Jody Hughes on Nostr: Here's what goes on in my head when my quartet is doing background music for a ...

Here's what goes on in my head when my quartet is doing background music for a function (yes, this happened today):

• bowed string instruments generally sustain our volume throughout notes, and this causes a problem when playing as background for people;
• harp, acoustic guitar and to a certain extent piano cannot sustain in the same way (notes decay after each attack) so are better in this situation;
• we can mimic the acoustic envelope of plucked instruments if we wish, to reduce our volume and clear the acoustic space for conversations;
• I do this as a matter of course; the rest of my quartet does not. (They seem only to play in 'recital mode');
• So people must talk more loudly, while I sit, annoyed by the situation, because I have broached this topic in the past without convincing them to change

Ho hum.