I've taken the lute to bedside at Holy Name hospital in Teaneck NJ and Mount Sinai in NYC. Only issue was with older patients who had hearing difficulties - especially those who are on respirators. But the visual was always enthusiastically received - the brain always lights up when it is experiencing something positive and new. If requested, I'd play contemporary songs on it. All is fair game.
I've also taken the lute to Bergen Community College where I passed it around to all the guitar students. They were blown away. Lots of questions. I've been performing with Musicians on Call at bedside in hospitals in the metro NYC area for 12 years or more - now with mostly contemporary songs, me on guitar, and with my singing partner. If anyone is interested in this volunteer program (lutes are welcome) please reach out either to me or directly to MOC. There are programs in the USA and maybe by now in Canada. Cheers, Lynda [kraar+logo.png] Lynda Kraar, President Lynda Kraar & Associates U.S. Cell: 551-486-3772 Google Voice: [1]985-205-9632 (985-20-LYNDA) Skype: lyndakraar On Jan 5, 2018, at 3:45 AM, "[2]mathias.roe...@t-online.de" <[3]mathias.roe...@t-online.de> wrote: I take my lute once a week to the kindergarten. The children love the sound and start singing once they see it. We sing their songs, of course, but the divisions I do for every stanza would fit renaissance music just as well. And I take it to hospital for visits. I don't open the suitcase unless requested, but when I do, most patients love it. One advantage of hospitals in terms of acoustics is that the floors are of very hard material. You may effortlessly play short easy pieces in slow pace. Mathias __________________________________________________________________ Gesendet mit der [1]Telekom Mail App --- Original-Nachricht --- Von: Nancy Carlin Betreff: [LUTE] Re: Early Music life Datum: 05.01.2018, 0:22 Uhr An: Alain Veylit Cc: lutelist Net I have played in them as well and most of the people there are in the 80s, a lot with some kind of dementia, so they like pop tunes from their youth. I talked with someone at one of those places last year and she said that our kind of music works better in retirement homes in upscale communities with more of the demographic that might have been concert goers in their youth. I have also played in restaurants and coffee shops over the years. Chains don not work at all - they want each of their places to be exactly the same and lute music does not fit with their corporate image. Here in California even the ones that are not part of a chain like to look they are a chain and have done their research about the local communities they draw from. The last one I played at was fine until a new owner came in and decided that looking like a sport bar was a better image to make more money. That said, if I had a mailing list of active lute music fans, I probably would have been able to stay there playing in what was a dead time in their schedule. Nancy I remember playing at a "retirement home" once. Most depressing thing ever - the pensioners were all down on heavy drugs and one foot away from the grave... or one push of the wheelchair away, more accurately. After that, playing at the veterans hospital was a truly joyful experience. You do the gigs you can, specially when they are payed. One of my friends, a jazz player with a golden album, used to play in local bars and got minimal audiences with minimal attention spans for music. Jazz is still popular in Europe, but all but dead here. Part of it I think are the venues: streets, metro stations and restaurants in Europe lend themselves to music, particularly in the summer. Any brave soul tried to play at a McDonald's or a Starbucks?? I am wondering how many seconds it would take to see them ejected by "management". Also, watching The Blues Brothers does not encourage acts of musical bravery in local bars deep inland... On 01/04/2018 01:57 PM, John Mardinly wrote: I played my lute at a hospice once. Went over like a lead balloon. Classical guitar was better received. A. John Mardinly, Ph.D., P.E. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters Francisco Goya On Jan 4, 2018, at 2:38 PM, Tristan von Neumann <[1]tristanvonneumann@[2][4]gmx.de>; wrote: My proposition would be the following: Assemble a team: three lutists minimum! If possible, add recorders, Renaissance guitar, cittern etc., a dulcian and a trombone, and for the sake of beats some Renaissance percussion. If you have a portable organ, get it on stage. Go to your local jazz club and pitch "Early Music Jazz Jam Session". When playing, have the musicians occupy the functions of respective jazz musicians. Jam the hell out of Passamezzi, Romanescas, Bergamascas etc., throw in some song standards like Vestiva I Colli or Can She Excuse, do virtuoso solos. I bet the audience will have fun. Get that stick out of your spine and rock the venue. Am 04.01.2018 um 20:52 schrieb [2]theoj89294@[3][5]new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu: Having friends in psychology, economics, and marketing/advertising, we have had this