Ok happy enough with this one because it sounds dramatic enough and expressive and you can clearly see the way I bow. I even see circle bowing. It could be better more structured and well thought over though ..
I love Clyde Davenport!!! He kept me busy with that one recording.
Link because I do not seem to succeed to upload it.
youtu.be/QUA0QqUKQ4c
Nice job, Anja! Sounds very Old Timey!
That was nice, very pleasant. You're getting a good tone, smooth even slow bows (which is great for tone improvement), I let it play while I tidied the kitchen and it wasn't distracting. That is a compliment because my ears can distract me when there are mistakes in note placement or pitch problems etc. When music can become the soundtrack for an activity, that is when I actually notice subtle details.
Bravo.
There are many interesting versions of "Bonaparte's Retreat" out there. I suggest you listen to more versions, just to see ~how~ it varies. For a start: A. A. Gray's, Emmett Lundy, Ed Haley - Haley's recording is from a very worn out wax record (and hard to listen to for some) he does some neat things with it. You can find them all on YouTube.
Edited by - ChickenMan on 05/14/2024 07:31:28
Thanks a lot! I saw a recording today of myself playing St. Anne's reel two years ago, it was good to hear how much more confident I sound now.
Yip Yip! You're doing it! That was a good video idea too. The sound was great. Not that you were asking, but if turned just a little bit, it's nice to see the left fingers but this angle was great for bowing which is what you were originally promoting. Nice work!
Very nice!
Thank you very much for the appreciation ! In june it will be exact 4 years ago that I bought that crazy cheap black painted Stagg instrument before I rented a decent instrument.
I feel like I am getting somewhere <3
Without the incredible load of help I got all these years from other FHO posters I would have been nowhere.
You all just rock!
Excellent, love the pizzicato, very different for me anyway, I also thought it was great hearing a different style. You also chose the acoustic location perfectly bob on, one of the best I have heard for a long time well done, pleasure to listen to, and like I said different;)
Thank you Scotty road!
Well done, Anja! I love Clyde's playing as well. One thing that stands out to me watching him is his economy of motion. His fingers stay so close to the fingerboard and seem to move just enough to accomplish the task.
Your dedication is shining through! While it does vary, when people ask, I usually tell them it is around 5 years when things really start to flow. I think that is around the time when the ear has developed and all the fundamentals are ingrained. It is a point where you don't have to think about all the variables so much and are just learning new tunes. Your playing has come a long way in 4 years and it's been fun watching all the progress. I hope to see more videos soon!
Thank you for your kind words Michael.
I feel motivated now to go on learning from old recordings.
I am also going to bring my old VSO/ Stagg fiddle back to the local music store for new fine tuners because something is wrong ...so that I got that one instrument back. I was very happy with the different sound of that instrument and it scores high on playability.
I am glad I am reaching this point where it is all about self expression!
Edited by - Quincy on 05/16/2024 07:32:23
Have you seen Specker. I think thats his name. think he has it tuned gdad but not a hundred percent/
Edited by - Scotty road on 05/17/2024 09:43:53
quote:
Originally posted by Scotty roadHave you seen Specker. I think thats his name. think he has it tuned gdad but not a hundred percent/
John Specker's version is high on my list !! He has this crazy twist when he plays he is just briliiant ??
Love his foot work also!
Does anyone know for sure in which tuning John Specker's Bonaparte's Retreat version is played?
It cannot be GDAD I think but it does not sound like DDAD either.
Specker's version sounds like a very modern version of this one:
Edited by - Quincy on 05/18/2024 09:19:56
quote:
Originally posted by Scotty roadHave you seen Specker. I think thats his name. think he has it tuned gdad but not a hundred percent/
It cannot be GDAD I tried this , lowest strings are DD and third one is A but what the heck is he doing on the highest string - it sounds like he leaves first position there and I have no clue with which finger I should reach this highest note on the E string.
Definitely DDad (though slightly flat in pitch) you can hear the high D drone when he plays the first couple of notes of the fine part (B part, or higher part). You will use your pinky for the high note but remember, because it's tuned low, you'll note THAT string like you're playing in A. Does that make sense?
