Am I too old to.....?
Cindy Walker
delve into my heritage.
My grandmother was a Gunn and spoke Gaelic fluently. I know I can
start learning Gaelic (I love learning languages and it would honour
my grandmother). But, is my 26-year old voice to old to start being
trained in Gaelic song?
Years ago, I quit step dancing, I quit highland dancing, I quit violin
lessons, I quit piano...now I regret it. After going to a folk
festival last weekend, I saw some really fun step dancing and fiddling
(celtic influenced Acadian)...how possible would it be for an aged
26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
I don't want to be a professional or win competitions....I just want
to immerse in what I love to see and hear.
As for the step dancing...I'm very fit and think I am coordinated,
would this help me pick up a bit of my lost chance? And for the
fiddle...let's just say I started piano a year ago and am now playing
half of the Moolight Sonata (memorised) with no mistakes....
An thoughts on my chances of success....or the best ways to go about
this quest would be very appreciated!
thank you
from
a
hopeful
old
lady :)
...........................................
Cindy Walker
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
members.tripod.com/~CindyWalker/index.htm
jhickman
You're never too old, and certainly not at 26.
Keep the Faith
Jack Hickman
Peter Schug
Wow, I'm sixty, and I just took my fiddle out of the closet two years
ago. I taught myself the first position twenty years ago, then started
lessons two years ago with a fantastic country fiddler. He got a long
term gig, and his teacher took over. I'm having a ball.
I just got home from a four week course for my job, and I had the
pleasure of jamming with a couple of really good guitarists who were
most encouraging. It may not have been great music, but I had a great
time and even had some favorable comments from the audience.
Mostly country, folk and rock, but all fun
Give it a try, stick with it and you'll never be sorry.
Old lady indeed!!!
Pete
Frank Krygowski
In a previous article, cmwa...@acs.ucalgary.ca (Cindy Walker) says:
>
>Years ago, I quit step dancing, I quit highland dancing, I quit violin
>lessons, I quit piano...now I regret it. After going to a folk
>festival last weekend, I saw some really fun step dancing and fiddling
>(celtic influenced Acadian)...how possible would it be for an aged
>26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
First: I started the fiddle as a raw beginner, never having held the
instrument, about 13 years ago. I was close to 40 then.
I don't consider myself great, but I have lots of fun with it, and
I've had the considerable pleasure of having professional musicians
tell me they like listening to me play.
Second: Get to a bookstore TODAY and buy a copy of _Making Music
for the Joy of it_ by Stephanie Judy. ISBN 0-87477-593-0
$16 in paperback. It's made for you. You'll love it.
--
Frank Krygowski ae...@yfn.ysu.edu
Newsman138
>lessons, I quit piano...now I regret it. After going to a folk
>festival last weekend, I saw some really fun step dancing and fiddling
>(celtic influenced Acadian)...how possible would it be for an aged
>26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
My friend George, who's 29, just started playing the fiddle. He is a full-time
musician who already plays mandolin, harp, guitar, tin whistle ... and god only
knows what else. Mid-to-late 20s is never too old to start playing anything. I
took up the tin whistle when I was 25 -- I'm 28 now. I still have plenty to
learn, but I'm not discouraged in the least. As I say ... I can only get better
(it would be pretty damn hard to get worse!)
--Newsman, aka Friar Robert Morgan
"Don't peddle your wares to the friar, his vow of poverty is legendary"
"Scots make the best blades, but the Irish make the best sheaths"
"I may not be Christian, but I play one at faire"
Janice Hopper/Robert Johnstone
>...how possible would it be for an aged
>26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
Easy! a) Find a group to do step dancing with and start taking
lessons
b) rent a fiddle (so you can try out the waters without a lot of
expense) and take some lessons
Ok, 26 is the oldest you've ever been, right, so it's your "old age."
But believe me, you ain't old!!! I'm almost 46, and I am taking harp
lessons, fiddle lessons (never even held a fiddle in my hands until
about a month ago), and teaching myself to play the hammered dulcimer.
If I'd started when I was 26, I'd be a master by now! As it is, I'm
just having a great time with it. I let about 10 years go by where I
didn't do anything musical at all, and I'm making up for lost time.
Besides, if you spend a year trying step dancing or fiddling and you
don't like it, you'll be the same age you would be if you *didn't* try
it -- and you'll have missed out on lots of learning. And IMNSHO,
learning new things and being open to new experiences KEEPS you young.
Stagnation is death.
d...@my-dejanews.com
In article <35CB8977...@acs.ucalgary.ca>,
cwa...@canada.com wrote:
> After 26 years of not paying attention....I now crave to know and
> delve into my heritage.
>
> My grandmother was a Gunn and spoke Gaelic fluently. I know I can
> start learning Gaelic (I love learning languages and it would honour
> my grandmother). But, is my 26-year old voice to old to start being
> trained in Gaelic song?
>
> Years ago, I quit step dancing, I quit highland dancing, I quit violin
> lessons, I quit piano...now I regret it. After going to a folk
> festival last weekend, I saw some really fun step dancing and fiddling
> (celtic influenced Acadian)...how possible would it be for an aged
> 26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
>
> I don't want to be a professional or win competitions....I just want
> to immerse in what I love to see and hear.
>
> As for the step dancing...I'm very fit and think I am coordinated,
> would this help me pick up a bit of my lost chance? And for the
> fiddle...let's just say I started piano a year ago and am now playing
> half of the Moolight Sonata (memorised) with no mistakes....
>
> An thoughts on my chances of success....or the best ways to go about
> this quest would be very appreciated!
>
> thank you
> from
> a
> hopeful
> old
> lady :)
>
> ...........................................
