Monday, May 18, 2009

Birthday songs recorded

Dear Families,

       As we discussed at our first parent meeting in August, I intended to record your children's birthday songs so that relatives far and near could hear them.  At long last, I have made simple, solo recordings of these songs.  I believe you will be able to hear them if you scroll down on this facebook page to the music player on the lower left side.  As with all public entries on this blog, I refrain from mentioning children's names, but the songs are identified by your child's symbols.  I have hopes of recording more extended versions of these songs (with guitar and/or bass) in (the perhaps too far distant) future.

       It is with some ambivalence I offer the songs in this format.  My hope is to inspire children and their parents to produce their own music, with voice and instruments.  I also know that a recording makes it easier to learn some songs.  And (more ambivalence) it is better to learn traditional music (which my music pretends to be) by ear rather than off the printed page; as an adult trying to become more and more proficient in Celtic music, I help myself much more by--at 2am in the morning with my practice mute on--trying to learn tunes by ear off itunes than I do in reading off of sheet music (the greats, like Perlman, can read over a musical score, memorize it at once, and then play it by ear on the violin).  With this as a muddled caveat, I encourage you to share and use these tunes as you judge best.

With warmth and light,

William Geoffrey Dolde

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