There’s a guitar in floating around my house. Not that I can play it – too big and too many strings for my little hands, I’ve always said. I have it so guests can play if they feel the urge. It hasn’t been played for a while and I thought it needed to come out of the case for a while. I gave it a tune and helped very gently by my son, learned enough chords to play a song. Maybe I’ll learn a few more over the next few months.
Tag: learning
Happiness as Anarchy #312: Learning new technology
It’s been a rather full-on week for everyone as we learn to do all kinds of things in all kinds of different ways. I’ve learned to set up studio lighting, make videos (with the help of my homegrown cameraman), edit and send them off in a couple of hours, and also to livestream video. I did my first live-stream gig this evening and not only did it work, people watched and enjoyed! I feel like I’ve spent time with lovely people too and that makes me feel happy.
The video is over on my facebook page if you’re curious.
Happiness as Anarchy #166: Come Healing – Leonard Cohen
Learning new songs is always a pleasure. I’ve been learning Come Healing for my Leonard Cohen tribute gig on Wednesday night. I love its simplicity, and the hymn-like beauty and harmonies paired with carefully crafted secular poetry.
Happiness as Anarchy #97: Quantifiable Progress
As a qualitative researcher, I’m normally quite suspicious of quantitative measurements. However, there are times when the numbers are both meaningful and deeply satisfying. I just updated my song list document – I haven’t done it since January when was sitting around the century mark – and discovered that it now numbers 180. That’s a lot of new songs, and I hadn’t realised just how many I had crammed into my cranium until I made the list. The quantitative data, on this occasion, makes me feel like a good girl!
For my regular monthly gig at Craig’s Royal Hotel next Wednesday I’m asking the audience to choose the songs. If you’d like to be part of that, here’s the list (with Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits at the end):
| A Child Is Born |
| After You’ve Gone |
| Ain’t Misbehavin’ |
| Alabama Song |
| Alice In Wonderland |
| All About That Bass |
| All of Me |
| All of You |
| Anything Goes |
| At Last |
| Autumn Leaves |
| Beautiful Love |
| Better Him Than Me |
| Black Coffee |
| Blue Moon |
| Blue Skies |
| Blueberry Hill |
| Boum |
| Box of Stars |
| Brahms Lullaby |
| C’est Magnifique |
| C’est Si Bon |
| Careful With My Heart |
| Ces Petits Riens |
| Come Away With Me |
| Comes Love |
| Dance Me To The End Of Love |
| Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup |
| Don’t Get Around Much Anymore |
| Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree |
| Dream A Little Dream Of Me |
| Drink A Little Poison |
| Drinking In Pyjamas |
| End of Every Day |
| Everybody Loves My Baby |
| Fever |
| Five Foot Two |
| Fly Me to the Moon |
| Frère Jacques |
| Frim Fram Sauce |
| Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You |
| Gentle On My Mind |
| Georgia On My Mind |
| Give Me One Reason |
| Gone Fishin’ |
| Habanera |
| Have You Met Miss Jones? |
| Honeysuckle Rose |
| I Can’t Give You Anything But Love |
| I Hear Music |
| I Love Paris |
| I Touch Myself |
| I Wish I Was In Love |
| I Won’t Dance |
| I’m Beginning To See The Light |
| I’m Walkin’ |
| I’d Love To Make Love To You |
| If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Sit On It |
| In These Shoes |
| Inch Worm |
| J’ai deux amours |
| J’attendrai |
| J’suis snob |
| Java Jive |
| Je Cherche Un Homme |
| Je te veux |
| Just A Gigolo |
| Just One of Those Things |
| Just Squeeze Me |
| King of Starting Over |
| King of the Road |
| L.O.V.E |
| L’il Liza Jane |
| La Mer (Beyond the Sea) |
| La Vie En Rose |
| Lazy River |
| Le déserteur |
| Le Tango Neurasthénique |
| Les Caresses |
| Les Yeux Noirs |
| Let’s Do It |
| Let’s Fall In Love |
| Let’s Misbehave |
| Louisiana Fairytale |
| Love Is Just Around The Corner |
| Lullaby of Birdland |
| Mack the Knife |
| Melancholy Baby |
| Memories are Made of This |
| Miss Otis Regrets |
| Moonlight In Vermont |
| Ne Joue Pas Au Soldat |
| Nearness Of You, The |
| Never On A Sunday |
| Non, je ne regrette rien |
| Only Ghost |
| Opium |
| Padam |
| Parlez-moi d’amour |
| Peacock’s Feather – Paddy Fahey’s Reel |
| Peel Me A Grape |
| Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps |
| Quand Je Danse Une Java |
| Que Reste-t-il de Nos Amours? |
| Que Sera Sera |
| S’Wonderful |
| Santa Baby |
| Secret Love |
| Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise |
| Somewhere Over The Rainbow |
| Speed of the Sound of Loneliness |
| Stand By Your Man |
| Stardust |
| Stompin’ at the Savoy |
| Sugar In My Bowl |
| Summertime |
| Sunday Kind of Love |
| Sweet Georgia Brown |
| Sympathique |
| Taste Of Your Smile |
| Tea For Two |
| Temptation |
| Tennessee Waltz |
| That’s Amore |
| Perfect Spot, The |
| Taste of Your Smile, The |
| They Can’t Take That Away From Me |
| They Tried To Tell Us We’re Too Young |
| To & Fro |
| Too Darn Hot |
| Un Eléphant |
| Under Paris Skies |
| Underneath The Arches |
| Way You Look Tonight, The |
| We’ll Meet Again |
| What the world needs now is love |
| When Doves Cry |
| When You Wish Upon A Star |
| Willow Garden |
| Winter Waltz |
| You Don’t Own Me |
| Your Heart Is As Black As Night |
| Your Place or Mine? |
| LEONARD COHEN |
| I’m Leaving The Table |
| Chelsea Hotel |
| Take This Waltz |
| Le Partisan |
| Tonight Will Be Fine |
| Dance Me To The End Of Love |
| Alexandra Leaving |
| Bird On The Wire |
| Heart With No Companion |
| Hallelujah |
| TOM WAITS |
| Tango Till They’re Sore |
| Shiver Me Timbers |
| Diamonds On My Windshield |
| Time |
| Little Drop of Poison |
| Jockey Full of Bourbon |
| Gun St. Girl |
| Picture in a Frame |
| Chocolate Jesus |
| Temptation |
| Walkin’ Spanish |
| House Where Nobody Lives |
| Kiss Me |
| The Piano Has Been Drinking |
| Jesus Gonna Be Here |
| Anywhere I Lay My Head |
| Jesus Gonna Be Here |
Happiness as Anarchy #21: Realising I Know A Few Songs
Once upon a time I found it very difficult to remember chord changes for songs. I just wrote a set list for tomorrow morning’s gig at Clunes Market – tunes I know from memory and can play on uke. When I started, there was a little nagging question floating around the back of my head: will I have enough songs to fill an hour and a half? Much to my surprise, the list has 40 songs on it! It makes me very happy to sit briefly in the realisation of how far I’ve come on my musical journey.
If you’re out and about tomorrow morning, you can find me playing at the Clunes Market from 11:45-1:15. Do stop and say hello if you see me!
Photo: Nicole Cleary