A friend of mine was telling me that a friend of his asked him what he played at a concert the other night. My friend said it was a piece by Jacques Ibert. His friend said, “Did you know Ibert had a son named Theodore?” Nyuk, nyuk. I get it. Ted Ibert. Teddy Bear.
The guy went on to say, “And did you know Fauré had a daughter? Her name was Barbie.”
My friend was puzzled, as was I when he told me. We both sat there muttering, “Bar Beef or Ray? Bar Before A?” and any other variations we could think of.
i’d find it hilarious to tell that jus because of the non-joke. like where i know your expecting a punchline but i know there isnt one. Maybe thats the case?
No, he plays piano. But maybe his friend plays sax. Tell me how the pun works vis-a-vis the saxophone!
Put down the ducky! Put down the ducky! You gotta put down the ducky if you wanna play the saxophone.
Yup. Much music is printed with “rehearsal marks”: letters printed at the start of a significant section that the orchestra is likely to want to go over, and a reasonably easy place to begin. So when the conductor wants to start not from the beginning of the Academic Festival Overture but the point where the theme Wir hatten gebaut eine stattliche Haus begins, he’ll tell the players: “Bar before A”. (Example is as ex ano as my German spelling, but you get the idea.)
