Theremin in San Luis Obispo on TV

As a direct descendant of the Pringles of Whytbank (only a few km from Edinburgh) I am comforted that you are NOT from the other side of the country. I come from a long line of border reivers on both my mother's and my father's sides of the family.

I find Eddi Reader quite captivating for reasons I don't fully understand. I am used to hearing AE FOND KISS sung by classically trained vocalists (mainly those Scottish/Irish tenor types) but I rather prefer the more popular/folk approach to it. Miss Reader's hand gestures are quite beautiful and they remind me of the sorts of things we see with vocalists from India and certain parts of the Middle East. There is a wonderful honesty in her singing. 

Alas! She hails from Glasgow.

I find Eddie Reader's style very endearing and captivating too and like you (coalport) do not know why.

I've not really ever been a great fan of the classically trained voices but do notice that for the most part, traditional folk singers will usually give a more 'personal' rendition of a song such as Ae Fond Kiss. Not sure why.

From a fiddling point of view, I know quite a few classically trained fiddlers (violinists) who have since converted to playing trad stuff-you know, the technical ability, phrasing and intonation is superb but their classical training is still there to see.
A traditional player who has grown up with the tradition will sound much more fluid and easy going playing the same thing.

Of course the reverse also applies: the trad player will stand out like a sore thumb in the classical setting.

A fiddler who I have great respect for from the North East is Paul Anderson-in my opinion he plays in as close to the style of J.Scott Skinner did as anyone can. Scott Skinner, known as the Strathspey King, had a very classical style of playing which he applied to the trad idiom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn_qdo9ch2M
(Of course, other trad players will play these tunes in a different style.)

Enjoy!

Roy

PS-'Alas! She hails from Glasgow.'  Life is too short to let 50 miles embitter us :-)
PPS- I know this is going off topic and fully apologise to whoever I should be apologising to!

Fifty miles is it! ......and yet so far away.

I have invented a musical instrument which I call the "tibicen" (which means "piper" in Latin). I always wanted to sing with the pipes but the only way you can properly and EXACTLY synchronize your vocal with an instrument is to play the instrument yourself as you sing. Unfortunately, when it comes to wind instruments, you cannot play and sing at the same time.

The Irish uilleann pipes are too loud, and so is the hurdy gurdy (which is not a pipe but is close acoustically), so I have built a "tibicen" which is a piper sound I can control. I was thinking that AE FOND KISS would be a good song to give the tibicen its bebut (or what may turn out to be its "de-butt"........). 

The 25th of January 2013 is Robert Burns Day which might be an appropriate occasion to introduce the tibicen. Is there room for a theremin? I doubt it, but we'll see.

Fifty miles is it! ......and yet so far away.

:-)

I'm sure you know there are a great selection of pipes out there that are not as loud as the Highland bagpipe or Uilleann pipes which are much quieter-the small pipes spring to mind.

Never-the-less why not try and introduce your 'tibicen'? It's either going to work or it won't and you won't know until you try.


Roy

Done!

We're snowed in where I live, so yesterday I made a video using the tibicen. This is not the best song to showcase the instrument but the fact is I don't play it as well as I'd like YET, and this is pretty simple compared to what I would like to do. I've only had the instrument for a few days, so I have to practice a bit. Then I'll make a video, tibicen & voice only (no other accompanying instruments) that really shows what it can do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owyrft1mKek

Sorry this is completely OFF TOPIC for this forum but tibicen & theremin is on the horizon.

The singing male Tibicen cicadas are 1-2 inches long.  I am trying to figure out how you mounted them, maybe the musical key presses on the head of each different size of critter and then the wings brush against an electronic transducer? They are partial to oak trees and so the wood of your enclosure. This is a true method of pest control.

Seriously though, the video is very nice along with your skill. A single handed musical instrument? I not being a musician would be curious to what other interesting/respectable instruments are played with a single hand?

Christopher

Interesting instrument coalport, with an interesting sound.

Let us see more of it as and when you can :-)

Roy

"I have invented a musical instrument which I call the "tibicen" (which means "piper" in Latin)"

What a wonderful instrument coalport..you are indeed a very clever chap and so very talented...loved your video...the instrument reminds me of a sruti box a little bit..but the sruti can only do various notes and chords in a drone...it seems you have that with your pedal on the tibicen plus a keyboard for melody/accompanyment what a lovely instrument.