Hi,

I am one of the old ladies on this forum :-). Anyway, it doesn't matter if you are in your 20s, as I suppose that isn't really young either.

I have taken on some new things here and there very seriously. Karate, saltwater fish tanks, dog activities (agility, etc).

Anyway, I have been interested in playing the recorder. I got a very cheap recorder and a teach yourself book and funny thing, we had a recorder orchestra play at church today. (One of the members of the orchestra belongs to the church, and they practice there.)
Anyway, I asked her about it. She said she would love to give me lessons (free) so I wouldn't end up picking up bad habits. She also says the alto recorder is easier and will loan me one. :-) I think it will be nice to do instead of so much tv.


--des

TV sucks !!

Music is life !!

flow....

I remember playing the recorder in middle school. Our teacher must have been a Beatles fan because I remember learning "Eleanor Rigby" and "Michelle My Belle."

Good grief, that was 24 years ago! Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

Oh, puhleaze! Aren't they calling the 40's the "new 20's" now?

Anyway, you're far more open-minded than most of the 20 and 30 year old "whipper snappers" I know anyway. The only age that really counts is in your head.

Seriously though, I think any effort to replace the mindless chatterbox with activities that really flex the brain, will pay off big dividends both now and later in life. My grandmother, for example, turned 84 this year, and still reads voraciously on all kinds of different topics, gets involved in local activities, takes classes, was active in the affairs of the local library for many years, etc. She still has an open mind about issues in society, culture, politics, and religion, long after everybody else on either side of my family has turned into a broken record. (My parents' generation included.)

Aren't grandmas just the greatest kind of people? Almost forty years after my grandmother's death, I still remember her in many ways each day, even though I have the great blessing of still being able to interact with both of my parents each day.

flow....

Fred, I think you misunderstand me on a few things. No, I don't *really* think I am "OLD" whatever that is. I am older than a HS student, but they seem like children-- well given I could have one. ;-) I am also older than many of the posters here (though this is a mature list-- thank goodness, get tired of the "how R U" stuff from the kiddies forum elsewhere.

I work very hard, and find tv relaxing. I do read a lot, etc. but find at the end of a *very* long day and lots of prep work for the next that tv is just relaxing, etc. I was never watching this much but this job seems to take a lot out of me. (I think in some ways it is the system, not the kids.)

Music would be nice. I'm not too musically minded though. Well we'll see. I can play many keys on the soprano recorder.-- though the lower notes are difficult. I got a simple Christmas music book today. (At least I will recognize should I play them right.)
The teacher doesn't want me to develop bad habits that I will need to break later-- so I'll try not to take it too seriously. Yet. I won't buy an alto til I start the lessons.


--des

Maybe I was projecting my mom, who can't even fall asleep without the tender glow of the tube bathing her body in its incandescent glow. But I definitely understand that TV has some positive value.

I commend you for trying to make music lessons work on an adult schedule! It's hard enough to keep up on practicing when you're in junior high and all you have to worry about is your homework and whether Jenny knows that you have a crush on her. We already sing and play the piano to John, and we like to sit him in our lap and let him plunk on the keys. So much fun to watch!

TV is a fine way of letting the brain fry, should you need that sort of thing, which I do. I think teaching is stressful, though I am thinking that working for the public schools is more stressful than teaching elsewhere. There is also more bs. Also my hours start EARLY!


Of course, one thing about picking something up at my age is that I don't really care if mom thinks I do well and I only need to do it if I want to.

I am hoping I won't be picking up too many bad habits, my teacher was very clear on this! She stated that her ideal student would be one who can read music (me) and who has no bad habits to break. But I can hardly just sit and let it stare at me. I am thinking I might get the alto one anyway. After all, she has worked with people who have had YEARS of bad habits to break. All I will have is a few weeks. :-)
My biggest challenge at the moment is hitting middle C. Yikes this is hard.


--des

Hey I can now play about 3 carols (other songs) without hitting any sour notes or missing more than one or two notes. So I guess this is progress. :-)

--des

Whoo hoo! By this time next year it will be Mozart!

