I’m very excited today, but before I get started telling you why, I do want to mention that the lovely Liz over at Cleverly Inked is hosting the blog tour, so please pop over there after reading this post.
Also, I want to announce the winner of the How Does Your Garden Grow? contest. Thanks to all of you who entered, and congratulations to Jenny N. of B.C. Canada!
The reason I’m so excited is because this week I am going to do a series of posts about some of the people who have helped me with Restoring Harmony! Also, because this post includes the weekly contest and you are not going to want to miss it, so keep reading (or you could skip to the end, but you’ll miss a lot of cool stuff).
Today, I have a very special guest here on the blog. The wonderful, fabulous, talented teen fiddler Sarah Tradewell has stopped by to answer some questions about fiddling and her role in the Restoring Harmony book trailer & the tune she wrote for the book. If you don’t know the story about how we met, you might want to take five minutes and watch this video. It’s really quite fun! For those of you who don’t have time to watch the video, I’ll just say quickly that Sarah looks exactly like Molly, the main character in my book AND she plays the fiddle AND she took a fictitious tune from the book (Brianna’s Reel) and wrote it so now it exists! You can hear all the music right here on the website (she recorded it with my husband, Victor Anthony).
And now for the interview! Followed by the Play Me a Tune music contest!
Welcome, Sarah!
1. How long have you played the fiddle?
I’ve been playing for nine years. I bought my first one when I was eight years old with scholarship money from the local Music Festival (I sang and played piano). I thought it was a really cool instrument.
2. Who are some of your favourite musicians?
Wow, that one’s hard. There are SO MANY! Fiddle-wise, I love the energy of Ashley McIsaac’s playing, I love Leahy, Natalie McMaster, and Jerry Holland, but my all-time favorite would have to be JP Cormier. He’s such a smooth player and he writes amazing tunes!
I also listen to (and play) a lot of classical music. It’s tough to pick a favorite composer, but I’d probably say it’s Sibelius. I also love Barber, Dvorak, Berlioz, Vivaldi… the list goes on!
3. Any advice for beginning musicians?
DON’T STOP!!!!! It does get easier after a while, you just need to get used to it. And get out and perform a BUNCH. Each time is more fun. By the way, practicing isn’t always fun, but do it, and do it efficiently–practice what you CAN’T play, instead of playing the stuff you know. Save the playing the stuff you know for the end of your practice day or for busking!
4. Tell us about Brianna’s Reel.
I wanted to write a tune that would fit in with the bluegrassy style of the tunes in the book, as well as your background. Nothing with chords that were too complicated, just the standard I-IV-V chords so it could have the feel of a traditional bluegrass fiddle tune. I decided on a key (G, I don’t know why, but for some reason I felt like it couldn’t be in any other key), and started writing. All that being said, I still threw in an a minor chord at the end for a personal touch just because I love weird chords!
5. How does it feel to star in a book trailer?
Totally awesome, of course! I’m honoured to be the model for Molly McClure. I’d like to think that I’d have that much spunk in difficult situations, and it’s so great to know there’s a protagonist out there with wild, curly hair like me!
Thanks, Sarah! So great to have you here.
In honour of Sarah and her commitment to music, it’s time for the Play Me a Tune Contest! But I know what you really want to know…what can you win?
The Prize includes:
A Sarah Tradewell CD
A Victor Anthony CD
A CD of the music from Restoring Harmony (including Brianna’s Reel)
How do you enter?
Leave any sort of comment on this post – 1 entry (and you get another entry into the Grand Prize Drawing)
Leave a comment telling us about the musical instrument you play or wish you played. Answer this question “What does music mean to me?’ – 5 entries
Post a link to a video of you playing an instrument on the web – 20 entries!
This contest runs until Saturday, May 15th at midnight PDT. It’s open to anyone with a Canadian or US mailing address. Thanks for playing!
I loved the interview!
I used to play flute and clarinet. Now I don’t have any talent for musical instruments. But I love music. Besides books music is a great escape!
PS – great interview! Thanks.
I listened to the songs from RH and love them! Really looking fwd to reading the book. 🙂
I play the acoustic guitar and the piano. Music has always been my “emotional outlet” — stressed, happy, sad, whatever… it all comes out in the music and makes me feel better!
I play the violin – my instrument was my aunt’s, until she died at the age of 11. No one touched it for nearly 40 years until my grandpa gave it to me for my 8th birthday. Miraculously, it’s still in excellent condition.
Music is more than something I do, it’s who I am. It is a place of comfort. No matter where I go or what happens to me, I know music will be there. This, is what music means to me.
I think it’s so wonderfully cool that you and Sarah found each other!
I play the piano by ear, and I wish I could read music better. I also wish I played the guitar!
Music, to me, means family. When I was a kid, my family performed for all sorts of community events. My dad played the guitar, my brother played stand-up bass, my sister fiddled, and all of us sang! I was pretty embarrassed, as a kid, but now I look back on those memories with fondness. 🙂
oh, and I used to play the trumpet! now, music is something I’d rather listen to than play. my dad always has music playing and it was fun growing up with music in the house. that’s what music means to me!
great interview!
I wish I could play the dulcimer. Or the banjo, or ukulele, or tuba…
Really, I wish I could play *any* musical instrument. Being able to make music is being able to make magic, and I want to make magic!