Go to Hell and hunt for it.

 My mother had a favourite joke...

A department store had a lost property counter. The lady put in charge of it was named Helen Hunt. When someone lost something, people would say, "Go to Helen Hunt for it."

Here are the latest two comments on my previous post.

What TC is saying is that a comment, that would have been between these two, has disappeared.

He is correct. I deleted a comment by Robert as punishment for his banning comments on his blog. One minute he's telling me he loves me, the next minute he's calling TC and myself evil. Catholics have some weird beliefs, Hell being one of them. Imagine the harm that being told about Hell could do to small children. I like to keep my grandson away from this sort of shit. Hence, I sent that comment of his to Helen Hunt.

Actually, that last comment by TC could easily have been sent to Robert. I don't see comments building up over there on Robert's blog. There is not much point in commenting if your comment will most probably be removed when Robert next closes down his blog or bans comments.

Ciao tutti.

Maybe I should try toddler jokes around here?

Thursday: Toddler sitting day.

8 to 5 with my little special friend who loves my jokes!

The great thing about toddlers is that you can tell them the same joke over and over again, and they still find it really funny.

Let's try a toddler joke on the blogging boys.

Here I go...

(I pretend to bump my head.)

"OUCH!"

Oops, no immediate response.

Here we go...

"Hey, are you living with 
aliens? That's old news Sparky.
TC."

"I'd rather watch my piddles around the toilet
dry! TC."

Ah well, I tried.

Have a nice day, blogger boys.

Ciao tutti.

Help is on the way!

 Hi. Firstly, let me say thank you to Robert and Peter for their kind words on my last post.

Yes, I certainly hope to tell you more about ZYY and his zzYYxx. 

If I told you the very short version, ZYY and his zzYYxx built our Universe. As ZYY would probably say, "Zyxx xxY xxY yzy."

That translates as something like, "It was our job and our pleasure to make this possible."

So, it's time to forget about things like Jesus dying and the Bible reporting it all or committing suicide in order to get 70 celestial virgins. That's all nonsense. When you get a chance to know ZYY, you will finally see this.

Making this was harder than painting something
on the wall of your house or sucking up to some god.

The concept of zzYYxx is a very hard one for us humans (even those who have been in 3P) to understand, so I'll leave it for now.

Let me just finish by saying thank you to Peter and Robert for your acceptance of these new ideas and your support in the comments. No more mortal sins or the threat of Hell for you Rob! That's got to be good news!

Ciao tutti.

ZYY says, "Xyyy Zz xyx zzzz." (Translation: "I have things to tell you.")

 

"I will talk in your language because my language is too complicated for you. When we decided to talk to the people on this planet, it became obvious to us that our language is far too 'inaccessible' for your smaller than average brains. We borrowed three letters from your alphabet in an attempt to make our language accessible. Unfortunately, you can't understand the inflections, dynamics, and other subtle tones that we use in what you might think is a simple language that only needs three alphabetic letters. Believe me, if you saw how it is written down in our 'society', you would be flabbergasted. For example, the word yZZy, using different 'presentations', can mean 'happy', 'dark', 'superstitious', 'spider', 'god', 'sunset', or 'macrobiotic', to name a few definitions.

Your people seem very good at inventing gods, and a lot of you seem sure that their 'god' is the only correct one - the one who must have made the universe.

Let me correct you all. YOU ARE WRONG.

Or, as we say, "xxY zx xxz!"

I, and my zzYYxx, created the Universe. I'll explain 'zzYYxx' some other time.

Let me just finish by saying that I AM YOUR CREATOR.

Don't worry, unlike all your 'gods', I will provide proof.

However, there is quite a lot of information I will need to give you first.

Thank you to RBB for opening windows so that the truth can ease its way in. Soon you will all understand. Well, some of you may.

Xyxy ZZZxzy xx."

Xxxx yy xx yyy zzzz.

 Zzz yy x, xx yyy zz.

Y zzzzz xxx x xx yy-yy.

