Music has always been a very important part of my life. It has influenced my choices, my thoughts, and my very nature.

I grew up appreciating the great classical works, along with all of those great light classical hits on the radio. To be honest, I really wasn't aware of the fact that the Beatles wrote words to go with their music until the early '80s - all I had ever heard was their stuff as performed by various instrumental artists.

My parents had interesting musical tastes, and they certainly passed 'em on to me. I cut my teeth on records by Dave Brubeck, the Chad Mitchell Trio, the Boston Pops (before that twit John Williams took over), the Goon Show, and early Moog music. While my friends were going ga-ga over Queen's News of the World album, I was seriously into my copy of Tomita's Pictures at an Exhibition.

When I wasn't practicing Bach and Mozart, I listened to 'screaming psychedelia' courtesy of a Buffalo-based late-night DJ, punk, metal, easy listening stuff, reggae... basically anything I could get my ears near. I appreciated all kinds of music, live and recorded, and still do.

This section is supposed to be about my musicanship, not my life-long love affair with music, but it's nearly impossible to separate the two things. You can't be a musician without appreciating all sorts of music, in my opinion. Now that I have said that, I can go on to talk about my own accomplishments.

learning

I started piano when I was 5 years old, and quit after less than two years because it bored me, and practice time was interrupting my schoolwork. Yeah, I know I was weird. I started 'cello at age 9, and taught myself the double bass two years later.

During high school, I added oboe, bassoon, percussion, and rudimentary trombone (even though I couldn't, and still can't, buzz worth a damn) to the list. I had a guaranteed double bass scholarship for one of the best university music programs in Canada, but had to turn it down because of on-going carpal tunnel problems. I wonder sometimes how life would have been if I had risked the surgery.

I achieved Grade 8 certification in both 'cello and double bass with the Royal Conservatory of Music, and got a Grade 2 in Musical Theory. I hated theory, and still do. I would have had to take more theory exams to move forward in my instrument certifications, so that was that. The music I wrote tended to be a little "grammatically incorrect", even though it sounded great - I just didn't want to follow the occasional rule that I didn't like.

teaching

I spent one teenage summer teaching 'cello and bass at a music camp in St. Catharines. Technically, I was an apprentice, but since there were no large strings teachers for me to be an apprentice to, I ended up teaching. The students liked me because I thought the same way they did. We had fun, but they all improved by the end of the various sessions. Afterwards, I vowed to never teach small children again.

When not teaching, refereeing, or fixing broken instruments, all of the apprentices went out and did concerts in local cafés and nursing homes, We performed various duets, trios, quartets, and the occasional solo, and sang songs of the 70's in four-part harmony, accompanied by a piano that was more often than not badly in need of a tuning. I don't believe that any of us are able to listen to Simon and Garfunkel with a straight face now.

I took on a couple of younger 'cello students, to help them prepare for their upcoming conservatory exams, but for a short period of time only. I wasn't prepared to set myself up as an independent teacher, since I felt that I had far too much to learn still, but I did assist my own teachers with some of their work.

I would love to get back to teaching someday, but at the moment it is just plain impractical for me. Perhaps when I get older, I can retire and take on a few students as a hobby.

performing

I wasn't big on the soloist thing; I preferred groups. I was a member of the Niagara Youth Orchestra during my 5 high school years. I auditioned on 'cello, and played exactly one concert sitting down. From then on, I played bass, and was principal bass for my last three years. I miss the orchestra days - musicians are a strange lot and I fit in perfectly. The only times my introverted tendencies went right out the window were when I was with a group of musicians. Come to think of it, that's still the case now!

While still a teenager, I also played in a music club with a bunch of amateur adults - some who have been dabbling off and on for decades, some who didn't want to play their main instrument but explore other possibilities, and others who had retired from the active orchestra circuit but still wanted to play. I learned a lot about life, music, and people from that group. In fact, I got to play in the same orchestra as my own teachers. One weird thing happened - one of the board of education's brass teachers played bass in this group. He was having a tough time figuring out how to finger a tricky passage in Schubert's The Trout, and I showed him a simple way to do it. I was later told that this guy headed home after the rehearsal in tears and took an axe to his bass. Although I have no direct evidence for or against this information, I do know that the following week he showed up for practice with a trumpet, I haven't seen the bass since, and he can't look me in the eye. Creepy.

I was also part of a small chamber orchestra that played at weddings, art gallery openings, receptions, and accompanied the occasional primary school recital. You certainly learn some interesting things whenever groups of people get together! Playing classical music outside presents an interesting set of challenges. You have to hold the music down with clothespegs if it's windy, and, to quote my favourite teacher, remember to "never play the notes that move" if there are insects about. I also discovered that if you play with your cello's peg on top of a tree root, most of the sound goes into the tree, not out where people can hear it. Oops.

I still play 'cello on occasion, and would like to get back to playing chamber music with a group of like-minded people at some point in the future.

Copyright © 2002 by Barbara Anne Richardson. All rights reserved. Send comments here.