Chiff and Fipple Forums

pancelticpiper wrote:

Nanohedron wrote: the greater part of any antipathy will really not have had all that much to do with the matter of low whistles themselves.

And I wouldn't expect such.

If a book critic gives a particular new novel a bad review it doesn't mean he doesn't like books.

Of course, of course. But in this case I found myself truly uncertain if tin tin's wanderings were digression, or far astray.

It's been such a lovely long time since we've been on this topic (not long enough for me, I'm afraid), that what with people coming and going and coming back again, I can't trust myself to be sure who might remember what.

Just to let you know, Talbert St. Claire is having a web-page created & it will be up & running next Saturday (27th January) with a "secure" method to purchase the double album for those interested.

a "secure" method

Love how you phrased that. "secure". Inspires confidence.

But Linda Anderson says there are little flourishes that set it apart, like ringing strings. "Ringing strings is a really common feature. So playing more than one note at the same time. And that was largely in Shetland because there were no other instruments playing for a dance. So it was one fiddler in a corner and a roomful of people dancing. So they had to make as much sound as they could and make that rhythm come out."

This is a common feature in Appalachian fiddle as well. My grandfather was an old-time West Virginia fiddler. I have his fiddle; the fingerboard, nut, and bridge have been filed down to make them flatter, so that it's difficult to play the middle strings without brushing an adjacent string, and playing three strings at once is easy.

In Appalachia in the old days it was often just a fiddler playing for a dance, or one fiddle and one banjo. Both instruments emphasised rhythm- yes there's a melody, but the melody is embedded in a matrix of rhythm and drones.

And yes the fiddles were often tuned AEAE, which gives you plenty of droning possibilities.

Edden Hammons b. 1875 one of the earliest West Virginia fiddlers to be recorded, here as a very old man, out of practice, and on a borrowed fiddle! (He evidently didn't own a fiddle at the time of the recording, they had to go borrow one.)

You can hear the near-continuous droning/double-stops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHJbZr_zMj0

Nanohedron wrote:It's been such a lovely long time since we've been on this topic (not long enough for me, I'm afraid), that what with people coming and going and coming back again, I can't trust myself to be sure who might remember what.

I do remember the threads about a Davy Spillane low whistle FS and the TSC tutorials in the car which appeared pretty secure.

Here's the web-site for Talbert's new CD http://www.talbertstclaire.com with samples of the music. First impressions are that it's nicely done.