pretending to play

Subject: pretending to play
From: Andy7
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 02:00 PM

As a fiddler, I always enjoy a good laugh at an actor pretending to play the fiddle on TV or film.

The giveaway signs are the wrong position under the chin; the fingers of the left hand carrying out strange manoeuvres which have little to do with finding notes; and always, always a bow that flies around in a wild arc, rather than moving in a straight line.

I wonder what are the giveaway signs of a non-player pretending to play, for other instruments?

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 02:44 PM

Strumming a trombone...

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 02:47 PM

During a very early Willie Clancy Summer School a fiddler appeared at many of the bas sessions and would take out his fiddle out of it's case, carefully tune it and rosin the bow, then sit in silently without playing a note
Nobody knew why until someone noticed he was always included in the free musicians rounds from behind the bar.
He appeared a couple of years later carrying a flute case.
Somebody commented, "I see he's not playing the flute this year"
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 02:50 PM

Anyone with a banjo.

Dave H

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 02:50 PM

Camera angle from beyond the body of the piano, no view of the hands on the keyboard, and shoulders moving all over the place instead of moving mostly just hands and forearms.

The really pleasant counter to this was watching actors like James Mason or Stephanie Zimbalist play their own piano parts.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: JHW
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 03:39 PM

Farmer Ted played along and sang every week at the Kirby Hill pub (near Richmond, North Yorks) but everyone could see that his strumming fingers never touched the strings.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 03:52 PM

I think you see quite a lot of pretend guitar playing if the fiddlers not playing in G or D, or if he starts in G or D and then swings off into something weird!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 04:10 PM

Lots of pretend concertina players in films and adverts. One giveaway is the sound of an accordion being played. Not so easy visually with an English or duet if you can't see the fingers moving but faux anglo players just push the thing in and out randomly or too regularly, pressing the air button.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 04:19 PM

perhaps they make special silent ones for actors.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: The Sandman
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 05:25 PM

the best i have seen was someone called blue moon who had learned 3 chords in cmajor he strummed along to pre recorded tracks ., the give away was he made major chords when the song was in a minor key

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Mo the caller
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 05:28 PM

Yes, some guitarists do that in pub sessions too - would be fine if they only pretended to strum!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Tangledwood
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 05:52 PM

Can't remember the show or circumstances, but on TV a while back somebody "playing" guitar with a capo in place. Notes were being fretted on the wrong side of the capo.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: BobKnight
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 06:09 PM

A friend of mine who came from California swore there was a "Phoney Musicians Union," in Hollywood, of people who regularly appeared in films pretending to play.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: GUEST,Kristoffer Ross
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 08:04 PM

In the US, pretty much anyone playing the Captain in a High-school Sound of Music?
Best,
    Kristoffer

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Andy7
Date: 11 Feb 18 - 08:33 PM

"A friend of mine who came from California swore there was a "Phoney Musicians Union," in Hollywood, of people who regularly appeared in films pretending to play."

Haha, that's very funny!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: GUEST,JJ
Date: 12 Feb 18 - 03:11 AM

And then there was Boris Johnson fingering the guitar above the capo...

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: The Sandman
Date: 12 Feb 18 - 03:17 AM

shame he did not finger his penis above a capo

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: TheSnail
Date: 12 Feb 18 - 03:20 AM

True Love

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: The Sandman
Date: 12 Feb 18 - 03:24 AM

Bings bellows movement is all wrong, has no one told him about rhythm method

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 12 Feb 18 - 12:09 PM

Some years back we were in a town in the Cotswolds and spent the evening in the hotel function room where a pretty decent rock band were playing. It was well attended by the local people fans, among them a young fellow playing"air" guitar. During one of the numbers he was seen to be tuning his instrument. You could not make it up!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: JHW
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 05:33 AM

Moon River

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Mo the caller
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 10:36 AM

"It was well attended by the local people fans, among them a young fellow playing"air" guitar. During one of the numbers he was seen to be tuning his instrument. "
So what's wrong with that? Haven't you ever 'conducted' an orchestra on the radio?

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 03:30 PM

I remember, a good few years back now, an advert for asthma medication in some of my medical journals, which featured a young man playing the clarinet. Unfortunately he had his hands the wrong way round - right on the top keys, left on the bottom ones! I first checked with my clarinet-playing daughter that this was wrong, then I pointed this out to the company: they very kindly sent me a CD of Emma Johnson playing various clarinet concertos. (Or do they make left-handed clarinets?)

