Neighbourhood Folk - Concept - 2024 08 22

 



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When I Grow Too Old to Dream - 2023 11 12

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  Two years ago Mom moved in with me after forty years in mental health group housing due to the impact of her schizophrenia. She turned 91 on the day she moved in. She immediately suffered a serious health decline and we were put on the palliative care registry. This month Mom celebrated her 93rd birthday. She is a frail elder. Often when she has energy, she is singing in her room. This is a song she has been singing since she moved in. It was only recently I finally asked where the song came from. It turns out Aunti Ivy, Mom's oldest sister, used to play this song on the piano. The family used to gather around and sing together from her songbook. This was one of those songs.  Aunti Ivy is gone now. She was 11 years old when Mom was born. Mom must have been a little girl when this song was sung and she memorized the words. This week we have finally identified the song and it is going to be added to our songbook. We are now learning to play it. A new music project has been ins...
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No Hard Feelings - 2025 06 02

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  No Hard Feelings - Avett Brothers, performed by Jenny Arntzen at home in the livingroom. My musical challenge at this stage of my life is to simply hit 'Record' and see what happens. There is no question that I will not sound like a highly produced, professionally engineered performance backed by professional musicians with decades of experience, skill and knowledge. I am not going to create anything that sounds like that. Also, more importantly, that is not my aesthetic. It is not my interest. It is not what drives me to play music, learn new songs, and share music with anyone who wants to play with me.
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Neighbourhood Folk - Apr 6 - 2025 04 07

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  We gathered and we sang and played our hearts into a trouble world.  Stephen led us in a Russian hymn for peace on earth, "Mir Miru Mir". The melody was familiar to a traditional celtic song. It was helpful to sing a song for peace from the neighbourhoods of folk in Russia who are resisting the dictatorship and aggression from their government. Jane shared her incredibly beautiful song, "Feather and Stone", about the dignity of choosing when it is time for your life on earth to end. After we sang through the song twice, we had a deep conversation about our personal experiences of close family, making the decision, or not, and how their words and thoughts in those final moments of their life stay with us. During the conversation, the phrase, "let nature take its course" came to mind. I rummaged in my collection and pulled out a song I wrote the day after my Mom passed, "We Are Not Alone". We played it through twice, as well. It was a deep comfor...
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