Really meditative and great Alan. Enjoyed this. It’s a great contrast to your recent acoustic guitar improv pieces which move differently. Simon
Sent from my spyphone > On 13 Oct 2020, at 15:23, Alan Sondheim <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > ~~wards, qin improvisation > > http://www.alansondheim.org/wards.jpg qin > http://www.alansondheim.org/wards.mp3 sound > > I hadn't played the quqin for several months; one has to come to > it, I think, at least for me, in the proper state of mind. This > is the older of my two instruments, some centuries old, unsigned, > originally designed for silk strings. I keep the metal strings > tuned low. I try I want (not I desire) to keep to its nature as > well. I love this improvisation. There's a slight ringing on one > of the harmonics due to the nature of the glass table I use for > the qin. The table was originally for packages and down in the > lobby of the building we live in. It was being thrown out, and > we had another rescue. It's the perfect length. We found an old > chair from around 1850 maybe that's the perfect height. Stephen > Dydo brought the qin to life. Originally, I asked the luthier > Candelario Delgado to make a tuning apparatus which was > non-traditional but worked for a long time. Dydo restored the > original, including adding two legs which had disappeared a > long time ago, before I had it. As I've written before, I found > the instrument in New Hampshire at an antique shop for eighteen > dollars. When I left the proprietor asked what I wanted that old > board for. I improvise only on it; I don't read qin notation. I > listen a lot to qin music, I've know qin players, including Fred > Lieberman, who was partly responsible, I think, for introducing > the instrument to the United States. He told me I'd never learn > to play it. Stephen Dydo has been amazingly generous and helpful > and I've learned to play it. I have to add, not all the way up > the scale, and my right hand fingers don't hold the traditional > postures. I have to also add I've had it for half a century and > we accommodate each other. The improvisation is called 'wards' > because it's inwards, outwards, upwards, downwards, forwards, > backwards, but mainly in wards. Any relationship to asylum wards > is coincidental, hopefully, enjoy. The Album Stephen and I did > together for ESP, Dragon and Phoenix, issued by ESP-Disk, is > available online. It's described and can be purchased at > http://www.espdisk.com/5019.html . Thank you! > > ___ > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
