I first learned of the sape while watching a documentary about Borneo many years ago. As both a dulcimer and clawhammer banjo player I am fascinated by this beautiful instrument and its music. Listening to the music of the sape and observing the techniques of playing it have helped me grow as a musician. The [...]
Category Archive for 'Music'
Audacity Great for sound recording and editing. Runs on most operating systems. ABC Navigator Converts ABC notation to standard notation, plays files as midi, etc. Windows. Weird Metronome My favorite metronome. Windows. Fretcalc Calculates fret spacing for any scale length offering many options. Windows and other systems. Shrinkulator Calculates wood movement based on species, temperature [...]
Sacred Harp and Shape-Note Singing
Posted in Music on May 11th, 2010
I had the joy and pleasure of performing and teaching at The Lone Star State Dulcimer Festival in Glen Rose, Texas last weekend. It had been about 23 years since I had been to this festival and it is just as fun and wonderful as I remembered. Thanks Dana! On Sunday at noon a group [...]
Popular Music Of The Olden Time (1859)
Posted in Music on Mar 23rd, 2010
I’m always looking for new sources of old music for my repertoire. Old books and new technology offer a wealth of possibilities. “Popular music of the olden time : a collection of ancient songs, ballads, and dance tunes, illustrative of the national music of England : with short introductions to the different reigns, and notices [...]
Studia Instrumentorum Musicae presents some rare resources for those interested in researching historic stringed instruments. I recommend starting with the on-line museum of historic guitars, zithers, and citterns. The deeper you dig into this site the more treasure you will find.
$1.00 Per Album Sale Goes To Haitian Relief Efforts Till February 7th
Posted in Dulcimer, Hammered Dulcimer, Music on Jan 27th, 2010
CD Baby is the firm that handles my online CD and MP3 download sales. They are currently donating $1.00 for each CD or album download towards Haitian Relief Efforts. This offer applies not only to my recordings but to thousands of independently produced albums. From CD Baby: CD Baby will donate $1 toward Haitian earthquake [...]
The Natural History Of The Musical Bow (1899)
Posted in Jew's Harps, Lutherie, Music on Dec 1st, 2009
Musical bows are most likely the original stringed instrument. Some are played in a fashion similar to the Jew’s harp; the player’s mouth is used as a resonator and by changing the shape of the mouth different harmonics are emphasized to produce melody. Some musical bows are designed to allow defining notes by fingering the [...]
Illustrations from “Sound” by John Tyndall (1915) via Google Books.
At-A-Glance Illustrated Self Instructor For Jew’s Harp With Hillbilly Songs – (1932)
Posted in Jew's Harps, Music on Oct 13th, 2009
I am a frequent visitor to The Toolemera Press and The Toolemera Blog. Gary does a wonderful job of sharing his library of rare books on woodworking, tools and related ephemera. I have learend a lot about tools from reading the PDF files he offers for free download. Gary also offers a digital edition of [...]
The Okeh Laughing Record – 1922 [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
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