Bands for 50 and over - keeps the brain young and active.
April 20th 2008 10:15
Signature Tune
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It was a professor at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., who started the movement in 1991 of teaching and organizing people 50 and older into bands. There are now more than 100 such bands in Ireland, Australia and Canada, including ones in Peterborough, London and Parry Sound. Most are led by retired music teachers.
The majority of the local band members fall into the 40-to-77 age group. There is a mother-daughter combo and a father-daughter pairing on flute. Ten couples belong.
One band member was in Farris's first Grade 9 class at Chippewa Secondary School in 1989.
Another broke a finger on her right hand, but wouldn't let the doctor cast it so she could still bend the digit.
Members say the band brings "joy, just like its name," and playing in it is a "real thrill." They help each other during practice, then make 'play' dates at each other's homes. Only two-thirds of the members belong to Calvin Presbyterian.
Farris brought some wind instruments to the first practice. She spent time with each person to see which instrument suited them - to see if they "could make a sound on it and see if it was a sound they liked.
"The members have to provide their own instruments," Farris says. "Some started renting and loved to play so much they bought them."
The band plays wind instruments because "when you buy band music, it comes for wind instruments," she explains.
"When you're starting, it's difficult to start with orchestra music because the chords are different."
Farris wanted to teach music that wasn't too tough and members would enjoy playing. Sometimes she will hold workshops at her home for sections of the band.
"Rather than spending one-on-one time with everybody, I give them a group lesson."
Before they learned to play, Farris used a blackboard to teach notes and beats. She equates learning music to learning a new language.
"It's good for people as they age," she says. Learning music keeps the brain young and active, and improves hand-eye co-ordination.
As well, Farris says it's "good for the soul and makes people happy. "Sometimes it does take longer to learn as we age, but it doesn't mean we can't do it."
What started as a gift to the church has snowballed into something that "brightens people's lives," Farris says.
Members arrive for practice smiling, she reports.
Her only requirement is: "If you're in the band and they play at Calvin Church, you are expected to play unless it's a special service" like Easter or Christmas. A small monthly contribution covers the cost of sheet music.
When the band performs, some violinists and percussionists will join to complement the sound of the clarinets, trumpets, flutes, saxophones (baritone, alto and tenor), trombone, tuba and euphonium (tenor tuba). The performance schedule for May and June is starting to fill up.
When the band performed for the church Easter Sunday, 55 members filled the front area of the church.
More than 20 band members also sing in the choir, so they had to move from their instruments to the choir section as fast as possible. Afterward, one member told Farris they used to come to support their children, now their children come to support them.
Farris has made a commitment to lead the band for several years. She describes the band as enthusiastic, dedicated, loyal, loving and happy.
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Comment by the world of gaye
batty
Family Madness
bright lights greedy city
REFLECTIONS
THE WINDMILLS OF MY MIND
Comment by the world of gaye
batty
Family Madness
bright lights greedy city
REFLECTIONS
THE WINDMILLS OF MY MIND
Comment by tlcorbin
Raven
Comment by katyzzz
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Raven, drums or triangle perhaps, I can just see you there stepping it out, good for the brain too, and a slice of pain never did anyone any harm, makes you appreciate those painkillers, but chances are while you're playing you'll experience no pain at all.