...Izee's Thread

[MageNathaniel1]

Nods people who do not play do not get the bond to an instrument to be sure. As for bullies, by 11th grade the bullies in my school feared me as anytime they picked on someone, I invariably showed up and put a quick end to it.

[Izee]

...You are SO correct about the bond that a musician has with his/her instrument.  Lay people don't understand that an instrument is alive, and that it DOES form a bond with it's Owner.  My cellos love me, and play very well for me.  I had two experiences with other cellos that may explain this.   

...As I have described above, I actually hauled a ROCCA (Worth about $150K at the time) all over the campus at my Conservatory.  My cello, Katherine, needed a new neck, and my private teacher, Ariel, entrusted me with the Rocca, since I was the Principal Cellist.  The Rocca sized me up...I SWEAR THAT IT DID...and it would say, "OK, girl, calm down, just put your fingers here. "  It almost played itself, it had a very sweet sound, and I didn't have to work to perform.  Hard to explain, but my fingers would find the proper place on the neck, when I was just staring at the music.  I LOVED it back...but didn't have the funds to come close to buy it.  I did cry, on the drive back home, after returning it.   

...I had another experience with another expensive cello.  My 'Shrink', who was a so so cellist, bought an old Amati that hadn't been played much.  He was busy with his practice, and loaned it to me.  I was excited...it was an AMATI!!!! (sp)...that Luthier is right up there with Strad and the other great ones.  I took it home, tuned it, and started playing it...and...it was DEAD!!!!  No overtones, or anything.  But, I worked with it.  I would sit at night, watching the news, and polish it and talk to it.  I also played it a lot, and got excited when a GOOD note came out, and patted it...and cooed..."OK, wake up, you have business to do."  For all of you non-musicians, a string instrument just doesn't just play a "note"...I mean...a sound at just one frequency.  There are 'overtones'...octaves...fifths...thirds...and other notes that emerge...but they are soft and just add a richness to the note that you have your finger plastered upon.  It woke up, and I would being it to the Orchestra we played in.  I was Principal, he sat beside me.  He noticed that the cello was sounding better...but I KEPT telling him..."I gotta work with it more."  I mean...it was an AMATI!!!  And I REALLY liked playing it!!! After about two months, after I played a solo in a concert, he gently TOLD ME to give it back to him.     I did...but refused to talk about the cello when I would have my weekly appointment with him.

Another story, below...

[Izee]

...Selling my old piano...

...I inherited stuff from my Grandfather...my Mother didn't want anything.     Most of it was 'Science Stuff', he had prospected for minerals in the South, and in Mexico.  But, he was also a scientist, and did stuff for the Military in WW2 that he didn't talk about.  I have a picture of him, he is looking at some documents, and an Admiral and a three Star Army General are looking over his shoulder.  He liked me, and gave me 'Science Stuff', and a very nice rock pick.     I took it to school, to show it off, and during recess began breaking up rocks all over the playground.  The Yard Supervisor took it away from me, and the Principal told me, at the end of the day when he gave it back to me, to not bring it back.   

...One of the items was a HUGE upright piano.  The top was about 5'6" tall.  I was astounded, watching the tuner take the front off, as he tuned it.  The inside looked like a huge harp.  I practiced hard on it, and got to where I could play complex works.  I lived in a dorm during my Frosh year...and HATED IT!!!  I was harrassed, the other girls would sneak boys in, and try to get them into my room.  ((They did succeed a few times...and I just sat on my bed...and stared at the guy...not saying anything...and...and ...and...holding my pair of scissors.  The guy would leave...)) I would actually place a wedge under my door at night, so they couldn't open the door, even if they unlocked it.  So, in my Soph year, when some upperclasswomen let me share an apt with them, I was relieved.

