My last post was about the sea shanty sing we hosted last Sunday. A footnote from the day is that I made my fiddling debut.
I've been practicing the fiddle every day since getting it two and a half weeks ago. It's definitely challenging, but I also feel like I'm over the first hurdle (i.e., I'm mostly past the "sackful of screeching cats" phase.) It's starting to feel more natural, and the things that I thought and hoped would translate, have translated. The fiddle is tuned exactly the same as the mandolin, so the fiddle tunes I've been learning on the mandolin over the past two years are pretty well burned in.
I've been very self-conscious about sounding bad, so I've been trying to play in the basement, and at off hours. But my first "outing" happened one night last week. I was playing upstairs, and Hailey walked in. I was expecting a joking complaint about the noise, but she shocked me by telling me how good it sounded. (I'm sure this sounds like a humblebrag, but I swear I don't mean it as one. I was *shocked* that she thought it sounded good.)
My second "outing", and a sort of debut, was at the sea shanty sing. I got out a few instruments in advance, in case anyone wanted to grab one and play (the mandolin, the 12 string, etc.), and Darling Wife told me I had to bring the fiddle out, that people would want to see and hear it. Sure enough, my friend Don walked in and grabbed it right away. He played Ashokan Farewell (from Ken Burns' Civil War series), and it sounded fantastic.
Coincidentally, that's a song I know on the mandolin and have been practicing on the fiddle, so I played started in on it when he handed it back to me. Then I played a couple of mandolin/fiddle standards: Whiskey Before Breakfast and Red Haired Boy, and Don grabbed an acoustic guitar and played the chords along with me. It sounded great together.
All I could hear was the notes I missed, the notes that weren't quite in tune, and where my bow touched the wrong strings. But it was very gratifying to learn that it doesn't sound completely horrible to an audience of supportive friends. So I'll keep practicing.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
Sea Shanty Sing
Right after New Year's, we went with our friend Don to a new Meetup.com group devoted to singing sea shanties. That sounded like fun, and it was. Rhythmic call and response tunes with interesting history behind them.
We weren't able to make the next meetup, but Darling Wife suggested to a few friends that we could have an informal sea shanty sing in our house, and the idea quickly met with approval and spread. We invited our musical friends, and everyone seemed excited.
Our intention was to make it a little lighter in atmosphere than the meetup - there were a few people there who had very rigid ideas about what constituted a sea shanty, and what didn't. Our idea was that everyone would bring a few nautically-themed songs (or drinking songs...they seem to go hand in hand) that would be fun to play and sing, and we'd get together and have a good time.
And that's exactly what happened yesterday. There were a couple of last-minute cancellations, but a fun and friendly group convened at 3:00, and we played and sang until 6:00.
Here are the songs we brought:
Very fun afternoon, and we hope to be able to do it again.
We weren't able to make the next meetup, but Darling Wife suggested to a few friends that we could have an informal sea shanty sing in our house, and the idea quickly met with approval and spread. We invited our musical friends, and everyone seemed excited.
Our intention was to make it a little lighter in atmosphere than the meetup - there were a few people there who had very rigid ideas about what constituted a sea shanty, and what didn't. Our idea was that everyone would bring a few nautically-themed songs (or drinking songs...they seem to go hand in hand) that would be fun to play and sing, and we'd get together and have a good time.
And that's exactly what happened yesterday. There were a couple of last-minute cancellations, but a fun and friendly group convened at 3:00, and we played and sang until 6:00.
Here are the songs we brought:
Very fun afternoon, and we hope to be able to do it again.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
I V vi IV
Here's an amusing video on how widespread the chord progression I V vi IV is. In the key of G, that would be G D Em C. I had no idea how popular it is.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Fiddling About
From the "As if I need another distraction" file.
Seeing fiddlers at the Folk Fest and at some jams we've been to has planted the seed that it might be fun to fool around with a fiddle. It hasn't been a burning desire - lord knows that guitar and mandolin provide all the challenge I need - not to mention that my actual gigging instrument is the bass. But I thought that if the opportunity to get a reasonable quality fiddle on the cheap, I'd probably go for it.
