[NSP] Re: NPS competition results
That's a great shame the so many had no entries this year - especially the overseas players. Hopefully things will pick up again. Colin Hill On 20/10/2012 18:24, Julia Say wrote: I have posted the results of these on the NPS forum at: http://www.northumbrianpipers.org.uk/pipersforum/index.php It is particularly disappointing that after all the discussion on this list a few years back, and the expansion of the overseas playing classes as a result, this year there were no overseas entries at all. Julia To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2441/5343 - Release Date: 10/20/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2221 / Virus Database: 2441/5343 - Release Date: 10/20/12
[NSP] Re: facebook and the forum
Well, somewhere along the line I totally missed the fact that there even was a forum! Thanks for bringing the subject up again, I've registered now. Colin Hill On 17/08/2012 12:04, Matt Seattle wrote: On Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 11:18 AM, Bilbo Hill [1]bilbo_h...@email.com wrote: The stuff is spread over too many sub forums some of which are just vanity areas for a couple of people to bang on about stuff that interests only them. Is that a projection? I see no vanity areas, only an intelligent and generally successful attempt to divide it into areas of interest. For some, the mechanics of the instrument are a consuming passion. I am not one of these, but I am grateful that there are such people because without them no pipe music would enter the world. For me, the music itself is a consuming passion, and I am disappointed that my favorite [sic] forum, Peacock's Parlour, is not more widely visited and used. But that is how it is, you can't hit people over the head with it, and no-one's hitting me over the head about reed-making and key-pads. -- References 1. mailto:bilbo_h...@email.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2197 / Virus Database: 2437/5203 - Release Date: 08/15/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2197 / Virus Database: 2437/5204 - Release Date: 08/16/12
[NSP] Re: nps facebook
If I have the right one (and that's far from certain as I don't understand facebook at all) it's http://www.facebook.com/groups/131491660229952/ at least that's what's on the URL bit at the top of the page. Colin Hill On 16/08/2012 19:44, Richard Evans wrote: Barry Say wrote: More happens on fyecebeuk than anywhere else at the moment. I have been very disappointed that more NPS committee members have not taken advantage of the opportunities offered by the NPS forum. So I created a facebook account and found the nps page but all I see is a wikipedia extract. Is there some kind of forum or something? And if so, what's wrong with the excellent and underused NPS forums? Cheers Richard - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2197 / Virus Database: 2437/5203 - Release Date: 08/15/12 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: [NSP]
Quite simply, it's spam. This particular email appears to be doing the rounds at the moment on many groups including Google and Yahoo. Someone, somewhere, has had their address book hacked. Any mail like this should be deleted and not opened. I doubt anyone in a group would send a link with no covering information anyway. Run a virus check and malware check if you opened it - sometimes the sites linked to have nasty things hidden in them! Colin Hill On 10/07/2012 10:35, Marianne Hall wrote: What is this email about? Doesn't seem to have anything to do with Piping. Marianne. Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2012 15:36:20 -0400 To: barne...@gmail.com; edt1...@cox.net; carol...@ticklehallcross.co.uk; pbtand...@gmail.com; nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu; amca...@cox.net; joe.bea...@alexandriava.gov; amanda.up...@alexandriava.gov; dpekr...@goodwinhouse.org From: hbabc...@aol.com Subject: [NSP] http://rtmpakistan.org/hslkgs.html?zreu=agnbps -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2195 / Virus Database: 2437/5122 - Release Date: 07/09/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2195 / Virus Database: 2437/5122 - Release Date: 07/09/12
[NSP] Re: April 2012 Tune of the Month: Morpeth Rant -- 1 April 2012
