strathspey@strathspey.org:11853

Ron.Mackey

Re: Dancing to pipes - or not!

April 29, 1998, 2:29 a.m. (Message 11853, in reply to message 11828)

Hi,
Michelle writes
> 
> 	One may not be able to consciously reproduce an effect that is
> normally taken care of by involuntary processes.  A person who has no
> sense of rhythm might normally walk rhythmically, but if you ask him to
> deliberately walk to a particular rhythm, whether internal or from an
> external source, they won't be able to do it.  It seems to be a matter of
> a) hearing or imagining a particular rhythm, and b) translating that
> rhythm to consistent, matching physical action.  

It must be the same in singing.  
We (when very young  -- 20's?)  used to go Carol singing before 
Christmas and one night we were out in the snow - it used to snow 
before Christmasin those days.
  One of our number was a charming Irish lad called Tommy Caffrey 
(now why should I remember that so easily?!) who couldn't sing two 
notes in tune. One night, walking home as a group, we stopped 
chatting because Tommy was singing, to himself, in perfect tune. 
There was silence until he had finished and then we all burst into 
incredulous laughter because what he had sung in tune were the words 
of a completely different carol! He never managed to sing in tune 
again!
Cheers,  Ron   :)

 < 0   Ron Mackey, 
  'O>  Mottingham, 
  /#\  London. UK.
   l>