[NSP] Re: Wishful thinking or feasible science?
Maybe not totally relevant, but in my (much) younger days when carrying around a sliderule as a student, it was claimed that the best sliderules were made of bamboo coz they didn't expand like metal ones and were self-lubricating. Indeed, to smoothly ease into small gradations a prior pumping of the middle movable band was useful. John Clifford On 12 May 2011, at 10:12, Richard York wrote: Hello all. I've just enjoyed re-reading Francis Woods' excellent article, In Praise of Old Pipes, in the 2010 Vol 31 NPS Journal. There he refers to the myth [which] holds that instruments inevitably deteriorate if they are not used. [...] what really wears them out is using them . I quite see that the mechanical use of moving keys, sliding tunable parts, etc. causes wear, but would welcome comments on a probably very unscientific thought on the actual wood in instruments. (By the by, I realise mouth-blown woodwind deteriorates through the warming, wetting and drying and cooling effect, but feel that's not so relevant here.) I watched a demonstration recently of how the form of vibrations through an instrument can clearly be seen, by using sand on the soundboard of a rebec held horizontally, which neatly slid into patterns. Since all matter is made of particles, is it possible that the regular patterns of vibration may somehow arrange these particles in a way relating to these regular movements? Which in turn would affect its acoustic character, I assume. Best wishes, Richard. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: Help please
Anthony, I can add that I've had the same result as Rick and Sheila with Firefox on a MacBook. My wife shouted from the next room What's That??! John Clifford East Kilbride On 16 Nov 2010, at 21:19, Rick Damon wrote: Ditto to what Sheila said. I just tried it on a Mac with Safari. Also tried it on Windoze with IE. Glad to continue with Firefox or anything else any time you ask, Anthony. --Rick On Nov 16, 2010, at 4:13 PM, bri...@aol.com wrote: Sorry, Anthony, but that's the way we 're hearing it also. I know that it sounded interesting when you combined Windy Gyle Slow Air and fast Jig, but interesting is not the adjective I'd use for this combination. Sheila -Original Message- From: Anthony Robb anth...@robbpipes.com To: Chris Almond chrisalmo...@aol.com; John Birchall Andrea Egner john.birch...@t-online.de; Ewan Barker e.bar...@ballarat.edu.au; NIGEL BARLOW barlowsmallpi...@btinternet.com; Kim Bibby-Wilson k...@northumbriana.org.uk; Anne Dolphin Bill Toy annedolp...@hotmail.com; Edmund Boulting lkmar...@bellsouth.net; Sheila John Bridges bri...@aol.com; Steve Campbell s.campbell...@btinternet.com; Paul Tabbush Carolyn Robson paul.tabb...@virgin.net; Margaret Cato dmc...@talktalk.net; Tevye Celius t-cel...@onu.edu; Sue Clark sue.cl...@blueyonder.co.uk; Roger Clubley ro...@clubleys.co.uk; Dave Cook dco...@talk21.com; John Corrigan j...@x1jjc.wanadoo.co.uk; Graham O'Sullivan grahamjosulli...@yahoo.co.uk; David Oliver dmomu...@hotmail.co.uk; Sara Paton cookie_...@hotmail.com; Tristan Seldon lord.nit...@googlemail.com; Gill Sergeant gsat5...@aol.com; Dave Singleton david...@pt.lu; neil smith' nwspi...@hotmail.co.uk; Neil Tavernor neiltavernor! @b! tinternet.com; Jenny Tunbridge g.tunbri...@allsaints- gosforth.org.uk; Lindy Turner l.turne...@btinternet.com; Hans Waltl wa...@compuserve.com; Francis Wood oatenp...@googlemail.com Sent: Tue, Nov 16, 2010 9:54 am Subject: Help please Hello Folks May I ask for your help to see if you experience all clips playing automatically and simultaneously (OUCH!!) when viewing my website www.robbpipes.com It seems fine from this end but there is at least 1 person out there finding this problem and I'd like to see how universal it is. Hugs thanks all round for any assistance with this. Anthony -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: Rosslyn Castle
Hi, Intending to learn the Scottish Small Pipes after I'd gained some competence with NSP, I bought a second hand Colin Ross chanter (will try to send a photo in the next couple days, Julia) and a book of tunes The choicest bagpipe music from the Scottish Borders and Lowlands edited by Gordon J Mooney in 1982 and 1990. I've never felt competent enough with the Northumbrian pipes to branch out but have kept the chanter and book. The book has 71 tunes, vitually all in A, a few in D, and Roslin Castle. The notes for Roslin Castle say: This was one of the hit tunes of the 18th Century, and appears first in print under the title 'The Howe of Glamis'. We have notice of it being played on the 'Irish pipes by the Perth Town piper. These Irish pipes were probably the Improved Pastoral Bagpipe which was fashionable in the 18th century and possessed a chromatic scale over two octaves thus enabling tunes like Roslin Castle to be played. The source is given as song 8, page 9 The Scots Musical Museum, Edinburgh, 4 volumes 1853 edition, James Johnson. I hope this provides some useful information. John Clifford retired in Scotland I only know a couple of things about Roslyn Castle (and I think one 's' is correct in the name). Here's sleeve notes from Hamish Moore's LP ''Cauld Wind Pipes'' : ''Found in Kerr's Collection. This tune is played on the Pastoral Pipes with Patsy Seddon on Clarsach and Dougie MacLean on fiddle. The tune, first known as 