Edited by - ChickenMan on 05/18/2024 10:44:41
Most all the versions of this tune I've ever heard, including John's, are in DDad. It's kind of a "trick fiddle" solo piece, and everyone playa little different version, with different parts, and sometimes a little "crookedness" here and there (odd for a march, if you ask me). Clyde's version is especially idiosyncratic - I couldn't really follow what he was doing so I couldn't tell if you came close or not. In the comments to that video you'll see several people said they'd never heard it played like that, and I haven't either.
If you want to learn a little more recognizable version, you've already found John Specker. Here's another video of him that I like better because of the fake winter backdrop:
youtu.be/E7LQP5VBR4o?feature=shared Specker (BTW, someone told him some "history" that I don't think is very accurate).
Trevor Stuart played a nice version: youtu.be/U-BMEjFZe6s?feature=shared
Really no need to listen to "Ace Sewell." Here's Benny Thomasson's recording: youtu.be/KZw7DpKs910?feature=shared
There are plenty more on Youtube.
Few people here are old enough to remember that this was a hit country song (with lyrics) for Pee Wee King: youtu.be/F6CJwQ2K5XI?feature=shared and later a pop hit for Kay Starr, which you can also find in YouTube.
I don't really play this tune, because I'd never have a chance to play it, and I also have never tried that tuning because its too much trouble, and usually that low string ends up out anyway. However I just took what used to be my main working fiddle out of the case and the low string was C#, so I went ahead and tuned up. I'll post a recording of the parts I know as soon as I get a chance.
PS - Anja, for the real story of Irish participation at Waterloo, read the first comment on the John Specker video I linked above. The Duke of Wellington, Irish himself, was always grateful for the contributions of his Irish and Scottish troops at Waterloo. Most of the French troops were experienced veterans, very loyal to Napoleon, although its possible there may have been some Irishmen involved. There was an Irish regiment in Napoleon's army, but it was not at Waterloo.
BTW, you have an advantage here since the battlefield is in your country. Have you ever visited it?
Edited by - DougD on 05/18/2024 16:08:01
PPS - If you like John Specker's music, have you ever seen this documentary film? folkstreams.net/films/music-for-the-sky It might help put him in a bit of context. There are a lot of interesting films at Folkstreams. Might be a little out of your area of interest, but "Hazel Dickens, Its Hard to Tell the Singer From the Song" is good one about an important artist. John Cohen's seminal films about mountain music are there too. Drifting a bit, but these are a little more focused than random YouTubes
quote:
Originally posted by ChickenManDefinitely DDad (though slightly flat in pitch) you can hear the high D drone when he plays the first couple of notes of the fine part (B part, or higher part). You will use your pinky for the high note but remember, because it's tuned low, you'll note THAT string like you're playing in A. Does that make sense?
I have been reading and thinking about that last sentence, but it clouds my mind hehe. I feel like my pinky really needs to be put further away than usually on the high D.
Edited by - Quincy on 05/18/2024 22:36:16
Typed a whole answer to you Doug but then my phone got a frozen screen now it is gone :-/ I will give it another try tonight... Me and smartphones bad combination!
Edited by - Quincy on 05/18/2024 23:24:10
Anja - I don't understand what Billy meant by "playing in A" either. You have the right idea - since the string is tuned a whole step low you have to place your fingers a whole step high to get the notes you want. Looked at another way, if you put your pinky where it would be for a high "B" it will be "A" insread. Not very hard really.
As if playing in A - whole step, whole step, half step, whole step OR E to F# index finger to G# middle finger to A ring finger to B pinky (when tuned to E pitch).
Maybe better to say finger it as if you are fingering the D string and reach a whole step to the high note. Can get the feel for the reach by reaching for the unison A note on the D string. Or just listen and reach for the octave A note on the high string.
Edited by - ChickenMan on 05/20/2024 20:21:56
I got it now, it is a bit pinky gym , at first my sound was inconsistent but apparently also this is now solved by muscle memory.
Doug thanks for the links, I am going to watch folkstreams when I got some time left , currently I am working a summer job next to my full time work as night telephonist.
I think I have visited Waterloo and that hill and lion statue when I was in secondary school but I also believe it was that one school trip where we first visited a brewery in Brussels and all got very drunk haha so I do not remember this well. I do remember the whole class was drunk hahaha. We were allowed some free time in Brussels and that was the result. I think maybe for now the Specker version is a bit aimed to high hehe but having fun trying to figure this out.
