A New Musical Project

I have been playing more these days, learning new tunes... sometimes I do not practice for weeks, but these days I am learning a new repertoire for concertina, Scottish small pipes, Northumbrian Small pipes and Spanish gaita. This increase in playing could be because of a new project I have started with a Spanish fiddler called Alba. She lives in Madrid and we have decided to play together and start performing in public. We have known each other now for a few years and have a repertoire already, so it is a case of finalizing it and practicing. 

We are playing familiar and unfamiliar tunes from Northern Spain and the Scottish and English Borders... some from Ireland too. But we hope we are “highlighting” our musical “accents” not copying a style but interpreting the music in our own way...  using our musical culture and nationality/s to change the melody... to add and take away something.

I am playing Spanish melodies in a Border/Northumbria style... (we are limiting ourselves to areas such as Galicia, Zamora, Asturias, Basque, Catalonia, Mallorca...) and Alba is playing Northumbrian/Scottish Border melodies in a Spanish style... so a jig is not really a jig and a jota is not really a jota... the Irish melodies are not played in an “Irish style”, but something “foreign” to both of us!

It is an interesting project, finding a name, exploring the music and trying to practicing while we are in our own countries and meeting when we can... but we hope by spring 2015 we will be ready and performing live.

We have a set list worked out and it is an interesting mix of music, this list will probably change as time progresses so it is interesting to record it for now:

Zontzico / Morfa Rhuddlan (Basque/Welsh)

Old Drops of Brandy (Borders)

O’Carolyn Set (Irish)

Alloa House / Romances (Scottish/Zamora)

Mr. Prestons Hornpipe (Borders)

Sir John Fenwicks (Northumbrian)

Newmarket Races (Northumbrian)

Jackey Layton (Northumbrian)

Ann Thou Were My Ain Thing (Borders)

Autumn Child / Rights of Man / Proudlock’s Hornpipe (Irish)

Morigana in Spain / Welcome to Vigo / The Spanish Cloak (Northumbrian/Scottish/Irish)

Redondela / Saddle the Pony (Galician/Irish)

Noble Squire Dacre / Go to Bewick Johnny (Northumbrian)

Basque melody / Roxburgh Castle / Hesleyside Reel (Basque/Northumbrian)

Bollero de St. Maria / Zamora Melody (Mallorca/Zamora)

Galician Melody / Frisky (Galicia/Northumbria)

Highland Laddie (Borders)

Loch Ryan / Bonny Millar (Scottish Highland/Borders)

This probably needs more Spanish melodies... or to take away a few UK melodies ... early days yet !!

The instruments will vary also, Alba plays violin and a Baroque violin, this depends if I am playing concertina (440c) or Northumbrian Small pipes (415c)...

Bellows Piping at Newcastleton Folk Club

It is only the 2nd time I have attended the Newcastleton Folk Club, but the piping there is increasing each time, last Tuesday evening there was Irish bellows-blown pipes and 2 sets of Scottish Small pipes. I feel it is important to include the titles of the tunes as we do not often record what we play and this can be of interest to future researchers.

Each person played or sang in turn, when it was my turn I played “Frisky” and later I played a Minuet both pieces were from the Peacock manuscript, which is a manuscript written especially for the Northumbrian small pipes, dated 1800.

As my time came around again I did a duet with David (who was also playing bellows small pipes) the tune was called “Noble Squire Dacre” with 6 variations and this was followed by the Scottish version of “Buy Broom Besoms” from the manuscript “O’er the Hills and Far Away”, a compilation of tunes from the Scottish Borders.

Later I played “Green Bracken” a melody with 3 parts, and later again I played “Kelso Lasses” next to “The Wedding O’Blyth” both tunes are from the “O’er the Hills and Far Away” manuscript.

 David played pipes and sang which is something I love to hear, but I do not know the title, the Irish piper played some beautiful Airs and reels, some I knew but again I do not know the titles.

Inverters and Electrics on a Small Boat.

I bought a new inverter for the boat, a sign perhaps of my change in function for Sadaf, not the ocean traveler i thought i was, but more of the stay at home kind and snuggled up in a warm bunk with a few home comforts. I bought a 500w 12v inverter to charge up my rechargeable batteries for my radio and mp3 player, and to recharge the computer; I have 3 car batteries and a solar panel which used to be for an electric motor.

