Musicians' Humor

Growing up in a household of musicians, dinner time was always sprinkled with the pun of the day, usually a play on a piece my father was playing or a conductor he was working with. A few puns come immediation to mind like, "I prefer my coffee without sweetener or Leitner," or "Neville Martin in left field." When my musical sphere was expanded at Juilliard, every conductor's name was instantly turned into a pun, as were many of the names of the composers who wrote the pieces we played in orchestra. Even names of courses were fair game: L&M (Listening and Materials of Music) was generally referred to as S&M. I guess I might have had a small part in some of these activities, but there were a lot of musicians who had punning powers that were far greater than mine.

Now, after writing that "disclaimer" I will proceed to share a very silly thought that came to me this afternoon, while playing a Chaconna by Johann Pachelbel that had, as Chaconnas do, a repeating ground:

Imagine a coffee shop called "Pachelbel's Grounds."