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A lot of learning violin involves hearing yourself, so using a mute as a beginner is likely to leave you with all kinds of bad habits and weird issues. I think mutes are intended for violinists/fiddlers who are already proficient and don't have to worry as much about the fundamentals when they practice.
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Oct 16, 2013 03:03
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I got an ocarina thanks to this thread! I've wanted to learn a (weird) instrument anyway, just hadn't found one I liked enough to bother to learn it. So it arrived today and sounds like crap because I need to figure out breath control and stuff (also, it's a really lovely one made from plastic because I figured if I didn't like it, at least I wouldn't have wasted $50; it's this one: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B004RU0504?keywords=ocarina&qid=1381690523&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3). I guess I'll just play scales for a while until I sound less awful. Any advice on positioning of the lips? I suppose my mouth should form some sort of seal around the opening so no air escapes where it shouldn't go. But taking the whole mouth piece into my mouth looks rather dorky (and no one on Youtube does it). Oh well, practice makes perfect!
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Oct 16, 2013 16:12
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Anoulie posted:also, it's a really lovely one made from plastic because I figured if I didn't like it, at least I wouldn't have wasted $50; it's this one: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B004RU0504?keywords=ocarina&qid=1381690523&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3). I guess I'll just play scales for a while until I sound less awful. Yeah, I still argue that good ocarinas are cheap enough that it's just not worth it getting a bad one. Glancing around online, Stagg is just a re-brand of Dadi, so a pretty meh Taiwanese toy-grade. Now, all is not lost, at least you have an ocarina now and can get a general feel for whether you like one or not. But once you put even a few days into practising, if you're feeling at all like this is something you'll keep doing I'd spend the €16 on getting something more like this: http://www.ebay.de/itm/12-Loch-Konzert-Okarina-Ocarina-Flote-Musikinstrumente-/250851351190?pt=Blasinstrumente&hash=item3a67e7da96 For whatever dang reason the seller doesn't list the brand-name, but you can see it in the photo: TNG. TNG is supposed to be a pretty good cheapie; in the US reputable seller STL Ocarinas carries them. On eBay.de there are a number of Hong Kong shippers selling TNG models, though again you have to eyeball them because they don't type out the brand-name. On eBay.com there are several sellers with TNG, including the teardrop-shape models, some of whom ship free worldwide (though that takes a few weeks).  I'm not totally sure what the other reliable brand-names of ocarinas are in Europe, but a little googling never hurts. Also if you decide you'd prefer an inline over a transverse, maybe it wouldn't be too pricey to order one shipped from Mountain Ocarinas in the US? In the meantime, feel out your Stagg just to see how you like ocarinas in general, but just bear in mind it's not a great one even for a cheapie. But if you want to upgrade it's awfully cheap to do so. So far as breath pressure, remember, it's always better to underblow and then increase breath pressure until the tone evens out, rather than start out blowing too hard and getting a shriek. quote:edit: back after a few hours research. Welp, Wind controllers aren't cheap in Oz, and I can't seem to find any under the $500 mark. Oud's are even crazier, been on Mike's Oud forum and a million random arabic websites with no info. The only site with anything of use is arabinstruments.com, but no idea on the quality of those things and price is still around $600 before shipping (Sukar Oud). I did just impulse buy a tin whistle, however. I will keep reading and sifting through the thread. No worries, no deadline. Just keep reading up, listen to as many YouTube clips as you can, and see what jumps out at you. From what I'm seeing most folks stock all the same stuff in terms of electrics: Murad Turki, "Saleh from Shefaram", Gawharet El Fan, and the Sukar. Glancing around and checking Australia shipping prices, you could probably get one around $600 even after shipping. If you do go that direction, I'd say it's worth starting a new thread on Mike's Oud Forum to ask about those specific makes which are currently on the market. You may notice that a number of folks on Mike's really don't dig the electrics, and like a lot of things in the music field it can be hard to tell what's just traditionalism, and what is actual technical issues. But there do seem to be several players with "toilet seat ouds" as the oval-outline electrics are nicknamed, who find them really useful for playing in big ensembles without feedback. And if using effects pedals and the like is in your plan, electric is definitely the way to go. So far as the wind controllers, there are sellers in Korea, for example, on eBay International selling the Akais for $300 with free international shipping, so unless Customs fees are likely to eat you alive, you could come out okay on that too. Just depends what ends up seizing your fancy. Get your listening groove on, and pop back in to ask us any questions. TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Oct 17, 2013 |
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Oct 17, 2013 02:48
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Brinner posted:I am really interested by those electric 'silent' violins, and was wondering what other instruments I could learn that are similar i.e can plug in headphones and practice to myself. Doesn't have to be strings, I have no preference as I will be learning a proper instrument for the first time as is. I get terribly self conscious and am in a large share house so the headphone bit is pretty important! To follow up on TapTheForwardAssist's post about electric oud's, a similar (but somewhat less exotic) option might be something like this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gem-lUfiypM http://www.eastwoodguitars.com/index.php/airline-guitars/all-airline-guitars/solid-body-guitars/item/airline-mandola I've had a quick play on one a a friend of mine owns and they are pretty fun to play around with, to play it with ear phones you'd need a miniature amplifier, but those can be brought pretty cheaply from most music shops. Eastwood also do another similar instrument with a shorter scale; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cxZTVPL_I4 http://www.eastwoodguitars.com/index.php/eastwood-guitars/all-eastwood-guitars/solid-body-guitars/item/mandocaster And an electric Ukulele (which I can only find on the UK site) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV89NFLBxTM http://www.eastwoodguitars.co.uk/Other/xxx%20airlineUkulele/uke_frm.htm Follow the links for more videos! Lastly, the comedy option Stylophone! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYFOnG9BNuQ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylophone Stylophones were flogged pretty heavily as an accessible instrument for children to learn on, the controls are basic (press stylus to metal, make noise) and it's fairly easy to figure out basic tunes by yourself. The old ones cost more than they have any right to, but the modern reissues can be brought fairly cheaply (around £20) and they have a headphone socket so no one can hear what a hideous racket you are making. I'd seriously recommend everyone buy one of these, they are great fun.
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Oct 18, 2013 02:30
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A little concertina update today. First off, for any US goons who want a good deal on an Anglo concertina, a guy up in Seattle has a used Rochelle 30-button C/G for $275 (retail $415). If you've wanted to get started playing Irish trad music on concertina, this is basically exactly what you want at $140 off retail. If you're not necessarily into Irish, but have wanted to play concertina, this is also your best option if you're favouring Anglo over English or Duet. On sale here: http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15010  Here's a good clip of what solo Irish concertina sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2M8P97N0Is Meanwhile, I'm about to make the most expensive musical instrument purchase of my life, and overall my largest expenditure that hasn't been real estate or a vehicle. I've been playing my starter-grade Elise model Duet concertina (same model at least two goons have bought since the thread started) and have been playing it a lot these days, so since I've been selling a lot of excess music gear and motorcycle bits this year I'm springing $3800 on a Morse Beaumont model Duet concertina:  Details and video clips: http://www.buttonbox.com/morse-beaumont.html We have a few goons here with starter concertinas of various sorts, and one (thousandcranes?) with a high-grade vintage Wheatstone English concertina, and another goon with an English by Morse, same maker I'm buying from. I still feel concertina is one of the more underrated instruments in the thread, but in the fullness of time maybe we'll get a few more goons playing.
