Today’s topic is cheating on books with movies and TV. Instead of giving a boring rundown on what I watch, I’m going to explain how movies and TV made me go get myself a new hobby.
Have you seen the movie A Mighty Wind?
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It is a movie about trying to put together a reunion concert with some folk musicians. The main act is Mitch and Mickey who were big stars and had a hit song called “A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow”. It features a kiss at the end. However, Mitch and Mickey have since divorced and hate each other.
I was always impressed with her playing in this song. It is the actors playing and singing. I liked the sound of the zither she has and always thought that I’d like to learn to play.
Just recently we started watching Gilmore Girls again now that it is streaming on Netflix. In the first season there is a harp player named Drella.
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She’s yelled at for playing Black Sabbath on the harp and given a list of bands that she can’t play that ends with “No Queen.” I thought that was unfair. I think Queen would sound great on a harp. I decided if I could play the harp that I would play Queen. I decided it was time to learn.
I didn’t get a big harp. I remembered back to A Mighty Wind and started researching. I got a Lap Harp, otherwise known as a hognosed psaltery.
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It comes with music like this.
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You just slide it under the strings and pluck the notes in order. But, I wanted to learn to really play so I got some easy music books – the Beatles and Disney. I’m not ready for Queen yet.
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I can play piano so playing the melody is easy. I’ve never played guitar so learning to do chords is new for me. Right now I’m playing the melody with my left hand because I’m left handed and playing chords with the right.
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I’ve made a cheat sheet on my harp to help learn what string is which.
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Now I’m even more impressed with Catherine O’Hara in A Mighty Wind. I didn’t remember until I embedded the video that she plays without even looking at the strings.
