Week#467 ~ Banish Misfortune

  1. Barbara Shultz
    Barbara Shultz
    This week's winner is Banish Misfortune, which was submitted as an Other Tune, almost 9 years ago! Here's the link to that discussion!

    According to thesession.org this tune is also known as Banished Misfortune, Díbir Anachain, Díbir Mí-Ádh, The Horse Under The Stairs, The Humours Of Mullinafauna, The Little Bag Of Meal, Mammy’s Horse Is Dying, The Mangled Badger, The Stoat That Ate Me Sandals, The Whore Amongst The Nettles Roaring.

    Here is a link to five settings of this tune on thesession.org.



    Oh, look.... I've done this!




  2. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    Here is my rough & ready version on mandolin, octave mandolin, cittern, bass & concertina. I snuck some pretty pictures in the video so you wouldn't have to look at my ugly mug for the whole thing.

  3. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    That's the tune how I know it and how it should be, David.

    I am on holidays for a week and the TG, a mobile and the aux input of a digital radio is all I have at my disposal here in a room of the Van Heeckeren hotel, Nes, Ameland.

  4. Hendrik Luurtsema
    Hendrik Luurtsema
    That's great guys, first a video from an incredible rendition of this tune played by a guy named David and another one is trying to make me jealous with his mandolinholiday on one of the most beautiful Islands my country has. I on the other hand have to clean the windows and the garden because we have our first nice weather... I'll think I have to quit watching mandolincafe for health reasons..
  5. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Barbara, David, and Bertram - all very enjoyable versions! I also like the version right after Barbara's, by Dick Glasgow apparently, I wonder if he is a Cafe member?

    My version, as usual, is not exactly trad but it's fun to play anyway. Video I posted earlier in the other thread:


    (or direct link)

    The midi-only practice track I used for (re)learning this tune:

  6. Mike Romkey
    Mike Romkey


    Knocked out a quick version at the end of rehearsal the other night.
  7. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Well played, David; Bertram, you seem like a man who has learned the secret of a happy life - holidaying and with an instrument with you too!
    Mike, a great live feel to that version you have posted above.
  8. Don Grieser
    Don Grieser
    Rousing version, Mike. Sounds great. What year is your Duff?

    Bertram, I think you might have snuck a fuzz pedal in your suitcase too. Cool sound.

    David, always enjoy your arrangements of the tunes.
  9. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    Mike, that's an open threat to banish misfortune forever!

    Don, not a pedal but a Vox AC30 Amplug headphone amp with all the settings a real tube amp has, including high gain. Normally I connect my headphones to that for quiet practising, but with the radio speaker you can hear it, too.
  10. Mike Romkey
    Mike Romkey
    The Duff is a 2012, Don. I love it. I've sampled quite a few other mandolins on the catch-and-release plan, but I can't find anything I like as well. BTW, I had a mandolin tasting last week with Tom Stopulous, and one of his mandolins used to be yours. But I can't remember which. (g) He had a Red Diamond that was pretty sweet -- I think the July 9 model.
  11. Jill McAuley
    Jill McAuley
    Great versions everyone!

    P.S. Bertram yours was very "Horslips" sounding!
  12. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    Yes, Jill, I suppose it's the unlimited sustain that creates a playing style, inadvertently.
  13. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Simulation - midi only - still trying to work out the chords. This is more 'normal' than my previous try. Although my second chord here is almost certainly wrong (but I don't like the usual recommended "C" either, wanted something different there) but I like some of the rest of them especially in the 3rd part (0:35-0:55). At least this is faster than my earlier version.

    So this is just a raw video screen-grab of my laptop's entire desktop with several apps running concurrently - the sound is MuseScore melody & ChordPulse backing (audio recorded by Audacity straight off the internal soundcard, video screen-capture recorded by an older version of Bandicam). The Photoshop window isn't doing anything useful at all, it was just already open in the background when I started the other apps.


    (or direct link)

    If anyone wants a go at the Chordpulse .cps file (modify to suit, use in any way you wish), it's at my Box.com download page (ignore the "preview didn't load, unsupported blah blah" and just click the Download button). Once open in Chordpulse, you can modify the heck out of it including changing the "arrangement points" (the little diamond-shaped thingies above the chords, I use them to control bass notes etc), also there are more settings in the "Mixer" (menu item "Play", then click "Mixer") to selectively change volume on some of the individual 'instrument' sounds (allows more fine-tuning of the sound as opposed to just using the main volume sliders).