...I declared that we NEEDED a piano in our apt, and they agreed, but we were starving students, and couldn't afford to buy one.  So, when I was home, I looked at the old, huge piano...but there was no way that I could bring it to our apt...it was huge...all solid wood...and I couldn't think of where I could place it in our apt.  So, I spoke to my parents, and said that I wanted to sell it, and that I would buy a smaller piano and take it to our apt.  (And, bring it home during the summer break.)  So, I placed an ad in the local newspaper, and quickly got a call.  It was a young woman, she said that she was a student, and wanted a piano, and that the price I had placed sounded good.  So, I was happy, and told her to come by to look at it.   The next Saturday, the doorbell rang, and there was a nice, casually dressed young woman standing there, and she said that she wanted to look at the piano.  I told her to go to the garage door, and I would open it, and she could come in and look at it.  The piano was sitting against the wall that was right against the garage, so she could enter, and not have to walk through the house.  She smiled, and nodded.  So, I went to the wall, and hit the garage door opener...and stood back...a bit worried...and...

...About 5 bearded HIPPIES rushed into the garage, asking about the piano...and so I held the door open, and they came into the house.   

...They quickly found it, and talked, excited, "Dude...what a piano"  and other such statements.  I stood back, my parents were in the kitchen, looking worried.  I just stood between my parents and the hippies...I figured that I could run for cover if things got weird.     They pounded on it, a bit, I was relieved to see that at least one of them actually ran his fingers over the keys with some skill.  One of them then dickered with me over the price, and when we reached an agreement, he counted $20's into my hand, and then he and his mates hauled the piano out, and put it into the back of an old pickup truck.  I stood and watched as they drove away, one was in the back, playing the piano as the pickup went down the street. 

...I used the money to buy a small, upright piano, and my father and brother brought it to my apt. 

...I did NOT sit in the bed of the pickup and play the piano during the trip...

[Izee]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?view=detail&mid=1FACA042B809B3DE49CA1FACA042B809B3DE49CA&q=albinez&shtp=GetUrl&shid=0f9a7476-92d5-42b5-88b9-ab95cee2d787&shtk=QXN0dXJpYXM6IElzYWFjIEFsYmVuaXo%3D&shdk=SGVsZW5hIEN1ZXRvOiBCYWlsZSBNaWNoZWwgR3JpemFyZDogR3VpdGFyZQ%3D%3D&shhk=Upat6g1NgXs45jP9IkSpMv%2B9pI7sA9nF3OoMrP1Vwhs%3D&form=VDSHOT&shth=OVP.69uyTvsgu8XoYLrqirbq3QHgFo

I actually cried, watching this...

[Izee]

... ...When GOD created Men and Women, He certainly wanted our lives to be interesting.  Men can't dance with such elegance , and we Women can't dance with the ferocity of a Man.  I celebrate our differences, and enjoy them.  I really have NO USE for those troubled people who think that we should all be the same...some kind of 'unisex' existence.  Imagine how BORING such a life would be.  But, the Liberals say, "That would be wonderful, because then we would all be 'equal'. 

...Hells Bells...since when did being 'equal' be something to be sought after?  Certainly, as humans, we are all equal.  An Alien Society looking at us would see that we are in different colors, and such, but we ALL have two legs, two arms, and all of the rest.  But, I like to think that I am different from everyone else...after all...that is what being 'Me' is...and I enjoy seeing how different others are.  My difference is what goes on in my mind, and what I do, and have done.  There is something profound, at least in my mind...in that expression.  Of course, I don't always like the behaviors of others, but I have been delighted, when I traveled, to experience other Cultures.  There were several moments, when I was in Japan, that I was very moved over what, at times, were simple things that they did. 

...The problem is, the word 'equal'.  Liberals think that it has to mean that we are all the same.  I am having a moment, where I can't think of a word to express what I am trying to say.  So, watch out for those GD Liberal Word Police...they want to remove words from our vocabulary...by doing so...they will dictate how we think.  Anyway, I DON'T WANT US ALL TO BE THE SAME!!!  I like seeing different people, and people who think differently, and act differently...our World prospers when that happens.  Things happen, both good, bad, and mostly just..."well, OK."  To me, the idea of 'equality' means that we all have the right to live our lives the way we want, within certain limitations, of course, we have to be civilized.  We don't have to become mindless pieces of flesh, like some Sci Fi movies show...where we all dress the same...look the same...and just wander the Halls and look for our next ration of 'Soylent Green'...and salute Big Brother. 

...OK, I think I finished my rant...I should have done it in r/p at Isle of Scagnar...but Thor would have had me impaled.

