You often hear about crazy multi tasking. Well I came home today and found my son playing the bassoon while frying up some falafel! He had just gotten a new shoulder harness for the instrument and was trying it out. I really wanted to take a picture but I respected his request that I not do so.
What is the craziest musical multitasking you have ever come across?
There was a picture someone posted a couple years ago of a guy playing his trumpet while driving.
Hakan had some videos where he played and fried up some steaks. (I think he should have stuck with it. With his playing AND a clever gimmick he could have taken over YouTube.)
The old drum on the back one man banders certainly multitasked, but that was at least all music.
The grilling and playing is what my son was doing. I have to say that the bassoon cut a much more striking image that the harmonica does in the same situation. I am only assuming Hakan was playing a harp, it could have been a tuba or a bari sax from what you wrote.
I keep a trumpet in my car, but I only play it when I am parked. Trumpet can be played with one hand and I have been tempted to grab it at a stoplight, but so far I have resisted.
Danny...did it. When I first started playing, my kids got me a rack to use for my commute. I used it for a while on the drive, then went to one hand playing. But I gave up routine practice in the car. Too distracting for me. It got some looks, tho. ---------- Phil Pennington
I listened to a clip of an interview with Howard Levy where he admitted to playing one handed in the car.
I pulled up at an intersection the other day and the guy in the car next to me was playing one handed. I would have let him have it about this unsafe practice if I hadn't been doing the same thing!
I have found that walking while playing harp can really help with rhythm.
Oh, I still play in the car occasionally. Highway and stoplights some of the time. Just found that in heavy rush hour traffic, neither my driving nor my harping was very good. No problems with anyone else doing it. Whatever floats your boat.... ---------- Phil Pennington
I know a guy who plays small keyboard one hand, harp one hand and drives on the highway with knees. Has lived thru this for quite a few years, but of course luck can run out anytime.
I hope I don't get chastised for admitting this but I don't see what the big deal is with playing while driving. I guess a huge part of the equation is the type of driving (and playing).
I do not consider some playing much different than whistling or singing... I play by ear and a lot of what I play just comes naturally (like singing or whistling).
I do quite a bit of simple driving on back roads with very little traffic, animals, or other potential hazards. The road to my house is about a mile on a gravel road at about 5 to 10 MPH then a thousand foot driveway.
Under these conditions I feel very safe driving while playing so long as I'm focused on my driving and not on my playing. I feel a lot safer than the hundreds of times I driven code 3 through all types traffic conditions and mental stress, while talking on a radio... and trying to memorize suspect descriptions, read license plates...
Yes, I have also played some trumpet while driving. I used to stick shift using the bell. I started playing horn in forth grade so it honestly felt like part of my arm.
The oddest (or craziest) I guess was taking my trumpet on more than one flight with my hang glider, while in a swing-seat harness (not prone). It seemed logical at the time because I was just combining things that I loved doing (I was in my 20's).
I do plan on packing an old stainless harp during this spring/summer surf sessions (when the waves get a bit smaller). I just haven't got around to that yet. I think it will be a great pass time while waiting for the next good set of waves. Plus I can't wait to hear what the harp sounds like in the tube. I have a POV camera with audio so maybe I'll post a clip of "Pipeline" someday.
dchurch, if you are not supposed to play trumpet while driving, why did they put that little trumpet symbol on the steering wheel?
I really like the idea of the trumpet and the hang glider. I can just imagine someone on the ground wondering where the music is coming from, then looking up to see a winged trumpeter!
Have you tried the Allora ABS plastic trumpet? It plays well for what it is and it is really light and easy to pack or carry. Costs less than a custom harp.
Last Edited by STME58 on Feb 27, 2016 6:41 PM
My understanding from what I've seen on studies about distracted driving is that it's one of those things where you don't really realize how distracted you are, because you are distracted. The same goes for hands free cell phone use, drinking coffee or eating a big mac. (I've disciplined myself to stop eating in the car after seeing some of the studies. It was hard, and I still will allow myself a sip of a soda at a stop light.
