Thanks for posting the video. I was at that festival, and the end of Sierra's set had some fun covers. Very funky. We we're dancing to the beat of the bass and mando!
Thanks for posting the video. I was at that festival, and the end of Sierra's set had some fun covers. Very funky. We we're dancing to the beat of the bass and mando!
Until I heard those two play, I never would have imagined that a mandolin & bass duo could create such a powerful and compelling groove/rhythm.
The other thing I notice about them in this song, is that they seem to be genuinely enjoying playing. It's nice to see the smiles and it's clear that they're paying attention to each other's playing, listening to what the other one is doing. It takes good listening skills to know what to play in order to create extraordinarily-good music, and Sierra and Ethan seem to be excellent at all of those things.
From my point of view here in the internet audience, their enjoyment of their own playing (combined of course with their obvious talent) makes the performance feel fresh and new and inspirational. It's like the free-spirited vibe you'd get from an improv or something, but refined to perfection.
guess I'm the odd one out. Not a bad take on the tune,, but it didn't catch me. I don't feel any need to listen again. To each his own so they say.
Bass extensions aren't new, The guys sitting behind me in the orchestra when I was doing my undergrad back in the '80s all had 'em.
Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.
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Lyon & Healy • Wood • Thormahlen • Andersen • Bacorn • Yanuziello • Fender • National • Gibson • Franke • Fuchs • Aceto • Three Hungry Pit Bulls
Well done. Amazing sky that night.
Ray Dearstone #009 D1A (1999)
Skip Kelley #063 Offset Two Point (2017)
Arches #9 A Style (2005)
Bourgeois M5A (2022)
Hohner and Seydel Harmonicas (various keys)
"Heck, Jimmy Martin don't even believe in Santy Claus!"
I'm guessing "baboons" are probably bassoons, but what are "squeaksticks"?
I don't know anything about orchestras, but I'd imagine that if I were to try to play any of those wind instruments they'd probably *all* squeak! I base this on the following:
My dad had an old black-and-silver wind instrument of some sort that resided disassembled in its case. The instrument was black wood with a bunch of complicated weird-looking silver-colored metal gizmos attached to it. He didn't know what it was, he'd found it in a junkstore (that was decades before anyone started calling such places "thrift stores"). The case that the instrument fit into, if I recall correctly, was maybe 2.5 feet (76cm) long by 1.5 foot (46cm) across by maybe 5 inches (12cm) high, if that helps to narrow down what it might have been.
I took it out of the case one time, assembled it as best I could see how, and proceed to see if I could make it do something. Hmm, blats and blurts, squeaks and squeals, couldn't make it produce a musical note.
Don't know if there was something wrong with the instrument (likely), or if it required some special technique other than just blowing into one end of it.
It did have a part that I later came to find out was referred to as a "reed".
Many years later, my brief experience with Uilleann pipes made my realize that reeds aren't the easiest things to maintain and deal with.
So maybe that was what was wrong with the mystery instrument that my dad had, a reed issue maybe? And/or combined with zero knowledge on my part of how to play the darned thing.
That was one of many weird instruments he collected. He was a total NON-reformed packrat who collected anything and everything he could get his paws on, including cars, boats, trucks, stationary engines, motorcycles, old military weapons, and hundreds of various oddball musical instruments which were scattered all throughout the house beckoning people to try to play them.
(That's one easy way to have your kids learn to play music, just leave instruments scattered all over within easy reach, sooner or later a kid will get curious and pick them up, one by one, and see what kinds of sounds they will produce. If there is a sufficient variety of *functional* instruments to choose from, sooner or later the kid will discover one that s/he takes a liking to, and then the kid will be *requesting* lessons instead of the more-usual thing of parents coercing their kids into taking music lessons. If the kid thinks it's their own idea, rather than something that's being foisted off on them, the kid is much more likely to follow through with whatever it takes to learn proper technique etc.)
- FWIW, some of my playing trying to learn new tunes: English tune on old Favilla mandolin, Mouse In The Mug on 2 mandolins, banjo and mando, silly fun stuff at 0:24, a Playford variation I made up, Brazos cowboy swing, holiday 1, holiday 2, etc.
