Howdy,
I just got back from a week-and-a-half long vacation which included playing whistle during my sister’s wedding. The day before the wedding was the first chance I had to practice together with the pianist, but the three tunes I was accompanying (all were Shaker hymns) came together fairly quickly, and the piano and whistle blended very nicely without either instrument dominating in volume. The actual performance during the wedding didn’t go off without a hitch (it was a wedding, after all ), but only the pianist and myself noticed the mistakes. I was a bit nervous about performing initially, but it was actually quite fun. I encourage other “closet whistlers” to give performing a try.
Cheers,
John
PS: My new C&F avatar shows me practicing on my Busman Delrin whistle during the rehearsal the day before the wedding.
Congrats John-- once you get past the jitters, playing in public is really fun. I would also urge anyone out there to give it a try.
For starters, just go to some public park, find a semi-secluded place, and start to play. People will come by in small numbers and hear you. I can pretty much guarantee they’ll like it! No matter how bad you think you are, you are probably better than they are. Playing for one or two strangers at a time is easier than getting up on stage in front of lots of them. Try it.
I agree. I was at the NorCal RenFaire yesterday, and would periodically just pull out a whistle and start playing (not busking…just playing for fun). It’s a good way to get over the jitters, because you’re not necessarily expecting anyone to stop and listen (if they do, it’s an added bonus). I haven’t played publically for a while, other than for the Morris Dancers (and that hardly counts, as the focus is on the dancers, not the musos), and it was a good way to kind of ease back into it a bit. Parks and beaches are great places to do this too.
I’m with Red and Paul. I was waiting for my wife at a doctor’s office a few months ago, the office had the typical selection of “reading” material (plus it was an OBGYN, so not much for a guy to read). So I went out to the entrance of the building and whistled for about half an hour. Got some kudos. A few weeks ago, I was at the MD Rennfest and hung out at Patrick Olwell’s booth for an hour or so, much of it spent fluting. There were a good many people who stopped by and watched/listened for awhile.
Just a few days ago, I was whistling in the car at a red light, and a couple out for a walk stopped and listened. That felt a little awkward, as in the car I’m usually working on pieces I’m just learning. But it brightened someone’s day (I suspect it’s not something they see every day, plus they know I’m obviously not suffering from road rage).
Message is, there are ways to get used to performing without it really feeling like performing. Now if I could just get past the fear of the microphone.
Heh. That’s exactly what it feels like, too. Fingers going stupid.
The scariest thing about this performance was that I wasn’t playing in front of strangers; I was playing in front of family and friends. If I had royally messed up, they would’ve had ammunition for harassment for years to come.
One thing that helped immensely was seeing that the pianist was just as nervous as I was. (Misery loves company, I guess.) She plays at her church all the time, but this was different; she was arranging music and playing for her best friend’s wedding.
Although I’m pretty relaxed playing in most situations, I’d describe weddings as the least relaxing of gigs. I’ve seen couples who have gone nuts on minor details and who appear as though they’re just waiting for something to go wrong, which strikes me as pretty odd. I hope you get a chance to play at a funeral, too, where the guest is less likely to notice any mistakes.
Heh. On a slightly more serious note, it seems to me that it would be very difficult to play at the funeral of someone you were close to, though I suppose you might be able to infuse the music with more emotion than usual. I don’t think it’s an experience I’ll look forward to, considering what has to happen before there can be a funeral…
), but only the pianist and myself noticed the mistakes. I was a bit nervous about performing initially, but it was actually quite fun. I encourage other “closet whistlers” to give performing a try.