1,042,012 Naira? That's 3/4d isn't it? Wait for the next edition Rare panda commits suicide in zoo Colin Hill On 01/04/2012 16:45, Dru Brooke-Taylor wrote: And is this an opportunity to do a kindness to the victims of political violence, by allowing your bank account to assist the widow of a former general to access funds in exchange for a token share of the proceeds? Not our pipes, but has anyone else seen this morning's Scotsman? http://www.scotsman.com/news/pipes-play-music-of-love-for-edinburgh-zoo-pandas-1-2209167# On 1 Apr 2012, at 15:32, John Dally wrote: Ian Lawther has chosen THE MORPETH RANT for April's Tune of the Month. There are lots different settings out there. Matt Seattle published a book on the tune. It may be the first tune we've had in D, and it may be the tune with the most key work we've had so far. It is a melody firmly rooted in the Northumbrian tradition, but not one I hear played on the pipes very often. Also, in an amazing stroke of good look the Royal Bank of Nigeria has granted anyone who has participated in this sharing of tunes so far an award of 1,042,012 Naira. The grant is given in thanks to the British Empire for their efforts to give Nigerians free transport and labor opportunities in the United States over the centuries. The grants must be collected in person by any young female relation at the main branch in Abuja by the end of this month. cheers -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2114/4907 - Release Date: 03/31/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2114/4907 - Release Date: 03/31/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2114/4907 - Release Date: 03/31/12
[NSP] Re: NSP spotted on ebay UK
A lot of the ivory actually came from old billiard and snooker balls as well and a lot of of them (and other ivory work) came from mammoth tusks from Russia. Europeans used ivory mainly for piano keys and cutlery handles! I remember being advised to look out for them to make some bits for the pipes - mind you, that was when the recommended cane source was flower baskets from Spain :) I never did get any as my attempt to make a set went very, very wrong when the drill came out of the side of the chanter and I realised it was beyond me! I think I still have a few pieces of lignum hanging around somewhere though (drone size). Hippo teeth are a common source as well (and sperm whale teeth) and anything from a mammal tooth is ivory. All a bit gross really. Mammoth ivory is still legal. I'd rather have plastic myself. Colin Hill On 17/02/2012 21:21, Guy Tindale wrote: Hi All, The ivorycould possibly be walrus. Goeff Wooff used old walrus pieces that I think he bought in NZ years ago in the limited number of sets of pipes that he made. Then again am happy to be proven wrong!! Regards, Guy T --- On Wed, 15/2/12, John Dallydir...@gmail.com wrote: - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4815 - Release Date: 02/17/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4815 - Release Date: 02/17/12 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: NSP spotted on ebay UK
I didn't look at the larger images :( Quite different and, as you say, especially the keys. Bill's are a work of art in themselves. Should really have looked at my own set before replying. The only other chanters I have seen (and not that many) have been rather heavy and thick which made me think it may have been his. Again, even looking at the woodwork says it's not. My humble apologies for being too idle to look and replying without thinking. Colin Hill On 16/02/2012 08:49, Anthony Robb wrote: Hello Mike I agree there is nothing of the Hedworth style in this set - keys especially. Hedworth taught silver smithing to Colin Ross and was a master of beautiful keywork. His style is unique with the key stem shaped and silver soldered to reach completely across the domed round bit (hope my technical language if not too baffling). There is a good sample of various makers' keywork at the bottom of this page: [1]http://www.robbpipes.com/WindyGyleBand.html Hedworth made the ivory (G) chanter and it has absolutely typical Hedworth keys. As aye Anthony - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4813 - Release Date: 02/16/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4813 - Release Date: 02/16/12 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: NSP spotted on ebay UK
Doh! I did reply but sent it to the original sender instead of well you know the rest. I saw a distinct Hedworth look in the chanter but note it's brass fittings. He, I think, used NS (he did on mine) and there's more ivory on this one. I always thought of Bill's as very neat and slim so maybe a follower. The case looks too new for Bill as well. Colin Hill. On 15/02/2012 21:55, Adrian wrote: On 15/02/2012 16:23, John Dally wrote: [1]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Northumbrian-Smallpipes-/120858672456?pt=UK_ Woodwind_Instrumentshash=item1c23bcfd48 Can anyone identify the maker? I am not associated with the sale or interested in bidding on them. Just curious. -- References 1. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Northumbrian-Smallpipes-/120858672456?pt=UK_Woodwind_Instrumentshash=item1c23bcfd48 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html I think it's the late Ron Blake of Alderly Edge, Cheshire. Adrian - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4811 - Release Date: 02/15/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4811 - Release Date: 02/15/12 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4811 - Release Date: 02/15/12
