Week #40 ~ Hector the Hero

Hector The Hero is one of those tunes where Scottish fiddlers really go to town on, and trying to get into a contest with the fiddlers on phrasing, pulling the rhythm around and ostentatious mournfulness is a losing battle for us poor fretted string pickers. So, the alternative approach is to go for lots of drones and open string harmonics, which fiddlers can't do...

So, with my waldzither on duty for this week's tune, Brenda Stubbert's, I also used it for Hector The Hero, a tune I've been playing (albeit very occasionally) for a few years, and also yet another tune by one of my favourite writers, James Scott Skinner.

My version is in D, courtesy of Nigel Gatherer here.



Martin

"So, the alternative approach is to go for lots of drones and open string harmonics, which fiddlers can't do..."

Ssshhhh, Martin, don't tell tell the fiddlers, because they can (at least on adjacent strings) but apparently didn't get the idea yet. If they do, we have nothing left to compensate for that ostentatious mournfulness (well put )

Your waldzither looks quite small (or you are a big man) - what's the scale length and tuning?

Bertram -- that waldzither has a 17" (43cm) scale, which is one inch or so shorter than most waldzithers (standard Boehm scale length was 46cm). The shorter scale makes using mandolin fingering fairly straightforward, but it still has a surprising amount of sustain and punch compared to most octave mandolins. I tune this (G)DAEA, with the low G being the waldzither's single bass string and the other courses paired. The high A works well as an additional drone and to make for fuller chords, but only one of the tunes I posted yesterday has a melody note on that high A course: Flowers Of Edinburgh has a B which I play on the second fret of the top string rather than the seventh fret of the E string.

I got this waldzither a few years ago on Ebay, from an active folk musician in Germany rather than the usual dusty attic find. It makes an amazing difference to playability and tone to buy a player's instrument, and this one is very rewarding to play.

Martin

Nice one, Martin. You certainly were busy posting videos yesterday!

I know what you mean about the dusty attic instruments. The waldzither I bought through e-bay was definitely one of those and despite the work I've had done to repair it I've never really liked it much.

This was not an easy tune to play solo and have it sound full. It took me wayyyyy too many takes to get what you see below. This tune has some real meaning considering today's issues!! I like it a lot! Here it is on the mandola:

Very interesting version Shaun, good solid doublestop tremolo, I especially liked the idea with the single high flageolet note.
And I was waiting for that strap to slip off your shoulder, but it wouldn't.

This is a great tune and I couldn't think of a better one than to ease myself into playing a mandocello....It's a Weber Gallatin Mandocello and it's a beaut, I just couldn't resist it....

Tosh, that was lovely!

Many thanks Barbara, Trevor down at the Acoustic Music Company had this on his site and I just kept watching it until I gave in! So I went down to Brighton on Saturday, tried it, loved it, bought it. I'm really pleased with it.

Tosh that is a good introductory piece of muic indeed, all the more since that cello makes you suddenly look like Darling I Shrunk The Kids, and I suppose the scale length jump from the mandolin is more than a piece of cake - what is the scale length, btw?

The sound is promising for a new instrument, and you may look forward to bridge and strings settling in and making it hum even more.

The 'cello sounds good Tosh!!

Bertram, thanks for the analogy but I'd go further back to the 'Incredible Shrinking Man'!!!! If I got a Mandobass I could be the Incredible Disappearing Man!!!! It is not quite new, it was used, but in excellent as new condition. The scale length is 24.75 inches. The scale length was frightening at first but it's not too bad. Certainly will keep me occupied for a while. If you thing that is big, you want to see the case, I could fit in it!!!!!
Shaun, thanks for the kind words, your mandola sounds great too, and I agree with Bertram re the doublestop tremelo, an area where I could work on!!!!

Tosh, that cello looks and sounds wonderful. Shaun, beautiful tremolo version!

Tosh, I am watching what you do with those 24.75 " - it took me a long time to get comfortable with my own 21", but probably that's because I was trying to keep up the playing techniques of shorter (mandolin) and lighter (banjo) instruments for too long.

I found the Incredible Shrinking Man movie of 1957 quite disturbing, and I hope you don't fall through one of the F holes...

Many thanks Don, it is wonderful.
Bertram, it is difficult with the longer scale and I have a problem with the pinky but I'll get used to it. I know what you're saying about playing as you would a mandolin and I'm finding the fingering is a little different as is working the notes out, it'll come with practice. A handy book I got was Kathy and David Blackwell's Cello Time Joggers which is really aimed at kids but is also good for adults as well. In other words it's simple and easy to follow and play along with the accompanying CD. Just for comparison here is my cello with the Shippey mandolin....

Tosh your mandocello looks and sounds great. It's identical to one I had a few years back. Your serial # isn't 602303 is it?

Here's a photo of the one I had.




I sold it to a cafe member several years ago as part of the catch and release program Eddie subscribes to.

Thanks David, I am really glad I got it. I have a sore pinky at the moment from playing in the cello position! It's not your old one David, the serial no on mine is 202101. Your old one is identical. I know it was used and oddly enough I was too excited to ask Trevor Moyle whether he got in new originally! I suspect he did and the person who bought it didn't get on with it. They are big, no doubt about it. I have another pic here with the Eastman 815, two F scrolls together:

Resurrecting this one as I have just acquired photos of Hector's monument in the town of Dingwall. Derek, who is playing accordion on this version, was up visiting his home in Inverness and took some photos of the 100 foot high monument while up there.
Instruments apart from his accordion are midi cello, Lowden guitar and my octave mandolin.