That said, I still probably end up distracted. I used to play a game in my head where I was a star fighter. I couldn't shoot through a double yellow line, but could shoot other cars through a dotted line. If it was solid on one side the car that still was allowed to pass could shoot but the other car couldn't. And I'd keep score.
Actually, I had a teacher once who said that at one point the local bus company was hiring temp drivers and he and a bunch of other teachers out on summer break decided to apply. They wouldn't hire them; they were afraid that 'smart' people would get distracted too easily by daydreaming. (I think they later amended the policy) Ooo... a squirrel...
I have a trumpet here too, but it's not great for apartment playing and it hurts my chipped tooth. It's the only thing that bothers my tooth, and I've been told there is something I can put in my mouth to protect it, but I never remember when I'm at the dentist.
(a) A motor vehicle, when operated upon a highway, shall be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than 200 feet, but no horn shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound.
I believe a trumpet meets this requirement, as long as you do not play it unreasonably harshly. :-)
@STME58..That is a brilliant application of logic. Feel free to toot your own horn over that one. Although, it might be a good idea to keep a laminated copy of that section of the law in your glove box. So if you get pulled over for playing while driving, just show the officer the card and off you go.
I play harp while driving too. No harm in it. When traffic approaches I'll stop playing till they pass. And I only play when in the Jeep by myself. I tried it once with my wife along for a ride. She didn't really cotton to it.
Edited forctypos. ----------
I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
Last Edited by 2chops on Feb 27, 2016 8:01 PM
Bummer about the chipped tooth. I got one of those in Junior High, a front tooth too. My dentist just rounded the sharp edge. It messed up my embouchure for a while but I just kept playing.
I have not heard of the plastic trumpet but I do own a "pocket trumpet". It's pretty darn cute and convenient. It plays okay, but not great. I don't play trumpet while driving any more because the harp is much better for that. I also have a Hohner Puck that I play completely hands free.
I love the vehicle code paragraph, except the wording "unreasonably loud or harsh sound" would be pretty tough to articulate :/ I mean, are we going to reproduce the sound in court for the judge to listen to? And what about the ambient sound levels at the time of the alleged offense, or surfaces that reflect the sound at the original location of the offending horn... CA should really consider changing these to more measurable facts like maximum decibels, and a range of acceptable pitch. I've heard some harsh horns coming from the new tiny cars. Beep-beep :^(
I agree that the use of the trumpet as a horn could be well defended. After all (a) states "shall be equipped" it doesn't state that the horn has to be attached to or part of the vehicle. If I do anymore horn playing while driving I'll be sure to keep it in "good working order" by oiling the valves...
I admit that playing harp could be distracting but so could a thousand other things like fiddling with the radio, stressing about traffic, and how about the crazy shoes some folks are wearing these days...
Stay focused on your driving and watch out for the guy in the oncoming lane playing bagpipes.
Dave ---------- It's about time I got around to this.
I have seen the "pocket" trumpets, more like a satchel trumpet, but cute. There is a musician who sometimes shows up at a local blues jam with one. The next instrument I have my eye on is the slide trumpet available from Sam Ash for $200. As a trombone player learning trumpet I think it would be pretty cool. You still can't beat the harp for portability though.
Last Edited by STME58 on Feb 27, 2016 10:17 PM
Not as useful for a trombone player, but the fingering for a trumpet and a baritone are nearly identical as long as you ignore the clef symbol- that is, the open fingering ends up being on the same line in the bass and treble clef respectively for the two instruments. Learning the trumpet requires much more lip muscle though. If I was a music director I'd start everyone on trumpet and then switch a couple people down. (Actually, come to think of it, they did switch my friend down from trumpet.)
I have been playing the trumpet for about a year now and I find it is really helping me with the high register on the trombone. I have read that this is not the case with all brass players.
