Re: caterwauling

["G." <gigs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

- - --- JIM SHORT <jimshort@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Sorry for the lack of
> political/religious/ethnocentric/patriotic/sexual
> content...
>
> I find it hard to practice at home. Why?, you might
> ask? Is it the acoustics? Do you not have enough time?
> Does your wife object? There are objections, but not
> from my wife. My cat, it seems, is a music critic.
> Every time I start playing, even a single note, he
> comes in to the room with this complaining "mow! mow!
> mow!" and claws at the harp until I stop.
>
> Not particularly good for a budding player's ego.
>
> jim
> feline the blues

Hi Jim :o)
  I like two quotes, one of which was the signature of a harp-l member:
"There are 2 means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."
- - Albert Schweitzer
 and
"If you think you're in control, try giving orders to your cat." - Unknown.

For a long time whenever I practised harmonica the resident cat (and I've
had a few: flatmate's cat, neighbour's cat whos made herself at home,
girlfriends cat, stray I've been lucky to have move in) would keep meowing
and come and sit on my lap to make me stop, stroke against my leg, or run
out the door.   It was the same when I first started learning sax, although
Smokey doesn't run, he just saunters out with dignity.
  I was quite jealous of a friend who's been playing harmonica for a lot
longer, and much better than I - when he played Smokey would happily sit
right next to him - as soon as I started, out the door he'd go - doesn't
that tell ya something!  :)
  I know I've improved a lot, because now Smokey just pricks his ears up and
then settles back down to sleep, or watch... be it sax or harp.  Even my
neighbours encourage me to play more often which is a pleasant thing to
happen.

What still gets Smokey meowing is tuning harmonicas, by definition as I'm
retuning, the reeds are out of tune, and I'm only playing sustained notes,
double stops and chords, when I get into the upper registers he comes over
persistantly meowing and stroking against my leg, if I can't get him to go
outside or sit quietly in the other room: I'll put him in the kitchen with
food, a bowl of water, his favourite chair, kitty litter and close the door
& window - I make sure that he feels wanted and that he's not being punished
by treating him in a warm comforting way when doing it, and spend a bit of
time with him after.  The kitchen is the only place I can do this because
all the other rooms have sliding doors he can open.

When I had a girlfriend and/or neighbours who didn't like my playing, there
was little I could do about it, when I had a car or motorbike I'd just drive
to somewhere remote where I couldn't bother anyone and practice there - much
simpler and comfortable to do in a car though, especially in winter - but a
warm summers day was a good excuse to take the bike.  Not an option now.

When I go for my daily walk, I always take a harmonica with me and practise
things which are boring and repetitive, it makes the time fly by, I get a
solid session of practising in, and the steep hill climb that makes up half
the walk isn't as much as a challenge as it was because I just focus on
vamping and train rhythms when I start puffing, excellent for breath control
and practising playing when you're stuffed!  :)

With sax (read loud practice) if I'm practising something I'm not good at, I
hide myself in the little boys room, close the door - that way the
neighbours know to stay away from that end of the house, and I can play more
quietly and hear myself properly.  The same would be good if your practising
annoys people or animals around you.

Its also fantastic having a rig that I can use with headphones - much better
than having the amp and full blast to work on things as you would playing
live at a venue.
- -- G.