Most of it has been well deserved. Like the dead goat or excess tableware, all manner of ill-considered folks have poorly attempted to play some sort of 'rhythm' at a session with the shaky egg. As is always the case, the error lies with the user. The software (or hardware) simply is what it is. Most 'numpties' will go after and attack the easiest-looking thing in sight, make a total rhythmic nightmare of the situation, and fail to cease until take aside and spoken to.
Some of you may know (and not than anyone cares) that I have been re-married for nearly two years now to my musical partner and we have been pursuing music full time, mainly because thanks to the global depression, I am finding it easier to sell my music than to try to sell advertising. The point is I now have a partner who has my musical back at all times, and I do the same for her.
As with many sessions, we have our fair share of beginners. Many of them are trying out their first steps in 'the music' and messing around with accompaniment, as opposed to a melody instrument. Have you ever been in the midst of a wonderful jig or reel that your mates may not know? The melody players are all sitting respectfully, soaking up the tune. (In a perfect world, of course. Bear with me here.) The rhythm players are doing their best, but it's a new tune and the ace strummer is late and the novices are making a mosh of it. You quickly get that sinking feeling that you will need to pull this tune through all by your lonesome, struggling up the stream of well-meaning yet still inexperienced accompanists doing more harm than good.
Familiar? No? Well then stop reading? I don't know what to tell you, but if this sounds familiar to you, let me proceed with my shaky illumination.
Herself now, on several session occasions, has leapt to my rescue, quickly corralling a wayward horde of strumming and thwacking acolytes with her trusty shaky egg, much like a schoolmarm with a rowdy class.
Of course, on the tunes she does know she simply lifts me up and joins me in joyous melody, helping me reel (hardee har har) in those poor decent learners.
However, when she does not, and I am alone, braving the off-beat thwacks and vaguely on-time strums, I must say that there is nothing more reassuring or comforting to hear her gentle shakes synchronizing with my desperately pounding foot.
So here's to Herself and the humble shaky egg. Like any dangerous weapon, it should be trusted to only the most skilled hands.
I suppose that is a far more effective and positive method of dealing with them than shooting glares of doom across the session in their general direction.
To hold the beat on eggless evenings, you’ll want to wear a single, steel-toed tap shoe. A stone floor will yield a beautifully sharp, ringing tone. A wood floor will produce a nice whack. Carpeting? Place a dog’s squeaky toy, a hotel’s check-in bell, or a cat's tail underfoot.
When—I mean, if—those sounds grow tiresome, seat the sloppiest player next to you and tap on a bass drum’s foot pedal to deliver a consistent, malleted beat to his shin.
I discovered in a session last night that my stomach was a perfect percussion instrument: large, reasonably close to hand, loud, and ideal for questioning the rhythm being laid down by the bodhranista and opening up the sonar arena to the operation of chance.
I must add forthwith that my contribution to the percussion was driven by hand-slapping, not by flatulence.
Perhaps the next step is to have dents of various sizes made in my stomach surface, like those (really very effective) steel-band-type drums I sometimes see buskers play; then, I'll be able to play tunes on my stomach.
Though perhaps it would be better simply to wear one of those drums over my tum. Bashing the latter made it quite sore.
SWFL congrats on your nuptials! I have to wonder, however, if your rose-tinted view of your beloved bride affects your reasoning when judging an ovum-rattler? For example if some random Floridian produced a similar breakfast fare item and began to oscillate it to and fro whist you were attempting to rock and reel - would you feel the same way regardless of talent?
No matter - I celebrate your connubial bliss and wish you many happy returns - eggs or no.
I can vouch for the musical talents of SWFL's spouse, in fact the talents of both of them, they dropped by up north here, and a good time was had by all.
Just goes to show you that, regardless of how simple a musical instrument is, a good musician can make it sing!
As long as the thing in question is a shaky egg and NOT a whistle; as long as you two are old enough... But mostly, as long as the thing in question isn't a whistle... Best wishes, SWFL.
While shaky eggs DO come in different keys, they are not obviously labelled as such, unlike, say, a card of Generation whistles in a music shop.
You have to shake each one, and pick out which key it's playing in, yourself.
Personally I favour the blue one.
Once you have got your shaky egg, try balancing it on the pointy end. Hours of fun !
The Humble Shaky Egg
The Humble Shaky Egg
Hello folks. Please allow me a simple tale for your (hopeful) amusement.
Obviously the humble shaky egg has taken its fair share of abuse over the years.
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/index/search?name=shaky+egg
Most of it has been well deserved. Like the dead goat or excess tableware, all manner of ill-considered folks have poorly attempted to play some sort of 'rhythm' at a session with the shaky egg. As is always the case, the error lies with the user. The software (or hardware) simply is what it is. Most 'numpties' will go after and attack the easiest-looking thing in sight, make a total rhythmic nightmare of the situation, and fail to cease until take aside and spoken to.
Some of you may know (and not than anyone cares) that I have been re-married for nearly two years now to my musical partner and we have been pursuing music full time, mainly because thanks to the global depression, I am finding it easier to sell my music than to try to sell advertising. The point is I now have a partner who has my musical back at all times, and I do the same for her.
As with many sessions, we have our fair share of beginners. Many of them are trying out their first steps in 'the music' and messing around with accompaniment, as opposed to a melody instrument. Have you ever been in the midst of a wonderful jig or reel that your mates may not know? The melody players are all sitting respectfully, soaking up the tune. (In a perfect world, of course. Bear with me here.) The rhythm players are doing their best, but it's a new tune and the ace strummer is late and the novices are making a mosh of it. You quickly get that sinking feeling that you will need to pull this tune through all by your lonesome, struggling up the stream of well-meaning yet still inexperienced accompanists doing more harm than good.
Familiar? No? Well then stop reading? I don't know what to tell you, but if this sounds familiar to you, let me proceed with my shaky illumination.
Herself now, on several session occasions, has leapt to my rescue, quickly corralling a wayward horde of strumming and thwacking acolytes with her trusty shaky egg, much like a schoolmarm with a rowdy class.
Of course, on the tunes she does know she simply lifts me up and joins me in joyous melody, helping me reel (hardee har har) in those poor decent learners.
However, when she does not, and I am alone, braving the off-beat thwacks and vaguely on-time strums, I must say that there is nothing more reassuring or comforting to hear her gentle shakes synchronizing with my desperately pounding foot.
So here's to Herself and the humble shaky egg. Like any dangerous weapon, it should be trusted to only the most skilled hands.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
eggzactly!
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by RichardB
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
Nice, I'm gonna get a couple
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by Earl Cameron
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
She has two. A lovely pair if you will. Well, not you, maybe if I will. We're married you see.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
That deserves a standing ovulation.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by Weejie
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
I suppose that is a far more effective and positive method of dealing with them than shooting glares of doom across the session in their general direction.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by DrSilverSpear
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
To hold the beat on eggless evenings, you’ll want to wear a single, steel-toed tap shoe. A stone floor will yield a beautifully sharp, ringing tone. A wood floor will produce a nice whack. Carpeting? Place a dog’s squeaky toy, a hotel’s check-in bell, or a cat's tail underfoot.
When—I mean, if—those sounds grow tiresome, seat the sloppiest player next to you and tap on a bass drum’s foot pedal to deliver a consistent, malleted beat to his shin.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by NEW Pure Drop® Ear Canal Oil
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
At the Willie Week in 2008 we came across a young lad from Clare who was BRILLIANT on the shaky egg.
Maybe it is a clare thing and the tradition but if carlsberg did shaky eggs it would have been that young lad.........
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by bodhran bliss
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
I discovered in a session last night that my stomach was a perfect percussion instrument: large, reasonably close to hand, loud, and ideal for questioning the rhythm being laid down by the bodhranista and opening up the sonar arena to the operation of chance.
I must add forthwith that my contribution to the percussion was driven by hand-slapping, not by flatulence.
Perhaps the next step is to have dents of various sizes made in my stomach surface, like those (really very effective) steel-band-type drums I sometimes see buskers play; then, I'll be able to play tunes on my stomach.
Though perhaps it would be better simply to wear one of those drums over my tum. Bashing the latter made it quite sore.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by nicholas
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
Must be a slow news day LOL
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by zippydw
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
http://www.shakyeggband.com/
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by zippydw
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
The Shaky Egg is the least of our worries. It's the quivering Welshman that hatches out of it you want to beware of.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
Herself brought a "musical" washboard to our session last night....
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by B/C
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
what makes it musical?
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by Earl Cameron
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
Maybe it's a baby dragon that hatches out of it.
Like the Swamp Dragon in "Guards, Guards!" by Terry Pratchett.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by nicholas
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
SWFL congrats on your nuptials! I have to wonder, however, if your rose-tinted view of your beloved bride affects your reasoning when judging an ovum-rattler? For example if some random Floridian produced a similar breakfast fare item and began to oscillate it to and fro whist you were attempting to rock and reel - would you feel the same way regardless of talent?
No matter - I celebrate your connubial bliss and wish you many happy returns - eggs or no.
# Posted on May 18th 2011 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
I can vouch for the musical talents of SWFL's spouse, in fact the talents of both of them, they dropped by up north here, and a good time was had by all.
Just goes to show you that, regardless of how simple a musical instrument is, a good musician can make it sing!
# Posted on May 19th 2011 by AlBrown
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
Sound like a shaky argument to me ...
# Posted on May 19th 2011 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
The musician makes the instrument.
Best quote I heards when I started learning box a few years ago and was fretting about brand of instrument.
I was told 'Sharon Shannon could make a washboard sound great'. Probably true
# Posted on May 19th 2011 by zippydw
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
Somewhere I saw a picture of shaky eggs in different keys.
wish I could find that photo.
# Posted on May 19th 2011 by CleverName
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
As long as the thing in question is a shaky egg and NOT a whistle; as long as you two are old enough... But mostly, as long as the thing in question isn't a whistle... Best wishes, SWFL.
# Posted on May 20th 2011 by Atahualpa Quigley
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
While shaky eggs DO come in different keys, they are not obviously labelled as such, unlike, say, a card of Generation whistles in a music shop.
You have to shake each one, and pick out which key it's playing in, yourself.
Personally I favour the blue one.
Once you have got your shaky egg, try balancing it on the pointy end. Hours of fun !
# Posted on May 23rd 2011 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
Is this a "fowl" discussion as opposed to a "fair" discussion?
Laurence
# Posted on May 23rd 2011 by fauxcelt
Re: The Humble Shaky Egg
I found a shakey egg in the shape of a small human skull. I had to have it. It's now part of my percussion ensemble.
# Posted on June 2nd 2011 by baxdrum