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Oct 23, 2013 03:00
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A small Appalachian dulcimer update: I found a three-part workshop nearby and attended the first part, which was great. I might take regular lessons from this teacher once I can afford it. One of the other students and I are going to meet up this weekend to practice together. Playing instruments is great for your social life. Here are a few things I've learned that are probably really obvious to people who have played stringed instruments before: -String winders are really drat helpful if you're new at replacing strings. I've been told you can find them at any guitar store, so I'll be going to pick up one of my own soon. -Noters don't just make the dulcimer sound cool, they also give your finger a break from the strings digging into it. It's nice to end a practice session with your noter if you don't have string calluses on your fingers. (I also personally find it much easier to play with a noter, but I have to avoid becoming dependent on it.) -If the pick slides around a lot, there are slip-resistant picks out there. You can also superglue sandpaper onto both sides of the pick where you hold it, if you want. I've learned Bile Them Cabbage Down, of course, and I've also begun figuring out some songs from my childhood like Harvest Home and Loch Lomond. Sticking to Mixolydian mode for now, but I'll be trying out some other tunings after the next part of the workshop. My family is going to expect me to be able to play something when I head down for Thanksgiving, so I'll at least have a couple simple tunes ready. My dad will probably want to bring out his harmonica and jam with me, which will be interesting.
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Oct 23, 2013 19:15
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Visteri posted:A small Appalachian dulcimer update: I found a three-part workshop nearby and attended the first part, which was great. I might take regular lessons from this teacher once I can afford it. One of the other students and I are going to meet up this weekend to practice together. Playing instruments is great for your social life.  Great work finding a local workshop; that can be a great way to get some formal training at a lower price than private lessons, as well as to meet other players, as you've noticed. Is the workshop mostly on traditional/drone style, or are they also covering modern chording? When I taught dulcimer workshops (which I keep meaning to get back into doing), I would put all the dulcimers on the table, on top of swatches of that rubber-webbing stuff people put in drawers so that the instrument won't slide. I'd have them tuned to Ionian (DAA is common pitch these days) and with a large and soft pick (either commercial or cut a triangle as big as a 50c piece out of soft plastic). I start folks out just strumming the instrument with no fingers to get a feel for the sound, and then show them how to fret cleanly at the third fret: not right on it, but not too far behind it. Incidentally, though some of my workshop beaters had no 6.5 fret, for those that did I marked it with a little red sticky tab for "don't use this for the time being". Once they had the absolute basics of strumming and fretting down, I'd walk them note-by-note through "Amazing Grace", having tab in front of them but also me calling out the numbers note by note. I tried both instruments with numbers marked, and also just pointing out the 3rd fret and having folks figure from there, and my personal experience was that people can count frets just fine without actual numbers on them. Once we had a few times through Amazing Grace I'd just let folks try playing free-form in Ionian (letting them know to stick with the melody string(s) only for now) and circulate amongst the students giving advice or pointing things out. I also tried bringing some simple tab for folk songs or whatnot, but I don't recall that most folks took to that right away, preferring to just feel tunes out. People who were really taking to it I'd re-tune them into Dorian so they could try out minor scale as well. And by that point we would be at the hour mark or so and finish up. Definitely something I'd like to get back into doing, probably by my same previous method of just finding an artsier bar or cafe and working out with them a slow night where they could host, and then putting up flyers for a free dulcimer workshop. I held most of mine in an Irish bar in St John's, Newfoundland, and that worked well; got a crowd pretty evenly mixed between ages, including a lot in the 19-30 set, but also had an elderly couple easily in their mid-60s who brought along their own dulcimer they'd bought on vacation in Appalachia in the 1970s, and liked the workshop so much they came to three of them. quote:I've learned Bile Them Cabbage Down, of course, and I've also begun figuring out some songs from my childhood like Harvest Home and Loch Lomond. Sticking to Mixolydian mode for now, but I'll be trying out some other tunings after the next part of the workshop. Good deal, working tunes out by ear is a vital folk skill. So whenever you're just mucking around on the fingerboard, if you run across a few notes and say "hey, that sounds like a part of XYZ tune", then roll with it and see if you can build the rest around it. quote:
Sounds fun! Here's a suggestion, make sure you figure out what key your da's harmonica is in. If he's a big-time serious player he may have multiple keys, but if he's a casual player it's probably in "C". Is your workshop using the now-common DAD pitch for Mixolydian? If so that'll be hard to match up for a C harmonica, but you can make it way easier by tuning slightly lower to CGC, the exact same proportions but just at a lower pitch. Then you'd match up key with a C harmonica (playing folk-style straight harp). So it might take some experimentation to match up keys, but that's part of the learning and fun. More advanced, but here's a guy playing harmonica and dulcimer at the same time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6o1FPXxEv4 
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Oct 27, 2013 16:22
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After some incredibly stalled construction, I decided to just give up and buy a talharpa. Then the ancient instrument bug hit, and I bought an Anglo-Saxon lyre. My mail is going to be interesting for the next few weeks as I keep my eyes peeled. Talharpa is by ArCane Lutheriery, with the lyre by Silvershell music. I'll post reviews as soon as they arrive - been playing so much nyckelharpa and säckpipa lately that it'll be nice to have a change. On that note, I've been having a lot of fun playing outside the traditional contexts with my 'harpa. Got to do a set accompanying a bellydance group, which was definitely interesting - a lot of improvisation and working to fit in with the other musicians. I'm also in the process of writing and recording some pieces for a LARP I'm involved with, which has been a fun exercise - it's the first time I've been confident enough to record solo stuff, as I'm playing all the instruments involved, along with finding good real-world bases for all the music I'm playing around with. There's just so much variety in folk that it really lets you hear how cultures differ in terms of aesthetics alone.