ZZ yy ZZZZZ x x XX yy yY!

y y x y.

X yyy zzyz, xx yxy, Zz yxyxyxyx.

YxYx x zz yy zzyz xyx xyx xyx!

z z z?

Yyyxy zz yyzy xyx zz yzyx xx xyx.

ZZ xyyyx zyxzyx zz y zz yzyzy.

Yxxz yy XXX! Zxyy x zz yzy xxzy XzX yy zzxyx zz. Y xx zyz xzyy y z xz xz yxx. Zxy zx yx zxzy xx, zyxzyx zxy zz yxyxyy zy yzx yzx x yy zxz.

Xxx! Xxx! Yz yxxx zyz xyx x Zzz Yzy XXz y zyxz yxz zxy zzy.

Xxzxy Zzz

Zz xxxxzxyx xx

Xzyxyx xx yyyyy.

X ZZZ zxyx yy

Z xz xx x zyyy.

Zx xyx xx zz Yzz.

Y x.

What am I going to write?

Coffee Song

When I get up in the morning

I don't really want toffee.

When I get up in the morning

I prefer a cup of coffee.

With milk, please.

It looks like it's going to be a nice day in Y-new-E-O-martyr. Probably will be in Mow-error too. I don't really know about Wrong-a-way. If it's okay up there, Peter could take his trailer to the tip. After he has been to mass, of course. I think it's Robert's turn to be on duty in the church shop.

I won't be playing double bass in the church band this morning. They have a guy who plays bass guitar with a capo.

Looks like a bird to me.

Maybe Catholics like that capo because it looks like the Holy Spirit?

Talking about capos, it sounds like Rob had a good time on Capo-tea island. He saw quite a few birds and climbed a very big hill.

Hey, it has just come across cloudy!

What caused that? Was it one of my jokes? Did I upset the Holey Spare-writ?

I was looking after my grandson last Thursday. He was sitting on the arm of a couch and fell off onto the couch. I said, "Ouch!" He thought it was the funniest word he'd ever heard. He repeated the word and got back onto the arm of the couch. He then proceeded to 'fall off' about forty times and I had to say, "Ouch!" each time. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Later in the day he started throwing a cushion and made me say, "Ouch!" each time it hit the ground. I've never seen anyone laugh so much. So please don't tell me that my jokes are not funny.

I guess I'd better get some music practice done. I've been a bit slack lately - I only have one gig on the horizon. Yesterday I thought that I'd better get back into working on Paganini's Caprice No 24. When I get bits (variations) of that sorted, I don't feel it matters whether I get gigs or not. As a bassist once said, "Funk is its own reward." It's true for me with that Caprice. I've got the tune and the first three variations down, so that leaves 8 variations to go, though I have already worked on a few of them. My goal is to get it completed within 100 hours, so there is quite a bit of work still to go. I record the 'serious' time I put in on it and, so far, I've done 23 hours. I don't count the times when I'm just playing bits for fun, or when I'm warming up.

All the alarms (3) on our walls have new batteries and the old one has been replaced.

I read up on how they work. The reason why ours were making little beeps was because their batteries were low, or flat. Also, if they're working properly, the red light flashes every 45 seconds. It's quite funny when you're watching the red light and waiting to see if an alarm is working properly. You don't know how much of the 45 seconds has been used up and it seems to feel like you're waiting forever, especially if you're checking on all three alarms. It feels quite hypnotic while you are waiting.

Well, that's it for this morning. I hope you enjoyed the coffee song at the start of the post.

Ciao tutti.

God Almighty!

 

PROOF OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.

I found this on the internet:

Christians claim to have proof of the Christian God based on various sources of evidence, such as:  

The worldview that Christianity teaches, which is consistent with reality and morality.

The Bible, which is believed to be God's Word and contains prophecies and historical accuracy.

The person and work of Jesus Christ, who confirmed His claims by His miracles, teachings, and resurrection.

The personal experience of Christians, who testify to the transformation and guidance of God in their lives.