[MageNathaniel1]

Sorry you had to sell the large piano but hope the hippies who bought it teated it well. I can imagine how you felt having to return the cellos particularly after bonding with them. As for equal, I agree equal does not mean bei g the exact same. Each is created to do something others cannot.  Thus is true in regard to the differences between men and women as well.

[Izee]

..."Wolf Tones"...

Another discussion of string instruments.  Those hunks of lumber are cranky, and tempermental.  For some reason, they all have a 'wolf tone' on one note.  A wolf tone is where the note is in tune, but it is dead, no overtones.  So, you can be playing a lovely, lyrical passage, and you hit the wolf tone, and even if you are still handling the instrument the same, a dead note emerges.  My cellos had a wolf tone on the F natural on the G string, and I STUDIED just how to eliminate or reduce it.  I have wolf tone eliminators on my cellos, it is a small brass cylinder that is screwed on the G string, BELOW the bridge.  I had to work hard, to find out just where to lock it in.  If it was a half inch below the proper position, it didn't work.  But the 'wolf' was still there, but not as bad.

I read every book I could find written by cellists, and they would all mention the wolf tones on their Strad or Amati.  Gregor Piatigorski wrote about waking up an old Strad...it had a name...I can't remember it.  It had a bad wolf tone where my cellos have one, and Gregor said that he minimized it by  squeezing the sides of the cello with his knees.  I guess that it changed the shape of the cello, so the accoustics were different.  I tried that on both.  Katherine ignored me, she just sounded the same, she said, "Hey, Kid, relax.  I am not going to exert myself."  Pavane liked it, he would say, "Hey babe, squeeze me harder", and the wolf would go away. 

So, part of the reason why I was a little unsteady when I stood after a performance, was that my legs REALLY ACHED!!!   
 

[Izee]

...JDL...

There is a new commercial they show on TV here in CA, it shows an elderly woman falling down stairs, and then goes on to promote health insurance.  At the bottom of the ad, is a disclaimer in small print, it says...

..."Do not attempt, this was a dummy that we threw down the stairs."

Gee...after seeing that commercial, the FIRST thing I want to do is run up to the top of my staircase, and then throw myself down it.  (There are probably those out there who wish that I would... )  It seems that the people making commercials believe that all of we Californians are TOTAL IDIOTS, and need to be cautioned not to do stupid stuff.

...But, look who we elect to govern us...Feinstein, Boxer, Grey Davis, and such.  So, they are probably right...

...We Californians...ARE...TOTAL IDIOTS!!!!   

[Izee]

...((My Hispanic Mother was born and grew up in Texas...so I guess that I am not a TOTAL waste of flesh and protein...although I was born, and grew up in CA))

Music...again...one of the finest of the fine Arts.  It unlocks our brains, it can elevate, and stimulate us...and...also pull us into insanity!!!     I saw that when I went to college.  These fine young people would be sitting in a dorm, smoking pot, and listening to 'In La Gada De Vida"  (sp) over and over, again.  I listened to it once, but didn't smoke pot, I did have a glass of cheap wine...I mean...we were starving students...and thought..."Oh, OK."  They kept telling me that pot was cheaper, and didn't cause a hangover.  But, I was stubborn, and sat in a corner and nursed the bottle of wine all by myself, and woke up in the morning with a HORRIBLE hangover...and swore off all alcohol.     But, I did repeat the event a few more times.  Good thing that I didn't have a serious boyfriend at the time, I might have not liked what I saw, and looked and felt like, the next morning.  I woke up with one of my girlfriends, and we just smiled at each other, and then got out of bed and fixed some breakfast.

Here is the Faure Elegy...