discussion over beer. And the general conclusion was that most artists (including early music artists) ought not be lamenting about why people don't show up to appreciate their art, but rather they should be discussing how best to draw in an audience. Think about it, if a graphic artist wants to put on an exhibit, they will bringing alcohol, maybe food, hire a musician, and create an inviting atmosphere for socializing. Moreover, symphony orchestras also have this problem and their partial (yet successful) solution are the multimedia programs; live performance of film music over film clips of Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc. The fact (sad or not) is that audiences have MANY distractions pulling their attention nowadays. Music alone, no matter how pure or inspirational, won't draw an audience as much as music PLUS something else - drama or a story, visuals, alcohol, dance, etc. I think it would behoove early music artists to start thinking about this and corroborating and creating more engaging programs. And there are successful examples of this out there, but there needs to be more. One more thing, I am also reminded of a program done years ago by Steven Wade (?) called 'Banjo Dancing' (?). He performed as one man with a banjo. He played, told stories, sang, and had a truly engaging performance. And it drew audiences. There is absolutely no reason why something similar couldn't be done by a lutenist given some talent and hard work in creating such a stage performance. And as a disclaimer, I am not a professional musician, so these are merely my opinions, looking in from the outside. -- To get on or off this list see list information at [3][4][6]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.d artmo [5]uth.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQu sp 9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6mpKZONBRt 90E&m=zLSUUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw29MD4UirX a5aFHV6UuLzftDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e= -- References 1. mailto:tristanvonneumann@[6][7]gmx.de 2. mailto:theoj89294@[7][8]new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu 3. [8][9]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dart mouth .edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR 0n 1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6mpKZONBRt90E&m=z LS UUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw29MD4UirXa5aFHV6UuL zf tDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e= -- Nancy Carlin Administrator THE LUTE SOCIETY OF AMERICA [9][10]http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org PO Box 6499 Concord, CA 94524 USA 925 / 686-5800 [10][11]www.groundsanddivisions.info [11][12]www.nancycarlinassociates.com -- References 1. [13]http://www.t-online.de/service/redir/email_app_android_sendmail_foo ter.htm 2. [14]http://gmx.de>/ 3. [15]http://new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu/ 4. [16]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmo 5. [17]http://uth.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV 29SRQusp/ 6. [18]http://gmx.de/ 7. [19]http://new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu/ 8. [20]https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmout h.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0 n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6mpKZONBRt90E&m=zL SUUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw29MD4UirXa5aFHV6UuLz ftDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e 9. [21]http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org/ 10. [22]http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/ 11. [23]http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/ -- References 1. tel:985-205-9632 2. mailto:mathias.roe...@t-online.de 3. mailto:mathias.roe...@t-online.de 4. http://gmx.de/ 5. http://new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu/ 6. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmo 7. http://gmx.de/ 8. http://new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu/ 9. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmouth 10. http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org/ 11. http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/ 12. http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/ 13. http://www.t-online.de/service/redir/email_app_android_sendmail_footer.htm 14. http://gmx.de/ 15. http://new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu/ 16. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmo 17. http://uth.edu_-7ewbc_lute-2dadmin_index.html&d=dwicaq&c=l45axh-kuv29srqusp/ 18. http://gmx.de/ 19. http://new-old-mail.cs.dartmouth.edu/ 20. https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.cs.dartmouth.edu_-7Ewbc_lute-2Dadmin_index.html&d=DwICaQ&c=l45AxH-kUV29SRQusp9vYR0n1GycN4_2jInuKy6zbqQ&r=VLPJ8OE-c_C6joGeE1ftlvxMmQPq9N6mpKZONBRt90E&m=zLSUUnLA-CM0h9CGL2p3ZcEQaIF66KbYX69O72O_gzE&s=FzgyZfw29MD4UirXa5aFHV6UuLzftDiQdgDXANkxjnU&e 21. http://LuteSocietyofAmerica.org/ 22. http://www.groundsanddivisions.info/ 23. http://www.nancycarlinassociates.com/