Well, I found the opportunity, and I now have a nice little used fiddle. As my very wise wife is fond of saying (usually with a raised eyebrow when learning of my latest transaction), the problem with looking is that it leads to finding.
I saw a Craigslist ad for a used violin, and I responded with a few questions. I e-mailed back and forth with the seller, who turned out to be a woman who buys old violins from wherever she can find them (Good Will, estate sales, garage sales, etc.), fixes them up, sets them up properly, and sells them. She said she understood what I was looking for, and would gather up a few that would probably be suitable for me.
As an aside, I thought "violin" and "fiddle" were two different words for an identical instrument. That's not exactly true. They *are* the same instrument, but they're set up a little differently. A fiddle is set up with a flatter bridge, to make playing double-stops (two strings at a time) easier. I'm looking to play fiddle tunes, not Mozart concertos, so I was looking for a fiddle setup.
I met her at McDonald's Sunday morning at 10:30, and it was easy to spot the woman with four black instrument cases on a table. She showed them to me one by one, and each one had a spec sheet and price. Each one came as a package, with fiddle, bow, case, rosin. I had lots of questions, and she patiently answered them all. Then we went out to her car so she could play them for me.
They all sounded fine to me, but the ones I liked best were the cheapest ($110) and the most expensive ($225). I couldn't decide on one over the other, so price was the tie-breaker - especially since this is a "try it out and see if I like playing it" starter instrument. So I bought it and brought it home.
Now I'm painfully aware from grade school orchestra concerts that violin is not an easy instrument to learn, and that the screeching of a beginner violinist can be a painful-sounding thing. But the only way through that is to practice and get through the learning curve of putting your fingers in the right spot. So I'll try to play in the basement when no one is around to hear. My joke has been, "Here's a little number I call 'Sackful of Screeching Cats.'"
After two days, I'm kinda starting to get the hang of it, just a little. It's fun, and it's definitely challenging. Time will tell if I decide to stick with it.
Seeing fiddlers at the Folk Fest and at some jams we've been to has planted the seed that it might be fun to fool around with a fiddle. It hasn't been a burning desire - lord knows that guitar and mandolin provide all the challenge I need - not to mention that my actual gigging instrument is the bass. But I thought that if the opportunity to get a reasonable quality fiddle on the cheap, I'd probably go for it.
Well, I found the opportunity, and I now have a nice little used fiddle. As my very wise wife is fond of saying (usually with a raised eyebrow when learning of my latest transaction), the problem with looking is that it leads to finding.
I saw a Craigslist ad for a used violin, and I responded with a few questions. I e-mailed back and forth with the seller, who turned out to be a woman who buys old violins from wherever she can find them (Good Will, estate sales, garage sales, etc.), fixes them up, sets them up properly, and sells them. She said she understood what I was looking for, and would gather up a few that would probably be suitable for me.
As an aside, I thought "violin" and "fiddle" were two different words for an identical instrument. That's not exactly true. They *are* the same instrument, but they're set up a little differently. A fiddle is set up with a flatter bridge, to make playing double-stops (two strings at a time) easier. I'm looking to play fiddle tunes, not Mozart concertos, so I was looking for a fiddle setup.
They all sounded fine to me, but the ones I liked best were the cheapest ($110) and the most expensive ($225). I couldn't decide on one over the other, so price was the tie-breaker - especially since this is a "try it out and see if I like playing it" starter instrument. So I bought it and brought it home.
Now I'm painfully aware from grade school orchestra concerts that violin is not an easy instrument to learn, and that the screeching of a beginner violinist can be a painful-sounding thing. But the only way through that is to practice and get through the learning curve of putting your fingers in the right spot. So I'll try to play in the basement when no one is around to hear. My joke has been, "Here's a little number I call 'Sackful of Screeching Cats.'"
