Carilloneuse
A lovely surprise in the OM mailbox today: a note from Jonathan Bellman relating his experience with the carillon. As stated in the About page, Miss Mussel is a bit of a carilloneuse herself although nowhere near what one would call accomplished.
This was the most entertaining bit of Jonathan’s post:
Does Norm know how to play a twelve-bar blues? No. So I write one up: swung-rhythm C-G, C-A, C-B-flat, C-A…twice on C, once on F, once on C, once on G, once on F, twice on C. Repeat 432 times and fade, as pop sheet music has it. Meanwhile, I’m trying to do blues licks and so on on the high chimes, flapping around the clavier like a maniac. With follow-through you can move around pretty quickly and not hurt yourself (or not hurt yourself much). I really have no idea what it sounded like other than that we kept the beat and progression and that there is no instrument less suited to da blooz than a carillon.
Mischieveous persons such as Miss Mussel occasionally find the lure of the carillon overwhelming. It is the perfect vehicle for pranks, offering the lethal combination of anonymity and maximum coverage.
While searching for appropriate carillon music, Miss Mussel came across the delightfully inappropriate “Hockey Night In Canada” theme music. For those that do not call the Great White North home, this is Canada’s unofficial anthem and is heard every Saturday before the CBC hockey broadcast. It is particularly popular because it doesn’t have any words to forget and da da da da daaaah is inherently bilingual thus eliminating the need to sing half in each official language.
The chances of Miss Mussel succumbing to the pressure and making her own Hockey Night In Canada broadcast at some point in the near future are good but for now, she is happy to stick to Satie and the Bach cello suites.
Since her music training did not include organ lessons, Miss Mussel’s foot technique leaves something to be desired. Essentially, her feet dangle uselessly from the bench, employed only for the occasional pedal note or very slow cadence. Miss Mussel discovered this instrument in May and continues to live in hope that one day, she may be able to achieve this:
