Friday, 30 September 2011
E-Sitar
A 17-string sitar neck, attached to a custom made electric guitar style body. All regular and sympathetic strings are steel, so that the sound can be amplified by the magnetic pickup system. It is played like a standard sitar, as the design puts the instrument in the correct playing position while strapped on, allowing the player freedom of movement. Modeled along the lines of a Rickenbacker 4001-V63 bass, it is built from an assortment of salvaged sitar parts. The body is cut from a piece of ash wood. The neck is dove-tail joined to the body leaving a slight elevation for string clearance. The pickup is by Seymour-Duncan and is their version of a Fender "Jazzmaster" design. This is the only pickup with magnetic poles shallow enough to fit in between the two string layers. It was necessary to angle the pickup position to allow for string placement along the raised frets. the "taraf" (bottom) bridge was then angled so it's string set would sit parallel to the under side of the pickup. Master Sitar and Tabla repairman Tony Karasek designed this hybrid in 2003. A disciple of sitar guru Ravi Shankar, Tony toured with Ravi from 1996-2000 as a Tanpura player and also works on Ravi's instruments. Tony has moved to India to set up a custom sitar business, to facilitate high-quality sitar production in India again, which has been mostly lacking. He merges the best aspects of the many sitars he has come across, along with the finest materials and craftsmen.
Electric Harp Guitars
In 1987, guitar legend Michael Hedges (1953-1997) approached Steve Klein and asked him to make a modern acoustic harp guitar. After several attempts at creating drawings for an acoustic harp guitar, Steve Klein proposed an electric instrument, the Electric Harp Guitar on the left. Equipped with a headless 6-string neck for better balance, it also has a Steinberger Trans-Trem on it. The sub-bass strings are supported by three aluminum tubes in a triangular configuration.
The harp guitar is a musical instrument combining features found in the guitar and the harp. Originally manufactured as a "novelty" instrument, the harp strings are used as bass or drone strings, adding to the harmonic texture. Hybrid styles are possibly the rarest of all, although harp mandolins do exist.
The harp guitar is a musical instrument combining features found in the guitar and the harp. Originally manufactured as a "novelty" instrument, the harp strings are used as bass or drone strings, adding to the harmonic texture. Hybrid styles are possibly the rarest of all, although harp mandolins do exist.
Dulcimer
The dulcimer is one of the few original American musical instruments. It's ancestor, the scheithlot, was found in the late 1700's in Pennsylvania. The Appalachian people changed this instrument and came up with the dulcimer in the 1800's. The word dulcimer means "sweet song", and that describes it well. The Appalachian dulcimer is shaped like an hourglass, or like a woman, as many say. In those days women playing a stringed instrument were not allowed to stand in front of the men. So, they played the dulcimer, which was played on the lap. Originally the dulcimer was strummed with a quill. It can be played with a pick, bowed, fingerpicked, or with a short piece of dowel called a "noter". Different playing styles are used to bring out different sounds. Many chords can also be played on this instrument. Dulcimers are handmade and very beautiful. Most dulcimers have three to five strings, and while tuning modes can vary, usually only the first string is used to play melody, while the other strings provide drone accompaniment and backing chords.
This dulcimer was custom made by the late Homer Ledford (1926-2006) of Kentucky, considered to be a legend and master craftsman of the instrument. It is made from Yellow Poplar wood that is over 100 years old, salvaged from planks that were once slave cabins.
A traditional way to play the instrument is to lay it flat on the lap and pluck or strum the strings with one hand, while fretting with the other. In practice, a wide variety of playing styles are used. For solemn church and parlor music, a bow was traditionally favored, but in faster dance music, the dulcimer was plucked and strummed. When four strings are used, the first two strings are placed close together and tuned the same. This can be used to emphasize the melody, while the other two strings are used as drone strings. Some dulcimers are constructed to allow the strings to be arranged with either a "double melody string" (as described above) or with the option of four equidistant strings. The traditional way to play the dulcimer is to utilize the "one melody string and two drone strings" approach. Players who employ this method are known as "noters". More contemporary play has borrowed from chord theory and guitar analogues to create a variety of more complex ways to play the dulcimer. The Appalachian dulcimer is both easy to learn to play and yet capable of complexity, providing scope for a wide range of professionals and hobbyists.
This dulcimer was custom made by the late Homer Ledford (1926-2006) of Kentucky, considered to be a legend and master craftsman of the instrument. It is made from Yellow Poplar wood that is over 100 years old, salvaged from planks that were once slave cabins.
A traditional way to play the instrument is to lay it flat on the lap and pluck or strum the strings with one hand, while fretting with the other. In practice, a wide variety of playing styles are used. For solemn church and parlor music, a bow was traditionally favored, but in faster dance music, the dulcimer was plucked and strummed. When four strings are used, the first two strings are placed close together and tuned the same. This can be used to emphasize the melody, while the other two strings are used as drone strings. Some dulcimers are constructed to allow the strings to be arranged with either a "double melody string" (as described above) or with the option of four equidistant strings. The traditional way to play the dulcimer is to utilize the "one melody string and two drone strings" approach. Players who employ this method are known as "noters". More contemporary play has borrowed from chord theory and guitar analogues to create a variety of more complex ways to play the dulcimer. The Appalachian dulcimer is both easy to learn to play and yet capable of complexity, providing scope for a wide range of professionals and hobbyists.
Electric Bass Kalimba
This is a catamaran style electric bass kalimba with ten keys. It spans 2 octaves in a modified pentatonic setup. It has large clear plastic overtone dampers which allow the bass tones to predominate and cuts down on unwanted sustain.
In the side view photo, you can see that it also has the inset angle bridge feature. The top is cherry wood and the back is quarter-sawn fir. Acoustically this eKalimba is just about inaudible but plugged into a good system it hears the keys evenly and it is PHAT!
In the side view photo, you can see that it also has the inset angle bridge feature. The top is cherry wood and the back is quarter-sawn fir. Acoustically this eKalimba is just about inaudible but plugged into a good system it hears the keys evenly and it is PHAT!
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
The Clackamore
The Clackamore is both a percussive and melody instrument. It is easy to play - simply hold it to your lips and tap with your fingers. This is all you need to do to play along and provide a percussive beat.
By forming the mouth into shapes akin to saying "E" and "O", and by opening and closing the throat, melodies from nursery rhymes to blue grass riffs can be playedAll musicians will enjoy the challenge of learning to play melodies with the Clackamire. By forming the mouth into shapes akin to saying "E" and "O", and by opening and closing the throat, melodies from nursery rhymes to blue grass rifts can be played. A cross between a jaw harp and spoons, it is one of the more unique, yet easy to play instruments. Position the Clackamore on your lips, just like a jaw harp, then play the hammer with rhythms like you would on a pair of spoons.
The Clackamore has been described as a "percussive jew's harp" and "a tool for listening to the shape of your mouth".
By forming the mouth into shapes akin to saying "E" and "O", and by opening and closing the throat, melodies from nursery rhymes to blue grass riffs can be playedAll musicians will enjoy the challenge of learning to play melodies with the Clackamire. By forming the mouth into shapes akin to saying "E" and "O", and by opening and closing the throat, melodies from nursery rhymes to blue grass rifts can be played. A cross between a jaw harp and spoons, it is one of the more unique, yet easy to play instruments. Position the Clackamore on your lips, just like a jaw harp, then play the hammer with rhythms like you would on a pair of spoons.
The Clackamore has been described as a "percussive jew's harp" and "a tool for listening to the shape of your mouth".
Circular Harp
Created by David Murphy, the giant circular harp is an acoustic instrument, which looks a bit like a very large kettledrum. It contains 66 strings, strung in a complex pattern across the top. During performance, which usually requires three people, a video camera points down at the instrument from above, and vibrations from plucked and hammered strings are fed into bowls of liquid. This makes patterns which are projected onto a large screen, as the sound is fed into small speakers underneath in which containers of water or mercury have cameras trained on them. The resulting images are then superimposed to make interesting visual effects.
In his work that appeared at the REV Festival in Brisbane, 2002, "The Circular Harp and it's resulting images", the Circular Harp David Murphy made as an exploration into the junction of geometry and music was played by percussionists Graeme Leak, Greg Sheehen, and himself (on left). The music was amplified for the audience, and used to excite bowls of liquid, with the beautiful and beguiling images that resulted being projected above the performance in real-time
In his work that appeared at the REV Festival in Brisbane, 2002, "The Circular Harp and it's resulting images", the Circular Harp David Murphy made as an exploration into the junction of geometry and music was played by percussionists Graeme Leak, Greg Sheehen, and himself (on left). The music was amplified for the audience, and used to excite bowls of liquid, with the beautiful and beguiling images that resulted being projected above the performance in real-time
The Celestial Harp
The Celestial Harp is an innovative new musical instrument designed and built by Robin Armstrong. The original idea of the Celestial Harp was to play a person’s horoscope, or to play the horoscope of the very moment one was living in. The dream of musically expressing the healing vibrations of the heavens grew. It evolved into a sound sculpture synthesizing the Zodiac, the I Ching, the Pyramid, the Solar System, and the Stars in the sky. Since the sound or feel of the instrument varies widely, depending on the person or individuals playing it at any given time, we present 3 short unique sound snippets of the Celestial Harp.
The shape of any instrument conditions the attitude of the musician and the type of music played. The shape of the Celestial Harp is based on the proportions inherent in the circle, the square and the spiral. There are seventy-two strings radiating out from the center across a spiral bridge and out to a square bridge. There is also a circle of frets. There are eight double strings and a direct relationship of each string to the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching. Each string has its own frets.
The Celestial Harp has a very strong emphasis on space. The musician must move around it. There is no beginning or end to it. The strings can be hammered, plucked, strummed, played with a slide, or sounded in numerous ways. It is both a stringed instrument and a percussion instrument. It is designed so that several people can play it at the same time.
The tuning system uses a very sophisticated system. As the musician plays around the instrument, the scales ascend and descend in waves. In tuning system #-9 there is a range of four octaves plus an auxiliary two octaves. There is also a scale for each sign of the Zodiac. Tuning system #-12 is set up on a chromatic scale and spans about three octaves. Because several people play the harp at the same time many of the sounds being made seem as if they are coming from several instruments.
The shape of any instrument conditions the attitude of the musician and the type of music played. The shape of the Celestial Harp is based on the proportions inherent in the circle, the square and the spiral. There are seventy-two strings radiating out from the center across a spiral bridge and out to a square bridge. There is also a circle of frets. There are eight double strings and a direct relationship of each string to the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching. Each string has its own frets.
The Celestial Harp has a very strong emphasis on space. The musician must move around it. There is no beginning or end to it. The strings can be hammered, plucked, strummed, played with a slide, or sounded in numerous ways. It is both a stringed instrument and a percussion instrument. It is designed so that several people can play it at the same time.
The tuning system uses a very sophisticated system. As the musician plays around the instrument, the scales ascend and descend in waves. In tuning system #-9 there is a range of four octaves plus an auxiliary two octaves. There is also a scale for each sign of the Zodiac. Tuning system #-12 is set up on a chromatic scale and spans about three octaves. Because several people play the harp at the same time many of the sounds being made seem as if they are coming from several instruments.
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