Hahah! Well or maybe by this time next year (should I continue that long), I will be playing 50 songs without hitting any sour notes. BTW, my alto recorder hasn't come yet....
My sister was rolling her eyes about it, but my best friend said I wasn't so bad. (of course she is my best friend and my sister is, well, my sister). My mom liked it but she has dementia. So I am getting rather mixed reviews. :-)
Also it does sound like a, well, $5 plastic instrument. ;-)

--des

I got my alto recorder, which sounds like a, well $40 plastic instrument. Anyway, I am having a lot of fun learning this. I had my first lesson the other day. I have not (apparently) learned too many bad habits. I think my teacher is pretty fascinating so I am really happy she is volunteering (no charge for the lessons). Even though she is in her 70s, I believe us to be kindred spirits of sorts. It will be interesting, but I think that I have learned more about music in the last few months than I have ever known. But I have gotten into things before and then lost interest in them later. But I am enjoying this while it lasts. ONe thing I had not expected but I find it very relaxing. It is sort of like when I did karate, and all I would think about was karate. So I think about playing this and that is all I am thinking about it, so it has its meditative elements. Anyway, I am already watching less tv.


(I have also discovered Sudoku. YIKES.)

--des

NOW I am impressed! I'm challenged by the little game where you have to move one peg all around the board, jumping over other pegs in such an order that you finally only end up with the one peg.

I can never do that two times in a row. I'm pretty sure (but not absolutely) I've done it once. It is all random for me. In one of my classes we had a maze we had to do (too hard to describe). You do it 10 times. In theory the number of mistakes you make each time drops. On about number 5 I got it without any mistakes then I made mistakes on 6, 7, 8, got 9 right and made mistakes on 10. *sigh* Most people once they got it they did the rest w/o error. It is the same with that peg game!

Never heard of Sudoku

I haven't played the little peg game since I was 10 or so. I've been thinking about it a lot over the last couple of weeks. I think I'll check and see if Parker Bros makes one or if I can find one on Ebay.

Oh, I hadn't heard of Soduku until recently. Google it and click on the first link. WOW.

Well for those uninitiated Sudoku is a puzzle game played on paper (mostly) and in some newspapers. It has gotten popular very fast and a lot of newspapers have a daily puzzle. It is a numbers puzzle, but doesn't involve math skills (though I am guessing that the ability to visualize mathematically would make it a snap). Basically you have a grid and you have nos filled in for you and you place nos. 1-9 into the grid. (that is pretty rough on the interpretation side). There are good websites teaching you how to do it. There is no "luck factor" and there are skill levels, with easier and very hard puzzles. OTOH, it is very addictive. I find it more addictive than crosswords, etc.

I have a friend who is very turned off by the nos. But there are shape ones and she could do these instantly.

I've thought of what makes games addictive and it is what I will call the "snap factor". IF you have a mildly obsessive type personality (and many people do), you like things "just so". When you can get things exactly right they "snap into place". Sudoku fits the snap thing as there is only one right answer, there are no words that you might not know and you can always find a puzzle easy or hard enough for you, so you can always finish it (if it is in your range of difficulty). So when you get it the numbers snap into place. I think this is the same thing that makes me a jigsaw fan. Other games that might fit in this are Tetris, Breakout, Spider Solitaire ( a little more luck on the later though).

OTOH, I am not too crazy about the peg game (Hi Q was one manufactors name). You might find one of these in a set of games in a thrift store.
I think it is sometimes in sets with checkers, chess, etc. I got one in a set with for something like $2. I pick these up for work for those times when we let the kids play games once in awhile. I think this game might have that snap factor as well, but there are many times that I can't get just one other peg left.



--des

I LOVE Spider Solitaire!

