Interesting - I have not had a lot of problem keeping the viola C in tune on my
HG and yes, it does have a great sound. I also use it as my second melody
string. It tends to stay in tune better than the other D melody string - a gut
string - but tuned an octave above to violin D.
I also have not had difficulties with the low low D - my drone is two
octaves below middle C. Originally, I had a D drone one octave below middle C
- same as the melody string and it was muddying the melody. The lower drone
allows the melody strings to be heard better. I used a cello C - strung for a
1/4 sized cello. It doesn't play well with the G drone - can't get the two to
tune together at all. Actually, it doesn't much matter since it sounds great
all on it's own.
I suppose it's all a matter of taste. I play medieval and some middle
eastern music and that deep, baritone sound sounds fantastic - plaintive and
primitive. I don't see this working so well for sprightly french tunes
----- Original Message -----
From: Eaton Mike
To: '[email protected]'
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 3:59 AM
Subject: RE: [HG] great tune played by Mike Eaton + Question about low low D
chanters
Hi, I've been off the list for a while and am just catching up.
I'm flattered by your comments! Yes, it is an Alto. I have 4 melody
strings: Octave D's and Octave G's. For this set of tunes tune I was using was
the Octave G chanters with a G drone and D trompette. It was recorded at the
first annual Hurdy-Gurdy Festival at Lancaster in the UK last April. The
festival itself was a great success (I think we must have had about 40 HG
players, plus many other associated musicians and interested parties) - enough
to pursuade the organisers to put on another next year.
I agree about using the viola C for a low low D chanter - a fantastic deep,
rich sound. I find it does have its drawbacks though: a slower response time,
so you cant do rapid trilling, and the richness of the sound can tend to vanish
when you crank at trompetting speeds. It's the least reliable of my melody
strings and I have to work hard, constantly fiddling with rosin/cotton
wool/shims etc to maintain a reasonable sound quality.
Question for other HG players with low low D chanters - do you also find that
the low low D is hard work to keep it sounding good? I'm currently of the
opinion that having a fairly firm contact against the wheel helps.
Also, I've forgotton the name of the 3rd tune in the set of tunes that I play
in this video clip - anyone help ?
Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Jocelyn Demuth [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: 13 October 2007 04:06
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [HG] great tune played by Mike Eaton
It sounds similar to my hg. I have a D-G instrument. I've equipped it with
a viola C which I've tuned to a D for the lower chanterelle. I also have a
cello C string which I've also tuned to a D below that D for the Gros Bourdon.
I have a renaissance gurdy by Olympic musical instruments. People tell me all
the time that it sounds like a Cello. Now of course, I don't play it as ably
and beautifully as Mike Eaton, but I think you can get a similar sound with
this tuning. - Jocelyn
----- Original Message -----
From: Augusto de Ornellas Abreu
To: [email protected]
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 3:33 PM
Subject: Re: [HG] great tune played by Mike Eaton
I suspected it was the Alto, but can anyone figure out how each string is
tuned? I really like the harmony...
On 10/12/07, Arle Lommel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
It's this type of instrument, which the maker calls the "Alto":
http://www.weichselbaumer.cc/english/alto.html
-Arle
On Oct 12, 2007, at 3:59 PM, Augusto de Ornellas Abreu wrote:
Hi there
Can anybody with a better ear than mine tell me what kind of tuning
(chanterelles, drones, etc) does Eaton has on this marvellous tune?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vRQaWbI1rus
Are his chanterelles (at least one of them) an octave apart? Is this
an alto HG - it sounds almost cello-like... Great!
Augusto
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