Kids are the greatest audience a new plalyer can find. Yeah, I know its been said here before but after the reinforcement I’ve received over the last several days; I need to say it again.
I live in a small town in Western Tennessee and I have Zero interaction with other whistlers or Celtic musicians except through the web and a big collection of tunes on my hard drive. The community volunteers recently completed a new ‘state of the art playground’ and since I’m Grandpa Mom for 2 grandchildren for the summer, that playground has become a daily must do. Naturally, I take a whistle or two and sit in the shade plalying my limited selection of tunes. 2 - 11 yr olds gather to listen. Some for only a few seconds, others for at least one trip through the playlist, some come back at regular intervals. Moms don’t get too close - its either the beard or the Elmo t-shirt that puts them off. They do let the kids come over to visit.
Most of the kids have a comment or a question and they’re all wonderful. No one has ask me about my flute, or r------r. They have asked rather politely why I’m playing and what I’m playing (Tune & Instrument). How hard is it to learn? How much does one cost? “Can I try?” “Keep practicing, You’ll learn more songs.” “Keep practicing, You get it if you practice enough!” “It sounded pretty good that time!” Will you be here tomorrow?" The real blessing is I do hear “that was pretty good” and “I like that one”
Lessons Learned: Keep it simple and honest. Practice harder and LEARN more tunes. Get some “throw-aways” to appease the looters. Learn to humbly say ‘thank you’, without any tears.
Some days life is just plain good!