I picked up the cello for the first serious practice session I’ve had all summer. My hands hurt and I’m happy and tired and can play the first few bars to one of my favorite slip jigs. I’m amazed at how much muscle I’ve lost this summer. My hands are so much less muscular than they used to be.
I’m seriously wishing I had one more string on the cello, since it’d make playing a lot of fiddle tunes that I find on The Session a lot easier.
Since then, I’ve been going through the recordings I have on my computer and tagging them with genres (and more specifically the kind of dance they are) so I can actually search for things a bit better. I can’t tell you how apalling having everything filed under “Celtic” is. I don’t mind groups that play music from all over the celtic world calling themselves celtic, but I like knowing the Irish tunes from the Scots ones, and being able to see origins and influences and be able to find tunes when I want them.