The worst thing about the inverter is the noise from the fan, not comfortable. When everything is plugged in the wires are everywhere, and when i recharged the computer battery it must have taken a lot of power as the inverter shut down as the battery got near to the empty mark! I think it would be ok for emergencies but as a thing if relaxation and leisure it did not pass the test. 

I think I will stay with my rechargeable batteries and my speakers, there is no much volume (no amp with them) but it does OK if, like today, it is raining heavy.

Home Recording Distrbution

I started a new page of Facebook called “Home Recording distribution”, it is a page to help artists like myself who are fed up with multinationals distributing music at inflated prices, and over loading us with their narrow choice of musical genre. 

Everything is 'packaged' from the CD to the recording, even the type of reverb they use on the final mix; there is nothing original they can offer. We are so used to it, to get the plastic wrapper in a plastic CD cover which is given to us in a plastic bag!

A new 'Cottage Industry' that once had so much promise and hope - the internet has been high jacked. To produce one’s own music and getting it ‘out there’ to the world, either for profit or for interest is not easy. Controls are everywhere. 

I listen to people/music I know, people who have spent their time and energy composing, writing, learning, producing, recording, editing, re-editing, designing their CD; so much time and effort for what? For it not to be listened too? For it to be put away while people just go to the multinationals and buy something that they have ‘heard before’. I do not think I have bought a CD from a shop in years.

I have made my own recordings for years, I sold them on the streets, I have sent them through the post....it works! I also listen to recordings I made of other people, 'field-recordings', ethno recordings, of local bands, people, in the UK and around the world. They have more life and originality; they have new ideas and passion than any mass produced run-of-the-mill factory production. 

Today I listened to a Cumbrian flute player called Rob Rynn, who produced his own CD with his own money by paying studio time, and working on his own CD design etc. it is good, it is original, sometimes it is not accurate in tempo, sometimes it is like a live recording...but it is good and it is different and it stays in my mind...it is personal. I encourage people to record and upload their music to the Facebook “Home Recording Distribution” page, and try and sell your work, or interest people in it. Here is the link and logo:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Home-Recording-Distribution/117782875075397

Nyckelharpa in Bingsjöstämman

In July there are 2 music festivals I love to go to in Sweden. The first is the Sackpipa meeting in Gagnef, Dalarna; and the other is the Nyckelharpa and fiddle festival at Bingsjo, Dalarna. Both festivals are in the 1st week of July.

"I have admired the Swedish Nyckelharpa since 1991, and the interest has never gone away. I have been lucky enough to attend the Bingsjöstämman music festival (Dalarna, Sweden) for the past 2 years, and seen and heard the Nyckelharpa being played by many good musicians. Here are a collection of photos I took from my 2012 visit, and I recorded the music too. Sadly, I do not know the group of Nyckelharpas who were playing on the recording, nor the name of the melody being played, but I hope it is a homage to the many names of contributors to this amazing instrument and musical tradition".

The nyckelharpa is a keyed fiddle, it comes in many different variations, but most of the photos here are of the chromatic variant which is relatively modern instrument. I am also interested in the Moraharpa and the Silverbasharpa, which are not chromatic.

Moving the Earth

As winter is coming I was surprised to see a new mooring close by to my own. When I say "close by" it was too close for Sadaf's comfort. The new warp and the boat would have intruded into the area of Sadaf's swing. As Sadaf's keels are shallow she would have lifted first with the tide and slammed right into the stern of the new boat. I had asked in the village if the new owner could move the mooring away from my own, and as it was in my line of getting away from the mooring, could be positioned quite far away. Nothing happened. So today with some very kind help from Jerry, we dug up the new mooring and positioned it some distance up-tide, still in line with my boat (so not loosing any depth) but far enough away so the boat's stern does not leave a nasty dent in my hull. I will eventually move my boat further up-tide away from the harbour and away from our new visitor, but for now I can be at peace that I will still have a boat to go to. I am playing with the idea of sailing in the winter, Jerry also gave me 3 sails which are a lot lighter and smaller than my present ones. It is much easier to reef and easier to handle, so I might chance a winter's season, as I have done so little sailing this summer...what summer eh?