Rick Fournier

Interesting instrument Bob.  My wife Valerie and I both play the Mountian Dulcimer which has its origins in Ireland.  So yes we use the same tuning on a 3 stringed instrument.  Our dulcimer group has about 25 members and plays everything from dulcimer, guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukelele, marimbula, tin whistle, violin, and tin whistle and we sing too.  Until Covid hit we do about 15 performances a year.  You can catch us on YouTube as Riverstrings from Michigan.

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Rick, What fun. There is nothing like a group of friends communicating through music. And the young lad playing his little guitar. You now must record more and post them on YouTube. 

I didn't know the mountain dulcimer had Irish roots. We did have one in a session here once. A friend of mine in Santa Cruz plays trad music on a hammer dulcimer and it's heavenly. Sounds very much like the harps I play with.

Here is a YouTube video with Sharon Shannon and Mundy on Shop Street in Galway playing the "Galway Girl" by Steve Earl, accompanied by 15,000 friends. This is what we do to keep from getting bored. I'm in this video somewhere, but haven't seen myself yet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNs0vKDvs0g

Rob

Mike Young

Rob, you speak in the language of musicians, and while the words are English, I'm lagging behind more than a bit.  I have looked up "capo" and "Uilleann Pipes" and your explanations are spot on.  I don't know the difference between melody and chords, though.  I think it's great that you have been able to make a career out of something you love so much, and to pursue expanding your knowledge and experiences in Ireland has got to be terrific.  We are all so pleased for you.  Rick, I was fortunate enough to have a hammer dulcimer available to me to fiddle with.  (Probably shouldn't use "fiddle" for a dulcimer.)  I enjoyed making some musical sounds, though it wasn't anywhere close to music.

Janet Flick (Stickel)

Welcome, Tom Hughes!  So glad you have joined the Class of '63 website.  
 

where is Grass Valley, CA?  Anywhere near Santa Cruz?

Mike Young

Yes indeed, welcome, Tom!!  What have you been up to?  Or, more significantly - what are you up to now?  Is your wicked sense of humor still intact?  Wasn't Grass Valley one of the big Gold Rush sites back in the mid 1800's?  Or has it been named after a cash crop?  It's got to be awfully pretty there.

Thomas Hughes (Hughes)

I think the book jacket will have a Harley and who knows what is in that pipe.  I will try to come to the party as I like to Party. Plus I have a daughter, 3 grandkids and 9 great-grandkids in the UP which i haven't seen since July 2018
Never got into golf but social festivities I am pretty good at.  One spring I had 4 bears grazing in the meadow off my back porch.  Once the saw me they just turned and slowly walked back into the woods I would add a picture but can't figure how I did it before.

Mike Young

Rob, MANY THANKS for the musical tutorial!!  There are times when I feel like a grade schooler talking to a college student and I appreciate your explanations.  I do not have an educated ear, so I don't always understand your references, but I do grasp them on a mathematical level.  Sort of like - "I don't know much about music, but I know what sounds good to me.  To be sure, though,  a melody consists of notes in a sequence, repeated.  The more notes, the better.  (Presuming that they're well related to begin with.)  Bolero would be a melody.  Right?  Harmony consists of notes played simultaneously, rather than in a sequence.  Are these notes played at the same time as each other or to be played as the same time as the melody's notes?  Disonance, which we all understand in other areas of human relations, is also harmonic, just not what we want to hear.??  But what's an "Am" note?  Additionally, Taylor Swift's newest music you would rate about a 70 on American Bandstand as the music's good but not to dance to?  Thanks, again Maestro.

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Mike,

Disonance. One of my friends plays jazz which I find to be disonant, but to him it is pure heaven. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder. And Am in music notation means A minor, a chord that has the middle, or the third note flatened. Oh, oh, I think I might be taking you down a rabbit hole.

Here is a wonderful collection of music from back in freshman year 1960 and beyond. http://thenostalgiamachine.com/y/#/1960 

Scroll down a little ways and you will find "Walk, Don't Run" and you can listen to how the tune goes from chords into the melody. 

Mike Young

Rob, I found a listing of the notes for "Walk, Don't Run" and I see the sequence of the melody notes.  Then I listened to it and found a new level of appreciation.  Thanks for that.  So, to be sure, that was melody, but "Pipeline" would be harmony?  "Maybelline" would be melody at its' simplest?  There are new things that I am really lost on - "flattened" notes?  I did find out that some strings are thicker than others.  I should have known that by logic, even if not by learning, but there it is.  I have been thinking more in terms of tightness rather than thickness, where, actually both are factors.   I do feel like Alice following the white rabbit, but not down the rabbit hole because I think that Rod Serling is over there holding a guitar.  Many thanks, again for sharing these rudimentary facets of music.  Merry Unbirthday to everyone (THAT is down the rabbit hole.).