    (And yeah, for jigs, Chordpulse "tempo" has to be set to exactly two-thirds of the actual tempo. So a MuseScore tempo of 165 matches up with a Chordpulse jig tempo of 110 (because 110 = 2/3 of 165). Chordpulse doesn't actually have any pre-sets for 6/8 time jigs so I had to use a workaround using a modified rock-n-roll 'shuffle' setting. Wouldn't use it on an album lol but it's something to practice along with anyway.)
  14. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    That sounds almost real, JL. As your technological toolbox expands, you may soon reach the level of Adrian von Ziegler's totally artificial but convincing productions.
  15. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Bertram wrote: "That sounds almost real, JL. ..."

    Thanks. The optional free soundfont "Timbres of Heaven" helps MuseScore 2 to sound somewhat better, although that soundfont is not without its flaws.

    Also, I made variations in volume on the midi notes, to make it sound more like how I would actually play it on a real instrument.

    Bertram wrote: "... As your technological toolbox expands, ..."

    Well, it's probably not going to change much, can't afford the high-dollar music apps & gear. This is probably about as good as it's going to get, as far as the tools themselves.

    But there's the possibility I might learn better ways to use what I already have. That can only go so far, of course, before reaching built-in limits, but it's an interesting challenge in itself.

    Bertram wrote: "... you may soon reach the level of Adrian von Ziegler's totally artificial but convincing productions."

    Lol well that would not quite be my goal (he needs more fiddle tunes IMO lol), although he seems to be very good at what he does and some of it is quite interesting.

    My main interest in any of this midi stuff is as learning tools, to give me new ideas for stuff to play.
  16. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Nice tune. Great versions of our members. I especially like the rehearsal situation with Mike.

    JL inspired me to practice with a midi studio rather than with a metronome. I used EasyBand Studio for Android. It’s similar to ChordPulse which runs only on Windows-PC. It’s more convenient for me to have the studio handy where ever I can spare some time to practice. Unfortunately EasyBand offers only a few styles – all in 4/4.
    I’m learning the tune like published at The Session and used the chords like recommended in setting #5.



    This is only practice quality (after three days) and of course work in progress.
    I connected a Bluetooth speaker with my smartphone and took the recording with another smartphone.
  17. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    That's a perfect solid no-frills reference version, Frith, and certainly more than I could have done after only three days.
    And much more mobile technology than I had (a second smartphone? me? )
  18. sportsnapper
    sportsnapper
    Well, determined to get a watchable/listenable version and I've done it in the end - though I can't remember when week #467 was. Sorry about the backlight - the sun came out!

  19. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Hi sportsnapper, I was eager to watch your video but unfortunately it was black. And the same time I clicked on the white (!) play arrow my antivirus software caught a threat!!!
  20. sportsnapper
    sportsnapper
    No idea - AV is fine at this end, and it's a straight link to a YouTube video https://youtu.be/OQAPfr3ttsE
  21. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Hi Gareth, I too am not able to access the video, getting "An error occured. Please try again later" message. Your link above does work fine, and that's a great sound you are getting from that mandolin!
  22. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    I could watch it, Gareth, a fine sounding instrument and funny hopos
  23. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Thanks for the video link, Gareth.
    I like ornamentations and apparently you are also used to give every longer tone a little vibrato.
  24. sportsnapper
    sportsnapper
    Glad you like it frithjof :-) Vibrato is a hangover from the violin, and because my tremolo doesn't sound as good as it could! I find that there is some sustain in the instrument, depending on how it's fretted and how I strike the strings - I'm getting better.

    John, yes I'm managing to get a better sound all the time - but I'm spending a lot of time playing atm. It's a Kentucky KM-150 - so pleased with how it sounds (I've just noticed that Amazon is now selling it for what I would expect the price to be - I got it for 50% of that! )

    Just had a great session with an old friend who's been playing the Guitar for 40 years or more, played professionally and has taught. as well. So nice to play with someone else again. My fingers are sore now, I think I've spent 4 hours playing Mandolin today :-) Most of it went really well - though we tried "Sweet Georgia Brown", and the syncopation really caught me out.
  25. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    All of these are great renditions, each in its own way. David's professional arrangement is ready for CD as usual, Bertram shows how to keep the fingers going while on holiday, Mike and his band will keep going at speed and in all possible keys until the last drop of misfortune is gone, Frithjof reminds me of how I want to play this beautiful tune, Gareth reminds me of Simon Mayor's mandolin workshop in Halsway, and JL adds some interesting ideas for chords and accompaniment - which I may try in the future because I'm not entirely happy with the chords from The Session either.

