I am going to give a slightly different perspective to this issue, one I have
given before. I am in the minority here, as I consider myself an amateur
player of several instruments, not a professional, and while I enjoy getting
better, I also enjoy everything else that has to do with the older instruments
- the lore, the construction, the materials and techniques, thedesign and
aesthetics, the personalizations and the integration of new technologies into
the instruments. And I like to learn by doing, and I like to build things as a
tool to learn.
I built my first Sinphone (medieval box predecessor to a true hurdy gurdy)
without plans, without a model to go by, with only some basic knowledge of
structures, a whole lot of tool knowledge (and a bunch of tools) and 1 piece of
information - 354mm. The vibrating string length. It is amazing what you can
do with just that one piece of information.
I used woods I knew to be acceptable from some of my previous instrument
experiments. I experimented, and with some work I came up with an instrument
that I enjoy playing and some folks enjoy listening to. I play a few French
tunes, and I do the unthinkable - I play a bunch of bagpipe standards, things
like 'The Minstrel Bard" and "Amazing Grace", and I play harmony parts on some
old English folk songs and I even have my own cover of "Smoke on the Water".
In other words, I do not fall into the category that most folks here fall into
- students and performers of traditional Hurdy Gurdy.
So while a professional would probably find my first instrument a dismal
failure, I find it a spectacular success. I learned so much from that
instument that I never would have learned by reading about or looking at
someone else's work. And the second instrument I built, which was really just
a technology tester for what will be a much nicer, late medieval piece of my
own design, turned out better by leaps. So if my goal was to acquire an
instrument on the level of Wolfgang or Cali and Alden's offerings, I failed
miserably. But I acquired in my experiment so much more.
I also have to say that I do not get discouraged. I will not let the moderate
quality and excessive finickiness of my first instrument put me off from
continuing to study and develop my talents, and one day I would like to be able
to play proficiently some of the music I have seen videos for from OTW, but
that will come and I have patience.
I had made plans to be at OTW this year, but in a real surprise circumstance,
my wife and I discovered we are going to have another baby in Spetember
sometime, so I have to put that trip on hold for yet another year. But
hopefully next year, if nothing major gets in the way, I will be bringing my
current project and letting some of the experts critique it - that is how I
like to learn and how I like to 'network'. And maybe someone more proficient
than I will help me find the instrument's voice.
So if you are the unique kind of individual that likes the ride as much as the
destination, and you don't consider failures while learning to be anything but
successes in disguies, then I whole-heartedly suggest cutting wood, making
mistakes, building a few 'cats with digestive tract problems', having some
leughs, and learning a ton in the process. If you like to figure things out
yourself, it is possible. There are several reasonable plans, and a few books
with plans and construction articles. You can, if you have hand skills and a
technical mind, work through the problems and build something that will be, at
least to you, a wonderful thing.
But if you are mainly a performer, mostly interested in playing a really nice
instrument, then I suggest just buying one. There are not, on the market
today, any kits that will yield right from the box an instrument of the caliber
any of the professional HG luthiers are building today.
Chris
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
On 5/26/2008 at 10:53 PM William Gull wrote:
Greetings unto the list!!!!!!
My name William Gull and I reside in Nevada, Iowa and I am a first time
poster to this list.. I am a silversmith and hand engraver who does historical
reenactments for both recreation and and as a market for my hand work. It was
through my love of both medieval and 18Th century music that I was introduced
to the wonders of the hurdy gurdy. Since then it has been an ever growing
passion to learn to play one.
First things first, before learning to play I need to find an instrument to
play on. Being a hands on sort of person, I have decided I would like to try
building one. I know this will be a definite challenge, but it is one I am
willing to undertake. Like any new project I undertake, I am starting by
doing research and gathering as much information as I can. There in lies the
problem. While I am slowly collecting and reading as many books on all aspects
of the hurdy gurdy as I can get my hands on, there seems to be almost no
information on the quality of the hurdy gurdy plans and kits available. Does
anyone on this list have any recommendations or opinions on the commercially
available kits and building plans??? What would you recommend for the beginner
as far as must have books?
I appreciate any and all input that will get me closer to my goal of
learning the hurdy gurdy!!!!
In a shared hurdy gurdy passion,
William