[NSP] Re: ebay Northumbrian bagpipe (not)
I just told them that it was not a Northumbrian bagpipe, just a European one. The box for typing in the reasons doesn't allow many letters. Certainly does look like something maybe from Spanish-influenced areas like Morocco or that area (they have smaller single drones, in general). Wouldn't like to narrow it down though. I suspect the curve of the bellows may be a good clue but beyond my knowledge. Colin Hill. On 06/12/2011 23:02, Barry Say wrote: I have reported this to ebay as a misleading title. If others wish to do so this might not be a bad idea. I have not yet been able to tell them what is wrong, it is a rather tick-box approach, but I will see what happens. Barry John Dally wrote: Some sort of euro-pipe, very expensive for what it is, but not what the seller claims it is: ebay item #170741342181. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1873 / Virus Database: 2102/4665 - Release Date: 12/07/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1873 / Virus Database: 2102/4665 - Release Date: 12/07/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1873 / Virus Database: 2102/4665 - Release Date: 12/07/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1873 / Virus Database: 2102/4665 - Release Date: 12/07/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1873 / Virus Database: 2102/4665 - Release Date: 12/07/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.1873 / Virus Database: 2102/4665 - Release Date: 12/07/11
[NSP] Re: Sad news for singing and piping
Very, very sad to hear this news. Ray was the person I contacted first regarding getting a set of pipes way back in the early 70's (from the address on the rear of the Wild Hills LP) and she was so kind and patient with me asking so many stupid questions (and put me in touch with Bill Hedworth which resulted in my keyless and then 7 key set). I met her the following November (?) in Newcastle at the AGM and she was most welcoming to me. It was then that I realised who she was (Ray Fisher). I won't contact Colin myself but I'm sure I join many on this list who wish him our condolences in this tragic time. Colin Hill On 01/09/2011 20:56, Julia Say wrote: Those of you who knew Colin Ross' wife, Ray, and haven't so far heard from other singing or social forums, will be saddened to learn of her death yesterday. She had been ill for some time and finally succumbed to several conditions. Messages are flooding on to various lists and boards and there is an obit on the Guardian website http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/sep/01/ray-fisher-obituary?INTCMP=SRCH Colin is coping as well as can be expected and has family with him, but as he is himself not totally well, please no phone calls to the family home, they simply cannot deal with the volume of calls. Email messages will be received (though probably not answered, again due to volume) and cards are fine. He is very grateful for the messages received so far and the support and appreciation of the piping community. Ray was of course an internationally respected traditional singer with an extensive family, and singing will play a large part in the farewell ceremony. It is at 2.15 pm on Monday 12 September at Whitley Bay. Pipers have been requested: please email me for more details if you are likely to come, so I know how big a turnout of players to expect. There is a social event afterwards as well. Julia To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1392 / Virus Database: 1520/3870 - Release Date: 09/01/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1392 / Virus Database: 1520/3870 - Release Date: 09/01/11
[NSP] Re: Trivia
Anything at all. She's Deaf as a post :) Colin Hill On 06/08/2011 20:55, Francis Wood wrote: Since it's August . . . . What tunes does your dog prefer? Francis To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1391 / Virus Database: 1520/3815 - Release Date: 08/06/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1391 / Virus Database: 1520/3815 - Release Date: 08/06/11
[NSP] Re: whether The Tradition should evolve?
