Even before I went to Amherst, I was singing Amherst College songs along with Dad (Malcolm S. Langford, AC1927). So, the songs that we students sang together while in college came rather naturally to me, as I had at least already heard most of them at least once. I guess that many other Amherst students have had similar experiences.
While at Amherst, I noticed in passing that we did not always sing the songs exactly as they appeared in the ©1926 Amherst College Songs book that I inherited from Dad. That did not bother me much at the time, when I simply accepted that things change and that -- however we were singing the songs -- it all seemed, at least, to be "working".
Since about 1985 I have been working to improve my own musical skills. I have done some "Barbershop" singing; received lots of help from Lou Perry (deceased) with all aspects of music; improved my note-reading skills by playing first rebec and later bass viola da gamba in various, informal settings; invested lots of time, money, and energy into learning (with the aid of several computer programs) to produce good scores; and now sing in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
All suggestions for improvements to any aspect of this ongoing effort will be gratefully received and carefully considered.
