Sunday, March 15, 2009

Playing for St. Patrick's Day #2...

Today the kids had their first paid gig for a St. Patrick's Day party at the retirement home where Haley plays once a month with her Suzuki teacher's students. They were a huge hit and did a great job playing.

Check out their clips on youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/user/ptmom343

The kids have been working hard in the recording studio once a week to arrange their music and record their music by laying tracks. They are learning so much about how recording works and what is available to them in their music.

Playing for St. Patrick's Day #1...

Yesterday afternoon we took Haley to Fergies to play with an adult Irish session. We went there a couple weeks ago and she had a great time. This week, being St. Patrick's Day on Tuesday, there was a huge crowd and the session was being held upstairs with mics and amps and everything (unlike last time when they sat at a little table and just played). No musicians were there when we arrived so we snagged a table near the little stage area (luckily a group was leaving as we arrived upstairs). The owner noticed Haley's fiddle case and thanked us for bringing her saying he had heard all about her from our last visit.

The musicians who did arrive we had never seen before. There was an accordian player who seemed to be the most likely to be in charge so I approached him and asked if it was a session or a band then told him I had brought Haley to play. Haley took a seat on the other side of the stage from him. They started out playing a few songs Haley didn't know then the accordian player asked her to come sit by him, she handed him her tune list, and he asked her what she wanted to play. At first they didn't mic her and she played with him playing softly next to her. After he heard her play, he turned the mic toward her and asked her to play something else.

The crowd was crazy about her. They gave her standing ovations, cheered, clapped along to her playing, and cheered every time she went back to her seat to play again. People were just amazed by the tiny little girl kicking her feet that barely hung from the seat playing away at the fiddle. People took photos and videos of her, including the other musicians. As the afternoon wore on, the crowd became rowdier and rowdier so we decided it was time to leave after a couple hours. As we were getting ready to leave a number of people asked to have their pictures taken with her and the owner thanked us saying more people were there because of Haley than because of St. Patrick.

Monday, March 09, 2009

Status Quo???

It has been over a month since I last blogged. It hasn't been that I haven't had anything to say. It is more that I have not been able to decide exactly how I want to say it.

I have been a bit overwhelmed lately with Haley's music...the speed at which she is learning material, the difference in her playing, etc... I can't even allow myself to think about what she will be doing a few months from now so I have to just take each day as it comes. She is all signed up for a fiddle camp with classes given by Kevin Burke. If you know anything about Haley, you will know that this will be the highlight of her summer since he is her fiddle hero. We also have Suzuki camp planned in August.

Haley has also been working on learning piano. It is mostly hit or miss as to whether or not I give her new material but no matter, she just practices her old material or works out melodies on her own.

This month being March and St. Patrick's Day is a busy month for my musicians. They have quite a few performances scheduled, even a paid gig! They are also working in the recording studio to arrange some of the songs they play to do a more "professional" recording rather than one that is like a live performance. I continue to be amazed at how their musical lives are expanding in ways I never would have imagined.