* * *

Jesus wearing makeup.

Okay, for all I know, this 'statement of proof' may be just the opinion of one person. So, if you're a Christian who has better proof, please leave a comment telling us all about it.

Christians have had over 2,000 years to prove the existence of their 'one and only god who is made up of three entities'. Let's look at the statements of proof that I found online; one at a time.

1) "The worldview that Christianity teaches, which is consistent with reality and morality."

Rising up to Heaven, bringing people back to life and turning water into wine are not consistent with reality. Morality comes about naturally when people care for others. If you need a god to work out what is best for all, you're an imbecile. 

2) "The Bible, which is believed to be God's Word and contains prophecies and historical accuracy."

In the Bible quite a few weird things go on, like keeping slaves and being prepared to kill your own son to prove your loyalty to God. I've heard it said that lots of this book was written well after Jesus's time on our planet. Use of the word 'believed' does not lead this statement towards fact (proof).

3) "The person and work of Jesus Christ, who confirmed His claims by His miracles, teachings, and resurrection."

How does this statement prove anything?

4) "The personal experience of Christians, who testify to the transformation and guidance of God in their lives."

I'm sure that the people in India, and Muslims, could make the same claims about their god(s).

* * *

 Our fire alarms started making little noises at 5am this morning.

Ours are little white things and
much simpler than this one.

At first I thought it was a message from God, but they were only making little beeps so I decided that God wasn't involved. I eventually took all three of them off the walls. The oldest one had a message inside saying to replace it after ten years. It has been on our wall for a very long time. I've since found out that you should replace their batteries after about six months. The other two have been up for well over a year and I've never replaced their batteries. 

I'm pretty sure that not looking after these alarms properly is only a Purgatory offence, but I'll certainly try to do better in future.

An artist's impression of Purgatory.

Well, that's it from me. I've got fire alarms to sort out.

Ciao tutti.

Many, many, many, many, many years ago Ugg and Gok sat drinking what could have been a very early form of coffee.

It was early in the morning. They sat outside their cave, as they did most mornings, before going hunting and gathering.

"How would you describe that big orange ball?" asked Gok, as he often did.

"That is what gives us day." replied Ugg. "That makes our hunting and gathering possible. Some ignorant people call it 'the sun' but that is God!"

"God?" queried Gok.

"Yes, God." answered Ugg. "The sun, as people like to call it, is all powerful and knowledgeable. That orange ball, that you see up there, knows everything and created everything, including us. We must show adoration. We must worship the sun!"

* * *

Someone named The Robert with an itchy toe left this comment on my last post.

"If mankind made up God then who made up mankind?"

As he has searched for answers about how it all came to be, man has made up many gods. Here are a few: The Sun God, Brahma, Achelous, Apollo, Rama, Vishnu, Aker, Amun, Mars, Coeus, The Holy Trinity (three entities making up one god).

The list goes on and on.

It is quite obvious that someone made all or, at least, most of these gods (and other ones) up. I added the word 'most' because many people will argue that their god is the one true god. They'll have reasons for saying that. It seems that only one group of people can be right. No one seems to like the idea that there are a whole pile of gods. I guess that 'a whole pile of gods' sort of defeats the point. 

Could this be the one true god?
Possibly.

This god seems to have slid down the popularity
stakes since we've learnt more about our solar system.

So, let's look at Mr. Itchy Toe's comment again.

"If mankind made up God then who made up mankind?"

Maybe it should have read, "As mankind made up many gods, which one is the right one and did he, she or it make up mankind?"

Think back to the sun. Mankind actually found out enough about the sun to know that it isn't a god.

To say, "I don't know who made mankind, so it must be the one true god." really is jumping to conclusions. 

Some might say, "The Universe is God." 

This is probably more logical than giving all the credit to some guy from the Middle East (or whatever it's called). It's pretty safe to say that The Universe didn't write the Bible so we don't really know what The Universe's rules are for us, though we can use common sense. For example, looking after our planet sounds like a good idea. Being kind to other people is probably better than dropping bombs on them.

I don't really see the god that Catholics follow showing a lot of compassion. I know that a lot of their clergy missed the point about compassion too.

It's really a bit of a 'wait and see' situation at the moment.

• Will those suicide bombers get their 70 celestial virgins?
• Will there be a place called Heaven that is full of Catholics, including Mr. Linford?
• Are some people doomed to burn for eternity?
• Are the Muslims the ones who got it right?
•  Is there really a god who looks like an elephant?
• Do angels exist and really have no genitals?
• Did Brother Benedict make it into Heaven?
• Did Adam and Eve really have belly buttons and start the human race off?
• How did all the different types of animals survive on the ark?

Good luck with finding all that out.

Ciao tutti.

Is there a Christian god?

No.

I see Rob's blog is back, for a while. His latest post seems to have comments that are from an earlier post. I honestly don't know what is going on there.

I have been teaching violin this morning. It's nice to finish around lunchtime. It means that I can rattle off a quick blog post.

The trouble is that I can't think of anything to write about. I saw a quick video someone made of me playing last Sunday. I wasn't impressed. 

It's wet in Y-new-E-O-martyr. Probably is in Mow-error too. I don't know what it's like in Wrong-a-way. Peter hasn't been commenting on blogs, so it's probably sunny and he's probably outside planting a garden or digging a hole for a long drop.

Robert will probably be home from cleaning and, more likely than not, will be sawing away at his cello.

I'd better include a picture, or two.

Well, that's it for this afternoon.

Ciao tutti.

Mary is upset that Rob's blog has gone again. (see picture)

 

Poor old Joseph had to comfort his teenage wife.

It is possible that Rob may have upset an online cello club by telling them that they were all going to Hell (or something similar) - he had a post up briefly about this. 

I've had no comments on my previous post. Maybe Lynn came home to a messy house? Where are Phillip Edward Nis, Bin Hire and The The The Guy?

So, is it back to the very old guy (Peter) and me again?

For those who may not know, Peter is 12 (years, I think) older than me and Rob (the ex-blogger, again) is three years younger. 

Okay, let's make this post work in a positive sort of way.

I have sore feet after a rather long day at work. A bass player I taught last year has signed up with the other bass teacher. That hurts a bit. Is he saying that I'm no good? Well, he turned up for very few lessons. I saw him play, in the jazz band, at a school concert and he had no idea what to do. The other bass teacher doesn't play with a bow, so I don't know how that is going to help his orchestral playing. Ha, ha, I actually gave this student a German bow last year. That's right, I gave him a bow. 

German bow.

I'm at another school tomorrow, then Thursday is grandson time.

I'm not allowed to put up pictures of my grandson. There are quite a lot of things that I'm not allowed to do with my grandson. I guess I know very little about raising children, though I did raise his dad. I'm pretty good, if I do say so myself, at changing dirty nappies. Apart from that, I'm a bit of a know all, so I've been told.

Well, that's it from me for tonight. Good luck with finding something to read around here.

Ciao tutti.

Why fuck around?

 Oops, sorry, I'm actually talking about Waipukurau.

We passed through there on our way to Havelock North and I took a selfie.

Why were we staying in Havelock North? Only God knows.

No, it's because we go away about once a year with these old friends of Shelley's and stay in weird places, in big expensive old homes to see who is the 'champion know all'. I sometimes get to play a bit of backing violin music while dinner is being prepared. They asked me, at the last minute, to play last night. I was ready and they seemed to like my performance. Though, I can tell that they don't like some of my Jazz tunes. Never mind.

Change of topic.

You're all familiar with the Chicago Bulls.

Look at what happens if you put their bull upside down...

Look closely - someone is getting humped by someone else!

Can you see it?

I'm back to work tomorrow, so I'd better go and organize myself. Better get some music practice done - I'm planning to play a couple of Bluegrass tunes at an open mic night on Sunday and time is running out.

Ah well, as Itzhak Perlman says, "Practise slowly." Actually, he lives in America, so he'd say, "Practice slowly."