I am leading a group of young musicians in what may become a boy scout band. I was teaching them how to play a melody without music, and I noticed one trumpet player was doing very well. I commented on it and he told me that his dad played trombone and he had memorized the fingerings that matched the slide positions so he could tell what fingering to use by watching where I put my slide. I thought that was quite clever for a middle school kid! I am considering getting at the musicians to get harmonicas. I was never able to hear a tune then play it on a trombone until after I learned to play the harp. I think a diatonic instrument teaches things in ways that a chromatic instrument does not.
Another good harp multi task is playing while mowing the field. There's just something about running the tractor and playing that works for me. The mood feels right, again like driving on a lonely back road.
It's cool how well you can hear the music over all the noise. It only works while wearing hearing protection.
The bummer is I always end up with a stuck reed or two at the end of the day from the dust... I've noticed that 9 times out of 10 it's the draw reeds that clog up. So I try to improv with blow notes, especially when the wind is at my back. :)
I understand some folks wouldn't approve of these kind of playing conditions. No offence taken.
On a less controversial note I've played a lot while waiting for the fish to start biting. zzz
Dave ---------- It's about time I got around to this.
dchurrh, Facilitating that you can hear the harp over noise while wearing hearing protection. I suspect the sound is traveling through you jaw bone and you can hear it when you block the normal air path of the sound to the eardrum.
In the fishing, what key harp and what type of music seems to attract more fish?
Similar to the hearing protection, I once had something that we called an ear-mic. It was made from a mold of my ear canal. It was connected to a two way radio and worked as both the microphone and speaker. Talking through my ear seemed bizarre until I found out how well it work.
For fish calling I find the best key depends on the conditions. For example, when I'm stream fishing for pan size trout using my 3 weight bamboo fly rod I reach for a high E or F harp. But if it's dusk and I'm pitching a Jitter-Bug for lunker Large Mouth bass then a LLF is the perfect harp. Play it slow, quiet and deep, like the echos of the distant bull frogs.
Don't be to quick to give away the secret because we don't want our favorite spots fished out ;) Dave
dchurch; "Talking through my ear seemed bizarre until I found out how well it work." That is far less bizarre than what some people talk though ;-).
The whole structure of the head and how hearing works is fascinating. One technique I use for diagnosing noises in mechanisms it to put the blade of a screwdriver on the mechanism and put the handle of the screwdriver on the bone just in front of my ear. I can then move the screwdriver tip around on the mechanism and quickly pinpoint the source of the noise. Sure a mechanics stethoscope works better for this, but a screwdriver is usually easier to find.
Just curious, have you ever fly fished from a hang glider while playing an instrument?
I played along with 8-tracks & passengers on both flute & harp while driving on long stretches of straight and uncrowded highways through states like Nebraska, Nevada & New Mexico, etc. If any traffic came into the picture I could play the flute one-hand with a limited choice of notes. This is one of many things I would not try again.
I've used that screwdriver trick for years to troubleshoot engines. Saw a neighbor do it when I was a nipper but it took me a long while to need it and then a bit more time to figure out that it was a skull thing and not primarily an ear thing. Excellent way to pinpoint problems if you have a low budget.
VW wagon perhaps? 8-tracks were a real wonder. I think my first was Chicago. But I thanked god when cassettes came along. By then most of my 8-tracks were all bound up or worn out. I suppose there was some good blues harp on 8-track back then but I didn't have any.
And there's nothing like a road trip. My wife just retired and we kicked it off with a month long coast-to-coast drive in the gas hogging SUV. We stayed off of every inch of interstate possible and tried to only fill up at small town mom and pop stations...
I haven't used the screwdriver/broomstick... stethoscope for years. It's sad because I actually have some fond memories of keeping my rigs running. One of my favorites was a 1970 International Pickup. I put almost 400k on that corn-binder before the rust got it. I don't even change my own oil any more. :(
It looks like Adam is holding onto a classic truck. :)