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Oct 28, 2013 05:02
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Lazy Sunday morning, so catching up on a few posts that were interesting and merit update:Red87 posted:Just wanted to drop into the thread as I kind of went ghost after asking about the Smallpipes. I've had a set for about 3 months now but originally didn't touch it much. A month or so ago I just happened to take a peek at a local craigslist type deal here in Germany and found a guy starting up a pipeband on another nearby base here in Germany. Any progress on the whole pipe-band scene, or messing with the smallpipes? The overlap of Highland pipes and smallpipes is always an odd one: smallpipers tend to be either GHB players who wanted something non-deafening to practise at home, new pipers who want same, or new players who specifically want to play Scottish trad and dance music but not the loud marching band stuff and specifically chose SSP. Are you thinking your interests are going to lead you primarily into GHB, or do you see yourself playing SSP for indoor practise, or to play more tune-based SSP repertoire? Hedningen posted:After some incredibly stalled construction, I decided to just give up and buy a talharpa. Then the ancient instrument bug hit, and I bought an Anglo-Saxon lyre. Building instruments is generally a matter of enjoying the process itself: if you're building something just to save money you're probably better off just spending more hours at whatever you earn cash for, and using that cash to just buy an instrument. I had trouble parsing your post since I kept reading "talharpa" as "nyckelharpa" and getting confused because you already have one. But yes, talharpa (primitive bowed lyre) and hearpa (Anglo-Saxon lyre) will definitely fit into the overall vibe you're going for. There are a wide number of tunings for the hearpa, so experiment around with those. I also have a Silvershell-made hearpa, and while it's a little plain it plays well. The maker has mine set up with strings for Hucbald tuning (just a basic scale stopping on the 6th), so since I tune to pentatonic scales the tensions are a little off, but not so huge I've done anything to change it. Overall I favour lyre over the more lap-based zithers like kantele and whatnot, but I have been thinking about kantele again for the first time in a while. I'm looking at changing jobs, and might get a job with a larger workspace than my current assholes-and-elbows one. Currently I keep an Appalachian dulcimer on top of my cabinets and play it occasionally while reading papers on my screen. But in the interest of being a bit more subtle, once I get a new job (and once they get to know me enough that using instruments as desk toys isn't weird) I may get a narrow/low/long 5-string open-bottomed kantele with nylon strings. That way it would be quiet, simple, and would fit on the rim of my desk without having to move things around when I wanted to play. Something pretty much like this, but without the drawing:  deepshock posted:Here's something I'm going to get through Ebay in a few weeks. It's already in transit. It's an older chord harmonica with 6 sets of 8 holes instead of 12 or 24. To get a full chord harmonica like I wanted to would be about $1000-2000 too much for me right now, so I'm looking forward to this item instead. I didn't know they came in 6 sets of holes. I'm not really familiar with chord harmonicas, can you share a bit about your find with the thread? Did it make it to you okay or did you have to do some cleanup on it? I think it was this thread where a goon got a harmonica for free since it'd been burned in a fire, and did a full rebuild of it just for kicks. Catching up on a few ongoing stories; also a good reminder for me to get a new banner ad made and posted to bring some more fresh meat into the thread. I'm very curious to hear how Paper Clip Death's hunting horn experiment has worked out, and enthe0s ended up getting a Cajun accordion, and we've yet to have a goon buy one of those and check back in. It's inevitable in a thread like this that a lot of interesting stories will peter out on the forum, even if in actual real life the poster gets really into their instrument, but every so often we get some interesting updates. One of the high points in my A/T experience was running across a goon who was going to college in DC, who had been playing ukulele for four years, and took it up at age 16 in the first place because of the "why you should get a ukulele" thread.
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Nov 3, 2013 18:04
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Building instruments is generally a matter of enjoying the process itself: if you're building something just to save money you're probably better off just spending more hours at whatever you earn cash for, and using that cash to just buy an instrument. I can partly agree with this, I would have never started making guitars if I didn't already have all the woodworking tools handy (You'd probably need £300 worth of tools to make a guitar and £300 could easily buy you a decent instrument), but at the same time you can make perfectly functional instruments using basic tools for very little overlay (cigar box guitar, diddly-bo, washtub bass, that electronic flute that was posted a while ago, you can even make a didgeridoo from a length of PVC.), I guess it varies between instruments, it's super-fun to experiment though. When I've got a bit of free time I shall make a few large posts on how to make basic instruments cheaply and easily, it's quite surprising what you can make with literal junk and a bit of wire. TapTheForwardAssist posted:Catching up on a few ongoing stories; also a good reminder for me to get a new banner ad made and posted to bring some more fresh meat into the thread. I'm very curious to hear how Paper Clip Death's hunting horn experiment has worked out, and enthe0s ended up getting a Cajun accordion, and we've yet to have a goon buy one of those and check back in. It's inevitable in a thread like this that a lot of interesting stories will peter out on the forum, even if in actual real life the poster gets really into their instrument, but every so often we get some interesting updates. One of the high points in my A/T experience was running across a goon who was going to college in DC, who had been playing ukulele for four years, and took it up at age 16 in the first place because of the "why you should get a ukulele" thread. I've been a bit slack on working on my tonkori as I've been working on various commission pieces whilst doing a bit of distance learning, but I shall upload some pictures when I get the time (which shall hopefully be some time this week).
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Nov 3, 2013 22:02
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The harmonica made it over pretty well. I didn't have to do anything to it (not that I know a whole lot about opening those up.) It sounds rich, fresh, and the 6 chord sets sound beautiful together. I'm glad I went with this rather than waiting for some absurdly sized/priced item. I wonder if it's possible to rack something of that size or attach it to another instrument (accordion, harp)
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Nov 3, 2013 22:14
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Alright, I'm kind of bored with my hobbies lately and am trying to branch out to make myself a more well rounded person and figured I should learn an instrument maybe. Can you guys help me pick one out? My musical background is nonexistent. I got a bass guitar years and years ago that I still have but never had a formal lesson for, or even diy guide/lesson plan. I could try picking that up again, but i think i'd like something different. I was always worried about picking up music too late when I was 16 and got the bass because all my friends had already had various music lessons for years and so I could never be in their bands.  So yeah, something small and fun and easy for a total music noob. Honestly I think a melodica looks kind of fun. I can also get access to a uke easily, but maybe a dulcimer would be good? So many choices! My favorite band is The Magnetic Fields, and they always use a ton of weird instruments so I might even have some songs to play along to that I like already, if that helps? I am really out of my depth here. Apologies if i'm making GBS threads up this thread, and thanks in advance for any advice y'all can offer!
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Nov 4, 2013 04:34
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:
As of right now I'm primarily playing the smallpipes but have been mostly use a practice chanter to get the basics down, and most of what I'm playing is traditionally GHB marching tunes as that is what my instructor plays. At this point I enjoy it enough that I'm probably going to drop the cash soon for a decent poly GHB (McCallum's) set as I can realistically see myself playing this for a long time and I want to join into a real band when I get back to the US. So far for us here in Germany it's 2 of us pipers and 1 snare drummer, and we have a 3rd guy but he has kind of dropped off on it. It took me a bit to get going at first but already knowing how to read music made it a lot easier and I've been progressing pretty fast. I currently use the SSP for indoor practice primarily along with the PC, though I can play the GHB if I head to my office after hours as they are far too loud for where I currently live. Overall I'm having a lot of fun with it.
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Nov 4, 2013 19:23
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Building instruments is generally a matter of enjoying the process itself: if you're building something just to save money you're probably better off just spending more hours at whatever you earn cash for, and using that cash to just buy an instrument. I very much enjoy the process of instrument building - the main issue is that I lost access to my primary workspace, and my wife isn't exactly fond of me taking up a ton of space in our tiny condo with my various projects. I got some initial work done on the plans for building the Talharpa, along with some of the rough cuts for the wood, but I just didn't have enough time to work on it seriously. In general instrument-building, I've recently made a few PVC shakuhachi, based on a desire to keep my hands busy with projects. They actually sound decent when compared to the professionally-built one I was borrowing as a reference, so I've gotten to help a few more friends get started on playing some less common instruments. Definitely going to play around with alternate tunings - part of the sonic landscape of these instruments is finding interesting tunings to provide different textures. Lyre gets in on Friday, so I figure I may as well put my Old Norse knowledge to good use and finish up a project for one of my folklore buddies by working out a good pattern to play while reciting Völuspá.
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Nov 4, 2013 21:22
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Hedningen posted:I very much enjoy the process of instrument building - the main issue is that I lost access to my primary workspace, and my wife isn't exactly fond of me taking up a ton of space in our tiny condo with my various projects. I got some initial work done on the plans for building the Talharpa, along with some of the rough cuts for the wood, but I just didn't have enough time to work on it seriously. Out of interest, what other instruments have you built?
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Nov 4, 2013 21:58
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deepshock posted:The harmonica made it over pretty well. I didn't have to do anything to it (not that I know a whole lot about opening those up.) It sounds rich, fresh, and the 6 chord sets sound beautiful together. I'm glad I went with this rather than waiting for some absurdly sized/priced item. I wonder if it's possible to rack something of that size or attach it to another instrument (accordion, harp) I'd mistakenly thought the "chord harmonica" was just some other minor variant, but when you mentioned not knowing how to mount it, I googled it up, and man those things are huge. If you feel up to it at some point, a post with some pics and explanation of what these devices are would be enlightening for other readers. quote:Alright, I'm kind of bored with my hobbies lately and am trying to branch out to make myself a more well rounded person and figured I should learn an instrument maybe. Can you guys help me pick one out? No worries, this is exactly the kind of thing this thread is for. And so far as inspirations go, Magnetic Fields is a solid one. Though digging more into it I suddenly feel dumb that I never realised that the same guy is in Magnetic Fields and Future Bible Heroes (Stephin Merritt). So not that we literally have to find an instrument out of that band, but that your musical interests fit that general vibe. They use a lot of the standard guitar/bass combo, and lots of little fiddly analog synths and whatnot, but I imagine what you're thinking is something like their heavy ukulele use, particularly as done for Merritt's solo singing. If you're interested in uke, and particularly if you can borrow one from a friend to try out, that might be a great start right there. You can learn a few chords, find some of the easier MF or FBH songs that sound good on solo instrument and voice, and don't have too many chords. Any uke will suit you fine at first (soprano/standard, concert, and tenor are different sizes but tuned the exact same), but if you end up liking it you'll be wanting to get your own. When you do, I'd suggest taking a look at the somewhat uncommon uke variant Merritt favours, the 8-string tenor ukulele. It's not any harder to play, the strings are just doubled in pairs, like on a mandolin, so you finger the chords and notes just the same as a four string, no new skills involved. 8-strings have a distinctive richness/reverb to them, and fortunately aren't terribly more expensive. I wouldn't go too-too cheap (Oscar Schmidt) on an 8-string, given that for $250 or so you can get a Kala, which are great basic ukes. There's also Hula, Ohana, and Lanikai which make affordable but good 8-strings. Merritt on 8-string uke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbvZXp2axx0 More 8-string at KEXP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3nm0_3yJjw Merritt on a 4-string resonator (metal amplifying cone) uke, doing FBH solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eng8hkEkL4g  Speaking of doubled strings, there's an instrument Merritt has apparently been using more in the last few years, and also by coincidence the instrument I first heard him play. In 2007 or so he was on KUT radio in Austin, and did a solo rendition of "I Hate California Girls" backed just by bouzouki. The modern bouzouki is a Greek instrument approximating a long-necked mandolin pitched an octave lower, really rich full sound. There's the trad Greek ones with the bowl back and black top of the soundboard, and a separate line of "Irish bouzouki" (more resembling the Western mandolin) that developed in the 1960s or so as an innovation, and has by now generally been accepted as an Irish session instrument. Looking at footage, Merritt has both a trad Greek model and a modern Irish model he plays. Purists complain that he "plays guitar" on bouzouki rather than using traditional techniques, but the point is the man is getting the sound he wants. I would also suspect, but don't know for sure, that he may be using a uke-like tuning on the bouzouki to make it easier to just carry over chord and melody formations he already knows from ukulele over to the bouzouki. At this point it seems you're perfectly fine with the idea of uke, but I'd still suggest doing some looking around at such instruments on YouTube. They're known variously as "octave mandolin/mandola", "bouzouki", "cittern", etc. Those terms have developed the loose informal definitions of the OM having a somewhat shorter neck, the Irish bouzouki having a longer neck, and the cittern having five pairs of strings rather than four. It may be that looking at the vids you become totally entranced by the bouzouki and want that rather than a uke. Or, maybe you do the borrowed uke, then buy an 8-string uke, then maybe down the road you buy a decent bouzouki strung in a uke-type tuning and just carry your same technique over to the larger instrument. For reference, there's a really cheap make of 'zouk called Hora or Troubador, Romanian made, which some folks dislike but others say is a valid deal given they're like US$195 (and I think even cheaper in the UK). A decent new instrument such as Trinity College or Gold Tone runs $500-600, a few hundred less if you find one used on either an Irish forum or more likely Mandolin Cafe. Amateur singing with octave mando backing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEUJtf00zBk Nick Drake cover on octave mando: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNbIjZ68gSU   Those are the main ideas that jump out at me. So far as melodica, it's a fun piece but I'd say not really optimal as a first/primary instrument. Just a little harder to start figuring out without sounding terrible, and also not as fulfilling for playing just piddling around the house, particularly as you can't sing with it. I know I'm on a real concertina kick these days, but if you're kind of drawn to the free reed sound, I'd take a look at concertina as an option. The main recommended noob pieces (Concertina Connection) run $400ish, a little less if you find them used, and are good starters. Of the concertina types, for your purposes I'd recommend either Anglo concertina (different notes on push and pull for easy harmonising, like a harmonica) or Duet (low notes on left hand, high notes on right, very easy-to-learn layout for playing backing chords and melody atop them). Hymn singing with concertina: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCPSWXhsCXA Old sailor ballad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5tjRshOZdo  So that's my take on the matter: what of this jumps out at you as fitting the sound and feel you're going for?F8-str TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 13:46 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 06:06
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I think I have an old cheap uke in my house somewhere that I could start messing with. My girlfriend taught herself to play one and she comes from a musical background (cellist in school orchestra) so that would probably be the best basic starting point for me unless I want to get boring and figure out this bass thing. I also really like hip hop and have toyed with the idea of picking up a cheap synth or drum pads or something like that to gently caress around with. I haven't really had an interest in the uke, but it seems like the easiest and maybe best option right now? I'll have to hype myself up to dedicate some time to it though. The main thing that has prevented me from trying in the past has been my lack of basic knowledge. I don't know anything about like notes or whatever, and that's still my biggest concern.
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Nov 6, 2013 03:18
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Stan Taylor posted:I think I have an old cheap uke in my house somewhere that I could start messing with. My girlfriend taught herself to play one and she comes from a musical background ... I haven't really had an interest in the uke, but it seems like the easiest and maybe best option right now? I'll have to hype myself up to dedicate some time to it though. There's really no reason not to try out a little bit of uke to see if you like it. Learning three chords on uke takes very little time, and you can play a ton of songs with three chords, so that's at least enough to get you some really basic skills in short order. If your uke's a really cheap one, it'll certainly do to start, but if you find yourself actually getting into uke, you'll be wanting to upgrade past a $20 cheapie within two weeks or so, so start on the cheapie but don't let it hold you back too long if you start getting playing uke with any regularity. Even just a basic $80 soprano or concert uke from a decent maker would be a significant step up; you can check our A/T uke thread for more info. If you're working to psych yourself up for learning uke, just watch some more Stephin Merritt for a while, since the man is great on uke. quote:The main thing that has prevented me from trying in the past has been my lack of basic knowledge. I don't know anything about like notes or whatever, and that's still my biggest concern. I really wouldn't sweat that too much, people teach themselves simple instruments like uke every day. If you want a really dead-simple demonstration of basic uke chords, here's a basic video that demonstrates how to form three chords, and notes that three chords covers you for literally hundreds of songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZIV-1WJXYs Chord progressions in Western (i.e. US/UK/Canada/lots of Western Europe) music are surprisingly uniform, so it's no exaggeration whatsoever to say that a large amount of Western music can be played just knowing three chords. Here's a basic YouTube showing three chords on guitar playing 100 popular songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7A2uJLpfSM . Not half-assing them, the three chords will literally get you through a few hours of campfire singalong of songs ranging from folk tunes to rock oldies and top 40 hits from recent memory. For uke the main three chords to learn are C, F, and G. If you toss in an Aminor you cover even more thousands of songs. So that's literally 3 or 4 hand shapes on your left, and just rhythmically stroke (  ) with your right hand. Especially if you have a friend who knows very basically how to play guitar, or music in general, you'll find getting the absolute basics down easy. You don't need any music theory, other than the convenience of knowing the names of the given chord formation. Not that you need to know the music theory for it, just need to know that it has a name. Dive on in, give it a shot.EDIT: Here's another blog which has a weekly feature on songs (collected by theme) that you can play with just three chords on uke, and generally the same C-F-G: http://www.playukulelebyear.com/3-chord-club quote:I also really like hip hop and have toyed with the idea of picking up a cheap synth or drum pads or something like that to gently caress around with. I would still mess with the uke, just to have some basic chording skills and an acoustic musical outletbut if you're interested in hip hop that's really something worth looking into. Before you start fretting finding the money for all kinds of gear and keyboards and pads and things, I suggest you read up on some basic "babby's first beat" info online, since a huge portion of hiphop stuff can be done digitally these days for very little money. The key term is "DAW", "Digital Audio Workstation": basically soundboards represented graphically on the screen of your computer, tablet, etc. If you have a Mac you already probably have Garageband built in, which you can easily start learning how to make beats on. Here's a YouTube tutorial on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP01qjoSTvk If you have a PC, there are a number of programs, Fruity Loops (now called "FL Studio" since they got sued by Kellog) is a popular and famous one used by amateurs and pros. There's a really popular DAW called Ableton Live which has its own thread in SA's "Musicians' Lounge" subforum on the main page. Note, any of these DAWs on a full computer screen will have way more stuff than you need as a pure beginner, so don't let all the scary knobs and sliders get you flustered. Mess with the most basic functions and just learn it bit by bit. Fruity Loops  For various smartphones and tablets there are a number of cool beatmaking DAW apps, though some of them get rather squinty on a small phone. I have Propellerhead's "Rebirth" program on my iPhone for like $4 or so, and this is a port of the program that thousands of people used to make music back in the 1990s when it was new. It'd be a lot easier to use on a tablet so you wouldn't have to scroll around. But that's just one example of an app that can you can use to make basic beats. Rebirth on iPad  Some of the nicer DAWs are a few hundred, but there are plenty that are much less expensive that you can at least start with. With a lot of these you're going to eventually want some peripherals (microphone, small MIDI controller, etc) but for starters you can just use your mouse, keyboard, and screen. Check out the synth and other programming threads in ML to get the real experts. I'm happy to bring up the subject of DAW programs and MIDI and all that here, just noting that proportionally the specialist threads have way more knowledge since this thread is a bit more world/folk related. Though if you get good info from the electronic threads, by all means come back and share with us what you've learned. TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 05:55 on Nov 8, 2013 |
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Nov 8, 2013 03:54
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Also note that the intervals for the standard uke tuning are the same as the four high strings on guitar, so to play uke you can pretend that you are playing only the four high strings on a guitar. Just keep in mind that the uke is tuned a fifth lower, so if you play what would be a G chord on guitar then it comes out a as C chord on uke.
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Nov 8, 2013 04:03
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I might start playing the recorder (again) in addition or instead of the ocarina (depends on how the slightly less crappy ocarina I ordered sounds). I had lessons in elementary school but quit after three years or so. Any ideas on what to play that sounds less like kiddy stuff? Sheet music (perhaps even free and online)?
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Nov 9, 2013 13:37
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I've decided to sell my mandolin. I've been looking to reduce the number of instruments around the house in preparation for getting a jouhikko and this fell at the bottom of my list. Also, I stabbed myself yet again on the end of a string which pissed me off enough to post the CL ad. It's listed on craigslist already, and I don't want to deal with shipping, but if any goons in the Bay Area want to come pick it up, I'll give a Goon Deal. I'll include my copy of Niles Hokkanen's Guide to Mandolin Chords (see my title for testimonial) if you want. Anyone interested, PM me and we can figure out somewhere to meet.  Edit: If this is Not Allowed, tell me and I'll clear the post.
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Nov 9, 2013 21:06
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quote:I've decided to sell my mandolin. I've been looking to reduce the number of instruments around the house in preparation for getting a jouhikko and this fell at the bottom of my list. You try new things, and some stick and some don't, but hopefully messing with mando was a good learning experience. What's your main instrument these days, or is jouhikko planned to be your primary piece? Who are you getting yours from?  Anoulie posted:I might start playing the recorder (again) in addition or instead of the ocarina (depends on how the slightly less crappy ocarina I ordered sounds). I had lessons in elementary school but quit after three years or so. Any ideas on what to play that sounds less like kiddy stuff? Sheet music (perhaps even free and online)? If you're trying to avoid kid stuff, best thing is to go straight to serious classical or early music arranged for recorder. A number of books are for adults yet "easy" arrangements to minimise initial hassle but still give you something worthwhile to play. There are a gazillion books of recorder arrangements out there, many of which have dozens and dozens of songs and run $5 a book or so. But before that, I'd check your local and/or university library, as it's very likely they have a large number of scores. So far as finding free scores online, I'm finding it trickier than I'd expect. There's a good repository of links here, http://www.recorderhomepage.net/repertoire.html , though some of them are out of date. Here's also a massive online wiki of free sheet music, and their recorder section: http://imslp.org/index.php?title=Category:Scores_featuring_the_recorder&transclude=Template:Catintro Note a lot of stuff is written for "SATB", that is "Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass". However if you poke around their are solo pieces too, or duets you can do with a piano or guitar player.  Do you have a decent recorder already? Soprano, alto, or tenor? For others here considering recorder, the FAQ/101s at http://www.aswltd.com/rec101.htm are really worth reading. They are a shop, so have their bias and desire to sell, but raise a lot of good points, and also carry some affordable starter recorders. They particularly recommend the Yamaha 300 series for beginners, and for anyone other than kids or folks with very tiny hands, to get an alto recorder instead of soprano, since there is a lot more solo music written for alto, plus it's less shrill.
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Nov 11, 2013 05:06
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:You try new things, and some stick and some don't, but hopefully messing with mando was a good learning experience. What's your main instrument these days, or is jouhikko planned to be your primary piece? Who are you getting yours from? I've had fun playing around with the mandolin, definitely. These days I've mostly been playing around with the clarinet I picked up ($80, it's in drat good shape and this model costs almost $700 new) and, lately, a classical guitar. For some reason, strumming chords finally started to click on Friday and I've been transitioning from chord to chord pretty well. Mostly working on Wish You Were Here, since I know the words and can sort of sing along as I play. I'm thinking of getting Chris Nogy to build a jouhikko for me. We had a nice chat a few months back, and Hedningen seems to have been impressed by some of his other instruments, so if I can get this mandolin sold I think I'll ask him to start on the design. I prefer the look of the more open 4-string instruments, as opposed to those with smaller openings like the pic you posted. If I dig the jouhikko, I think it would be a great primary instrument, probably backed up by fooling around on the clarinet and guitar. I really dig the sound of the jouhikko.
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Nov 11, 2013 05:42
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Do you have a decent recorder already? Soprano, alto, or tenor? Thanks for the info and links! I'm looking at the sites as I type (well, I have tabs open, you know what I mean). I have a decent recorder (I think). It's the one I used in elementary school, actually, a soprano with German fingering. My mom has a baroque soprano and an alto, so I may be able to practice on those, too (they're much fancier). I've never actually taught myself to play an instrument, so this should be fun (the ocarina, too, but that's on hold until I get a not-crappy one). ETA: I haven't even found correct tabs for the sharp and flat notes yet. Jeez. (I know I end every sentence with a parenthesis.) Anoulie fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Nov 11, 2013 |
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Nov 11, 2013 19:25
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Thanks to your stupid banner ad, I got excited about tin whistles. Following the advice in this thread, I looked around at what the local music stores have in stock, and apparently Generation is the only brand below  in Finland. So I decided to go with that in D....I accidentally picked up an Eb instead.  Guess I'm going back to the store tomorrow to see if I can get this exchanged - my receipt reads D so I think I can make a case for it.
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Nov 11, 2013 23:50
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Siivola posted:Thanks to your stupid banner ad, I got excited about tin whistles. Following the advice in this thread, I looked around at what the local music stores have in stock, and apparently Generation is the only brand below This thread helped me pick up a lot of instruments. Between this and the uke thread I have amassed a small collection. My tin whistle doesn't get much use because it can be quite loud and shrill, and the people I am around generally don't want to hear it. You'll have fun with it, it's fairly easy to get started with. It also gives you a reason to listen to a bunch of Irish/Celtic music which you will discover is awesome. Now if only I could afford a low D whistle...
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Nov 12, 2013 00:49
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Hope this is ok, but wanted to chime in and say that we've got a banjo and bluegrass thread going here if anyone had questions about flatpicking, banjo, Scruggs style, clawhammer, Resonator guitar, fiddle, etc and wanted to participate. Not exactly weird, but I think a few of the instruments qualify as such
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Nov 12, 2013 03:13
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Siivola posted:[tinwhistle] See if you can scam them into both giving you a new D and letting you keep the Eb. The Eb would be useful for [reasons]. Years ago I was confused as to why Generation had Eb in their basic lineup. I mean Bb makes some sense (Highland bagpipes, playing with brass instruments, etc) but Eb didn't seem any more logical than C#, G#, or any other keys that they don't include. I eventually realised that there's a subset trend in Ireland for holding sessions pitched one half-step higher than the standard "D" used for most Irish music (other than County Clare where C has some currency). I've heard various reasons given, including some trend years ago to sound "brighter", and also arguably just a ruse to be dickishly exclusive to people who show up at a session with a D flute or B/C accordion vice an Eb flute and C/C# accordion. quote:My mom has a baroque soprano and an alto, so I may be able to practice on those, too (they're much fancier). I've never actually taught myself to play an instrument, so this should be fun (the ocarina, too, but that's on hold until I get a not-crappy one). Recorder is a great one with a wide and established body of musical and instructional materials, though apparently they're rather parsimonious about putting it free online. You're in Germany though, right? There should be a lot of stuff in local libraries, given how popular the recorder is there. And if you mom has a good alto, definitely hit her up for that. What kind of parent could say no to her child's musical desire? quote:I prefer the look of the more open 4-string instruments, as opposed to those with smaller openings like the pic you posted. If I dig the jouhikko, I think it would be a great primary instrument, probably backed up by fooling around on the clarinet and guitar. I really dig the sound of the jouhikko.  Ah, so the style you're interested in is what I think is more commonly referred to as talharpa (or stråkharpa, or in Estonian hiiu kannel, "bowed kantele"). The actual terms I think are equal, but in usage my impression is "jouhikko" tends to mean the more irregular-shaped organic-looking ones with an offset hand, whereas "talharpa" tends to mean the squarish ones with 3-4 strings. Not necessarily binding terms, but I think English speakers would associate talharpa and the square/open shape you seem to be referring to. While we're talking kannel/kankles/kantele, etc: a friend of mine who's about to pop asked me recently about what kind of musical instruments could be played while breastfeeding. She's pretty big into music, mostly playing guitar, but wanted some kind of instrument that can be played whilst being parasited from the front. I wasn't totally sure how to envision playing like that, but from best I can puzzle out the geometry I figured ideally it would be something that can be played one-handed and doesn't require blowing into it. Probably something that can either be put in the lap, or better yet next to one on a table on or the couch/bed. Plus I imagine it should be something rather tranquil and soft-sounding. Plus not too expensive, and durable enough to knock around. My very best guess so far has been a 5 or 10-string kantele, maybe even with nylon vice metal strings. That way she could either set it across her knees while sitting, or on some furniture next to her, and kind of zone out plucking patterns across it. Maybe retune during feedings to keep the challenge level up by finding new sounds and patterns. Oddly enough, this is pretty much my same solution for an instrument I could play quietly at my desk at work while reviewing papers. 
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Nov 12, 2013 14:40
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:And if you mom has a good alto, definitely hit her up for that. What kind of parent could say no to her child's musical desire? Mine would. Well, she's glad I want to give the recorder a shot again, but although she doesn't play hers too often, she's currently practicing some stuff for Christmas on them, so she needs them herself. After playing around on the baroque one for a little, I actually asked if I could borrow it, to which she responded by getting me my old elementary school recorder. It's not bad for a beginner, either, plus I have tiny hands, so alto might be somewhat cumbersome. I'll check out some libraries, too. Living in a university town should help here, but I don't know if they'd let me (a med student) into the music library. And thanks for the ebay link to the Asian ocarina! I just got it and it's much heavier and sounds far better than my crappy Amazon one. The most important thing, though, is that it goes down to the A below middle C, and then up to G2 because it has 12 holes. The other one was just middle C - F2 (10 holes). Looking forward to trying it out.
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Nov 12, 2013 17:49
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I've been taking Uilleann pipes classes for the last 2 months, and I'm loving it so far. I wanted to play since seeing Seamus Ennis on YouTube a year or two ago, and finally got around to starting this fall. I've been listening to practically nothing but irish music for the past 4-5 months (Planxty, Bothy Band, basically anything with pipes in it). In fact, I'm putting down the cash for my own half-set. It's also started me into playing irish tunes on guitar, and got me thinking about getting a bouzouki. Are there any recommendations on bouzouki makers? I'm pretty knowledgable with guitars (I've been playing for ~20 years, taking it more seriously for about 15) but I realized I know nothing about other fretted stringed instruments, which brands are good, etc.
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Nov 15, 2013 04:42
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quote:Mine would. Well, she's glad I want to give the recorder a shot again, but although she doesn't play hers too often, she's currently practicing some stuff for Christmas on them, so she needs them herself. After playing around on the baroque one for a little, I actually asked if I could borrow it, to which she responded by getting me my old elementary school recorder. It's not bad for a beginner, either, plus I have tiny hands, so alto might be somewhat cumbersome. For me, outgrowing an instrument is very much a matter of hours played rather than time owning it. With concertina, for example, I had my CC one for three years, and found it totally sufficient. But just this summer or so I started playing it a lot more, got to the point I'm practising specifically with concertina literally every day, and a month or two into that the small lackings of the CC model started becoming a hindrance in a way they hadn't initially. The CCs are great beginner boxes, and if you just play concertina casually as a sideline instrument, bust it out every other week or so (or haul it out of the closet a few times a year) it'll do fine. But if you get to playing it seriously as a main axe, I'd imagine you'd be jonesing for a finer model in 6-12 months. On my list of vague musical plans for the future, if in 2050 or so I'm too wore out keep up with sessions or deal with loud craziness, I might join one of those recorder ensembles. I know in some areas they're a popular senior hobby by virtue of being pretty chillaxed and undemanding, but still getting to hang out with friends and play music. I'd want to play the huge great bass, partially because it just looks cool and bassoon-like.  Roke. posted:I've been taking Uilleann pipes classes for the last 2 months, and I'm loving it so far. I wanted to play since seeing Seamus Ennis on YouTube a year or two ago, and finally got around to starting this fall. I've been listening to practically nothing but irish music for the past 4-5 months (Planxty, Bothy Band, basically anything with pipes in it). In fact, I'm putting down the cash for my own half-set. Great, not many uilleann pipers on the forum yet! But did you decide to take up the UP prior to seeing this thread, so this doesn't count as a point on the board for us? Which make of half set are you ordering? For the lurkers, a uilleann "quarter set" is just the bellows/bag/chanter (just the melody pipe). A "half set" adds on the drones, 3/4 adds regulators and a full adds a bass regulator. Regulators are these really funky devices that are, to my knowledge, largely unique to UP. They're this array of pipes you lay across your lap, with like oversized clarinet keys on them, and while using your two hands to play melody on the chanter, you lean forward and use your arm/wrist to bump keys on multiple pipes, creating a chord. It's a very distinctive effect you hear in UP playing.  Here's one of many great Seamus Ennis clips, you can hear him start hitting the regulators around 0:55 or so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF3fW4Nox9U As to your bouzouki question. First off, have you already explored the Irish tuning DADGAD on your current guitar? That might be a cheap way to scratch your 'zouk itch while you're busy saving for your pipes. But if you definitely want to add a new instrument rather than just new tuning, the main mid-level affordable ones to check out are Trinity College and Gold Tone, running $600 or so new. There are some established tweaks to address the shortcomings of the TC model, small commonly-needed changes to action and bridge and all, and I assume some of those apply to the GT as well. After brand, the main thing you need to decide is neck length. Shorter necks are easier to play rapidly on, long necks the strings behave better and sound better. It's an issue worth reading up on.  The next huge issue is tuning: some do it GDAE like a big mandolin, but GDAD is also popular and has many of the same advantages as DADGAD guitar. Or go fully open/power-chordy with ADAD. It's possible to give it a tuning similar to standard guitar, DGBE, though that would give the playing style a rather different character.
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Nov 16, 2013 04:25
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Great, not many uilleann pipers on the forum yet! But did you decide to take up the UP prior to seeing this thread, so this doesn't count as a point on the board for us? Hmm, I probably saw some videos (actually the Ennis video you linked to was the first one I saw and what got me hooked) and was interested in learning them before coming here, but I read this thread a bit before I actually took the plunge and started taking classes. So it provided encouragement, I guess? TapTheForwardAssist posted:Which make of half set are you ordering? From Tim & Stephanie Benson, in western NY. They were recommended by my teacher. I've played one of their practice sets with a cocobolo chanter, it was boss. TapTheForwardAssist posted:As to your bouzouki question. First off, have you already explored the Irish tuning DADGAD on your current guitar? That might be a cheap way to scratch your 'zouk itch while you're busy saving for your pipes. But if you definitely want to add a new instrument rather than just new tuning, the main mid-level affordable ones to check out are Trinity College and Gold Tone, running $600 or so new. There are some established tweaks to address the shortcomings of the TC model, small commonly-needed changes to action and bridge and all, and I assume some of those apply to the GT as well. Cool, thanks for the info. I'll check out those bouzoukis as a starting point. I have a 12-string that I keep in DADGAD or DADGBD, I've tried picking up a tune or two (just learned the Harvest Home).
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Nov 17, 2013 23:46
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Roke. posted:Hmm, I probably saw some videos (actually the Ennis video you linked to was the first one I saw and what got me hooked) and was interested in learning them before coming here, but I read this thread a bit before I actually took the plunge and started taking classes. So it provided encouragement, I guess? At some point while pondering your question, I asked myself why I don't have a bouzouki. Then I remembered that I did before. And then I remembered another one. So I finally paused and counted and figured that between 1996 and 2006 or so I owned about four different bouzoukis: Regal Octofone, Bardsong acoustic, Bardsong solid body electric, and an Olympic I got cheap at a pawnshop and sold to a goon (who I think is in this thread occasionally). I've owned a lot of instruments over time, but only a few that I've really seriously played or performed on. So there is a practical limit. I glanced around a bit to see if I could find any affordable 5-course (10-string) cittern, but apparently almost all the affordable ones are 4-course. There's a good article here explaining the utter confusion around the "cittern/bouzkoui/octave mandolin" spectrum, otherwise known as "CBOM": http://www.robinbullock.com/article02.htm If you're looking for a used one, check out the classifieds at Mandolin Cafe, and note they also have a CBOM subforum: http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?50-CBOM  Separate side-note, I'm selling a small child's kinnor (Israelite lyre harp) on SA mart for $25+ US shipping. It's too small and tinny to be a serious adult instrument, but it plays a basic scale as well as the little trapezoidal psalteries everywhere sells for kids: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3586053 I'm also about to list a mini child-sized 5-chord autoharp in the next few days. I've owned like four variants of such critters: gave one to a friend's 5yr old, gave one really cheap but beat one to a goon with kids, selling the third one, and keeping the more unusual Chromaharp-brand one (the rest are all Oscar Schmidt). Additionally, I'm going to post in SA Mart for a bunch of dulcimers for sale, locally in DC only since shipping is a pain. I had a bunch of dulcimers on-hand for workshops, but I'm thinking I'm just going to get a dozen cardboard dulcimers and standardise on those so I have a consistent training instrument and also lighter and more knockaroundable. So if you're in the DC area and want a dulcimer, watch for my SA Mart post. UPDATE: Link to my dulcimer thread for DC goons: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3586964 EDIT: If anyone wants a rather crude but inexpensive (and presumably functional since they're hard to do wrong) Anglo-Saxon lyre, there's one on eBay for $60: http://www.ebay.com/itm/sca-7-string-Lyre-/331068504198?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d15387886 . No tuning wrench, but "zither tuning wrench" will get you $5 options on eBay, so no big deal. 
TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Nov 20, 2013 |
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Nov 19, 2013 06:40
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Here's a pretty major DIY project: a Polish pianist built a viola organista, an instrument of Leonardo Da Vinci's design. It looks to me like a cross between a harpsichord (keyboard and strings) and a hurdy-gurdy (the strings are excited by rotating wheels).  http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/11/viola-organista/
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Nov 19, 2013 06:58
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Base Emitter posted:Here's a pretty major DIY project: a Polish pianist built a viola organista, an instrument of Leonardo Da Vinci's design. I was expecting it to sound like barreful of cats being tortured, but that turned out extremely well. I genuinely hope he's getting some kind of serious arts funding for bringing something so unusual (and ungodly complex) to life. I'm pretty used to instruments, common or weird, being pretty butchered in cartoons and animation; you'd think some of these artists never saw a guitar in their drat lives and couldn't take 10 seconds on Google to figure out how to draw one. So I was just blown away by this week's American Dad:  The characters formed what they called a "balalaika trio", so I was initially amused and surprised that the drawn instruments were pretty well-executed. Then I was just floored that when they broke up the act Hailey says "fine, people only come for the garmon anyway". Hot drat, they actually drew it properly (another angle clearly shows the two rows) and called it by the right name. And then Klaus (the fish) declares he's going to split off and become "a solo gusli superstar". Holy poo poo, three-for-three on calling obscure Russian instruments by their proper names, actually googling them up to draw them correctly, and dubbing them with something approximating the right sound. It's a simple thing, but it's just so rare someone actually puts in the effort.
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Nov 21, 2013 03:11
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Not counting folks online or Craiglist stuff, I've sold just a few in-person friends on weird instruments this year. One non-musical buddy I gifted a pentatonic kalimba to and he's found it a good "drunk lounging on the couch thing to fiddle with". Another young girl who's about to move overseas (and recently divorced) wanted something good for filling up alone time and serious study, and vaguely wanted to learn cello, so I've got her about 90% sold on viola da gamba (she has the cash). Then the girl who wanted something to play while nursing, so I have to check in with her as to what she chose. Another one I hadn't seen the results of for a while: guy I run across at some parties had been wrapped in conversation about bagpipes with me for a drunken hour a few months back, and I'd shot him an email but hadn't seen him for a while. Ran across him at a recent party, and turns out he'd followed all my links, read up, and decided that he really wants to get a set of Scottish smallpipes. I was a bit surprised by this, since he's saving up for an overseas move and I'd also sent him some really affordable links on electronic smallpipes, but he really wants acoustic, and though (like most folks) the GHB initially drew him to Scottish pipes, he prefers the tone and volume of smallpipes. So temporary hiatus, but once he and his wife settle into their new overseas job he may be pinging me about pipe selection. And in the meantime he's spent a ton of time listening to smallpipes, borderpipes, and GHB online. Good feeling. So as to not have my suggestions to him about e-pipes go to waste, posting them here: Me posted:Definitely, the main thing you want to do is listen, listen, listen for a while. Try checking out YouTube for different kinds of pipes, different playing environments (pibroch competition, SSP duet with guitar on-stage, novice BP player practicing at home), just get a feel for the sounds and styles.  I'm pretty hopeless with wirey-soldery stuff, but we have a few goons in this thread and many more on the forum overall who have skills with Arduinos and other such off-the-shelf music chips. So if anyone wants to get all bagpipe but doesn't want the expense or noise of acoustic, for $25 or so you can build an electronic bagpipe and run it through your smartphone or laptop with all kinds of permutations of tone and fingering. Not at all an expert here, but if you have any questions post them and we can get a more MIDI-skilled goon on it, or you can sample the variety of online discussions and report back to us. Interview with the Asturian Spanish gaita player Hevia about his electronc bagpipes, at the "Alternative Pipers of North America" blog: http://theotherpipers.org/index/?p=1274 
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Nov 25, 2013 03:49
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So I've been enjoying my flute and tin whistle, but I've been getting the itch to try playing something stringed again. Any chance I could take advantage of that offer to find a reasonably priced dulcimer? Unfortunately I live nowhere near DC so the shop thread doesn't help me. I don't have the PM upgrade, so any links here in the thread would be greatly appreciated.
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Nov 25, 2013 07:57
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Dulkor posted:So I've been enjoying my flute and tin whistle, but I've been getting the itch to try playing something stringed again. Any chance I could take advantage of that offer to find a reasonably priced dulcimer? Unfortunately I live nowhere near DC so the shop thread doesn't help me. I don't have the PM upgrade, so any links here in the thread would be greatly appreciated. No worries, if you email me at my username at Yahoo, I can shoot you over some links for some inexpensive dulcimers. I will caveat, the <$75 ones there is a decent chance you'll need to do a little unskilled tweaking on it. Nothing complex or requiring more than the crudest of tools, but it is the risk one takes going ultra cheap. There's a good article on Everything Dulcimer which gives a breakdown of commonly-seen inexpensive dulcimers and which are worth getting. The prices are a little lower than I normally see on eBay, but not terribly so. For example a Korean "Hondo" (quite possibly the first-ever offshoring of dulcimers back in the 1970s) the poster says he wouldn't go over $35, which is a bit optimistic. I'd go maybe $65 shipping included on one off of eBay, for example. Similar with the "fishtail" Hughes plywood dulcimers. They can be surprisingly decent for what they are, if you're willing to measure the action height with some loose change and adjust it with a file or bit of hacksaw, and I'd pay up to maybe $55 shipped on one of those. That said, if you want to make sure you get a really decent dulcimer the first time out, in the $125 range you can get a brand-new dulcimer from a US maker, in one of their stripped-down "student" models. If you don't want to roll the dice, or don't feel comfortable doing some tweaking on a beater, this is the safer bet. The student dulcimers by Berg and by Harpmaker are continually brought up as recommended noob dulcimers. http://www.mountainmademusic.com/dulcimer.asp Berg $135 http://www.strothers.com/sweetwoodsinstruments.com/dulcimers.php Harpmaker $125 (I believe he also makes larger student Baritones for not too much more)  These two I haven't seen as much press about, but I've had one or two Wiley dulcimers and been pleased, and Craggy Mtn seems to have decent stuff. http://jennywileydulcimers.com/FourDulcimers/index.htm $125 http://craggymtnmusic.com/stumtndulc.php Craggy Mountain $179 I've sold off a few of my beaters recently, and it has reminded me how they can be a bit of a crapshoot. Out of maybe 20 beaters I had in the house, I had maybe 3-4 of them that were just too clunky to really fix up decently. Of the rest, a decent number needed little to no work, but in the middle I have a good 5 or so that are missing tuners, or the action is just terrible high, or bridge glued down in the wrong place, so now I'm having to either sit down and fix a few, or sell them at a discount to people who aren't offput by having to work on a cheapie they just bought. Neither answer is wrong, just depends on your time/cash/adventure ratio.
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Nov 27, 2013 04:16
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There is always the cardboard dulcimer option. The are pretty neat IMO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3c01usETco withak fucked around with this message at 05:58 on Nov 27, 2013 |
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Nov 27, 2013 05:54
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Shot you an email, thanks for the help.
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Nov 27, 2013 06:13
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