This week's winner is a waltz, Crested Hens. I'm not familiar with this tune, so if the person who suggested it (or anyone else) has anything to contribute, please do! According to thesession.org, this is a French tune; someone posted that this tune appears as a Bourrees a trois temps (in 3/8) in Mel Stevens Massif Central Book No. 1 where it is credited to Gilles Chabenat. There's some discussion as to the key signature, someone states that it is in E dorian. Be sure to read all the discussion in the comments section on thesession. Here is the ABC from thesession: X: 1 T: Crested Hens M: 3/4 L: 1/8 R: waltz K: Dmaj | E3G FE | B4 Bc | dc Be dc | dc BA GF | | E3G FE | B4 Bc | dc BA GA | B3G FD | | E3G FE | B4 Bc | dc Be dc | dc BA GF | | E3G FE | B4 Bc | dc BA GA | B4 ef || || gB Bg gB | =c4ef | gf ag fe | ^d2e2 f2 | | gB Bg gB | =c4ef | gf ag fd | e3e ef | | gB Bg gB | =c4ef | gf ag fe | ^d2e2 f2 | | gB Bg gB | =c4ef | gf ag fd | e3G FA |] Here is a link to the same abc & standard notation, but with a midi file, on abcnotation.com Here is a video of it being played on a Low Irish Tin Whistle. I have no idea how this you tube video compares to the notation above!
I used the ABC from TheSession.org and it works fine. This is a really haunting melody. I first heard this tune on the CD of a friend of mine - Ceol Ceili - I also picked up Splashing the Churn from it.
.tef file for Std Not. and TABs. http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/at...2&d=1290189249
The Sobell is in the shop this week so hopefully nobody cries fowl for me using this recording which was done a couple of years ago.
David, thanks for providing this wonderful example. Also like the play on words
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a CD with David's picture on it one of these days. That's just a terrific arrangement.
Brilliant David, and just like Eddie says, it's a lovely haunting melody......a great tune..
Played on a Beard bouzouki - GGDDAAEE
David and Eddie, those were both fantastic submissions!
Great stuff lads - haunting indeed!
I don't know how you follow those great versions by David & Eddie, apart from have a bash. I think I should have called mine Crusty Hens, I was on another planet at the end!
Tosh, I thought that was the business! Though when I think of Crusty Hens I envision a bunch of hens in tatty wax jackets with a bottle of cider in one hand, holding a dog on a string in the other!
Hahahaha, I think in my case it'll be a bottle of cider in one hand and a gluten free hot dog in the other!!!!!
Nicely done, Tosh. When you get tired of that mandolin just send it over this way. It has such a great tone and look to it. By the way, I think Colonel Sanders does a version of Crusty Hens only he calls it Extra Crispy.
Thanks Michael, alas no Colonel Saunders for me, I'm rootin' tootin' glootin' free...........
Nice versions above to have to follow. Here is my attempt:
Nice vibrato with the fretting hand, Doug!
A little tremolo on a Collings MT...
Yes, a beautiful rendition, Douglas. I didn't think about trying vibrato on mandolin. So, are you sliding your finger slightly or is it more like rocking it back and forth?
And now for something completely different...
Nice Eddie, I've been working on tremelo with this one too, but I could use a hand with my recording--your picking hand preferably. That was a nice twist Michael. I have to listen again to figure out what you did to alter the meter. I'll try it out on Jeff tonight. Last night we played it through for a half hour and he said he felt like he was trapped in the sound track loop to Tomb Rader. Obviously, I'm doing something wrong lol.
What a lovely tune and such fine renditions....I'm about a week behind the curve and am starting this tune now....... Doug, the Old Wave sounds great and you are pulling great tone from her!!!!!!
Fantastic additions Eddie & Michael. Michael, that Gibson oval has a drool inducing sound! What year is she? Thanks for the nice compliments on my attempt. Regarding the vibrato, I wasn't even thinking about it and didn't notice I was doing it until after I saw the video. It just sort of happened, but maybe I was wanting a little more sound out of that particular note I kept doing it on. Marcelyn, right or wrong I am just working the pair side to side with pressure (think mini bends).
Douglas and Michael, the oval holes really shine here! Fantastic stuff. Eddie, I don't know how you managed to tremelo all the way through, I'd tire easily, fantastic. Brilliant variations all round this week......
