Complex as anything else, just looks simpler. On the other hand hearing a child play a plastic ukulele which in no way can be used with bad fret alignment just makes me wish they'd taken up Arduino. In a combination of this btw, I did a LOT of work recording atmospheric and other sounds with extremely low frequency radios; I still have the equipment here and hope to use it again. The earth itself 'sings,' especially lightning...
Alan On Thu, Feb 29, 2024 at 12:23 PM Mark Hancock <m...@memecortex.net> wrote: > >>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 >> > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > -- *=====================================================* *directory http://www.alansondheim.org <http://www.alansondheim.org> tel 347-383-8552**email sondheim ut panix.com <http://panix.com>, sondheim ut gmail.com <http://gmail.com>* *=====================================================*
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