'The House of Glamis' was a successful 'weel kent' tune of the 18th Century, and was popular among the Pastoral Pipers of Perth. The title was changed at some time and is more widely known as Roslyn Castle.'' The other thing I know is that Robert Burns used the tune for at least for one of his songs, entitled only ''Song'' (unsurprising because the words are not one of his best songwriting achievements). As for Hamish's performance of the tune on Pastoral pipes these are a notoriously elusive, problematic instrument and I don't think has ever been repeated. Despite one or two claims I doubt whether any pipe-maker has managed to successfully make or restore a satisfactory playable set. Also the suggestion from the sleeve note that there was somehow at one time a corps of ''Pastoral Pipers of Perth'' seems slightly fanciful. These were early days in the Scottish bellows pipes revival of the 1980's and we were all a bit over-excited about all kinds of discoveries about old Scottish bellows-piping lore and new possibilities. Mind I could be totally wrong and maybe in days of yore there were lots of Pastoral pipers in Perth. Anyway it is a lovely haunting tune. Bill where the tune is played on Pastoral pipes (a deeply problematic instrument) state: -Original Message- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Richard York Sent: 26 April 2010 13:11 To: NSP group Subject: [NSP] Rosslyn Castle Rosslyn/Roslyn/Roslin Castle is a tune I love, and it's in the NPS books. I'd like to find more about the origin. The story about the mason, from Andy May on his CD insert, is a great tale, but of course doesn't explain the tune's beginnings - I sort of assumed from there it was perhaps a lament related to the terrible deed. But it never seems very Scottish in its shape - all those major 7th leaps in a minor tune. We have a CD by the Welsh triple harp player Llio Rhydderch (OT thought... so was Lliopatra really Welsh, not Egyptian??!) who is very steeped in her tradition and takes it very studiously. She writes that there's a tradition that a relation of the famously Eponymous David of the White Rock, (and he died early mid C19th), travelled to Rosslyn Castle where he worked as a gardener, and took the tune with him from Wales. Certainly, once you hear her playing of it, it's absolutely Welsh. And very much the same feel as the David Of etc tune. On t'other hand she doesn't actually say who wrote it or when. While it's not strictly a Northumbrian Question, it's now in the nsp repertoire, so does anyone know any more of it, please? Thanks, Richard. 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 incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.814 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2835 - Release Date: 04/25/10 19:31:00 On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 2:18 PM, Richard York [1]rich...@lizards.force9.co.uk wrote: what about the Scottishness of Welshness of the shape of the tune? I don't know enough about Welshness to comment, but to me the tune sounds more rooted in a particular time than a particular place. -- References 1. mailto:rich...@lizards.force9.co.uk To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: nsp'ers in scotland
Bob, I've been back in Scotland (East Kilbride) for the past 2 years and some months ago re-activated my regular practice which had lapsed during five years in Wales when other priorities intervened. I'm a piper only in the sense that I know how to play individual notes in sequence, not in terms of facility or dexterity. When I lived in Portobello I occasionally managed to make a monthly session hosted by Graham Dixon in East Lothian -- I don't know if it is still meeting. You could do what I did once some years ago and go through the Members' List and contact pipers in your area asking if anyone would like to play John Clifford East Kilbride OK. Can we establish if there are any other players in Scotland then? I'm in Perth although I guess I cant be described as a player(yet). Cheers Bob To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: unusual letters
There's another problem -- even if you put the correct looking letter into an email (easy for me with a Welsh keyboard driver), in a list environment the list master may have restrictive settings. Safest way is to create your text and save it in pdf form. If the list doesn't permit attachments, send it directly to the person you're trying to reach. John Clifford Surely worth a go if it means more chance of the name being right in the publication? A --- On Wed, 19/8/09, Barry Say barr...@nspipes.co.uk wrote: From: Barry Say barr...@nspipes.co.uk Subject: [NSP] Re: Tune title spelling To: Nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu Date: Wednesday, 19 August, 2009, 10:25 AM Hi All Personally I wouldn't bother trying to put exotic characters in e-mail. They only work if the recipient is using the same system to read the messages as the sender is using to compose them. Look at the trouble we with get with -L- signs. Barry On 19 Aug 2009 at 10:02, The Red Goblin wrote: I have not found a way to access them for e-mail.? Tip: In WinXP (MacOS/Linux may have a similar applet) I simply copy paste exotic characters from the Character Map* accessory. Steve Collins * Buried in Start Programs Accessories System Tools (points to %SystemRoot%\System32\charmap.exe if missing) but I keep a shortcut handy on my Office Toolbar To get on or off this list see list information at [1]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: Swedish letters