Tradition is how things are done and it's an ever moving, never ending flow. Very similar to the evolution of a language. To insist that one certain aspect is the tradition is actually taking a snapshot of that evolution and stopping it (as if we were to still speak the English of Shakespeare). That's slightly different, of course, to deciding how a certain instrument should be played which is more of a technical discussion. Sudden changes cannot be traditional until and unless they are adopted by the people who then continue the process. Hence many instruments were part of a tradition but have now fallen away. Things like concertinas for morris dancing were new but are now regarded by many as a traditional instrument. (Sound of bomb shelter doors closing and sealing) Colin Hill On 02/07/2011 00:44, Gibbons, John wrote: It evidently does, and has done, and surely will do - compare tunes which appeared in Atkinson, Dixon, Vickers and Peacock - or in the 19th century, the sudden popularity of polkas and galops, and the boom in 4/4 hornpipes with respect to 3/2 ones. Or the invention of keyed smallpipes. Ned Pearson's recordings in the middle of the 20th century sounded old-fashioned compared to the others from younger musicians Peter Kennedy and others recorded. The important thing is not that The Tradition should never change, but that it should stay alive - if you want to stop it developing, get rid of all the musicians, and just listen to the records! John From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] on behalf of Steve Bliven [steve.bli...@comcast.net] Sent: 01 July 2011 23:52 To: Francis Wood Cc: List - NSP Subject: [NSP] Re: Your Video Does this begin again the question of whether The Tradition can/should (choose one) evolve? Best wishes. Steve On 7/1/11 5:00 PM, Francis Woodoatenp...@googlemail.com wrote: Interesting to contemplate how The Tradition will have evolved by then! To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3737 - Release Date: 07/01/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3737 - Release Date: 07/01/11
[NSP] Re: Tune of the Month, July, Roxborough Castle
I'll tell you what worries me. Don't they listen/watch what they are posting for the public? If they don't, why not? If they do, why don't they notice that things are wrong? This guy can obviously play the thing - including the regulators which are tricky at the best of times. I'm guessing it's the X factor syndrome. (The total inability to hear how rubbish YOU are but able to hear exactly how bad everyone else is). I can understand someone learning an instrument in isolation and so not knowing how it should sound but there's plenty of stuff available to compare with these days. Why don't people hear oh, mine doesn't sound like that - especially on a recording. More importantly, why don't they just admit I'm not good enough to go public. Mind you,it's nice to know that there are others as bad as you around :) Colin Hill On 30/06/2011 10:25, Richard York wrote: True 'nuff! :) On 30/06/2011 10:20, christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu wrote: ... Could have done another take? C --- Text inserted by Panda IS 2011: This message has NOT been classified as spam. If it is unsolicited mail (spam), click on the following link to reclassify it: http://localhost:6083/Panda?ID=pav_11671SPAM=truepath=C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Richard\Local%20Settings\Application%20Data\Panda%20Security\Panda%20Internet%20Security%202011\AntiSpam --- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3733 - Release Date: 06/29/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3735 - Release Date: 06/30/11
[NSP] Re: tin ear man
Fortunately I don't suffer from X Factor syndrome so won't be posting anything myself. :) Colin Hill On 30/06/2011 17:23, John Dally wrote: Even though I think all the comments on the youtube videos that I volunteered to go over the top in the first wave are all correct and useful, I had hoped the spirit of the thing would be more encouraging. I'm looking forward to hearing and seeing videos from all those who have chimed in so far. On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 5:42 AM,[1]smallpi...@machineconcepts.co.uk wrote: on another posting to youtube he is playing the gaita(sp) and sounds better(ish) To get on or off this list see list information at [2]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. mailto:smallpi...@machineconcepts.co.uk 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3735 - Release Date: 06/30/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1516/3735 - Release Date: 06/30/11
[NSP] Re: Deaf/dead
I wonder what the bag is made from then - a shepherd perhaps?
Colin Hill
On 26/06/2011 11:41, Francis Wood wrote:
On 24 Jun 2011, at 12:24, cwhill wrote:
Imagine some guy sitting watching his goats playing a shawm, getting out of breath (and
they do take a lot of puff) and thinking I have a cunning plan.
