>>More than you asked for!
Heh, not at all i find it fascinating. As someone who just dabbles* with Ableton, field recordings and whatever Arduino device I can connect, it’s really interesting to understand analog instruments and their heritage and the complexity of playing them. M On Thu, 29 Feb 2024 at 16:35, Alan Sondheim via NetBehaviour < netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> wrote: > > > Hi Mark, > > Now that you ask... Nylon is easier on the fingers than steel, and harder > to 'twang' - it's subtle in a different way. And there's nylon and nylon - > originally strings were gut and on some instruments I use Nylgut which > imitates the acoustic properties of gut but is another composition > altogether. It's easier to bend notes with steel strings, a displacement > sideways of steel (or composition) raises the pitch to a greater extent > thann the displacement of nylon (or composition). I have a very old gambus > here from near Nepal with the original strings - they're very thin gut and > I'm afraid if I play it, they'll break. > > With the guqin or qin, it's other issues. They should be played with gut > strings, relatively low tension. Under Mao, who was responsible for the > dstruction of 300 antique qin, which went back centuries, the qin was > 'modernized' to take steel strings. My two qin have steel strings, even > though one is centuries old; the gut strings tend to break and I don't > have the physical strength to replace them (another story). I have a > friend who plays and teaches a number of instruments; he has gut strings > on his reproduction medieval instruments. > > The blues always used metal - it was what was available, but the strings > bent for the blues notes as well. And I don't want to say 'always' for > that matter, not sure of that. Electric guitars of course need metal > strings but you can electrify a classical guitar as well with contact/ > vibration mics. > > My sazs are all metal strings, as are my Albanian gifteli. The saz is very > very easy on the fingers. > > The oud uses nylon or gut strings but a related instrument, used in local > Jewish musics, the cobza or kobza, uses very light gauge metal strings. > > Old-timey banjos can go either way; mine has nylon or nylgut strings > (forget which now, like the latter more), bluegrass banjos always use > metal strings for their percussive quality. > > The whole mandolin family, metal. > > More than you asked for! :-) > > Best, Alan > > On Thu, 29 Feb 2024, Mark Hancock wrote: > > > Date: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:39:58 +0000 > > From: Mark Hancock <m...@memecortex.net> > > Reply-To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > > <netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> > > To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > > <netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> > > Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] long covid blues > > > > Hey Alan, > > That's really interesting. Any differences as a player between nylon and > > steel? Apart from the twang? > > > > Bloody long covid, what a nightmare it all is. Hope you're finding some > > respite, or solace from it all. > > > > Mark > > > > On Wed, 28 Feb 2024 at 22:13, Alan Sondheim via NetBehaviour > > <netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> wrote: > > Hi Mark, > > > > The music is from a while ago, unfortunately my playing now is > > stranger, more angular. > > It was a steel string guitar, I still do blues on a nylon string > > banjo, mainly for myself, but it doesn't have the 'twang.' > > Years ago I remember finding a steel-body National guitar for Son > > House through Al Wilson. > > I got infected by free jazz. > > Spoke too soon about being over long covid; today was one of the worst > > days. > > > > Best, Alan, exhausted and so glad you liked the music! > > > > On Wed, Feb 28, 2024 at 4:15?AM Mark Hancock <m...@memecortex.net> > > wrote: > > I love that guitar sound, Alan. I need more of that, > > please! > > > > Reminds me (in my limited cultural references) of the guitar on > > Psychic TV?s A Pagan Day album. > > > > > > Glad you?re on the mend, that was my favourite verse. > > > > Mark > > > > > > On Wed, 28 Feb 2024 at 04:48, Alan Sondheim via NetBehaviour > > <netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> wrote: > > > > > > long covid blues > > > > https://youtu.be/c8zWeSeZDvM video > > > > i got the long covid blues > > i got the long covid blues > > any way you choose > > i got those long long covid blues > > > > wake up this morning in the middle of the night > > wake up this morning in the middle of the night > > looking for the sunlight sight long covid fright > > > > wake up in midday nothing left to lose > > wake up in midday nothing left to lose > > got those long longer longest long covid blues > > > > they say there's nowhere to go but down the covid > > hall > > doctor comes i said yesterday maybe had a fall > > i said maybe something else can't remember at all > > said maybe that was it maybe was a fall > > > > i got the long covid blues > > i got the long covid blues > > any way you choose > > i got those long covid blues > > > > --- >>>> * > > > > * although i seem to be getting well and pulling > > through > > * anyway you look the mood's a lot less blue > > > > _ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > NetBehaviour mailing list > > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org > > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > > > _______________________________________________ > > NetBehaviour mailing list > > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org > > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > > > > > > > -- > > ===================================================== > > directory http://www.alansondheim.org tel 347-383-8552 > > email sondheim ut panix.com, sondheim ut gmail.com > > ===================================================== > > _______________________________________________ > > NetBehaviour mailing list > > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org > > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >
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