Comments on: Can you walk and chew gum at the same time?

By: Cappy

Cappy — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 12:57:14 +0000

No.

Nobody can walk and chew gum at the same time.

That’s just crazy talk!

By: Rufus T. Firefly

Rufus T. Firefly — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 23:04:52 +0000

Well… Looks like I beat this thread to death. https://youtu.be/oShTJ90fC34

By: Obloodyhell

Obloodyhell — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 20:42:00 +0000

Lotsa comments here, if i missed it: one of the obvious problems with singing and violin or viola is the general need for the chin rest… You can’t play the instrument while singing.

I suppose one might rig up an alternative if you wanted to do both, but it would require some mechanival innovation as well as skilz at violin and singing.

Moreover, you’d necessarily have to alter your motion technique in order to do it, as your overall body position would not match the norms for violin playing. That would require some innovative approaches to playing violins

By: Cranky Greg

Cranky Greg — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 19:28:28 +0000

Man! I sure do miss Levon Helm and The Band.

By: Doug+Purdie

Doug+Purdie — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 18:43:58 +0000

Just saw The Eagles live last Saturday. Henley’s singing is indeed impressive (especially at age 74) but his drumming is pretty vanilla and always has been.

By: Steph

Steph — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:41:24 +0000

Thanks RTF.

By: Rufus T. Firefly

Rufus T. Firefly — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 17:14:28 +0000

Steph,

Moving the instrument in conjunction with your body while playing happens pretty naturally. Although, on more than one occasion, I bang’ed my teeth (and fattened a lip) fairly bad when first pulling my instrument up to my mouth. There are times when you march with your instrument “at rest,” holding it directly in front of your body, vertically. Then, it’s a neat, visual effect if everyone pulls to “attention” position on the same beat. So you quickly move your horn from vertical, nearly touching your chest and belt buckle, to your mouth. If one does it too forcefully, Wham! Right in the kisser!

By: Steph

Steph — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 16:22:06 +0000

side note – I was a clumsy kid.

By: Steph

Steph — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 15:52:50 +0000

Re Marching Bands:
I played trumpet in high school orchestra and jazz band, but never in marching band. I always wondered how the brass players didn’t beat the crap out of their lips and teeth. Didn’t the mouthpiece bang into their mouth with every step?

By: Rufus T. Firefly

Rufus T. Firefly — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 15:17:26 +0000

I just remembered something. The first time I played with a group (14 years old?) we met in the drummer’s basement* and it was decided I would sing because my instrument at the time, harmonica, had the least to do musically in most of the songs. I was awful. The drummer, a great, close friend, actually was a good singer. He had been singing for years in his church’s choir. Between practices he would teach me to sing. When we started he was the best singer in our group but nobody, including him, thought of having him sing. We couldn’t have done it. We didn’t have the sound equipment. Rather than buying a bunch of sound equipment we couldn’t afford the solution was to teach a lousy singer how to sing. We really weren’t worried about the singing. It was logistics and cost.

*Another thing about drummers; practice is almost always at their house. Logistics. Any good drummer had very patient and kind parents.