Old radio again
We went to the city last night for a get together with old friends. Went well. On the way there and back we were listening to old radio. Fitting I guess. This was music from before I was born. From around the time of the Second World War. And surprisingly I recognized a lot of the music because it was pieces that I had played while in stage band half a century ago. Back then these were seen as slightly older music rather than music from before the dawn of time. No electric guitars were heard. However trumpets with mutes were all the rage. Different mutes. Even I had a small collection years ago which I think are now living with my son. We never had a mute for any tuba although I suppose exist but for trump it’s lots. Different shapes and sizes. Above all different tonalities. If you have spent anytime around wind players you begin to recognize the nuances involved. Yes there was an old plunger belt somewheres in the toolbox but usually these were known as stone mutes. Something to do with the company involved I think. And we did not abuse him because if we broke one it could be a while before we found a replacement. Our musical output would be altered. I have seen mutes for other instruments. I think there is one on the violin. Nothing on the flute though. And for drums we just had pieces of carpet that you can lay on top to alter the tone. State-of-the-art for people on the student budget. Getting back to the radio show it was fun. I cannot claim to recognize every piece of music but a lot of them were things that I had heard back in the day as they say. By the time we get home we were ready to sleep. Too much virtual dancing. And of course the fog along the road meant that there was not much to see outside. Search strange weather. The sump pump ran all night and into today. Our snow cover is just a memory although I’m sure that will change all too soon. It is the end of another year and if I want I can celebrate it by dancing around the room remembering old music. Which I won’t because I am also too old for such shenanigans. Reminder to self learn the origins of that word.
