birlibirdie
Hi,
I've come all the way from a place where the crack was scarce but nonetheless valued. Trad music and musicians have given me much, plenty and more. I try to give some back.
I'm now busking for food and fun in the invisible shade of Eyjafjallajökull's ash cloud and under the ever darkening menace of global political collapse.. Who fear to be grave?
I play traditional tunes on the pipes from various European repertoires (Irish, Breton, Scottish & French mostly). I also have a go at tunes from further afield; Burma, Tanzania, Mu Arae... wherever music's magic beauty may come from!
One of my earliest memories of sound is of listening 'in' to the vacuum cleaner: it seemed to eerily coincide with the temporary disappearance of my Ma: ...should I intervene? I can't remember calling but I must have tried to edge my voice against that mystery sound. Whenever she returned to my cot, the sound would stop.
My earliest musical memory, at about the same tender age, is of watching snow flakes fall endlessly through the sky. While their endless, seemingly source-less falling puzzled me, I took their melodious, tremendously high jingling sound for granted. Makes you wonder!
I've always much preferred acoustic to electric / amplified gigs. Is this due to the fact that 90% of the sound-check 'professionals' that officiate unquestioned at concerts have never actually had their ears checked?
My favourite instrument has got to be the voice, with the fiddle a close second. Been practicing both for a few years now... still happily practicing!
*Help needed and given*
I'm interested in mouth-music, lilting, canntaireachd, port-a-beul, turlutte, you name it. Songs for dancing ('tongue in feet' stuff!) as well as nonsense lilts, mnemonic tune names and drumming/dancing 'wee rhymes'. If you have any specific or general reference on the subject, please drop a line. I have a fully referenced list of such lilts and ditties in the making for anyone interested.
I'm presently working on 'The Trad Trump Book': A compilation of Irish tunes, etc, that can be comfortably played within the overtone scale, ie: the scale natural to the jew's harp and such like instruments.
I give throat-singing and 'hedge music' workshops in the Belfast-Dublin area and beyond, and the occasional gig (sygyt, khoomey...Irish style!). Give me a shout if you're interested.
'Éist le fuaim na habhann agus gheobhfaidh tú breac'
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ABC notation reminder:
Tune-search:
http://tunepal.org/tunepal/index.php
http://abctunesearch.com/
http://www.folktunefinder.com/
Score and sound test: http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.html
Transpose: http://www.8ung.at/abctransposer/
Teach yourself at: http://abcnotation.com/
& http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_notation.htm
& http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/ABC-FAQ.html
Headers;
X: T: C: O: S: B: A: M: L: Q: P: Z: N: G: H: K:
T(itle) C(omposer) O(rigin) S(ource) B(ook) A(uthor of lyrics) M(eter) default L(ength) Q: tempo (^/min.), P(arts), Z: transcriber, N(otes -max. 6lines), G(group), H(istory)... http://abc.sourceforge.net/standard/abc2-draft.html#Other%20fields
X: 1
M: (4/4...) & Meter Change eg: | [M:4/4] dB...|
L(unit note): 1/8,
R(hythm): (Reel)
K(ey): (Gmaj) & mid-tune change [K:] (see /tunes/display/65..)
Score;
flat/natural/sharp: _ = ^ + ‘J’: ‘slide up’ (ABCMus2.0)
'bowing'*: (nN) + vA uA: !paradoxically to the tip and from the tip + 'hold': Hn
slur*: n-n (after the note regardless of what follows)
grace: {n}, disgrace: ~n ;-)
chord: [nN] + guitar chord: "before the note", see: http://abcplus.sourceforge.net.
"text" & X: 2/K: part harmony:/V: 1/|...||/V: 2/|...||
Lyrics: W (in block) http://www.lesession.co.uk/abc/abc_extensions.htm#words
rest: z http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/21694
'pointy-semi': n>n (rather than n3/2n) + 'semi': n/ + snap: n<n
dotted {(2 in compound time}: n3/n3/ (cf4344)
triplets: (3 or (3SnnnS (not needed?)
triplets? (cfNo10): *B3 <SP>:http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/1919
Other Divisions: cf1113.,
'paragraph’: ‘!’ vs. ‘\’ (keeps two lines together) + mid-bar repeats: [ :|
text: "above stave"
Max lines: 13 (? cf; tune 404)
[Gal: /0=>/414][Lilt: /0=>/][HP:/0=>/][å: /0=>/]
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Η σιγή κόσμον φέρει! http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2399
Tunes in birlibirdie's tunebook: 401