That's a very moving rendition John, just what Scott Skinner had in mind I guess. Makes you stand to attention.

A beautiful version and arrangement John, and I also need to find out where I can get one of those hats at 1:32!

where I can get one of those hats

I assume that's a pic of the time when Sir Hector MacDonald served in India; so it's a few miles down the NW road from where you are. Just take a pair of good boots and a rubber dinghi...

John, that was lovely!

Thanks to all for responses. Bertrand, The photo of Hector is, I believe, in the uniform of the army in Egypt. As for the hat, I would suggest not bothering to try to get one as I am sure it was just a fez he was going through at the time! Well, it works over here!

Great stuff as usual John, it's a great vid for a great tune.....

Well perhaps even a failed experiment can be of some value. The first time through the A part I just stated the melody. The second time through my reach exceeded my grasp as I tried to translate some fiddle grace notes into mandolin-speak and instead just lost the beat entirely.

Attachment 67173

The B part was quite lovely, if still too choppy in spots.

Brent, I got this error message:

Invalid Attachment specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator.

Ben Milne keeps getting errors on my attachments, too. I don't know what the problem is but here's a link to it on my web site.

http://brenthutto.com/Mandolin/HectorTheHero.mp3

Interesting version, Brent. Neat contrast between the first, very straight rendition of part A and the later embellished part B. It's a good tune to try out some double stops as additions to your other embellishments. I like the tone of that mandolin you are playing - sustain seems excellent.

Yeah, some people would probably want a "punchier" sound for some styles of music but I love the way it rings.

This is definitely a case where branching out into something like double-stops is called for rather than trying to make it work purely on rhythmic variations and grace notes.

Doublestops are the poor man's one-man orchestra. Hector the Hero is a standard tune for SRSs and other orchestras where its harmonic power is fully exploited, so there's always a high bar to jump.
It is a hard decision though to lose grace notes - they sound soooo Scottish! - in favor of doublestops; eventually you'll have to do both...

Nice playing Brent I like your use of grace notes.
You cannot post mp3s in the social group; you have to put them in the general forum miscellaneous thread then post a link. Barbara has detailed instructions in her "New to this Group Read Me" thread.

Here's a recent version played on a Joe Mendel octave mando

Hi - here's my first Song A Week submission, on a Paul Shippey OM tuned GDAE:

Welcome Mike. Congrats on your first post. A great job on a great song on a great instrument.
I keep coming back to this song, wanting to learn it. But, haven't found time.
Maybe your reviving it will give me that last push.
Gary

Very nice. I have been trying this song on the fiddle. You have encouraged me to give it a try on my octave, which I tune GDAE.

Mike, great stuff and great to see another Shippey user! Keep posting, I want to hear more of the OM.........Where in London are you?

Mike,

Please post again for the group. Frequently.

That chord-based style with the strums and slides is absolutely perfect for Hector the Hero, a song that's hard to bring across on plectrum instruments in my opinion. As Tosh says, great stuff.

Thanks for the encouragement, folks!

Gary, Jim: look forward to hearing your versions!
Tosh - north of the river! I noticed you're a Shippey fan too, I bought this one used from tamco a couple of years ago and been very pleased with it indeed.
Brent - the chord-based style suits me very well, it means i don't need to worry so much about which string I manage to hit!

Cheers

Nice playing Mike! This tune sounds great on the octave.

Absolutely beautiful and captivating. The drone and tone are positively hypnotizing. Wow!

Good one Mike, and very American. I picture Hector the Hero stepping out of the saloon, standing in the dusty street, waiting for Frank Miller and his boys to arrive with the westbound train...

That's just beautiful, Mike. I'd love to hear some of these other tunes in your style.

Well finally I got playing again now my hands healed up, so it's time to catch up on some tunes.... I'm only a year behind on this one... pretty good for me!

Oh and I've built a whole new mandolin since I last posted a tune here (!), here it is too:

Very intricate and delicate Tavy, like the frozen salt of tears cried by angels. A heartfelt hommage.

Plus, an ultra-cool mandolin, I like the jigsaw shape!

Very intricate and delicate Tavy, like the frozen salt of tears cried by angels. A heartfelt hommage.

Thank you Bertram, I must admit when I first looked up Hector's story on the net, it certainly brought a tear to an eye. Definitely one of those tunes you can close your eyes and loose yourself in!

You get a lot of feeling into this one, Tavy, and the new mandolin looks and sounds great. Glad you have suffered no permanent damage to the hand.

From the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Festival, a SAW group jamming Hector... Shaun Garrity, Barrangatan, Spruce, and your's truly... though we weren't sure what Shaun was playing at first...

Nice jam Eddie (including an earthquake, apparently), plus a discussion about the background story (corrigendum: he was not a general, just colonel).

A Colonel in the Gay Gordons? And it was an eclipse not an earthquake... though there might have been an earthquake as well...

Some fine company in that jam Eddie!

Bertram: he reached the rank of Major General before "the powers that be" (well the King actually), suggested that the best thing he could do for the country was shoot himself.... more here, interesting read... would make a good book/film.