The Most Wonderful Musical Gift and Our Fiddle Concert

When Phoebe called three and a half years ago and said they were coming to Purdue for grad school, the first thing that popped into my head was that we can fiddle again. She and I had been in an Irish Folk Dance class for a summer term in 2012 so we had something to go on. Playing together again was the most wonderful musical gift I have ever been given.

The first time we played together in Indiana, Emily and Arthur were 2.5/almost 3, Lucy was 4 months old and I was very pregnant. I’m pretty sure the two oldest played with a recent music table find from goodwill and Lucy laid on our floor. It was a bit awkward as we tried to figure out where to start and what to play. That awkwardness quickly disappeared though when we realized we can both arrange by ear and magic happens.

We’ve added three more children to the mix since our first jam session. With each season of pregnancy and new baby the amount of our playing ebbed and flowed. One of the greatest blessings of being neighbors was the ability to have an impromptu fiddle session. We’ve played inside with lots of fun, dancing, chaos, screaming, dinner prepping, nursing babies, nap times, book reading, mommy-daddy-kid-baby, dressing up, crying, and eating. It was as crazy as expected, and some of my most cherished times. Phoebe became my sister through the shared experience of playing soul-lifting music and navigating grad-school life with a young family.

When it got too exciting, we went outside so the kids could run up-downs, chase balls, or play in the water. One day, after we finished playing a particularly rousing number we heard clapping and discovered the upstairs neighbor watching us.

And there has to be a mention about what it really took to get to each others homes. Fall, winter or spring we had lots of hats, coats, gloves, boots, strollers, bouncy chairs (for newborns) plus instruments to transport from one apartment to other other. We tried baby carriers or shuttling in two trips or balancing on strollers. In the summer sometimes we all arrived barefoot. I will forever love this era of life.

As it came to a close we were determined to have a concert to share all the songs we’ve arranged and come to love. We chose Phoebe’s new backyard and invited lots of friends and family. Andrew’s parents were in town and my family drove out since it’s been over a decade since they’ve seen me perform anything.

It was a huge success. We played well even with our children sneaking out of the audience and hanging on our legs – a testament to the hours and hours that we practiced that way. We were grateful for all those that came to support us and share in our music. I was thrilled to be able to formally play all of our music all the way through (that never happened with six children, and only occasionally with fewer numbers). The week of the concert we got together in the evenings a few times to practice and we wondered why we hadn’t been doing that all along (then we remembered).

The line-up: Angela the Baker, Old Joe Clark, Irish Washerwomen, Ashokan Farewell, Elzics Farewell, Mouth of the Tobique, Orange Blossom Special, The Creeks (Cripple Creek and Salt Creek), and Orphan Girl/Will the Circle Be Unbroken.

We had our kids come up and dance for our second number, Old Joe Clark. They wanted to be part of the concert and we wanted to have a moment of performing with them.

We did a little teaching moment about jamming, dicussing the different ways fiddles play back-up and also how to know when to stop and start. We had a little audience participation for an impromptu jam session.
We didn’t even flinch! Proof almost all of our practicing has included some form of this. We decided last minute to pull out one of the songs we played 7 years ago, but unlike all of the other songs that we’ve arranged by ear and are memorized, this one absolutely had us looking at the music. For our very last song we had all of the kids come up and play instruments and dance. Even Laura was getting excited about the music. Andrew’s and my parents and sister! It was really fun to be able to share this experience with them.