Marcelyn: I'm pretty sure that my backup and playing was in 6/8 time rather than 3/4 time. 6/8 = LA la la, LA la la 3/4 = LA la, LA la, LA la or 3/4 - " and - Waltzing Waltzing Waltzing" 6/8 - "and - Liverpool, Everton. Liverpool, Everton." Doug: It's a 1911 Gibson F2. The guitar is even older: somewhere between 1898 and 1910 when George Bauer was building them. They have both had a number of major repairs and they are certainly not in vintage condition, but I play 'em rather than put 'em in a museum or bank vault...so it's all in the sound they make!
Well someone's going to have to be the worst. Might as well be me It's all sort of a mess - wrong notes, horrible technique etc. but in my defense I'm very much a beginner so I'm still pleased with the result. Any constructive criticism welcome. Think I'll need to find another way to record these there seems to be some noise. Played on a Madera. Don't know anything else about the thing. Got it at an auction. Probably could have bought it cheaper new. Oops.
You eat crayons, too? Small world! That was great, only a couple of flubbed notes in the B part. You just need to practice the B part more. I'm going on three years playing mando, and have not had the, um whatever, to post a video. Give yourself some credit, good job!
No disclaimers needed, Don. That was a clean and expressive performance. Keep them coming. I really did make a good-faith effort to drop the resonator off at my mom's tonight, but as luck had it, she was out all evening. Since there's not much chance of me dodging her tommorrow, this will really be the last mandolian video from me till after Christmas. Jeff's playing his baritone ukulele and for once had to concentrate at least as much as I did. He seriously questions the ABCs key signature of D major. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Very nice everyone, we all have a lot to be thankful for. Here's my turkey. I wish I could get the vibrato effect down, it really adds to this song.
Very respectable and easy to listen to efforts from both ieatcrayons and tnt2002. Hope this is constructive -- ieat: you've got really long fingers and since you're just starting out it might be advantageous to start in now training the little pinky on your left hand to fret some notes. tnt: vibrato on a mandolin is always difficult and takes lots of practice to train those muscles involved. Try practicing the motion with just your left hand while you watch tv or something. Marcelyn: You future Christmas gift is awesome! The overtones you produced on the resonator and the sustain of the notes suited this song perfectly. Jeff: the key signature of D in this case seems to imply a D major sounding tune but, it sounds minor because it is mostly played in the E dorian mode (E F# G A B C# D E) which can be thought of as the notes of the D major scale played starting from E and ending on E. This mode (called E dorian) sounds very minor. That D# note in the melody of the B part though is just pure genius. Thank goodness for Gilles Chabenat the author.
Thanks for the kind words all. I have been working on getting the pinky involved in things. It's a lot harder than I thought it would have been. But playing lots of scales and some other finger exercises, I seem to be making slow, but steady progress. Combine that with the fact that yesterday I went out and bought a metronome, I can only imagine how much my old piano teacher would be laughing
I may be the only soul who practices my instruments while sitting in front of my computer... but if I'm not, here is my favorite on-line metronome. http://www.seventhstring.com/metronome/metronome.html It should display a metronome with a tap in feature, as well as just setting the number (I'm on my daughter's new computer, and it doesn't display it, saying that her browser is ignoring the applet tag.... not sure what that means!) It's a great practice tool, and very handy when wanting to figure out what tempo a piece of music you are listening to, is!
Better late than never. After so many beautiful and varied versions above, here is my humble try with my Eastman 815 (will put on new strings this weekend) and 'metronome' courtesy of Band-in-a-Box.
Manfred, that was simply beautiful!!!!!
That is a great video! The sound quality is really amazing and your mandolin sounds beautiful.
I'm way behind in learning tunes, but this is one beautiful tune I need to work on. Manfred, your version really captured the spirit of the tune I think. Lovely.
Thanks for the kind words, Barbara, Michael and Don. Michael, I am pleased that you like my sound quality. But all I do is play Band-in-a-Box backup at a low level through my PC speakers and play along with it and record it with my Logitech webcam software, using the Zoom H2 recorder as a microphone. On this one, I have tried to play as 'legato' as possible and I use a 1.5 mm Wegen Pick. On my mandolin, this makes a HUGE difference compared to what I get with picks of 1 mm and less.
Manfred, that was really great, lovely feel, fantastic. It is a beautiful tune and I have just ordered the Solas cd with this tune on it......
Here's my first submission to this group. I heard this melody and knew it was time to jump in. I've had a couple of false starts at learning the instrument: once ten or so years ago when I bought it off ebay for a hundred bucks and most recently at the beginning of this summer. I'm a pretty raw beginner, and couldn't get through the song twice on camera without a major malfunction, so I only get through it once here and it still isn't very clean. The numbers you hear me saying are the "take" numbers--I think I got to take 53 or so before calling it a night.