After two days, I'm kinda starting to get the hang of it, just a little. It's fun, and it's definitely challenging. Time will tell if I decide to stick with it.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Debut of an Acoustic Duo
I ended my last post with the question:
The occasion was an invitation-only open mic hosted by a friend of ours from the Downingtown meetup. He invites people over to sing and play in an "open mic" format, where you sign up and play a few songs when it's your turn (as opposed to an open jam, where everyone sits in a circle and plays together.) The jam was 2:00-6:00, and we arrived right at 2:00, hoping to go early (but not first.) We signed up in slot #3, and then realized with a little alarm that no one was taking slots 1 or 2.
Thankfully, our friend Marylou came in and grabbed slot #1. She asked if I'd play mandolin with her, and since she was doing simple songs, I was happy to play chords along with her. She also grabbed an acoustic guitar player and a dobro player, so there was a nice full sound. I can't remember everything we played, but the "I Know You Rider" by the Grateful Dead was a good song that sounded great. That's a song that begs for a little jamming, but I'm still not comfortable enough to play an improvised lead, so I nodded "no" when she looked me. Ah well, still so much to work on.
Then, with slot #2 still open, we were up. Bud had announced a three song limit for everyone, so we whittled our five songs down to three, I plugged in my Martin, she did her "testing...1...2...3" into the mic, and we were off and running.
That's music to my ears.
Will we actually perform as a duo in front of real live people (granted, a small group of friends)? Stay tuned to find out.I'm thrilled to report that, yes, Darling Wife and I played as a duo in front of real live people. We rehearsed every day last week with the basement PA, and it's as much fun as I thought and hoped it would be. We got five songs down pretty well, and Saturday afternoon rolled around quickly.
The occasion was an invitation-only open mic hosted by a friend of ours from the Downingtown meetup. He invites people over to sing and play in an "open mic" format, where you sign up and play a few songs when it's your turn (as opposed to an open jam, where everyone sits in a circle and plays together.) The jam was 2:00-6:00, and we arrived right at 2:00, hoping to go early (but not first.) We signed up in slot #3, and then realized with a little alarm that no one was taking slots 1 or 2.
Thankfully, our friend Marylou came in and grabbed slot #1. She asked if I'd play mandolin with her, and since she was doing simple songs, I was happy to play chords along with her. She also grabbed an acoustic guitar player and a dobro player, so there was a nice full sound. I can't remember everything we played, but the "I Know You Rider" by the Grateful Dead was a good song that sounded great. That's a song that begs for a little jamming, but I'm still not comfortable enough to play an improvised lead, so I nodded "no" when she looked me. Ah well, still so much to work on.
Then, with slot #2 still open, we were up. Bud had announced a three song limit for everyone, so we whittled our five songs down to three, I plugged in my Martin, she did her "testing...1...2...3" into the mic, and we were off and running.
- "You Can Close Your Eyes", James Taylor
- "Five Hundred Miles", Kingston Trio
- "Comes a Time", Neil Young
That's music to my ears.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Basement PA
I mentioned in my last teaser post that I had plans for the basement. Well, the UPS guy made a few deliveries, and I now have a complete little basement PA set up.
Here's how the idea germinated. I blogged before about getting a pickup installed in my mandolin. I also got this soundhole pickup for acoustic guitar (which easily pops in and lets you plug in any acoustic guitar.) So I thought about getting an acoustic amp - basically this.
Then it occurred to me that for a marginal upgrade from the price of that acoustic amp, I could get a little PA system. Instead of an amp that you could plug in one instrument and one microphone, I could get a *much* more flexible setup that would accept multiple instruments or mics, could send output to speakers or headphones or a laptop.
The more I researched, the more it seemed like a no-brainer. I could host Rosewood rehearsals, I could host acoustic jams, I could use it for recording projects of my own, Lori and her friends could use it to sing. And not that we're a big party-hosting group - but if we ever did, we'd have a PA that you could plug your iPod into and blast tunes for the whole neighborhood to hear.
My criteria were: flexibility, decent quality (not junk, not audiophile quality), good sound, but (relatively) low wattage. I'm not looking to take it out of the basement, and not looking to shake the floorboards. My friend Chip gave me a crash course (and I've been trying to soak up all I can about sound, just out of curiosity and general interest, while watching him do Rosewood sound over the past two years), and he assured me that what I wanted was very possible within the budget I was looking at.
