intonation and inattentive performance as for the finest work possible, and deciding that they didn't get their music degree to work harder for their pittance than they have to. I find Scottish Country Dance, at least as practiced around here, to have the most delightful aspect of any dance I've encountered: Being a social phenomenon, the dancers are encouraged to smile to one another, despite straight backed, formulaeic moves. The result is surprising: if my joints hurt, they hurt less. If my partner is clumsy, the cheerful demeanor makes bruised toes more tolerable. And those who watch the set pieces from the sidelines enjoy the dance far more than if the dancers are concentrating hard and looking cross. I find this caries well into music performance, and that those who put themselves to the test of remaining cheerful while entertaining others tend to be more able to be entertaining when being paid. aying paid gigs where you are the center of attention. I have yet, in 50 years of reading treatises, to find one that advises the musician to adopt an attitude of "I'm better than these cretins", encourages inegelant motion, awkward posture and hand positions, or any such thing. Perhaps, if Stockhausen wrote for lute, a feral mein, clawed hand, hunched posture and grasping business manner would be appropriate. Thank God he didn't, then! Sometimes we forget, playing instruments which are not in common, modern use, that much of their original purpose was entertainment, and especially in the Golden Age, both lute and viol were played, in chamber as well as among others, by amateurs who sought to entertain themselves and others. Even Dowland, whom many see as the Lute's greatest composer and performer, turns out to have been employed for other and much more important work as emissary, diplomat and perhaps even spy. If you aren't enjoying your music, it's very likely you aren't alone. If you are too concerned over 'getting it right' to ever get around to 'getting it out', maybe you'd be better off with a pastime that pays better or better feeds your soul. I had a string trio, which became fairly popular among a small community, for weddings. We got a gig: playing for the dinner part of a Hail and Fairwell at the Coast Guard Academy. The Academy is the primary Officer training for the USCG, and they maintain the professional Coast Guard Band. It was a daunting gig, to walk into a hall where one of the four greatest military bands has played for a century, and longer, take out our instruments and play before the top brass of the sister branch to my own service. We did it anyway because we were both invited, and hay, getting paid. After an hour of Haydn trios, a few transcriptions from the viol literature, some Mslivicek and a few other lesser-known composers, the officers and their wives eating and drinking, a commander, somewhat deep in his cups asked if we did requests. We allowed that we might, if we knew it. His request: Melancholy Baby. Our violinist complied, but only one verse. He wanted more, and she replied, "I only know that one verse!" and he smiled and returned to his table. Afterwards, we were complemented on our playing, which, as an amateur trio, was quite kind. Sometimes, dealing with potential problems cheerfully and/or subtly is more important to an audience's likelihood of returning than all your other preparation. In almost every performance with early instruments, we've allowed time to discuss the instrument. It is far more important to have the introduction of an unusual instrument (and the lute is still unusual to most people) be short and focused on the one thing that makes it different and the one thing that made it appropriate to its era than anything else. The one thing you can't afford to do is to is trivialize those two things: otherwise, what reason does your listener have to return? On Jan 5, 2018 5:28 AM, "Tristan von Neumann" <[1]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de> wrote:
Good to know. I had the idea once, but I'm no ââ t good enough yet. Now I'll probably never try. An explanation coudl be that the sound of the Lute is just too beautiful, and the pieces timeless. Dying people may get into a melancholy state that makes them uncomfortable. A friend played at a Mexican women's prison once. They wanted rock, but he said "I'm gonna play Renaissance music or no music at all". After some pieces they wouldn't let him go. Am 04.01.2018 um 22:57 schrieb John Mardinly: 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][2]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][3]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][4]https://urldefense.proofpoi nt.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmo uth.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV 29SRQusp 9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6m pKZONBRt 90E&m=zLSUUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw2 9MD4UirX a5aFHV6UuLzftDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e= -- References 1. mailto:[5]tristanvonneum...@gmx.de 2. mailto:[6]theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 3. [7]https://urldefense.proofpoint. com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmouth.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadm in_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jIn uKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6mpKZONBRt90E&m=zLS UUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw29MD4UirXa 5aFHV6UuLzftDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e= -- References 1. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de 2. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de 3. mailto:theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 4. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmo 5. mailto:tristanvonneum...@gmx.de 6. mailto:theoj89...@new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 7. 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=