Distractions

I am, as the subtitle of this blog makes clear, easily distracted from piping. There are always so many other things going on.

Yesterday I suferred a different kind of distraction when our small Irish/Scottish session had a few enthusiastic visitors... They had bongo-type drums, and wore Morris bells, and had wooden percussion frogs, whistles and a harmonica. They were transported, they said, by the music. They were amazed to discover that what we played wasn't, like, improvised. They played along with great gusto.

Good accompaniment isn't something you hear: like underwear it should just be there, doing the things it needs to do, and if you are aware of it that's normally a sign that something is wrong. (I suspect this also means that you - meaning me - tend not to appreciate good accompaniment.) When our usual bodhran  player is there if I notice his playing at all it's a comforting thing (when I am playing, I mean: I listen differently when I am  not playing). He gives shape to what I am playing, helps me keep time and concentrate on my playing.

An enthusiastic but, shall we say untutored, accompanist on the other hand.... I had to really struggle to remember how my tune went, which point I was at in the tune, the shape of the tune... It was very much like trying to concentrate on delivering some training while various parts of your underwear are riding up, slipping down, badly twisted, rubbing, or poking into your side (female underwear having a wide range of potential malfunctions and discomforts. This may not be such a useful analogy for the chaps.)

Still, I managed to keep going and covered up the fluffs, although I had to abandon any thought of going into a second tune. Something else I've learned, I suppose.