My Grandfather Learned Sixty Tunes on the Piccolo

Radio Record, 25 March 1938, Page 6

My Grandfather Learned Sixty Tunes on the Piccolo

Radio fans-critics and otherwise-should read the story of what Mares Gray’s grand‘mother said to him just to see what they make of it in this highly cultured age.

IFTY vears ago, my grandmother ~ tells me, there could be _ found in four out of five homes in New Zealand came enrt of instrument

ww ee? Ww we aS oe ee that, at the hands or the mouth of some or other member of the household, gave forth agreeable sounds. . , In some houses, she says, it was only a jew’s harp; in others, it was a grand piano. But, whether a jew’s harp or a grand piano, someone was sure to bting it out, so to speak, when the owner wanted to indicate he had finished work and was really happy. My grandmother says some of the sounds from the jews’ harps and the grand pianos were only tolerably agreeable. But in those days peopie weren't particularly critical, taken by and large. They had so few standards of comparison, not one man in ten thousand even wanted to get up and run out of the house when little Annie played I flat instead of D sharp. However, she says she used to-know a roadmender called Long Jack Keegan who played the fiddle fit to turn Kreisler green with envy, and that Maggie Dobbs, a girl who went to school with her, had a better voice than Jeanette Macdonald by miles. People, she says, used to walk miles to hear Long Jack and Maggie. They were very popular. Grandfather was an Irishman, and every

time Long Jack played "Killarney" he used to wipe his eyes with his handkerchief and preteud to cough. Grandfathet was no sentimentalist at

that, seeing he cleared 700 acres of bush in 14 years and stumped and ploughed. it in the next eight. My grandmother says she used to be able tc see friends about once'a fortnight, and that when she went out she was always disappointed with the evening unless someone played something or recited, or danced a reel or-a jig. The more playing and singing and reciting and dancing there was the better everyone enjoyed the party. In those days unless you could do something to help the party along you were not asked out much. Even grandfather started to learn the piccolo when he was 35 and settled down. When he died he could play over 60 tunes, and he was one ot the most popular men in the district for musical evenings. "Granny," I said, "with the exception of Long Jack and Maggie Dobbs-and grandfather, of course-they must have been pretty terrible, though, mustn’t they?" Grandmother explained it all depended on the way you considered it. Being pretty terrible didn’t matter so much then, because everybody knew just how hard it was to be good; but, for all that, she reckoned grandfather got just as much pleasure out of his piccolo as Miss Witts over the road got out of her ’cello-more, really, because Miss Witts had to practice four hours a day before she went on the radio, (Continued next page.)

~ (Continued from previous page.) anid grandfather only played when he wauted to help the party along, or when he was lonely or happy or sad, or just lazy after a day bushfelling. "You know," she went on, "I do wish your grandfather could have heard that man who played the piccolo on the radio the other night. I’m sure he would have been so interested, We wouldn’t have had a minute’s peace in the house for days with your grand. father trying to imitate him!" "My word," I said, "the radio is a great companion for ‘you, isn’t it, grannie?" She nodded. "Indeed it is," she agreed. "It’s wonderful. And I do read in the newspaper where four out of five homes in New Zealand have one of them, and how some of the stations are sowing programmes for 18 hours a day now." . "Broadcasting, grannie," I corrected gently. . "Broadcasting, of course," ‘she said. "IT get so mixed... . My word, but it was different in your grandfather’s day! People didn’t have the advantages then that they have now, Things have progressed in this country at a rate, Just fancy! Four out of five homes have those wonderful things. .. . No wonder Professor James Shel--ley thinks he can’ make everybody appreciate good .music!" ~~ . Poor grandmather .. , She’s gettinz very old now. ; Sixty tunes on the piccolo! Good Lord, such simple-mindedness,