> Cindy Walker
> Calgary, Alberta, Canada
> members.tripod.com/~CindyWalker/index.htm
>
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Andrew Norton
26, is very, very young. Oh, to be 26 again! Start step dancing now,
and apply the same discipline you would apply to anything you thought
important, and by the time you are 46, you'll be able to attend one of
those fantasy sports camps, but this one will have instructors like a
62 year old Michael Flatley!
On Sat, 08 Aug 1998 18:47:11 GMT, jh...@atl.mindspring.com (Janice
Hopper/Robert Johnstone) wrote:
>Cindy Walker <cmwa...@acs.ucalgary.ca> wrote:
>
>>...how possible would it be for an aged
>>26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
>
dt king
>Years ago, I quit step dancing, I quit highland dancing, I quit violin
>lessons, I quit piano...now I regret it. After going to a folk
>festival last weekend, I saw some really fun step dancing and fiddling
>(celtic influenced Acadian)...how possible would it be for an aged
>26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
>
>I don't want to be a professional or win competitions....I just want
>to immerse in what I love to see and hear.
They say that preteens find it easier to learn new skills like languages and
music. To reach the highest levels of proficiency, you have to start early.
I heard that Michael Flatley enjoyed the benefits of not mangling his feet
dancing too early -- at 11 his teacher told him he'd started too late.
However, if you had lessons as a youngster, you most likely have the skills
that just need to be dusted off, new tires and an oil change.
You said you liked learning languages, so you got those skills already.
My own experience with music is that if you enjoy playing, even if you play
poorly, you'll inevitably get better. It helps if you have a good teacher
and people to play with. I couldn't get a handle on recorder as a teen. I
tried for a year to get guitar in my twenties. However, when I tried again
at mid 30's, everything started to come together. After a few years, I can
now play well enough to entertain strangers and my neighbors don't make fun
of me anymore.
I'm still getting better. For me, that's the payoff. As long as I can see
improvement, I know I've still got the potential to achieve my ultimate
goals.
dtk
Lawrence E Mallette
SNIP
: my grandmother). But, is my 26-year old voice to old to start being
: trained in Gaelic song?
SNIP
: (celtic influenced Acadian)...how possible would it be for an aged
: 26-year old to take up step dancing or fiddling?
No, that's way too old! (NOT)
Go for it, Cindy. I took up whistle at 45 and flute at 48, and an
still getting better at 56!
Frances Evans
harp. Continual learning exercises the brain and like all exercise the
more you do it the more you grow.
Life begins whenever you decide it will, no matter what age you are.
You're never too old to as far as the spirits of our celtic ancestors are
concerned.
In article <35CB8977...@acs.ucalgary.ca>, cwa...@canada.com wrote:
> After 26 years of not paying attention....I now crave to know and
> delve into my heritage.
>
>
> thank you
> from
> a
> hopeful
> old
> lady :)
--
Frances Evans
Intelligent & Creative communications solutions to corporate clients.
Email: Frances Ev...@goodmedia.com
URL: http://home/goodmedia.com/~fevans
Sian Thomas
>delve into my heritage.
>
>start learning Gaelic (I love learning languages and it would honour
>trained in Gaelic song?
I started seriously learning Welsh at 27 and got stuck into Welsh folk song
about the same time (although, to be honest, I'd grown up with Welsh
*hymns*). I've never looked back. In fact, I've been off-and-on the
national executive of the Welsh folk song society the last 10 years so ..
the longest journey begins with the first step.
Or, as Mother says, Bloom where you're planted!
Sian Thomas
http://www.telecottages.org/iws
Y gerdd orau, cerdd at dy waith
ICQ #11650729
remove twp to reply - dileu twp i ateb
Andrea Aldridge
>
> After 26 years of not paying attention....I now crave to know and
> delve into my heritage.
>
Have you checked out the Clan Gunn Society of North America's website at
http://www.nsynch.com/~clangunn/ ?
--
Andrea Aldridge
Publisher/Editor
"Lady Love: The Lady Washington Home Page"
http://www.ladywashington.org
Darryl L. Pierce
<cmwa...@acs.ucalgary.ca> wrote:
;After 26 years of not paying attention....I now crave to know and
;delve into my heritage.
It took me 32 years to get around it.
;My grandmother was a Gunn and spoke Gaelic fluently. I know I can
;start learning Gaelic (I love learning languages and it would honour
;my grandmother). But, is my 26-year old voice to old to start being
;trained in Gaelic song?
Not at all, but be prepared for some vocal gymnastics. Some
phonemes(?) can be particularly tricky.
Mise le meas,
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| Darryl L. Pierce (mcpi...@usa.net) alt.atheism member #1142 |
| http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Thinktank/1335/ |
| http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/1454/ |
| "Neither Heaven nor Hell, and surely not a spaceship, will be |
| found in the tail of a comet." - Harlan Ellison |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+
AutumnRose
Gaelic sean nos. Last year he won a fleadh. It's never too late to start!
An old dog CAN learn new tricks *smile*. But 26 OLD?!
-AutumnRose
Timothy A. Sullivan
>
> Too old. I learned the flute at 40 and now at 53 I'm learning the celtic
> harp. Continual learning exercises the brain and like all exercise the
> more you do it the more you grow.
>
> Life begins whenever you decide it will, no matter what age you are.
> You're never too old to as far as the spirits of our celtic ancestors are
> concerned.
>
>
> > After 26 years of not paying attention....I now crave to know and
> > delve into my heritage.
> >
> >
> > from
> > a
> > hopeful
> > old
> > lady :)
> --
> Frances Evans
> Intelligent & Creative communications solutions to corporate clients.
> Email: Frances Ev...@goodmedia.com
> URL: http://home/goodmedia.com/~fevans
Agreed. You have had some training; your body will remember. Trust
yourself.