Currently my Big Project is preparing a 90 minute presentation of
The Money Tunes. I will talk and play, talk and play at the
Unitarian Universalist Church in Clearwater on Feb. 13.
I started this project about two and a half years ago. Right after attending the T. Harv Eker Millionaire Mind Intensive, I went through my fiddle tune collections. I was looking for tunes that had something to do with money in the title.
From American old time tunes and Irish jigs and reels I found many tunes that fit this criterion. I arranged them in an order of no money to a great fortune. The idea is to find out what lessons may be learned about money, as suggested by the titles and associate the lessons with the tunes. It’s a left brain/right brain idea.
In a few cases I altered the title to a more positive association with the issue. Thus,
Boys My Money’s All Gone, which suggests a busted gambler, became
Shopping Spree, where you have compensation for the lack of money.
About that tune, I have this confession. thirty years ago I started learning this tune as it appeared in the book,
Beginning Old Time Fiddle. This collection of tunes is the only one I know that has both tab and standard music notation together.
I liked the tune, but dropped it. I was just too broke that week to think about it.
Now when I play it I think
Shopping Spree. That feels better. And it really is a satisfying tune.
The experience of pursuing
The Money Tunes project led to an increasing fusion of American and Irish fiddle styles. I found myself extending shorter tunes. I applied Texas changes to an Irish reel. An old time tune in A minor was transformed into a Bluegrass tune in D minor. That sort of thing.
Why did I do that? Grassapelli, my alter ego, said it was a good thing to do for this musical concept. (I’ll write about my relationship to the entity Grassapelli Gandharva at another time.)
One more thing about the money tunes. This is what got me into A-432 tuning. The Mozart A, or Verdi A, is set at 432 Hz. This pitch fits perfectly into the tuning of Middle C-256. That Middle C was discovered as standard in the time of Bach.
Presently there is a strong movement advocating this pitch as being a healing factor and more consistent with our natural state. You will find several MySpace musicians passionate about this tuning.
The Money Tunes has been a major influence on me in recent years. And, it’s not completed yet. I’ll feel like it’s where it needs to be when real stuff that you can hold in your hand embodies every aspect of it.
