I am sitting here missing or fluffing notes, stumbling through a piece that I have played 1000 times but today my fat finger syndrome/ memory / muscle memory/ any minor ability I once had all seem to have deserted me. I put it down to me suddenly becoming ancient as my 68th birthday rapidly approaches. Then I thought I bet my hero Fred Van Eps went through this problem too when he was my age, so I thought I would try to find a piece he played when he was 68... but I couldn't.

So here is a piece that he played live, with his son on piano, when he was 75 years old... so I can see how badly old age had affected his playing.

TWELFTH STREET RAG Fred Van Eps at 75 years old

Oh dear, oh dear, oh my, it looks like I really do have to give up and burn my banjos.

But, nil desperandum, tomorrow is another day :-))

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I have a big owen. Just send your banjos to me and I can take care of the burning... :-)

Hi Ian, having recently turned 70, I may well join you!..If anyone wants to test their fingers, there is my arrangement of 12th Street in the library...Steve.

Oven! I meant to write oven.... :-)

Ian,

What a coincidence!  The same thing happened to me a while back, when I was just your age: my fingers were uncontrollable bunches of fat little bananas (so different from the spider's legs at the ends of Rob MacKillop's hands (sigh!)), so I went to see the doctor for some advice.  When I had told him the sorry story about this cliff-edge fall in my playing ability, he unwrapped a couple of electrodes and started plugging them into a socket.  "Aha!" I said.  "So you think some electric shock treatment will get my fingers working properly again?" 

"There's nothing wrong with your fingers," said the the quack.  "The electric shock is for your brain.  You've clearly forgotten just how bad your playing used to be!" 

You've come to the wrong place for sympathy.

Regards

Tony

Haha. Good story. But spider's legs? What a thought....shudder!

Tony, I knew I could rely on your boundless empathy and support  in my hour of need. I hope after the trip to the doc's your socket is feeling better now.  :-)

I was once asked the difference between Banjo players and Terrorists.

A: Terrorists have supporters   :-)

TONY BRYAN said:

Ian,

What a coincidence!  The same thing happened to me a while back, when I was just your age: my fingers were uncontrollable bunches of fat little bananas (so different from the spider's legs at the ends of Rob MacKillop's hands (sigh!)), so I went to see the doctor for some advice.  When I had told him the sorry story about this cliff-edge fall in my playing ability, he unwrapped a couple of electrodes and started plugging them into a socket.  "Aha!" I said.  "So you think some electric shock treatment will get my fingers working properly again?" 

"There's nothing wrong with your fingers," said the the quack.  "The electric shock is for your brain.  You've clearly forgotten just how bad your playing used to be!" 

You've come to the wrong place for sympathy.

Regards

Tony

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