The Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan were just two of the attractions in Chicago September 26 this fall. 14 Hurdy-gurdy players from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan, gathered at the Sherman home near downtown Chicago. While much of Chicago had no idea we were there or even what a Hurdy-gurdy is, their neighbors had no doubts as we filled the air with a variety of traditional and not so traditional Hurdy-gurdy music. Add to this, the near constant tuning, discussions of the challenges of cottoning, rosining, and tangent adjustment, and the inevitable question “is it better to play by reading music or by ear”? The general consensus? Sometimes. It was agreed that those who play by ear have the advantage and those of us who need the “little black dots” were encouraged to work on weaning ourselves from them in order to play more easily with the freewheeling changes typical in most gurdy playing.
There was also discussion of a Gathering next year at a location that would accommodate a larger turn out and possibly allow for a week end gathering rather than one day. We would love to hear from any other players out there.