    Wouldn't it be great if we could banish misfortune by playing music?



    The next best thing is to play music to make the wait more pleasant. Stay safe and well, everyone!

    This was played on my Fylde Touchstone Walnut mandolin (Élodie) and my Blue Moon octave mandola (Esclarmonde), with a Hawk Tonebird 8 pick. The audio track was recorded on a Tascam DR-05 audio recorder and mixed on Audacity. The OpenShot video editor was used to finalise the video.

    Frithjof, I noticed that we seem to like the same software! I miss the Easyband Studio; it doesn't seem to be on the Google Play Store any more.
  26. Jill McAuley
    Jill McAuley
    Lovely stuff, and loved the photos in the video as well!
  27. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Nice clean playing, Dennis, and a good tone from Elodie! Is she coping well with lockdown?
    Frithjof, I missed your offering when you posted it back in 2018. A fine rendition, my man!
  28. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    Banishing this kind of misfortune by music seems to be not so easy, but we're sure doing our best Dennis. At least, we don't have to breach regulations with spreader events to get our music. I like the tractor with the beer kegs - rural remedy galore
  29. Michael Romkey
    Michael Romkey
    Nice version, Gelsenbury! Tasteful and controlled. I could use a big glass of that!
  30. Jairo Ramos
    Jairo Ramos
    Gelsenbury, I have seen your evolution over the years, and I feel that you have already reached a point of balance between the execution and the pleasure of playing the mandolin. Congratulations!
  31. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Dennis, that’s a fine playing of a tune which I still love but seldom play.

    EasyBand app works still on my phone as long as the latter will work (in terms of modern technic it is comparatively older than me ). No problem as long there are so many new possibilities…
  32. Christian DP
    Christian DP
    Fine playing Dennis!
  33. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Playing with a really nice meandering atmosphere here Dennis, I like your mix of solid rhythm and then reflection and contemplation.
    Reminds me of the fiddler from Galway can’t remember his name...
  34. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Thank you very much, dear people. I appreciate your comments. Hearing that you enjoyed my video makes my day!
  35. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Dennis Martin Hayes.
  36. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    It's interesting that you mention Martin Hayes. I haven't heard much of his music, but Marla Fibish - who teaches me online at the moment - recommended him saying I'd love his playing. Perhaps her admiration for Martin Hayes is reflected in what she teaches me, and how I therefore end up playing. She's a brilliant teacher, I'm learning a lot at the moment.
  37. Michael Romkey
    Michael Romkey
    Marla is a treasure. I'm a big Martin Hayes fan. There's a video I saw a few months ago -- the tune escapes me -- where he and a guitarist are playing a very simple tune and they just render it exquisitely without resorting to pyrotechnics but just straightforward, sincere, soulful playing.
  38. Michael Romkey
    Michael Romkey
    Been a while...

  39. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Really strong playing, Mike. There's so much going on in your solo arrangement that it's just as entertaining as the full band version.
  40. Bertram Henze
    Bertram Henze
    That's a true harmonic adventure, Mike, starting from but passing beyond the Mixolydian scale* and boldly going where no mandolin has gone before

    *) I always thought the Mixo scale has an artificially boosted optimistic mood, like a Major scale on amphetamine.
  41. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    What a great performance, Mike. An object lesson in left-hand and right-hand techniques.
  42. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Ay caramba! My man has got the flow!

    -I could leave it at that and refuse to demystify your fine performance, Mike however, always with beginners and lurkers in mind (you know who you are), I would humbly ask you what settings you use on the metronome, and does your metronome play with that rather fine hesitation you have there?
  43. Pierpaolo S.
    Pierpaolo S.
    Great versions everyone!
    Dennis very clean and precise recording.
    Mike adventurous and strong version as said.
  44. Frithjof
    Frithjof
    Thanks, Mike, for this video. It was just entertaining (as Dennis rightly said). And it is worth a second listen with the speed set on 75%.
  45. Jill McAuley
    Jill McAuley
    You're on fire there Mike, great stuff!
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