Hi Colin and all,
Goats are pretty clever creatures and apparently have been playing bagpipes
since mediaeval times. It must be true, because here's a picture in a Swedish
church showing a pipes-playing goat.
Perhaps the first significant piper to be called Billy.
http://www.myspace.com/blackmagicfools/photos/881123#{%22ImageId%22%3A881123}
Francis
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[NSP] Re: Deaf/dead
OK, just for you, here's the missing item , You mean you have never seen Big Al and his amazing shawm playing goat quartet? You haven't lived. Colin Hill On 24/06/2011 14:40, Gibbons, John wrote: I've never seen anyone's goats playing a shawm - playing the goat, perhaps. You are perhaps thinking of the Great God Pan, who played another wind instrument... John -Original Message- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of cwhill Sent: 24 June 2011 12:24 To: nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Subject: [NSP] Re: Deaf/dead I was more thinking along the lines of look what they've done to my song, Ma. There is, of course, a serious side to it when deciding on which part of the tradition one wishes to set as the norm. With the best will in the world, how people actually played music before recordings were available has to be best guess. Research can help somewhat but nothing compares with the actual not like that, like this of a fellow piper. That's one of the reasons that I tend to be not so pedantic on how to play the pipes (within reason) including which came first - the stopped chanter or the one finger off at a time. Lucky accident or careful deliberation?. Of course, one wonders who actually thought of killing a goat and using the skin for the bag. Imagine some guy sitting watching his goats playing a shawm, getting out of breath (and they do take a lot of puff) and thinking I have a cunning plan. Colin Hill On 24/06/2011 09:34, christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu wrote: If Beethoven were alive today and could hear (:)), would he have recognised his compositions as played I'm very sure he would have recognised the pieces but he might have thought people had a very funny way of playing them. Though I did once hear a recording of piece by Palestrina that I had actually sung myself and failed to recognise it. This was the choir of the Sistine Chapel around 1935 with masses of vibrato, poor tuning in general and rubato all over the shop. I also once heard a local choir singing three pieces - one by Haydn, one by Bruckner and one by Britten, and I couldn't tell which was which. And I once failed to recognise that a rock band had played Little Wing in one of their sets. But I don't think it's this kind of gross inaccuracy that we're talking about. CB - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3721 - Release Date: 06/23/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1513/3723 - Release Date: 06/24/11 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1513/3723 - Release Date: 06/24/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1388 / Virus Database: 1513/3723 - Release Date: 06/24/11
[NSP] Re: Was Mr. Fenwick right?
I've always thought of the spaces as being similar to playing something like a glockenspiel/hammer dulcimer (with one hammer) or even a piano (with one finger) where it's very difficult to play legato or slur notes into one another. The fact I have six fingers and a thumb covering the holes doesn't mean one can use them all at the same time (OK, you'd drop the chanter but you get the idea). There has to be a slight delay as the one finger is moved from one note to another - the use of several fingers doesn't alter the fact that each finger must complete it's task on it's own - and before the next. That's the way I have tried to make sense of it anyway. The use of a music program (or even a music box) shows just how poorly the actual dots can sound without the feel of the musician even though perfectly executed mechanically. That's the bit they still haven't invented notation to show (with feeling doesn't really help on a music score, does it). That's how I understand the bit about the spaces between the notes anyway. Fortunately I'm rubbish at reading music (I'm an every good boy reader) so need, very much, to know the tune by ear before looking at the dots and then the coded message in the dots becomes much clearer. Colin Hill On 23/06/2011 11:49, Francis Wood wrote: On 23 Jun 2011, at 11:20, Julia Say wrote: The most important thing in a tune is the spaces between the notes, not the notes themselves. This is also consistent with the musical principles of the composer Bruno Heinz Jaja, demonstrated by the musicologists Dr Klauss Domgraf-Fassbaender and Professor von der Vogelweide at the Hoffning Interplanetary Festival 1958 Each note is dependant on the next. Each note is like a little polished diamond There are three bars of silence . . . the second bar is in 3-4 and this gives to the whole work a quasi-Viennese flavour Francis To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3719 - Release Date: 06/22/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3721 - Release Date: 06/23/11