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?view=detail&mid=862C5F01E672C102FC2E862C5F01E672C102FC2E&q=fuare elegy&shtp=GetUrl&shid=377e0ddc-61df-496f-9fab-1d9c8ce5b6a1&shtk=R2FicmllbCBGYXVyw6kgLSDDiWzDqWdpZSBmb3IgY2VsbG8gYW5kIG9yY2hlc3RyYSBPcC4gMjQ%3D&shdk=SW5mbzogaHR0cHM6Ly9nci5hZml0LnBsIFBvbGlzaCBOYXRpb253aWRlIE11c2ljIFNjaG9vbHMnIFN5bXBob25pYyBPcmNoZXN0cmFzIENvbXBldGl0aW9uLiBTenltYW5vd3NraSBTY2hvb2wgb2YgTXVzaWMgU3ltcGhvbnkgT3JjaGVzdHJhLCBXcm9jxYJhdyAoV3JvY2xhdywgQnJlc2xhdSwgVnJhdGlzbGF2aWEpIFBvbGFuZCBBbm5hIEdyb25kYWxza2EgLSBjZWxsbyBNYXJjaW4gR3JhYm9zeiAtIGNvbmR1Y3RvciBPZ8OzbG5vcG9sc2tpIEtvbmt1cnMgT3JraWVzdHIgU3prb2xueWNoIFN6a8OzxYIgTXV6eWN6bnljaCBJSSBzdG9wbmlhIDIwMTMsIE9ya2llc3RyYSBTeW1mb25pY3puYSAuLi4%3D&shhk=kmtkpVnugkpcWg7xo4OvfBKGQtxdQD9QzahoIFoVVz0%3D&form=VDSHOT&shth=OVP.Bv-MWcFtHJ3ECOV8Yyel-wHgFo

It was a piece that I performed several times, usually, with just a piano.  But, once, the semi-professional orchestra I played in asked me to perform it.  That was one of the most DEMANDING challenges I have ever faced.  Standing in front of a Federal District Court, and arguing that the IRS didn't understand Tax Law was NOTHING...compared to what I was feeling when I walked onto the stage, and settled my butt and my cello in place.  (I won my case, the IRS re-wrote a Regulation...and I got AUDITED for the next three years.  They didn't find anything, and I brought a motion in the Federal District Court to make the IRS stop...and they did.     Don't mess with this Bitch, she is very very unforgiving!)  Well, back to the music...

I was scared OUT OF MY PANTIES as I walked out onto the stage.  The music isn't all that difficult, although certain passages are demanding.  The challenge, like in all music, is for the performer to express the meaning to the audience.  I had been coached on how to express it, and my private teacher was in the audience.  I sat for a moment, looking at the floor, as my mind was in a whirlwind, and then I calmed down a bit, and looked over, and nodded to the Concertmaster, and then to the Conductor, and sat up, and arranged Pavane between my thighs.  I had thought of using Katherine, but she had a soft sound...and I wanted to do something more this evening...Pavane had a loud, strong voice, with powerful overtones.

Well, I thought, "SCREW YOU, MY PRIVATE TEACHER"...and performed it the way that I WANTED TO DO IT!!!   

I played the opening very strong, and when the phrase repeated...I got VERY soft...it was probably hard for the audience to hear me, but they were all leaning forward.  I was nice in the lyrical section...and then...in the middle, angry part, I just let it all loose.  I wasn't sitting, prim and proper in the chair, smiling at the audience...I was leaning forward, grinding my teeth, and shutting my eyes...and bowing very hard.  I got to the section where my fingers were just racing over the fingerboard, and let them loose.  I actually felt that I had two small animals on the ends of my arms, that were doing what they wanted, racing around, on errands that I just couldn't understand.  I WASN'T thinking of where to place my fingers, I just had the music in my head, and was trying to let it loose on the audience.   

I finished, and just let my bow caress the open C string at the end, and stopped, the end of my bow was still on the string.

I just sat for a few seconds, and then lowered the bow and looked up....

I got a lot of applause, and bowed several times...and left the stage.

I did drink some wine at the reception, but didn't want to mix with people.  I had left a lot of myself on the Stage, and those parts would somehow find me, and get back in.  I didn't sleep well, that night...I swear...I could feel those parts somehow making their way from the City I had performed in...60 miles away...and they had found the dirt road that led to our home...and they crawled back into me.

Once they were all back...I fell asleep...and was happy.  I had played well.

[MageNathaniel1]

Wait, yiu said they threw a dummy down the stairs hhmm what a way to treat gov newsom smiles.  Happy the concert went well and any good performer leaves a bit of themselves on the stage or canvas or whatever their art form may be for that matter. When acting I was much the sane coming off the stage not wanting to interract with ithers and needing time to rest a bit.