- Tab + practice midi backing tracks: Chadwick's Bog, Calypso Carol, Month of May, Newcastle, Alt Greek, Mignonne (Antonelli) variation, etc.
- Quick new tutorial: Write your own music and tab in MuseScore 2.1 (free, open-source), covers *all* the basics you need for songwriting and fiddle-tune writing etc, condensed down to one 20-minute video which also contains other useful tips such as how to convert standard notation to mandolin tab (at 14:00 in the video), or to easy-to-play first-position guitar tab (at 18:23 in video), etc. Video is designed to be easily viewable on any device, even small phone screens. This new up-to-date version 2.1 tutorial is an improved replacement for the old version mentioned in an older thread.
Last edited by Jess L.; Aug-26-2017 at 9:34pm. Reason: Fixed link.
Clarinet or oboe would fit that description.
Reed instruments all sound like tortured cats until you're good at playing them...So maybe that was what was wrong with the mystery instrument that my dad had, a reed issue maybe? And/or combined with zero knowledge on my part of how to play the darned thing.
P.S. the reed is for the woodwind player what the pick is to the mandolinist: countless makers, thicknesses and shapes, acquisition syndrome and discussion.
Last edited by Bertram Henze; Aug-27-2017 at 2:33am.
the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world
Thanks! I looked at the links you provided, the most likely culprit is clarinet - of those two (clarinet vs oboe), the clarinet mouthpiece shape looks vaguely familiar, whereas I don't recall seeing anything that looked like the oboe mouthpiece.
Ah, so they're like fiddles then. That was my experience with fiddles, anyway.
Lol! That's hilarious, I like his dry sense of humor, good comedy, including the intentionally exaggerated mispronunciation (for comedic effect) of "Uilleann". Quick sample of the narrative:
"So the bagpipes are strapped to you, the good thing about strapping a musical instrument to you, is that it's hard for people to steal them off you. However, if you get kidnapped while they're strapped to you, then you will be kidnapped along with your Uillean bagpipes. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, because if you're like in a prison or an underground bunker, you can entertain yourself during your captivity by playing the bagpipes....
"I've had the bagpipes for less than 24 hours. So I got them yesterday, look, see the price tag is still on them, and I played them yesterday but I didn't know that you had to put a reed in, and so they were completely silent, didn't make any noise..."
Ha! Excellent. Thanks for that link, Bertram.
Fascinating stuff, I like learning about these things. Thanks again Bertram!
Ray Dearstone #009 D1A (1999)
Skip Kelley #063 Offset Two Point (2017)
Arches #9 A Style (2005)
Bourgeois M5A (2022)
Hohner and Seydel Harmonicas (various keys)
"Heck, Jimmy Martin don't even believe in Santy Claus!"
One of my favorite versions of People Get Ready is by the late Eva Cassidy.
Ray Dearstone #009 D1A (1999)
Skip Kelley #063 Offset Two Point (2017)
Arches #9 A Style (2005)
Bourgeois M5A (2022)
Hohner and Seydel Harmonicas (various keys)
"Heck, Jimmy Martin don't even believe in Santy Claus!"
Yes. Here's some footage of Eva performing People Get Ready. According to the YouTube page, this was at a jazz club on the east coast (U.S.) in 1996, pretty nice:
(or direct link)
I played this song in my church several months ago. Beautiful Curtis Mayfield song.
Gibson F-5G (Harvey signed, Oct. 14, 2014)
Bertram,
I have a problem averting my eyes but for a different reason. You say there's a bass player in that video? I heard them play this a couple of years ago in Asheville, NC, and loved it. I also noticed what appeared to me to be the "Bass capo," and talked to Ethan about it.
My recollections of hearing this song go back to my youth and parties where it would be played--I assume the Impressions version--and it evokes great memories of warm summer breezes and lovely young ladies. So I still like what to me is the original version but, and I have to say I like the Eva C version a little better than this one. But all in all I still think Sierra is the best!
Pat Hull
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