[NSP] Re: Deaf/dead
This is a fascinating thread. I'm just going to throw in a few thoughts that have been going around my head. We are probably rather spoiled living in an age of recordings. I'm thinking of the interpretation of the dots as opposed to actual playing of them as written. I suppose this is one reason we have a conductor for an orchestra and why different conductors have very different interpretations of any one piece of music. This, of course, is also true of the spoken word (hence the director with the cry of more passion). Having something written down can only give, at best, basic instructions (how loud is loud?) as we can see with some local drama groups. The words are pronounced correctly but the performance varies depending on the actor. Whilst the dots and instructions of written music can tell us a lot, what they should actually have sounded like is something we have lost over the years (and music is just as susceptible to Chinese whispers as speech). As I said at the start of this thread, I Beethoven were alive today and could hear (:)), would he have recognised his compositions as played and, for that matter, would Jamie Allan have recognised the pipe tunes he played listening to them now. Playing the dots is one thing, interpreting them another which is why I believe that both methods (written and aural tradition) are still important although who decides which sound is right is something only the composer can do (unless you hear the composer playing and he/she says this is the way it's supposed to be played which may, in some cases, be preferable to writing the dots - depending on the dot writing ability of the composer. Recordings help with that, of course. As an aside from that, I'd love to have heard the two compositions I once entered for the competitions (too similar to existing tune and needs more work - to jerky) being played by a real piper to see if the dots I wrote down bore any similarity to what I intended (had to use a music notation program to play them back in midi). One of them I have never been able to play on the pipes themselves as it's faster than my fingers). Great topic of conversation. Keep 'em coming. Colin Hill On 22/06/2011 11:21, christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu wrote: Generally people in literate societies have far worse memories than in societies with oral/aural cultures. Ask an ear player how many tunes he knows - it will be more than I can remember where I kept the dots of Swings and roundabouts. C To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3717 - Release Date: 06/21/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3719 - Release Date: 06/22/11
[NSP] blissfull ignorance
Without wanting to start anything - and not referring back to any particular recent posting ;), I now realise that my total ignorance of the NSP (putting aside the 38 years I've been making noises with them) has been a Godsend as I've been able to listen to the sounds alone in deciding if I enjoy what I hear rather the the technicalities of technique, style, proper piping etc. Whilst I fully appreciate that there is a set way of playing an instrument, I'm really glad not to be in a position that has any restraints (in the same way I can enjoy a film and not have the fact that certain items shown were not actually invented at the time represented even if I do pick up on them). I'm happy to indulge all camps. Colin - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3712 - Release Date: 06/18/11 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: Deaf/dead
Ok, bad choice of composer! He was, however, only deaf in later life. Still good excuse for some bad jokes :) It was a genuine question though. If there is a correct was to play, that must have been decided at sometime by someone. I'm thinking here of the closed fingering techniques, one finger off at a time, no choyting etc. I can understand the concept of setting rules for a competition (so like is compared to like) but when did this idea of proper piping come about? Is it something that came about accidentaly or was is a joint decision from somewhere. As there has been so much discusion (and do remember, being far away from the area, most of my knowledge has come from reading this list) I'm really curious as o how it all started and whether there is some basis (other than personal views) for this. Sorry if this is a rather large can of worms I'm opening Colin Hill On 17/06/2011 09:43, Francis Wood wrote: On 17 Jun 2011, at 09:24,christopher.bi...@ec.europa.eu wrote: I reckon being dead is an even greater impediment to hearing them played now. Well, if he hadn't been the late Beethoven, how could he have composed the Late Quartets? Francis To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3707 - Release Date: 06/16/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3709 - Release Date: 06/17/11