[Izee]

...Yes, I believe that you probably leave MORE of yourself on the stage when you act...or...maybe you are searching for what you left offstage in the wings.  I have never acted in a play, the closest I came was being a Tavern Wench in the Opera 'Il Trovatore'...I just hung with the other wenches as we sang...although one 'Spanish Soldier' would always come over and put his arm around me as he sang.  We left together at the end...and I was blushing the first time...it was clear that he was taking me to bed.  But, then...I got into my char and would hug him back and give him my best theatrical..."Hey, Handsome, let's get to know each other"  smile.  Nothing ever happened, in r/t, though...he was very handsome...but gay.

...The Leads were as you say, they would all go into the 'Green Room' after a performance, and the rest of us would mill around, and find places to take off our costumes and makeup, and get back to normal.  I also noticed, a number of times, when an actor was very quiet after a performance.  I was told, by other actors, to leave them alone.  I understood...I mean...I was usually fairly normal after a full orchestral performance...but there were many times when I was just quiet, and stole off to my dorm or apt.

[Izee]

...*G*...In other acts, I was a Nun...I put on a different costume and makeup and sang differently.  Chorus Members perform many different parts.  The guy I was going with was a Soldier, with a sword and all.  The two of us kept our costumes on, one evening after a performance, (I kept on my Stage Makeup), and went to dinner at Dennys after a performance.  I was wearing my 'tavern wench' costume, (which was low cut), he was a Feudal Soldier...with a SWORD!!!  People did look at us.  I ate my favorite, the huge 'pancake sandwich'...and gobbled down three pancakes, with bacon and sausage in between the pancakes, and drank a lot of root beer.     If I had been wearing my 'Nun' costume...I would have had a cup of tea and two slices of toast...with NO BUTTER!!! 

...Oh, what you can GET AWAY WITH when you are young!!!      If my Ex and I had tried that nowdays, we would have been stopped, and refused admittance.   

[Izee]

...My God...what MEN have gone through in War....

...https://youtu.be/FoQqOPGpzZk

..."And when I died...
..."They washed me out of my turret with a hose...

[Izee]

...Music tells a story...you don't look at it with your eyes...you listen with your EARS!!!       Although, I suspect that male viewers of this...will be listening with their eyes...

...https://www.bing.com/videos/search?view=detail&mid=433ED7598363FB8188D8433ED7598363FB8188D8&q=albinez&shtp=GetUrl&shid=a3d83a56-e9a8-48e8-bc99-ebb2b664aab9&shtk=U2hhcm9uIElzYmluIFBlcmZvcm1zIEFzdHVyaWFzIGJ5IElzYWFjIEFsYmVuaXo%3D&shdk=U2hhcm9uIElzYmluIHBlcmZvcm1zIEFzdHVyaWFzIGJ5IElzYWFjIEFsYmVuaXogbXVzaWMgdmlkZW8gcHJvZHVjZWQgYnkgU3VzYW4gRGFuZ2VsLiBUaGUgbXVzaWMgaXMgZmVhdHVyZWQgaW4gaGVyIENEIFNIQVJPTiBJU0JJTiBcdTAwMjYgRlJJRU5EUzogR1VJVEFSIFBBU1NJT05TLCBcdTAwMjYgdGhlIHZpZGVvIGlzIHBhcnQgb2YgdGhlIG9uZS1ob3VyIGRvY3VtZW50YXJ5IG9uIGhlciBsaWZlIGFuZCB3b3JrLCBTSEFST04gSVNCSU46IFRST1VCQURPVVIsIGF2YWlsYWJsZSBub3cgb24gRFZEIFx1MDAyNiBCbHUtcmF5IHcvIDMwIG1pbnV0ZXMgZXh0cmEgcGVyZm9ybWFuY2VzOiBodHRwOi8vd3d3IC4uLg%3D%3D&shhk=IqBefcKIZCYC3W6RKB5aK4aC4WFhZTNXSk8rCWGTS1w%3D&form=VDSHOT&shth=OVP.LF02U88BOC4Z9ehTcJlDOgHgFo

[MageNathaniel1]

Music can be all encompasing starting with the ears but quickly goes to the heart