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Kenny B (inactive)
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 03:44 PM

was the camera on mirror image?
Mine was for a few youtube videos before I noticed

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 04:11 PM

No idea, but anyway, I got the nice CD!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Andy7
Date: 13 Feb 18 - 06:40 PM

Re 'True Love'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CuP2YQTUlE

More worrying than the bizarre concertina playing is, during that musical flirting, who is lookout for their sailboat?

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 04:04 AM

Surely faking the playing of an instrument is just part of acting skill? Can be done well or badly. Of course it helps if the actor can actually play, even if not to concert standard - e.g. Richard Chamberlain as Tchaikovsky.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Ernest
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 04:39 AM

@ Mo the Caller:

The thing thats wrong is: he was clearly showing off - everybody knows that an air guitar is NEVER out of tune

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Jack Campin
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 05:36 AM

There used to be a guy who "busked" with a lute in Edinburgh High Street during the festival in a "ye olde minstrel" outfit. He was sitting on a stool covered with a blanket, under which was a ghetto blaster playing Segovia.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 07:18 AM

Mo,
    I probably conduct the "Philly" all the time but I cannot recall polishing the baton during a performance!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 14 Feb 18 - 09:07 AM

Many examples on film in musician biopics of tenor sax on screen and alto on soundtrack and vice versa.
RtS

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 17 Feb 18 - 03:35 PM

Not to mention the Uillean pipes in "Braveheart"!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 17 Feb 18 - 04:27 PM

I once mimed my song to a radio audience in Dusseldorf.

Looking back I can't believe they got me to mime on the radio...

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Andy7
Date: 17 Feb 18 - 04:42 PM

Many years ago, I sang tenor in a choir that appeared on 'Songs of Praise' with a very well known soloist.

First we had to learn the hymn, of course. Then we were sent a recording of the soloist singing the lead vocal, and we had to practise singing along to it. Eventually, when we had it right, the choir was recorded singing along to the soloist's recorded track.

On the big day, when we were filmed for TV, the soloist and we in the choir were ALL miming, he to his recording and we to ours.

Then at the end of the hymn, he said to the camera, "What a pleasure it is to sing with such a fine choir."

... except that he never actually did!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Andy7
Date: 17 Feb 18 - 04:52 PM

Haha, after making that post, I decided to try to find the programme on the internet.

It's there ... but it turns out it wasn't 'Songs of Praise', it was another programme entirely.

Memory is a funny thing!

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 18 Feb 18 - 08:01 AM

Talking of pretending to play, why is it that when guitarists pose for a publicity shot or album cover they tend to finger a first inversion D major chord? Ok, sometimes it is a G major, but I suppose barre chords might look too pretentious.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: GUEST,Some bloke
Date: 18 Feb 18 - 02:02 PM

On a related note..

Many years ago when Top of the Pops was all mimed, Dave Mattacks the Fairport Convention drummer wore a T Shirt with Miming written on it.

The BBC producer did'nt realise and it was broadcast.

A few years later, Bob Geldof played a candleabra during a saxaphone middle eight. Mind you, calling Boomtown Rats folk agitates the fossils so I shall shut up now.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Jos
Date: 18 Feb 18 - 04:15 PM

I'm not sure if it counts as miming, but ...
A few years ago, BBC2 had a series of mini-films, like visual jingles, featuring figure 2s indulging in various activities. In one there were six 2s morris dancing - doing a hankie dance to a soundtrack of a stick dance (you could hear the sticks clashing).

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: BobL
Date: 18 Feb 18 - 05:44 PM

Mmm, a hankie-clashing dance ... now there's an idea.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Jackaroodave
Date: 19 Feb 18 - 05:55 AM

Big Al: "I once mimed my song to a radio audience in Dusseldorf. Looking back I can't believe they got me to mime on the radio..."

Really? That's wonderful! The things you can do on the radio!

American ventriloquist Edgar Bergen appeared (?) on the radio frequently. As a star turn, he would lipsynch duets with his dummy Charlie McCarthy--WITHOUT MOVING HIS LIPS--in perfect synch, of course.

Marcel Marceau faked his way through John Cage's "4:33," WHILE TUNING HIS CROSS-HANDED AIR CLARINET and no one caught on.

I really did once hear a public radio broadcast of clog-dancing at a folk festival. Allegedly. Maybe it was just people in the studio clomping coconuts on the table.

Subject: RE: pretending to play
From: Jos
Date: 19 Feb 18 - 09:01 AM

A radio reporter was once (1980s?) 'debagged' on the radio while joining in a dance with a female Morris side. (I wasn't there, I was at home listening to it on the radio.)