The In Between Moments

Miles Davis, the jazz great, called it “the silence between the notes.”

You know, the pause that you feel more than hear, that makes the music before and the music after so much more poignant. I believe that very silence, those in-between moments, happen for a reason. They happen with laughter, with tears, and with everyday life. Allow me to explain…

I left Cape Breton on July 13 to head over to Prince Edward Island where I was lucky enough to have dinner with my niece, Cameron Gesner (store manager of the new Lulu Lemon Pop Up at Royalty Crossing Mall in Charlottetown…there’s a plug if I’ve ever seen it!)

But it was the next day, when I picked up my friend Eleanor Matte at the airport, that the reason for my island visit became clear. We were going to the Rollo Bay Tune Room Fiddle Camp, put on by Tim Chaisson and Jake Charron of The East Pointers . Three nights and two fun filled days of fiddle music, square sets and (attempted) shuffle steps, with evening celebrations of tunes on the beach and incredible jams at the Fiddling Fisherman – I could hardly wait.

And it surpassed everything that I had dreamed it might! My musical brain was challenged, pummelled and stretched by new bowing techniques and rhythms, tunes to learn by ear, and advanced shuffle steps that almost saw me land on my butt while shuffling in Birkenstocks (not ideal for step dancing, to be clear).

Every moment was brilliant.

The very first night before the camp started, I got to meet Katya, Katie, Jo and all the other Tune Room participants who I had only ever met over Zoom. That was more than special. Oh, and there was the fiddle session on the beach, complete with oysters, a lot of sand, an upright bass and a cello and more fiddles than you can imagine.  And the last incredible jam with about 40 fiddlers playing tune after tune, led by Tim and Jake (accompanied by either Tim’s Dad Kevin or Darla on piano), the upright bass, a harp and who knows what else – it all took my breath away.

I think I spent most of my time wandering around wearing a smile as big as the entire province! Tim Chaisson and his extended family and friends had shared this joy of music with all of us – and what a way to celebrate!

But there were also the in-between moments…

Do you ever find yourself rushing through life? I know, duh, yes, we all do. As parents, partners, clients or employers, kids or just humans, we seem to set our sights on something and then leave everything else strewn around us until we reach that defined something. It might be as simple as “OMG, the kids are going to be late to school” or trying to finish a report or who knows what else. We are so focused on that end goal that we ignore or simply don’t even notice the in-between work/activities/joys that arise in that pursuit.

I can’t say that I actually thought about this in-between phenomenon while I was at fiddle camp – moments just sort of hit me over the head with such force that I couldn’t help but notice them. There are 3 that seem to have buffeted my head the hardest (in a good way), that I’ll share here:

We had choices of which session we could attend at camp – beginner, beginner/intermediate, intermediate or advanced. I was at a loss about which one to take, but always up for a challenge, I went to the advanced class with Graham Mackenzie . Making this choice meant I was in for some demanding work, and I wondered whether my brain might explode during the session. Wisely, I managed to get a seat next to Claire MacDonald-Matthews, a wonderful human who is an actual violin player and makes fiddling look so very, very easy! I was a bit anxious about Claire hearing all my mistakes, but I decided it was worth it if I could just follow what she was doing while Graham was teaching.

I was able to keep up, just barely, as Graham taught a lovely slip jig…if I remember correctly. Thankfully, my head didn’t actually explode, but the level of concentration made it spin for the entire hour we were working on the tune. It was mostly a blur – and then we were done. I really don’t remember much but I was struck with a precious in-between moment… Claire turned to me and quietly said “You did great, you sounded great!”.

She could have shouted it from the rooftops for all to hear, but it still wouldn’t have been any more wonderful.

I had tears.

Another in between moment that stands out and makes me laugh out loud is when I finally ran into (or danced into) Seoras. Tim and Jake divided us  into two huge dance circles and we were all being taught a PEI square step. At one point, we were doing a grand chain, moving in a circular fashion, where half of us travel counter-clockwise and the others travel clockwise, changing hands as we go. The result is that all dancers end up halfway across the set facing the same person they started with.

But as you move quickly through the chain, you end up making eye contact with whoever’s hand you are reaching for – so you keep your balance and don’t mess up!

And as I was frantically dancing and reaching out for hands, suddenly my eyes met Seoras’. We both laughed said “it’s you!”, because we had only ever seen each other on a tiny zoom screen!!! But of course, we had to keep dancing. And dance we did, with renewed vigour and delight. That moment of pure joy in seeing each other shot  through me like a bolt of lightning!

A HUGE in-between moment!

So, as I’ve said, the dancing, the fiddling, the laughter – those big moments - all these made for an incredible few days. Meeting Katya in real life was like meeting someone I already knew. Sitting in Room 3 after each day and jamming and talking and talking and jamming with Kat (England), Brittany (New Orleans), Jess (Toronto) and Eleanor (Orangeville) – freaking awesome.

But there was one quiet and very  special in-between moment that brought singular joy to me. My friend Eleanor has had a rough few years. I really don’t know anyone who has had to weather what she has gone through and still she smiles. This fiddle camp was something we’d talked about, and I signed us both up as soon as I could, just to make sure she had something wonderful to look forward to.

I could easily say that seeing Eleanor smile was the best in-between moment. And trust me, she did a whole lot of smiling the entire time we were there. But it was someone else, someone that Eleanor had known for quite a few years in Ontario, who delivered the best in between moment.

When we arrived at the school to check in for camp, Eleanor went down the stairs and naturally headed right for Tim and Jake. I watched from the steps as Jake’s face broke into a gentle smile and then a grin, and he stepped forward and wrapped up Eleanor in his arms.

I didn’t have to see Eleanor’s face because I knew she was beaming! That brief, in between moment, lodged between big moments of arriving at the school and hugging Mairi, and taking that first class with Graham, meeting these incredible fiddlers in real life, was one that will stay with me forever. Two souls genuinely delighted to see each other, and making certain the other person knew it.

In-between moments in life – maybe I can simply learn to be more aware of all the moments, and in doing so, notice the dots in between the lines, the pauses in between the notes and all those spaces that I often miss. The fiddle camp and all the wonderful people there helped to remind me that those in-between moments are worth not just noticing but savouring. They are the gifts in life we can choose to ignore, or we can celebrate.

Let’s Celebrate!