Derek Hoy wrote: > Kate asked: >> In Irish music, I have either played notes with an up or down bow, or >> slurred several notes on a single bow stroke, but I've never heard of a >> 'straight slur' where you briefly stop then continue in the same bow >> direction. It's supposed to sound very staccato. But it doesn't mention >> in the book if it is acceptable to lift the bow off the strings! I don't >> know if it's ever acceptable to lift the bow off the strings > > Yes, it's OK to lift off the bow- it's a big factor in determining your > personal style. Some folks keep their bow on the string like it's running > on railway tracks, others let it fly about. I'm towards the latter :) > > But as Kate D says, it's probably not what you want to get your broken slur. > First of all, you have to listen to examples of what it is you're trying to > achieve. Get that sound in your head.
I attended a workshop on strathspey bowing taught by Laura Risk last Summer and one thing that struck me was how much off the strings she was playing (although I don't believe she was lifting during the snap bowing). When I listen to the tape I made of the session this doesn't come through, so I suppose it's also useful to watch fiddlers playing as well as listen to them! Alexander Mac Donald wrote: > Carlin's description of Niel Gow's "up-driven bow" is of particular > interest. He uses a typical strathspey four note cluster consisting of a > sixteenth note followed by a dottted eight, another dotted eight and > then a sixteenth to illustrate his point. In his description of Gow's > up-driven bow style the first note is taken with a down bow and the > next three played staccato with one up bow. Both Henderson and Hunter > state that to achieve this "the bow must be lifted smartly of the > strings with a peculiar jerk of the wrist". Laura demonstrated this stroke. The way she played it she emphasized the downbow and got right out to the point, then played the 3 following notes in the upper half of the bow. She said this was a typical bowing in the lowland or classical style of playing strathspeys, as compared with highland style which uses more single bows and more left-hand ornaments. I can't remember if she lifted the bow during this stroke but for myself I find it's often effective to lift after the 2nd note. In the Skye collection MacDonald relates James Scott Skinner's explanation of bowings as follows: "The straight slur is performed by lifting the bow smartly off the strings, both notes being taken in one up or down bow as the case may be. The short note is taken with the end of the bow. When the arrow occurs [i.e. the figure that Alexander mentions above] the first note is taken down and the other three all up, taking care to re-emphasize the third note." I don't get his comments about the 2-note straight slur though; I don't know anyone who plays this off the string like I think he's describing. Can anyone elaborate, and also describe the "peculiar jerk of the wrist" that is mentioned in Carlin's description? BTW, speaking of Skinner, for Christmas I received a copy of The Strathspey King, the CD of his remastered cylinders and 78s. Amazing stuff, especially considering most of the tracks were recorded when Skinner was in his 70s, and with primitive recording techniques. -Steve -- Steve Wyrick -- Concord, California Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