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Mike,

Pipeline starts with a guitar playing an octave run of notes called a "glisando" and then plays a chord broken into individual notes called "arpegio" followed by an "E minor" chord played on an electric piano. Then the melody starts on a second guitar. 

And yes, the pitch of a note on a guitar is determined by tension and thickness. For example, if you tune the small "high E" string down an octave, it would be floppy and have no tone quality. So a thicker string gives the string more tension and tone.

Lucia Lenhard (Johnson)

Thanks to Mike and Rob for this musicical  back and forth!  Really interesting. Lovely to not only learn something new, but something new about each other. Wouldn’t Sister Moira be astounded!?

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Lucia,  I'm happy that you are enjoying the music banter. I've learned to share my knowledge from my Irish friends. In traditional Irish music, everyone is welcome. There is no competition as it is considered the people's music. As soon as one learnes a tune, they are encouraged to join in a session and all the seasoned veterans give support, even if it means slowing down to a crawl. I've played with children as young as 4, and old-timers like me at 90. We regularly meet at each other's homes by day to learn new tunes and sharpen up old ones, then join together at a pub for a 2 to 4 hour session every night of the week. There are leaders who are hired by the pubs to keep it at it's best, and they give everyone a chance to lead a set of their favorite tunes. 

One of the Nuns at Shrine, and I forget her name, let John Mills, his uncle Robert Franco, Joe Balarini and I keep our instruments in a maintenance room and would let us practice in the cafeteria after school, all kept secret. We had nowhere else to practice. She helped us become musicians for life, and probably didn't really care for the noise we made. Without her, our playing at the sock-hops would have been pretty sketchy. I'll never forget how kind she was.

Arlene Vachon (Forrester)

Rob, I had no idea John Mills was a musician!  Welcome to the forum!  My husband is a gifted piano player, and I have learned to enjoy all genres. (Jazz is my least favorite due to the lack of melody!) I can't imagine a life without music. 

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Arlene, There is a picture on my profile page of The Group, our Shrine band. John was our sax player as well as back-up guitar and vocalist. He played in a band around the Detroit area called the An-Tiques up until his passing a few years ago. Bob Franco, his uncle is still playing drums in Marin, North of San Francisco.

I don't care much for jazz as it goes right over my head, but did manage to see Macoy Tyner, Amad Jamal Trio, Stan Kenton, Sonny Rollins and more of the greats live and enjoyed them. I also ran monitors for The Buddy Rich Orchestra and Sun Ra at the club I worked at. But I still prefer up-beat danceable music. 

Mike Young

John and I played quite a bit of golf togethr and coached against one another with our sons' little league and soccer teams.  He loved playing music and said that the An-tiques pursued it avidly.  John said that, while they were very good, they were just short of being able to make a living at it.  (Of course, as an attorney, he did quite well anyway.)  He shared a moment with me about playing when just out of high school with "the band" (His brother, Emmett, I believe, played with them.) saying the most exciting moment came when they played "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" at an all black club in Detroit and brought the house down.  They were very hesistant to play that number at that venue, but it was one of their favorites so.......  They did play into their 60's all around the Detroit area and were more than popular, rarely having many weekends off, usually at their own choice.

Rob, I do feel as though I'm back down the rabbit hole as I haven't heard the word "arpegio" since watching Disney's "Aristocats" many moons ago.  I foolishly thought that glisandos  (Didn't know the word but I'd seen them executed.) were only for pianos and/or harps, but I should have known better, as any musician would be able to adapt a variety of moves to their own instruments.  I do appreciate your slowing to a crawl in leading me to expand my knowledge and appreciation of the music world.  I couldn't imagine a better "job" for an Irish musician than being paid to go to a pub and playing their music.  An Irishman getting paid to go to the pub.  It sounds like you've found the perfect spot for you, Rob, playing with your contemporaries and expanding your own knowledge.  Just to be sure - If music were a pizza, the melody would be the cheese, mushrooms and pepperoni, the harmony, and anchovies the disonance??  (Depending on one's taste or lack thereof.)  Thanks, again, Rob.

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Mike,

Musical Pizza? The drums and bass would be the dough, rhythm guitar the sauce, piano the cheeze, lead guitar the pepperoni, sax and trumpet and trombone the ham and bacon and bell peppers, the cymbals the onions. The DJ scratcher would be the anchovies. Or something like that. Hah!