Thanks for the great advice, Itzhak.

Ciao tutti.

Ah!

 

Be ready.

Can you?

Don't be so sure you're right!

Every fish has its day.

Fish are entitled to days.

Gulls are too.

Happiness comes to all creatures.

Including atheists.

Jolly good.

Keep going.

Leave no doors shut.

Mention a month.

November.

One blogger.

Peter.

Queues form when he does a blog on windows.

Robert always comments on these posts.

Someone needs to thank...

The Curmudgeon.

Underrated, he is.

Very much so.

When he played the...

Xylophone.

Yesterday.

Zzzzzzzzz.

* * *

This is a new thing that I've just invented - using the alphabet to put together sentences, one starting with each letter.

Seven letters were chosen to represent the alphabet. 'a' was used twice. Why? Speaking of 'y', it didn't make the cut. In my opinion, alphabex would have worked quite well. So would abecidofu. That one uses all the vowels.

Sorry but using 'Zzzzzzzzz' for the last letter may seem like a bit of a cop out.* Most people would have probably used Zebra or Zoo. The story could have been crafted so that Peter's window posts ended up in the zoo. 

Okay, I'm going to make a prediction. If I'm wrong, I'll give all the bloggers around here a bottle of Cleanskin.

Here goes.

Robert will write a comment using my alphabet sentences invention. Then he'll go and play in the church band where they'll play the alphabet song.

Flute lady: "But ABC is a little kids' song. What's
it got to do with worship?"
Guitarist: "Next thing we'll be playing Death Metal.
Has Rob gone to the toilet?"
Rob [out of picture]: "Sorry, nature called. Remember
that the job's not over until the paperwork is done. I
think that Mary will like my song. It'll remind her of
when Jesus was little."
Flute lady: "Fucking hell! I doubt that Jesus spoke
English!"
Rob [still out of picture]: "Have fun but don't swear
because that's a sin."

Well, there you go, this was a novel post, and I know you all enjoyed it.

No thanks necessary.

Ciao tutti.

* A policeman heads out to the supermarket.

Monday Morning.

Overcast.

No, I'm not over the cast of any show. I just mean that it's cloudy in Wainuiomata.*

These guys are fine. I don't even know what their show is.

The washing machine is going and shortly it'll be time for violin practice. Then double bass practice in E A D G - no more silly tunings. Then I'll put normal strings on the Bob. After that I'll fix the door in the spare bedroom and vacuum the house.

Robert will be at work listening to podcasts. Peter will not be long up. The same height, actually.

"Richard is doing some
good jokes this morning.
Maybe he should do a quiz?"

Okay TC, I hear you. Following on from that new Curmudgeon who eats the prizes, here's a quiz. Remember, NO CHEATING.

Question 1: What is the first string on a guitar called?

a) G  b) Peter  c) E  d) God

Question 2: Who invented The Moaning Lisa?

a) Albert Einstein  b) Pope Francis  c) Walt Disney  d) Spike Milligan

Question 3: How do you spell a painting on a wall?

a) murral b) mural  c) The Holy Trinity  d) pontifore

Question 4: Which place is furthest north?

a) Whangarei  b) Dunedin  c) Wellington   d) The South Pole

Question 5:  What is the answer to this sum? 2 + 33 x 0 - 2 = 

a) 0  b) 33  c) 7  d) God made the world

How did you go?

Leave your answers in the comments.

First prize is a cup of coffee which I'm going to drink shortly.

Ciao tutti.

* Where the girls are smarter. Peter likes that joke.

Later, that same day. E A D G

Yesterday was a negative musical experience for me. 

And do you know whose fault it was?

MINE!

Why mine?

Because I let my feelings be controlled by idiots.

But how do you know they were idiots?

Well, I bet that I know more about playing the violin than almost anyone else who was there.

Why do I say 'almost'?

Well, because you can't account for every single person who was there.

Still, I can be pretty sure that I play the violin better than 99% of people who were present.

