This isn’t quite traditional, so I’m posting it here.
I did something silly today. I brought my penny whistle on a bike ride. I ride a recumbent bike with a bunch of recumbent bike riders. I pulled it out in the parking lot while we all got ready to ride, and at rests when we waited for slower people to catch up (I usually ride in front because I’m faster than most of them) and at potty breaks.
So, I played Connaughtman’s Rambles (we were rambling around after all) a couple of times.
At one rest stop I played Give Us A Drink Of Water.
After lunch when every body was putting off heading back, I played Off She Goes, and off I went.
I played no appropriate tunes today. Our pipe band played for an hour in 90plus degree heat, under a tent, no chance of catching any slight breeze. Sweltering heat combined with sweat sogged wool equals dehydration(not to mention the lovely aroma )… I don’t know if there is an appropriate tune for this … I just know this is not appropriate and I am wiped out!
When I’m busking I’ll play Empire Theme from Star Wars anytime a coworker of mine walks by. I’ll play the Mickey Mouse Club song for tourists with small children. And I’ll break into a set of British Grenadiers followed by the Masterpiece Theater tune followed by Rule Brittania when the re-enactors walk by.
I should learn Cock Up Your Beaver to play when attractive women walk by
And then there are the tunes that get named for appropriate occasions. Here are some of my examples.
A ways back, I heard a radio commercial for some energy corp. where they were enumerating ways to save energy: turning off lights, turning off the computer, using timers for lights when on holiday; and with every example they would play this little 5 note riff: G/A/ BGd2
The final ‘energy saving tip’ in the ad was “And for more information, like how to turn off this sound (5-note-riff plays), go to blahblahblah.com”.
That little riff became the opening phrase to my tune: “Turn Off This Sound”
I had another tune that I was working on, and all I had was an A strain. For at least a year, nothing would come to me to complete it. One day, on the drive home from work, I was humming the A strain of my little tune, rather absent-mindedly, and without thinking about it, the B strain came out of the ether. I had to pull over to write it down, and it stuck. The tune was compled on the drive home from work. Hence, the title: “The Drive Home”.
Just yesterday, I had a parade, and drove there with a fellow fifer. On the way, he was eating Fritos. When we got to the parade, we suited up, and started to warm up a bit. He was having a bit of a problem playing some of the high notes due to his recent salty snack ingestion (any fluters or fifers out there know that you can’t eat saltly snacks and have decent embouchure). BTW, this fellow is also a ridiculously prolific composer, so I suggested that his newest tune should be crafted for just such an occasion, and entitled: “The Salty Pucker”
I was playing guitar and singing live on the radio tonight. It was a folk music programme. All the time I was in the studio (an hour)…I wanted to go to the loo. One of the songs I played was “Urge for going” by Joni Mitchell.
That’s the beginning of a particularly dopey tune that used to be the background for a really dopey commercial. Like any really dopey tune, I can’t remember the commercial, but the tune I had mesmerized instantly.
M:4/4
K:G
GABG d3 e | dcBc dcBA | GABG d3 e | d8 |
gfef .g2 e2 | dcBc .d2 c2 | A^GAB dcBA | G* :|| ad nauseum
Wish I could remember tunes I want to learn that easily.
It was a folk music programme. All the time I was in the studio (an hour)…I wanted to go to the loo. One of the songs I played was “Urge for going” by Joni Mitchell. > >
Cass.
I use to sing that one to my girls when they were little. Parcel of Rogues is one of my favorite of their albums.