Originally Posted By: ianmcnll
Ah, well, what can I say, 124, especially with a surname MacNeill. I do enjoy Celtic music as one of the genres I listen to and play, but I really have no actual favorite style of music. Some days I just like one kind over another, and being a demonstrator I am required to play many different genres with some kind of proficiency.

My birth Mum was French and played fiddle-she was from Acadian stock, my adopted Mum, who I lost in car accident on Christmas Eve.(along with my adopted Dad) also played violin (I still have it-it's a Ruggeri-very old, and in terrific shape) and I remember hearing her play some Celtic tunes, although she tended to favor a more swing/jazz style reminiscent of Grappelli...I was only very young when she passed.

There was always music at my home, even the folks who raised me (aunts and uncles) were musicians, and they played a wide variety of styles, so I guess that's where I picked up a love for so many genres of music.

I really love the older country music, like Webb Pierce and Hank Williams, and, of course, tried to mimic Floyd Cramer as much as I could when playing piano, and although I played Celtic stuff at kitchen parties, I really didn't favor it over other styles, like many Capers seemed to do.

Natalie MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaac are my favorite fiddlers, with the latter having a real edginess to his playing-both are exceptional world class violinists.

What about you? Aside from jazz, do you favor any style more than others?

Ian


Not really, I like a lot of things - anything that falls easily on my ear. I can't pretend to appreciate jazz as much as some, as I don't have what seems to be the requisite musical knowledge. Nonetheless, I enjoy the genre greatly, and I'm not sure that the 'requisite musical knowledge' is absolutely essential. I can get into a 'groove' with ease. To be honest, the technicalities don't really interest me, it's more what it does to my gut. If I can't feel it, then I turn off.

Like yourself, my childhood, and I'm sorry to hear yours was so tragic, was in a very musical environment. Dad was a first tenor with the London Welsh Male Voice Choir. His sister, my aunt, was a soprano with the Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for 30 years, and sometimes garnered supporting roles alongside some greats of her era, Maria Callas among them. A cousin was principal organist at Handsworth Cathedral in Birmingham, so there's a bit of pedigree.

I never did take any formal musical training myself. A combination of a bit of a headstrong character, very fast ears, and parents who, in retrospect, didn't push me enough. I did start piano at a community college at the age of 26, but my ears got the better of me and I didn't stick with it for more than a couple of weeks. Some regrets in that regard now, but I don't view it as a serious impediment. I've spent a lifetime 'in the trenches', to borrow a phrase from Donny, and it's made an awful lot of people happy. So I'm good with that. Best regards, 124.