I added some pictures to my profile. Haven't figured out how to upload them on this page yet. 

Janet Flick (Stickel)

Rob,

I just looked at the photos you have posted on your profile.  They are WONDERFUL!   I urge everone to look at them.  So nostalgic - especially the one of "The Thunderbolts" in the Shrine gym.

It must have been Sister Moira who let you store your instruments in the closet.  

Mary Jo Vander Plas (Huntington)

Time to put aside my WWII novels and just enjoy all the knowledge/memories are sharing!

Arlene, John Mills attended a few of our 50th reunion planning meetings, he did consider playing at our 50th. 

Besides some talented Musicians in our Class of '63 I think Mike Young could be a writer, love his posts and all 

who join our forum. Agree with Janet, enjoyed the new pics submitted by Bob/Robert? Radofski. 

Sure makes for some happy memories during this Pandemic!

Another rememberance, it was John's idea to make a call out list for the reunion, I think we might try that again for the 50+8.

ps forgive the double spacing 

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Found a couple more photos, one of Tom Hughes on top of Half Dome. John Mills brother Emmitt. Me at work (play). 

A few year ago I added my mother's maiden name at the end legally. I go by Rob Sullivan now. Much easier to spell.

Judy Schoen (Grewe)

Such great banter to follow! And music makes everything better! I actually have a Vega Long neck banjo! It belonged to my first husband, who played guitar, 12 string Martin, piano and banjo! Like the name adjust , Rob, it's only Irishly fitting "Sullivan".  All my life I was under the belief I was French -German until I did my DNA , it came back 70% Irish , all the St Pat's I pouted!!

Mike Young

Janet, I think that we all agree with you - Rob's pictures are terrific and do bring back a flood of memories.  Sister Moira is someone who would let the guys practice and stash their instruments.  I agree with Judy, too, "Sullivan" fits you well, Rob.  That's quite a pizza you've put together and it certainly elicits some smiles.  Have you ever seen a Theremin in action?  I understand that Ireland is one of the few countries in the world who has them.  Rob, I'm asking you because you are the musical guru and your explanations have given me insights that would never have crossed my mind otherwise.  I appreciate that you so readily share your knowledge and express it so clearly even to us neophites.    Judy, lassie, so in a couple of weeks you'll be "wearin' the green" proudly.   It'll look good on you.  Mary Jo, it is so good to have you join the discussions.  Thanks for the compliment, too - put a smile on my face to be sure.  Great idea to have a call list, glad you remembered it.  Reminds me of the group discussion we had over dinner, sharing "a glass" and lots of ideas.  That was another good time.  And we don't care whether or not you double space, just visit more often.  We hope to see you and Bill this August.  WEe hope to see a lot of the faces we missed last year and a whole lot more.  This year, with the "pandemic" declining, let's have a big turnout.  Merry Unbirthday to everyone.  

Robert Radofski (Sullivan)

Mike, thanks, I like to pass on the smiles. And Judy, have you learned how to play the banjo? Is it a Pete Seger model, real long neck? I play with a fellow here that plays a Gold Tone long-neck 5 string tuned to learn Bluegrass, and somehow taught himself how to play Irish on it without re-tuning. Here's a YouTube link to Mary Shannon on Banjo, her sister Sharron on fiddle, and my neighbor Owen O'Niel on bouzouki. I played in sessions with Mary every Thursday for a year.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW2nGChx0ng  Here's Mary with Sharon on Button Accordion and Alec Finn on Greek Bouzouki (He just passed 2 years ago, the first to make the instrument popular in Ireland) The tune is one of my favorites: "The Gold Ring" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBJzB9rA5mk

Mary Ann Shirk (Hribar)

This mewspaper clipping is in bad shape, but I came across it in a box. I loved cheerleading!

Mike Young

Mary Ann, great photo!!  Look at those wonderful smiles!!  And, as we'd say on the courts - "You ladies got some HOPS!!"  Merry Unbirthday everyone.  Mary Ann, did you ever get a puppy?

Mary Ann Shirk (Hribar)

'No, Mike. I never got that puppy. I keeping looking at rescue sites, but after reading all the cautions in their stories, I'm not sure I would be a good candidate to adopt. I babysit young grandchildren. I have a cat.I don't have a fenced in yard. And I am not an experienced handler.  Maybe someday it will seem right.
This grieving process is still tough for me.  I am now in the guilt phase. In Bob's confused state his last few years, he would often tell me all the things I did that bothered him. He made me feel like I was a terrible partner. I know it was all Lewy Body Dementia, but it was hard to have that face I loved telling me those things. I'm sure time will heal.