If these filmmakers have their wish.
http://www.theentertainersmovie.com
It's an in-production feature-length documentary about the annual Old-Time Piano Playing Competition held every Memorial Day weekend in Peoria, Ill., and about the struggles to get new blood interested in ragtime.
Some folks I know are seen performing in it.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
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2 comments:
But not yourself?
I'm not a performer (haven't been to Peoria either; I attend the festivals in Sutter Creek and Sacramento, and if Linda and I make a trip down to Southern California, we were thinking of it coinciding with the Orange County RagFest in Fullerton).
I used to be able to play a few things sort of decently kinda not really (it impressed non-pianists and fellow amateurs at least), but now I'm so out of practice that I think there's only one tune I know how to play all the way through -- maybe two.
Actually doing so without huge mistakes, on the other hand, is not possible at this point.
I do want to learn to play my "Morgan Hill Rag" though. It isn't difficult, and I did play its bits once, to compile a hand-played MIDI file, but I haven't played it since. And I should get my "Fly-Swatter Rag" back under my fingers. I'm starting to lose it, and it had been the only thing of mine I'd ever memorized all the way through.
I did attract attention recently by playing and singing "Fish Heads" and "Shaving Cream" in public. Some people came and sang along. Fun!
Once we move and I have my piano back (or another piano), I should be able to practice more. Maybe I can once again achieve a status of "sort of decent kind of not really".
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