There's an old saying that I really like.

"When you die, people are upset, but you don't know that you are dead. It's the same when you are stupid."*

I practise the violin almost every day. I make a big effort to do thoughtful, constructive practice. I think it's fair to say that I know I'm pretty good. I have a pretty big repertoire. 

When I'm asked to do something, like play at a funeral, I come very prepared. My gear is all checked out and my repertoire is well prepared. The one thing I have no control over is the minds of the people who turn up.

And my biggest mistake?

I forgot what I try to teach my students.

Okay, enough of that.

Let's talk about proofreading.

Rob needs to check out how to spell 'mural'.

Peter needs to have a read through his posts before he posts them.

Have fun boys but proofread.

I was thinking about the Christian god the other day. Why does he feel the need to be adored? Is he acting like Donald Trump? Why does anyone need to be adored? 

Okay, I'm tired, so I'm going to leave it there for today.

Tomorrow morning the Bob goes back into standard tuning.

E A D G

Ciao tutti.

* Robert will disagree with this.

No more AI, I'm using C G D A.

 Actually, I'm not that happy with the A string, and the very low C takes a bit of practice to sound correctly. The A string sounds scratchy.

Hey, this has nothing to do with what TC does when he first gets out of bed. Though he did once say, "Why do women rub their eyes when they wake up? Because they haven't got balls to scratch."

Anyway, back to the bass tuned in 5ths.

Oops, that's the view from where we stayed last night. I think she might have been looking after us because, at 1.30am, a fire alarm went off in our room. I went outside and checked the building, but everything seemed okay. I did decide to stay awake until 4am, just to keep an eye on things. It didn't seem like a good idea for me and 'the real boss' to both be asleep, just in case. We survived.

The funeral gig was 'interesting'. I played for 35 minutes at the start. The last tune was 'O Mio Babbino Caro'. At the finish evidently only a five-year-old boy showed any enthusiasm. The MC said, "At least little Frank liked it." That's not a pat on the back, in case you're wondering. I thought to myself, "La mamma degli imbecilli è sempre incinta." They were posting the whole ceremony online, but whoever was doing the tech work was an idiot and my playing was all mumbled up and distorted. After the ceremony I didn't even get a single thank you. 

On a happier note, the Bob is tuned in fifths -
C  G  D  A.

Okay, I know you want to hear it. Just remember that I've had very little practice on these strings. Listen out for the last note (deep C).

Peter will think I meant 'deep sea'. Never mind.

That's it.

Ciao tutti.

Hi, I'm using AI for this morning's post.

 Warning: expact a few gramaticle and speling mistakes. I've notised that it happens to the blogres around here who use AI.

Godfrey almight! Its happened alredy!

Hi AI, please help with grammar and spelling. Thanks.

I read Peter's latest efforts after I woke this morning.

What Peter looks like, at 72,
when you use AI.

He has been getting pissed and drawing faces on the 'kitchen tidy' while Lynn is away.

He should not be left alone! Sorry, but Lynn is responsible for this!

A self portrait?

And Roberto?

It appears that he has finally come over to my way of thinking about abortion and women's rights.

This is the header to his blog.

Here's an AI image of Roberto.

Okay, I'm going to turn the AI off now.

AI, off.

In the spirit of Peter and Rob I won't proofread this post.

Shower tutti.

"You're sad Mista."

 'Mista' Saturday dance...

Da da, da da

Heard they crowded the floor...

Da da, da da

Ain't nothinng without you,

Don't get around much anymore.

* * *

I was lying in bed this morning and looking at Facebook on my phone. Whoever writes a lot of stuff on there, likes to start a story like this:

"A man walked into a supermarket and noticed a friend who had been serving overseas in the military. see more"

I read quite a few of these as I scrolled down through the offerings. I started wondering why they kept mentioning this guy...