We visited a Sam Ash, and we agreed on what I was looking for. 10" powered speakers (i.e., small) and a medium-sized unpowered mixer. He recommended looking at Guitar Center's used gear website. I was excited when I got home, and got right on the GC site. I found what I thought we had talked about, e-mailed him the links, and got back the response that yes, that's exactly the kind of gear he'd recommend. So I clicked the mouse a few times, then waited for the UPS guy.
Here's a pic of my basement setup now. The two speakers are on stands. The mixer is on the table at left. I already had a decent-quality mic, at center. Also in the pic (on the floor) are stereo speakers (not hooked up, and no plans to hook them up here - they just happen to be there), my guitar amp, a bass amp, and my acoustic #2 (with the soundhole pickup in.)
I couldn't be more thrilled. It sounds fantastic, it's everything I hoped it would be - and it's just plain cool as hell. I don't know everything about the subtleties of my mixer, but I do understand the basics.
To Darling Wife's question of "is this necessary?", the answer is "absolutely not." This is a shiny toy, not a necessity. But it *will* get used. It's already being used. DW and I have been invited to an open mic/jam on Saturday, and we rehearsed three songs on the PA last night - I put my Martin through the PA, and she sang. It sounded fantastic.
Will we actually perform as a duo in front of real live people (granted, a small group of friends)? Stay tuned to find out.
Here's how the idea germinated. I blogged before about getting a pickup installed in my mandolin. I also got this soundhole pickup for acoustic guitar (which easily pops in and lets you plug in any acoustic guitar.) So I thought about getting an acoustic amp - basically this.
Then it occurred to me that for a marginal upgrade from the price of that acoustic amp, I could get a little PA system. Instead of an amp that you could plug in one instrument and one microphone, I could get a *much* more flexible setup that would accept multiple instruments or mics, could send output to speakers or headphones or a laptop.
The more I researched, the more it seemed like a no-brainer. I could host Rosewood rehearsals, I could host acoustic jams, I could use it for recording projects of my own, Lori and her friends could use it to sing. And not that we're a big party-hosting group - but if we ever did, we'd have a PA that you could plug your iPod into and blast tunes for the whole neighborhood to hear.
My criteria were: flexibility, decent quality (not junk, not audiophile quality), good sound, but (relatively) low wattage. I'm not looking to take it out of the basement, and not looking to shake the floorboards. My friend Chip gave me a crash course (and I've been trying to soak up all I can about sound, just out of curiosity and general interest, while watching him do Rosewood sound over the past two years), and he assured me that what I wanted was very possible within the budget I was looking at.
We visited a Sam Ash, and we agreed on what I was looking for. 10" powered speakers (i.e., small) and a medium-sized unpowered mixer. He recommended looking at Guitar Center's used gear website. I was excited when I got home, and got right on the GC site. I found what I thought we had talked about, e-mailed him the links, and got back the response that yes, that's exactly the kind of gear he'd recommend. So I clicked the mouse a few times, then waited for the UPS guy.
Here's a pic of my basement setup now. The two speakers are on stands. The mixer is on the table at left. I already had a decent-quality mic, at center. Also in the pic (on the floor) are stereo speakers (not hooked up, and no plans to hook them up here - they just happen to be there), my guitar amp, a bass amp, and my acoustic #2 (with the soundhole pickup in.)
I couldn't be more thrilled. It sounds fantastic, it's everything I hoped it would be - and it's just plain cool as hell. I don't know everything about the subtleties of my mixer, but I do understand the basics.
To Darling Wife's question of "is this necessary?", the answer is "absolutely not." This is a shiny toy, not a necessity. But it *will* get used. It's already being used. DW and I have been invited to an open mic/jam on Saturday, and we rehearsed three songs on the PA last night - I put my Martin through the PA, and she sang. It sounded fantastic.
Will we actually perform as a duo in front of real live people (granted, a small group of friends)? Stay tuned to find out.
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