LGOberean
Doctor of Teleocity
I think I've mentioned before here in BDC that I volunteer at a local retirement community. I do a 90-minute show for them every Thursday, so I was there yesterday. My wife came, too, and she used my phone to take video footage of each song.
But it may very well be that none of the footage is usable.
I say that not because my playing and/or singing wasn't the best. (What else is new?
) I say that because of the distractions that can arise when you play in such facilities. The reality is I play to an audience in a community where the "younger" residents are basically my age.
Many of them are not comfortable with my volume levels. Not because I refuse to play any other way than too damn loud. Not because their hearing is so acute. But because their hearing aids perceive me as too loud. So I turn down. Even then, some of them won't come into the multipurpose room (MPR) where I play to hear me, but will sit in the seats in the lobby/foyer just outside the MPR. It's too big a room with too many people to play the gig unplugged, so each week is a balancing act.
(Oh, BTW, my rig is my Logan Custom acoustic/electric tele style plugged into my Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge amp.)
Another factor that came make for a distraction in the room and can actually ruin an otherwise useable video is that they will talk to each other while I'm performing. Of course, that happens at other gigs like at a coffee shop. But because seniors usually have their hearing issues, they don't know how loud they're talking, so often their conversational volume competes with the levels I set on my amp for voice and guitar. It's distracting, but not too distracting in the room, so I soldier on. However, it sure can be a major distraction in a video.
Closely related to this, they have the ringer on their respective cell phones set loud! And they don't mute their phones when attending such performances. And when it rings, they answer it. (My generation and before didn't grow up letting the phone go to voicemail.) And when they answer it, they speak even louder than their conversational volume.
Another distraction: it's not uncommon that a resident will be dealing with a cough, whether because of some ailment or just being old and phlegmy. They can't help it, of course, but it's still a major distraction to singing in the room, never mind hearing it on video.
I listened last night to each of the videos Beth recorded during my 90-minute show. Quite a few I've already deleted, because they were basically unusable, for one or more of the issues listed above. If I do decide to post any of the remaining vids to my YT channel, I'll share the links here.
Okay, rant over. And I don't really mean this post as a rant. To me a rant is an expression of some level of anger or bitterness, and I don't feel that towards these people. It just is what it is, the pitfalls of playing for seniors.
But it may very well be that none of the footage is usable.
I say that not because my playing and/or singing wasn't the best. (What else is new?
) I say that because of the distractions that can arise when you play in such facilities. The reality is I play to an audience in a community where the "younger" residents are basically my age.Many of them are not comfortable with my volume levels. Not because I refuse to play any other way than too damn loud. Not because their hearing is so acute. But because their hearing aids perceive me as too loud. So I turn down. Even then, some of them won't come into the multipurpose room (MPR) where I play to hear me, but will sit in the seats in the lobby/foyer just outside the MPR. It's too big a room with too many people to play the gig unplugged, so each week is a balancing act.
(Oh, BTW, my rig is my Logan Custom acoustic/electric tele style plugged into my Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge amp.)
Another factor that came make for a distraction in the room and can actually ruin an otherwise useable video is that they will talk to each other while I'm performing. Of course, that happens at other gigs like at a coffee shop. But because seniors usually have their hearing issues, they don't know how loud they're talking, so often their conversational volume competes with the levels I set on my amp for voice and guitar. It's distracting, but not too distracting in the room, so I soldier on. However, it sure can be a major distraction in a video.
Closely related to this, they have the ringer on their respective cell phones set loud! And they don't mute their phones when attending such performances. And when it rings, they answer it. (My generation and before didn't grow up letting the phone go to voicemail.) And when they answer it, they speak even louder than their conversational volume.
Another distraction: it's not uncommon that a resident will be dealing with a cough, whether because of some ailment or just being old and phlegmy. They can't help it, of course, but it's still a major distraction to singing in the room, never mind hearing it on video.
I listened last night to each of the videos Beth recorded during my 90-minute show. Quite a few I've already deleted, because they were basically unusable, for one or more of the issues listed above. If I do decide to post any of the remaining vids to my YT channel, I'll share the links here.
Okay, rant over. And I don't really mean this post as a rant. To me a rant is an expression of some level of anger or bitterness, and I don't feel that towards these people. It just is what it is, the pitfalls of playing for seniors.