[NSP] Re: Deaf/dead
I do have a set of UPs (nasty cheap ones which I bought reasonably as they had been over 5 years on the shop shelf and nobody knew anything about them (yes, from Hobgoblin) - no regulators) but they still weigh a ton. The fingering chart I managed to find may give you an idea http://www.howardmusic.co.uk/owners_club/uillean_pipes_finger_chart.htm I found the on the knee off the knee very difficult to try and get the hang of (that, plus the sheer weight of the thing has resulted in it finding a new home behind the sofa - I admitted defeat). Makes the NSP seem a user-friendly instrument, at least. I think you will be interested in this (note the phrase in the intro re staccato playing as well). I may try playing them again if I can get a bung to fit the hole in the stock that the drones fit into - I just can't manage the weight these days - anyone got a big cork? Colin Hill On 17/06/2011 20:58, Francis Wood wrote: On 17 Jun 2011, at 14:14, ch...@harris405.plus.com wrote: The Uilleann pipe chanter can be, and often is, played closed, by resting the chanter on the knee. It's possible, but more difficult, to get just as clean, detatched playing as with nsp. However this isn't seen as a fundamental distinguishing feature, and is not insisted upon. The chanter can be played open or closed, and is indeed played both ways, to get more varied effects. Hello Chris, Thanks for this. I'm ignorant about Uilleann pipes as you'll probably gather. But do you mean to say that the chanter can be played using two radically different fingering systems and still remain _in tune_? If not, can the closed method probably really and properly be regarded as part of the core technique of those pipes? Francis To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3709 - Release Date: 06/17/11 - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3709 - Release Date: 06/17/11
[NSP] Re: divorce
On 16/06/2011 09:55, Alan Corkett wrote: Dear All Hear, Hear! Julia! Alan Corkett I have to confess to being an outsider wherever I am. Being in Liverpool, I'm well outside the regular piping fraternity of the North East plus, despite having been a piper for 38 years I'm not very good and, with age, have actually got worse. That being said, I've enjoyed the banter and the technical stuff I have learned here and I've been able to offer some advice from problems I have had and solved (usually) over the years or from advice given here and lost in the mist of time. To be honest (I can see the bundles of faggots being laid by the stake now) I'm rather appreciative of the scope of the instrument as well as the tradition. I'm in a cleft stick. I'm happy playing Yo Ho a Pirates life for me or It's a small world from Disneyland as I am playing from the NPS Tunebooks. After more years than I care to remember on the folk scene where clubs would bar you if you sang anything later than the 1800's or refuse you entry if you had a (shudder) guitar or other musical instrument with you, I've been through it all before - including the ones that said it was folk if you didn't have electric instruments! It's not that I'm not interested in the tradition - I am - but wouldn't want to follow that to the exclusion of all else. I'm playing because I love the pipes and their sound. If I were in a competition (sorry, flight of fancy there) I would be happy to follow the rules and I'm quite happy to follow the correct way of playing but as none of us know what that is as we were not around at the time to hear it I do have to presume that it's a later view that became that's nice, let's do it that way scenario. Personally I'd rather follow a more open forum (and have a nice shout at the computer when something controversial turns up). I'm happy to be a part of a more selective group but I'd still follow the other. It's probably because I don't have the skill or expertise to play Clough style that I'd be out on a limb in such a forum. I'm buggered if I'll stop playing as best I can though. Unfortunately I can't find any of the other, alternative forums but I will mourn the loss of the experienced players and, I fear, it could lead to that style of playing becoming a niche minority which would leave newer players doing their own thing if they don't live near to other players. That's not good for piping. I do hope that the players who have migrated will still use this forum and reserve the new ones for the high level stuff (pun intended) where they may be at a similar standard (like an advanced level). I'm sure everything will level out eventually. There's room for all in our world. Colin Hill (typed far too much, sorry). - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1382 / Virus Database: 1513/3706 - Release Date: 06/15/11 To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
