Hello-- my name is John-- I'm just starting out with the Hurdy. (I've got a Leverett Moncur model- D-G tuning.) I've prowled through some of the previous discussions and have seen videos some of you have posted to you tube-- it's a honor to join such a group. I thought I'd introduce myself.
To start with-- although I'm a huge music buff, I only know enough theory to be dangerous. I've been playing the hammered dulcimer for 27 years- I'm not what you'd call a folkie- my tastes run from classical (and "modern" classical), jazz (particularly Miles and Coltrane), blues, jam-rock, and Hindustan (Northern Indian) classical. I got into the latter since the most amazing hammered Dulcimer play is an Indian virtuoso named Shivkumar Sharma. I'm self taught-- I steal from a lot of places, but never get anything completely right, but I love to improvise. Based a lot on the indian infuence, I do a lot of rhythmic drones with my right hand, and lead over scales with my left. As much as I love the instrument, you can't really wail with it. The sound is always pretty, and you can do great counterpoint, but you can't really approximate a human voice. Also, the strings, even for a chromatic dulicmer, are arranged strangely. (Easy to play scales, but accidentals are hard to reach.) I've found myself playing the same patterns and locked into scales dominated by the circle of 5ths, and avoiding melodies with a lot of accidentals. Between trying Indian and classical, I pushed hard to get beyond the alternating hands, and play with two voices, using a heavy padded right hammer so that the bass doesn't drown out the melody. If anyone is curious, I have a couple examples - the first is a somewhat folk based improvisation, the second is an Indian-based Improvisation that I added some samples and loops to. There are rough edges in both-- I try to keep a live feel, and i don't want to drain the life out of a track. Or maybe I'm just lazy. Who knows. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_SDBvXYOA8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ6ylZvEAsg (Video may be a bit dark here-- mental illness and electroshock) I was golng to upgrade my trusty D-500 dulcimer to get a linear chromatic dulcimer that would give me the notes I couldn't reach, but, during a medieval binge, I came across Eduardo Paniagua's album that featured the Hurdy and I was hooked. The sound completely blew me away-- I love drones to start with, and there is something about the squeal in the melody notes that fascinated me no end. So, when my bonus came from work, I had to try a Hurdy instead of upgrading my dulcimer. I'm still finding my way around, working with my cotton technique, my tone in the upper register, etc. My fingers still hit the wrong notes a lot. I figure playing is the only way to work that out. I find myself wanting to set the tangents to just intonation, so I can get cleaner overtones. The math behind it is fascinating. I've also been fascinated by some of the sound artifacts that the instrument can create. The biggest thrill I'm getting, believe it or not, is when I try Indian material. The drone, of course, is classically Indian. (They use a buzzing drone called teh Tambura that sounds a bit like the Dog on teh Hurdy- I have one and play it as well. Other times they will use a small organ or harmonium to play a sustained "chord" -- like a Gurdy). The best way to describe the structure and effect with getting too technical is what one person said to me when I was improvising an Indiiad Raga (scale) on the hammered dulcimer. When I finished, he came up to me and said "You know, when you started playing, it was like the most boring thing I ever heard, like you were tuning your instrument. But after a while, the music got inside of me, and the next thing I knew, I was hanging on every note." That's sort of how it works-- you start with a slow, free meter exploration of the scale (called the Alap) which slowly builds in tension. Then after a while, you kick up a 7, 8, 12, 10 or sixteen beat rhythm and play variations on the scale. It gets hypnotic, and every time you work your way back to the tonic, there is a great sense of release. On a good session, you lose track of time (but hopefully not the beat. ) One of the most enjoyable scales I've played with so far (in D-G tuning) is a D "Major" where you flatten the third note. (using F instead of F Sharp). It makes the familiar Major scale much more dark, and when you descend the scale and end up on the open-D drone, it's wonderful. Another favorite Indian scale for me is the major scale when you flatten the 2nd and 6th notes. It is a very exotic scale. My favorite on teh Dulcimer is the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th notes on a Phrygian scale-- called Raga Malkuans, but I haven't tried that on the Hurdy yet. I need to improve my dog technique so I can capture the rhythms better, but I've had a blast with what I've tried so far -- this is such a natural fit for the Hurdy. -- and if you just want to wail-- there's a lot of room for that. (Yes, there must be a bit of frustrated electric guitarist in my psyche as well. ) Anyway, I wanted to introduce myself, and share some things I've been playing with . I hope to try blues, jazz, and most anything that the sound of the hurdy leads me to. I also love to hear anything others are trying. There is so much unexplored territory out there. John Page -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. 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