* * *

I've been asked to play at a funeral tomorrow, up near Raumati. It's for a singer friend who died - we actually performed together quite a bit. She sang Autumn Leaves, with me on violin and Daryl on guitar, at my brother-in-law's farewell ceremony. I'm to play some background music, while people arrive, and then a feature piece to start the ceremony. She was originally an opera singer, so I thought, as a feature, I'd play 'O Mio Babbino Caro'.

It is possible that some people in the audience might think, "You're sad Mista." The truth is that any of these people who can actually play the violin wouldn't have a shit chance of pulling off some of the things I'll throw in, or of improvising over a Jazz chord progression. The truth is that not many violinists around these parts can pull off playing Jazz changes or comfortably move around the entire range of the violin. So, I really don't give a shit if any of them think I'm 'sad'.

I played a gig at the Tawa library last May with Daryl and George. There was a music teacher there who knows both Daryl and me. She talked to us at the end of our performance. She complimented Daryl on his playing but said to me, "Too many notes!" People who say this, or have the need to say this, are often trying to protect their own boring playing. Their inner voice is saying something like, "Damn, I can't do that! What can I say to protect my own ego?"

* * *

Thought I'd visit the club...

Da da, da da

Got as far as the door...

Da da, da da

Ain't nothing without you,

Don't get around much anymore.

Oh darling, I guess,

My mind's more at ease,

But, never the less,

Why bring back memories?

Get invited on dates...

Da da, da da

Could have gone, but what for?

Da da, da da

Ain't nothing without you,

Don't get around much anymore.

G D A E vs A D G C

 What am I doing here? Okay, we might all ask that question from time to time, but, in this case, I'm talking about my two basses - the Gloria and the Bob. The Gloria is my go to bass, it is a beautiful instrument that will always be my first choice. The Bob is a plywood (think cheaper) bass, but a very practical bass (like its namesake). It has served me well for many years. On many gigs - in the time when I used to get gigs.

The thing is, just for a bit of fun, I've put it into a different tuning. It is now tuned like a big, deep cello. It is tuned in fifths. The deepest note is a very low C.  This makes it entirely different to play from the normally tuned bass in fourths.

THIS IS WHERE PETER WILL STOP READING (if he hasn't already done so).

What Peter plans to wear
in the Wellington winter.
This outfit would also
work in Alaska.

So, why have I done this? I am a string teacher at two schools. I teach violin, viola and double bass. At some point I could be given a cello student. Playing the Bob in this tuning will get me used to cello fingerings.

Okay, I'm off to look after my grandson very shortly so I'll have to leave it there for today.

Ciao tutti.

A happy little post.

I read TC's post this morning and listened to a bit of the attached video. It seems that the 100-year-old fella might be moving to halt posts about windows, Catholicism and music practice.

"No more silly posts!"

I'm a bit worried about Rob playing his cello as a transposing instrument - 'a big violin'.

Well, I guess the world can survive a big violin. 

I glove you Rob. 

A Poneke glove.

Hey, except for clove, glove is the only proper noun you can make by adding one letter to the front of 'love'. Yes, yes, Peter will claim 'slove' to be a legitimate English word. I know he'll do this. Ah well, whatever keeps the old guy happy.

How's it going so far? Are you enjoying a bit of light relief?

Hey, and there is no truth to the rumour that Rob is looking to buy a capo for his cello.

If he did that, he might be tempted to sing folk songs. He'd have to keep The House of the Rising Sun in A minor. Actually, the open cello tuning could work pretty well for that.

Open strings: C  G  D  A

Chords: (in 6/8 time) || Am | C | D | Fmaj7 | Am | C | E7 | E7 | Am | C | D | Fmaj7 | Am | E7 | Am | (E7) ||

He could just play the root notes of the chords to get started. Then he could add 6ths and 5ths to make double stops:

|| A over C | G/C | F#/A | F/A  | A/C  | G /C | G#/B | G#/B | A/C | G/C | F#/A | F/A | A/C | G#/B | A/C | G#/B ||                                                                         

Well, there you go for today. Actually, Rising Sun might be easier in imagined violin tuning.

Ciao tutti.