# How do you make gifts of music?



## LAS (Dec 12, 2014)

I used to give people/relatives CDs. Now many can't even play a CD. E-mailing an MP3 doesn't really do it. How does that MP3 show up to be valued? I find it a real loss. Thoughts?

tia
las


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I find that my greatest gift of music is myself ... in the form of a performer. I'll invite people to attend one of my church services or arrange for a private mini-concert of my playing after church office hours. 

The people on my musical gift list always enjoy having a CD of my playing at the organ console or the piano. 

One can also make a monetary donation to a musical institution in honor/memory of someone. That kind of gift is everlasting and appreciated by many people over the years.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

Concert tickets might be a nice musical gift, but of course you'd have to check with the recipients beforehand to make sure that they're free on that particular date.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

I was a composer and there are two instances where I wrote something as presents for people. It's been said that the best gifts to give are those you make yourself.

My mother was a poet. She always maintained that her poetry could not be sung. I maintained that it could. This was a "friendly" disagreement between us for a long time. One year at Christmas time, she assembled all her poems in a book and had it privately published. The next year I took one of those poems and set it for SATB a Capella choir and presented it to her. She was quite pleased. 

Some years after that I wrote a little hymn for a minister friend on the occasion of his retirement. A tune came to me as he was reading the text to me over the phone. I had him repeat it to me, phrase by phrase, as I wrote the tune down during the phone call. I arranged the tune for his church choir. It was the last thing he heard during his last service as a minister. He too was pleased.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

QuietGuy said:


> I was a composer and there are two instances where I wrote something as presents for people. It's been said that the best gifts to give are those you make yourself.
> 
> My mother was a poet. She always maintained that her poetry could not be sung. I maintained that it could. This was a "friendly" disagreement between us for a long time. One year at Christmas time, she assembled all her poems in a book and had it privately published. The next year I took one of those poems and set it for SATB a Capella choir and presented it to her. She was quite pleased.
> 
> Some years after that I wrote a little hymn for a minister friend on the occasion of his retirement. A tune came to me as he was reading the text to me over the phone. I had him repeat it to me, phrase by phrase, as I wrote the tune down during the phone call. I arranged the tune for his church choir. It was the last thing he heard during his last service as a minister. He too was pleased.


Nice post, QuietGuy. You've been too quiet around TC lately!


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## Guest (Mar 17, 2017)

Having a work commissioned is one kind of musical gift which is certainly more of the most highly valued gifts. Concert tickets are certainly a good gift of music. These sorts of things exist as unique experiences or unique creations whereas CDs tend not to be.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

I am planning a design of a book containing librettos of Mozart operas translated into *Spanish* because I want to give a farewell present to a friend, but she doesn't know English or any other language. Also, together with the book goes a *personal letter*, a *photograph* and a box set of *Mozart Operas conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.*


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

But it is quite awkward that I also want to buy a DVD gift to her and I saw yesterday that its content is already on YouTube.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Granate said:


> I am planning a design of a book containing librettos of Mozart operas translated into *Spanish* because I want to give a farewell present to a friend, but she doesn't know English or any other language. Also, together with the book goes a *personal letter*, a *photograph* and a box set of *Mozart Operas conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.*


Must be a very dear friend.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Must be a very dear friend.


More like... a mother for me...


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

As a gift to my wife, I tossed a Falco album I occasionally played mostly just to irritate her in the trash.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Blancrocher said:


> As a gift to my wife, I tossed a Falco album I occasionally played mostly just to irritate her in the trash.


Wow. If I wanted to give my wife a huge gift, I'd dispose of my Ives collection.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Granate said:


> More like... a mother for me...


Bless you, I did receive a present from a very drear friend trough the Presto site, forever grateful.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

If I wanted to give my wife a huge, priceless gift, I would leave the house and never come back.

Gifting her the Solti Ring she wouldn't understand.

Permanently leaving, she would "get" instantly!


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Manxfeeder said:


> Wow. If I wanted to give my wife a huge gift, I'd dispose of my Ives collection.


Next birthday, as a real treat for Mrs Pat, I will buy the biggest CD box-set I can find of bagpipe music.

Then let her watch as I systematically destroy them with a blow-torch.


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

A gift card to iTunes store or preferred digital music distributor would work just as well too!


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