The Big Picture by Lennie Peterson for March 28, 2022

More than a Bagpiper

If your friends don’t know they are your friends, do they still count?

Huh, I always thought it was the viola that was the butt of musical jokes.

Oi! My late father played the trombone since he was shorter than the trombone! And he had a lot of friends, some of whom I’m still in touch with, honorary uncles and aunts :)

Campbell, CA. Another locale serviced by the SJ Mercury-News. Lennie seems to like that paper’s readers.

What is not to like about the trombone? It is just as musical as the other instruments and trombonists have a sense of humor. For that matter all brass players do. The string players are much more serious.

See, Ginger really does prefer your playing the trombone. NO singing involved.

Yesterday, AndrewSihler asked what Ginger did when Lennie plays trombone. If you go to 3/16/2002, you will see that she wears headphones! (I have the original clipping – from a real newspaper lol – here at my desk!)

Ha!! It may be a coincidence, but I can attest that I got a lot more friends when I stopped playing trombone and started on guitar :D

The technique for playing the trombone requires much the same ‘ear’ as string instrument playing. Position is everything. Constantly listening to stay in tune. My wife played and taught the violin. The first thing she taught them was not to squeak…

Obviously the “multitude of friends” are FOTC (friends of the cat)!

I played trombone in the regular high school band and the swing band. I had LOTS of friends. I still have lots of friends many years later, too. You da man, Lennie.

My Daddy played sax and clarinet. I was born at home, and his band played outside in the front yard, the whole night. Musicians are the best!!