Simon, All sorts of wierd permutations on latin letters are possible on a Mac and I assume on a MS machine -- just install a Welsh keyboard driver. There are a few slavic letters I can't do but German, Scandanavian, Hungarian, French, Spanish are easily accessible on a dead-key basis. The normal British letters are as written on the keys but the alt key is magic. John retired in Scotland but still trying to learn Welsh. My version ( from a P Cato personal recording from Ushaw College 01) says that there's a little o over the second a ( sorry my mac don't do Swedish..) Simon On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 9:11 PM, Julia Say [1]julia@nspipes.co.uk wrote: Can anyone tell me where the letters with dots over and suchlike should go in the tune title APPELBOLATEN (it's Swedish). I have it handwritten, twice and differently, from various sources, and I don't trust either rendition. Thanks Julia 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:julia@nspipes.co.uk 2. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
[NSP] Re: right thumb injury
John. As a fellow cyclist and piper you have my very deep, if confused, sympathy. I'm a very mediocre player but a serious injury to either hand would have an exponential effect on my overall happiness with life since I love music and my pipes so much. However, I don't understand what keys you would be hitting with your right thumb. If general strength or mobility is affected, perhaps a hook like some recorder players have might make holding the chanter more stable and there should be space for one to be superglued or screwed into place by your pipemaker. Now, if you are talking about your right index finger, that's something else. John Rev John Clifford 42 Sir Stafford Close, Caerphilly CF83 3BA, Wales UK [EMAIL PROTECTED] still looking for other pipers in SE Wales On 8 May 2007, at 17:10, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Last Saturday I crashed on my bicycle avoiding a couple of dogs at the bottom of a long downhill. The worst of my injuries is a torn ligament between my thumb and forefinger on my right hand. I was in the drops when I hit the pavement and jammed my thumb against the handle bar, pushing it in the opposite direction of its normal bent. It requires surgery to reattach, which I'm scheduled to have next Monday. The orthopedic doctor gave me some very bad news about how this will effect the movement of my right thumb. He said I need physical therapy to do regular things like typing on a key board, so I'm very concerned how this will effect my ability to hit keys with my thumb. Has anyone here ever had this injury and how did you get back up to speed on the pipes after surgery? I hope the doctor was just giving me a worse case scenario. all the best, John Dally -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- Virus scanned by Lumison.
[NSP] Re: right thumb injury
Sorry folks, I just had a brainstorm and was totally focused on something else -- I don't know what I was thinking of when I wrote my last message but it wasn't connected to this world. John Rev John Clifford 42 Sir Stafford Close, Caerphilly CF83 3BA, Wales UK [EMAIL PROTECTED] On 8 May 2007, at 18:06, Stephen Douglass wrote: Several keys get hit with the right thumb depending on your chanter range. On May 8, 2007, at 12:29 PM, John Clifford wrote: John. As a fellow cyclist and piper you have my very deep, if confused, sympathy. I'm a very mediocre player but a serious injury to either hand would have an exponential effect on my overall happiness with life since I love music and my pipes so much. However, I don't understand what keys you would be hitting with your right thumb. If general strength or mobility is affected, perhaps a hook like some recorder players have might make holding the chanter more stable and there should be space for one to be superglued or screwed into place by your pipemaker. Now, if you are talking about your right index finger, that's something else. John Rev John Clifford 42 Sir Stafford Close, Caerphilly CF83 3BA, Wales UK [EMAIL PROTECTED] still looking for other pipers in SE Wales On 8 May 2007, at 17:10, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Last Saturday I crashed on my bicycle avoiding a couple of dogs at the bottom of a long downhill. The worst of my injuries is a torn ligament between my thumb and forefinger on my right hand. I was in the drops when I hit the pavement and jammed my thumb against the handle bar, pushing it in the opposite direction of its normal bent. It requires surgery to reattach, which I'm scheduled to have next Monday. The orthopedic doctor gave me some very bad news about how this will effect the movement of my right thumb. He said I need physical therapy to do regular things like typing on a key board, so I'm very concerned how this will effect my ability to hit keys with my thumb. Has anyone here ever had this injury and how did you get back up to speed on the pipes after surgery? I hope the doctor was just giving me a worse case scenario. all the best, John Dally -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- Virus scanned by Lumison. -- Virus scanned by Lumison.