Welcome, Shane, Clean enough for me. And you got the feel for the tune, too. Just keep your nose to the grindstone, or your pick to the strings, respectively And make sure your instrument is set up appropriately. Having to press down on the strings like crazy because of high action has scared away beginners from stringed instruments in droves. Just my two cents' worth.
Thanks Manfred. I did have a setup done early this summer and it made a huge difference. I also had to take off the pickguard because the intonation was so far off that the bridge needed to move into the area the pickguard was covering.
Shane, Like Manfred, it sounds perfectly fine to me. Join the club for take # 92 !!!!!! Sometimes it drives you barmy but then you relax and get something down. It's all about having a bit of fun anyway and you'll find plenty of fun tunes here.......keep it up.
Shane, welcome to the group, and what a great first submission! You'd never know you are a 'raw beginner'! Also, what camera setup are you using? The visual quality of the video is great! As is the audio! Looking forward to hearing and seeing more from you in the future!
Thanks Tosh and Barbara! And extra thanks to Barbara for keeping this group running. I'm hoping to be a regular contributor. I'm using a Kodak zi8 (a fixed focus pocket video camera like the flip cameras) and for audio I have a Zoom H2 just off screen. The zi8 has a mic input, but I didn't use it because it does pretty aggressive AGC--I just synced the audio and video in the video editor. These little cameras need tons of light, so I have one of those clamp lights with a silver reflector that you find in the hardware department of wal mart clamped to the back of a dining room chair and aimed down on me from the camera's right. I have a 200 watt equivalent (something like 50 watts) flourescent bulb in there. On the floor on the left side of the camera I have a desk lamp with a 60 watt equivalent flourescent bulb pointing up as a fill light. Plus every other light in the room turned on (and the camera'd do better with even more light.) There were wires all over the place in my living room. As far as the music goes, I'm learning to read music so this was my first real tune to work out the notes using the staff. Once I had a feel for it I tried to actually learn the song so that I didn't need the music. It made my brain hurt, but I did the video from memory. (not that it is any great feat as it looks like everyone here actually learns the song before making their video.) Oh and I guess I'm not a completely raw beginner--I can play a few guitar chords...
That sounded great Shane, and nothing wrong with the tone on that $100 mando!
Here's mine. I think I've played it with some kind of dotted-ness that isn't quite what the composer intended.... oh well!
Barbara, that swings! Nothing wrong with that, lovely relaxed feel to it and the Collings sounds great.
The problem that I have with this tune, is that my first instinct was to play it like 6/8, picked DUD DUD. But, 6/8 really just has two beats, and this has 3 beats. I'd have to play it with my foot loudly tapping, and make sure that I was picking it DU DU DU (or like that) rather than DUD DUD. I think that is what made me end up making it dotted!
The "dottedness" is a nice take on it B. I like it.
I can see that Barbara, I visualized it as you playing dotted eighths, more akin to a hornpipe! I think because 6/8 and 3/4 are kindred spirits in a way. I pulled this tune from the net because I wanted to do something with snow as we had a bit. It's in 6/8 but I see it in 3/4...... X:16 T:Snow Lay on the Ground, The M: 6/8 L: 1/8 F:http://jc.tzo.net/~jc/music/abc/Scot...heGround_G.abc 2010-01-08 18:37:13 UT R:Jig K:G D| "G"B2A G2F | G3 D3 | "C"c3 "G"B3 | "D7"A3- A2A | "D7"G2F E2F | D3 c3 | "G"B3 "D7"A3 | "G"G3- G2 :| |: B | "G"d2c B2A | B3 d3 | "Am"c3 "E7"B3 | "Am"c3- c2c | "Am"c2B A2G | "D7"A3 c3 | "G"B3 "D7"A3 | "G"G3- G2 :| X:16 T:Snow Lay on the Ground, The 2 M: 3/4 L: 1/4 F:http://jc.tzo.net/~jc/music/abc/Scot...heGround_G.abc 2010-01-08 18:37:13 UT R:Air K:G D| "G"B2A | G2F | G3 |D3 | "C"c3 |"G"B3 | "D7"A3- | A2A | "D7"G2F | E2F | D3 | c3 | "G"B3 | "D7"A3 | "G"G3- | G2 :| |: B | "G"d2c | B2A | B3 | d3 | "Am"c3 |"E7"B3 | "Am"c3- |c2c | "Am"c2B | A2G | "D7"A3| c3 | "G"B3 | "D7"A3 | "G"G3-| G2 :| I just had a play of Crested Hens and I play just straight DUDUDU picking.....
