“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” ― George Bernard Shaw
Fáilte Welcome to 365 Songs for 2018, now re-titled ‘365 Songs…your 1-a-Day’with Meithal Ceol. The process of developing this project Started on Jan 1st 2018 and is based on the 4P’s approach..... The Paradigm:Life is complex AND simple (if that paradox works for you). Many issues frustrate, annoy, bother me and yet I’m constantly challenged to ask myself, “Does It Matter?” Uncertainty, Duplicity, Fake News etc is the new norm. Integrity is as fluid as the previously straightforward term ‘gender’ has become....... All that even if you don’t think you have problems. The Problem:Time is flying by, time-space to relax is scarce, conversations are noisy, social media commentary tends towards emotive extremes and vitriol, it’s increasingly hard to become “unplugged”, without having to do a course in mindfulness. For anyone who would like to just enjoy a sing sing, alone or in company, many of us feel inadequate as singers and/or playing a guitar or ukulele, compared to the endless streamable, perfectly canned music. We only know bits of songs, we don’t have lyrics and chords available at hand for everyone to sing along with when we get together after a meal or a party, so sing songs often fizzle out. It’s hard to get started! The Proposition:Imagine having an readily accessible, easy to use. resource of singable, recognizable, commonly enjoyed set of songs with embedded easy-to-play chords available, on an open-source basis, easy to download and/or print off in a clear, decently-sized font. Then envision getting together with friends, neighbours, or common-Interest groups and having an informal sing-song along with basic instruments like guitar, ukelele etc. What about when you are on your own, have a few moments of downtime to spare, and you are looking to chill out and clear out the head wreck, needing to let the fuzzy lack of logic settle and unravel and find that singing a few songs, on the toilet, in the shower etc is just the tonic you need? There are bits of songs and chords all over the web. In fact, like so much online information, that endless breadth of disconnected granules becomes it’s own sorting problem, so this proposition is to pull all the bits together in a One-Stop-Song-platform. Meitheal Ceol arose from the 3Cs, Collaboration, Creativity, and Communication, between a small group of friends over the last few years, getting together in each other’s houses, once a week, for a few hours, learning from and with each other, how to batter out chords, strumming patterns, lyrics, suitable keys and versions of songs which we all enjoyed which could be played relatively easily by “Dummies” (as per the series of Dummies by books). Our learning resources came from all over the web, ranging from YouTube song tutorials from 10 year old kids to James Taylor free master classes. The cup of tea and biscuits at the kitchen at break time facilitated fascinating, informative conversations, arguments and craic, on wide-ranging topics, including one discussion of the history of gut for nylon guitar strings. Learning through Play, Play through Learning, passionate disagreements about timing, breaking strum patterns down, giving up, moving on, coming back to discover it to be easier second time round, Chaordic, fun-based learning, building camaraderie, sharing stories and company, good for the head, soup for the soul.....all byproduct outcomes of the Meitheal Magic.
12 | P a g e
2019 Sing and Share
INDEX
Email:-MeithealCeol@gmail.com
