Once again, my Friday blog is a day late, which ties nicely into my topic. This week’s musings have been around variations. As the newest member of a Celtic band, Gaelic Muses, I find that the version I have always known and played of a particular tune is not the version they know as a group. Not that I’m more correct or that they are, but that there are different variations of a tune that circulate among musicians that play traditional Celtic music.

Often, the variation I play will blend in nicely with the variation the other melody instruments are playing, but sometimes I need to alter my version to match theirs. This is more difficult than learning a whole new piece!  I have to first break a learned muscle memory down to isolate the different part, and then toss out the bit that is different, and finally, build new muscle memory for the new bit.

It would be nice to have “the source” for the tune, but searching the internet only confuses the issue more. Not only are both varieties out there, but another 3 or 4 at least! Wow!

For those who play classical music, this is a phenomenon you never have to deal with in ensemble playing, other than interpretation on tempo, dynamics, and other performance elements. You play the notes and timing written on the page.

But in traditional music, so much is passed along by ear that there are bound to be numerous versions. So, what an individual will do is pick the one they prefer, or that best fits the instrument they are playing. It’s when you want to play with other musicians that decisions and compromises need to be made.

This is all a good metaphor for life in general… What you think and feel about a “piece” is your prerogative – unless you need to function within a group. 

We will be having our quarterly Harpers Hall board meeting today, and will be looking at what position to take for our in person gatherings going forward. The group as a whole has been fine with our position thus far, but as CDC guidelines have changed over time, and may change still in months to come, we need to come up with a way to present a position that is acceptable to all – with opinions that vary vastly among our membership. Very much like deciding if the B part of a song has F sharp or F natural…

And very much like putting out a Friday blog on Saturday. Just this week’s variation. 😊

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