My wife has what I call "puzzle intelligence" -- she looks at incomplete smatterings of data, and just sees the answer. She always kicks my ass on the part of intelligence/IQ tests that involves putting story cards in order, etc. Anyhow, I discovered Sudoku at Border's a couple months ago, and knew she'd get hooked, so I bought her a book of puzzles. It's actually an incredibly cool puzzle, the rules are so simple, but you sort of find yourself deriving higher-level rules and patterns the more you do them. Good brain calisthenics!

Just call me Adrian Monk.

Seriously, because of your saying this and because of what Fred said about Soduku, I think I'll be making a B&N run this weekend for a puzzle book.

Great, just what I need. Like I don't have enough reading to take up my time right now.

Adrian Monk has met his match in me! :-)
don't say I didn't warn you about Sudoku! It is highly addictive though maybe not as bad as Spider Solitaire, that one must be the addictive game of all time. OTOH, there was a game I played many years ago called Wazte. I haven't seen it since, which is just as well for getting anythign at all done in life. It was kind of slower, more glitzy horizontal Tetrisish/ Breakout meld thing. You cleared off some tiles and you got a newer set of brighter more interesting cooler tiles that cleared in a cooler way. Reminds me of a certain Star Trek next gen episode.

But yes, Sukoku is cool, very simple and elegant in a way, as Fred describes. I am doing it more or less on a elimination process but I can sometimes kind of predict what might be where based on some other thinking style (other than deduction).
Good luck.

--des

I've built up a big CD collection over the last 2 years; For me music keeps me peaceful & happy. About a year ago I discovered clisscal musc. I love Vivaldi & Mozart.

I like music, philosophy, chess ect, but I love playing basketball. I play 2 to 3 times a week with young, middle and older guys. I love the mix. The young guys enjoy playing with us as we older gentlemen with them. They can dunk and move so fast, but the older guys can pass and enjoy a good move no matter on what team it is made. Spiritual topics come up and are approached from many different angles just like the game. I really think in our society we need to find more opportunities for the young and the old to compete, intermingle and share ideas together because if we don't we are all missing out. I am going to be 58, but have learned tons from the twenty and thirty year olds.

My sister just came to visit from Baltimore! She discovered sudoku on the plane and my husband found a website with tons of puzzles at various levels. I'm totally addicted!

Heeehehe. Well I'm not as addicted to suduko as I was. However, I now play the recorder over a half hour each night. I am also learning how to play the Native American flute, which is just a gorgeous instrument. However, I sliced my left thumb with a knife last night. I sure need my thumb for the recorder, but can prob. play the NA flute tonight. The cut isn't so serious but it smarts (wasn't smart but smarts :-)).

--des

Well this week, I'm going to take my first steppers class. Stepping is a form of partner dancing that's popular here in Chicago. To finally learn to dance at age 54 will be a challenge.


MOW

MOW:
From what I've read here over the past year, you are an accomplished musician, and rhythm will come naturally to you on the dance floor. Just gaze into her eyes, smile, and move your feet without thinking about it too much. The rest will probably happen automatically. Let us know how it turns out.

flow....

I decided, a couple of years ago, to take up the accordion. *gasp*

Now all my fundie friends are really convinced that I have "left the faith".

Seriously, though, I started playing around with one in the mid-70's (we couldn't afford a real piano) and I enjoyed it then. It was alot of fun to play because you could do melody, chords, bass, and rhythm all at the same time. Kinda. I played it as a teenager on our church's bus routes to keep the kids occupied during the long drives. But I set it down in my later teens and moved to playing keyboards.

Now I'm in my late 40's and thought I would try to pick this up again and take it seriously as a musical instrument. Besides, it is a well-known fact (thanks to Gary Larson) that those in hell will play accordions instead of harps. Just preparing for my future.

Anyway, I have a couple of them now and am thoroughly enjoying the music and the subculture that surround this instrument. And, surprisingly, it is the older generation that scoffs at it and considers it passe. The younger generation loves it!

wayfarer

Steppers class was fun, and I've started to get the hang of it. Next week we're going to be working on more involved moves. The class is two hours and and I did feel it the next morning.


MOW