Hi Denise,
I'm glad that Bloomington neighbor and friend Arle gave you advice on the
lira--I'd like to mention that I do have one book, a fairly recent (early
90's?) edition of Vasyl Nechepa's "Lyrnitski Pisni" (Lyrnik or Lira songs);
additionally, I have several collections of Ukrainian music, and many of these
tunes work well with the lira (at times you simply retune strategically the
notes of the keyboard, unless you have a chromatic instrument).
I'll post that bibliographic information to you privately, unless others on
the list express interest in those titles.
best wishes,
Wolodymyr ("Vlad") Smishkewych
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of d Sent: Tue 7/10/2007 10:05 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [HG] Ukrainian lira pix Hi Arle, Thanks for your comments and for sharing your knowledge about the lira. I wish you were in the area and could give me some tips on playing! I like the idea of tuning the melody strings in octaves. One of the strings seems too short, so we ordered new strings and are waiting. I think Alden and Callie went on vacation or something. I say we because my husband is very involved in this whole process too and is just as fascinated by the instrument as I am. I expect he will at least try to play it too. Do you know of any resources for written music for the lira from Ukraine? I asked the guy I ordered from, who is a musician too, but he couldn't point me to anything written. It would be nice to hear something, too. I will probably begin just playing tunes I know from my Middle Eastern repertoire and see how they sound. I like to improvise (taxim) and will experiment with that too. Fusion! Again, thanks for writing. Best, Denise -----Original Message----- >From: Arle Lommel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Sent: Jul 9, 2007 6:48 PM >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: [HG] Ukrainian lira pix > >That is a very interesting instrument indeed. The maker is quite the >innovator, and I say that in a very positive way. What you have is a >hybrid of the two sorts. The overall appearance (particularly the >transverse tuning pegs) and the wooden string lifters under the >melody strings, is typical of a trough-carved lira, but the body is >constructed out of separate pieces. It also has two melody strings, >an unusual feature on a lira. This should give you a more powerful >melody sound than is typical of most three-stringed instruments, or >you could tune the strings in octaves if you choose (I personally >like this sound). The chromatic keyboard is also unusual, and the >arrangement on the upper end is one I've not seen before, but which >makes sense as a way to make best use of the space available. It >looks like you have a range of an octave + a fifth with a typical >tuning that has the open melody strings sounding the dominant. The >wheel, from what I can see, looks to be well constructed, probably of >ply with banding, so you shouldn't have the problems that come with a >solid wheel that is often found on these sorts of instruments. > >All in all, I'd say you've done well. It looks like your instrument >is more versatile than a typical lira because of the chromatic >keyboard, and it looks well-built. > >Good luck with it! > >-Arle > > >On Jul 9, 2007, at 8:25 PM, d wrote: > >> I have posted pictures of my Ukrainian lira here: http:// <http:///> >> www.americanistan.com/id98.html >> >> Would love to hear your comments and feedback, especially from >> anyone who plays an instrument like this. >> >> Yours in hug delirium, >> Denise >> >> Dunyah, aka Denise Gilbertson >> Director, Americanistan >> Music Inspired by the Middle East >> http://www.americanistan.com <http://www.americanistan.com/> >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> 541-484-5071 > Dunyah, aka Denise Gilbertson Director, Americanistan Music Inspired by the Middle East http://www.americanistan.com <http://www.americanistan.com/> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 541-484-5071
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