Queries/questions

  1. John W.
    John W.
    Ok, being new to the group, I think I can ask the following questions:
    1) Is it usual that if Barbara S says she will announce the winner of the next SAW group tune around 19/11…and it’s now 23/11 but no announcement has been made?
    2) I think I have a pic, of the required size (in pixels), to upload as my profile pic…but when I try and save it I get an error message saying not uploaded. What am I doing wrong?
    Comments on both queries welcome.
  2. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    1. Late SAW announcement? -that’s standard practice. Barbara’s the Boss, and prides herself on being deliberately erratic, spontaneous and unpredictable! Think: ‘The Office’
    2. There’s another click to do when uploading and the button is not intuitive -probably on purpose
    A bit like some of the old Microsoft software where you have to Save Twice, for example.
    Good luck!


    BTW, anyone know where I can find the .abc for this Scan Tester tune?

  3. Martin Jonas
    Martin Jonas
    Hi Simon,

    I think it's this one -- less known than his two polkas ("Scan Tester's No. 1" and "Scan Tester's No. 2"). Reminds me a bit of "Lovely Joan".

    X: 1
    T: Scan Tester's Country Step Dance
    R: hornpipe
    M: 4/4
    L: 1/8
    K: Gmaj
    |:D2|G2 G>A B2 B2|A>G A>B G2 d2|e2 e2 d>B G2|G>F G>B A>F D2|
    G2 G>A B2 B2|A>G A>B G2 d2|e2 e2 d>B G>A|1 B2 A2 G2:|2 B2 A2 G4||
    |:d3 z e3 z|G>G G>A B3 z|c2 c>e d>B G2|G>F G>B A>F D2|
    d3 z e3 z|G>G G>A B3 z|c2 c>e d>B G>A|1 B2 A2 G4:|2 B2 A2 G2||

    Martin
  4. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Hi John. Barbara is away from home a great deal and not always at her computer, so there can be lags in how regularly she replies or posts here. Also, it may be that there are times when no votes have been cast (there are almost always very few votes cast for the Official Tune, in single figures regularly) and the SAW Group tends to have Other Tunes posted much more frequently. Barbara collates both lists and bumps them regularly along with other postings she updates, but the group runs along fine and I am sure she is quite happy to see this happening.

    As far as the pic for your profile, I tried looking again at mine just now and cannot remember how I uploaded it and even looking at the modifying my profile section I cannot find out how I did it.
  5. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Many thanks Martin.

    This is the link to the present poll page https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...81#post1845081

    Have you tried with another extremely small pic, John W?
    Or just upload a v small pic from a google image search to your dropbox.com and go for option 1 in the ‘settings/edit avatar’ menu to test that it works on your computer?
  6. John W.
    John W.
    Thank you Simon and John for enlightening me about how the group operates…and for the advice/comments re uploading photo.
  7. Jill McAuley
    Jill McAuley
    Also it's a holiday week/weekend in the States right now so Barbara may be traveling to meet up with family for the holiday or she may be at home busy preparing for it.
  8. Gelsenbury
    Gelsenbury
    Could the avatar upload issue have to do with file size (as opposed to image size) or format? The note says "The maximum size of your custom image is 100 by 100 pixels or 2.86 MB (whichever is smaller)", but perhaps it's restricted about file formats as well. If you can convert your image to another format (JPEG, PNG, etc.) that may be worth trying.
  9. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Actually now you mention it, the picture quality on my avatar doesn’t seem as good as it was. Maybe low quality helps the pages to load faster?
  10. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Welcome nhojw!

    Simon wrote: ..."anyone know where I can find the .abc for this Scan Tester tune?"

    Seems to be a medley of two different tunes. Martin's .abc (thanks Martin!) is for the 2nd tune. I made a quickie transcription of the other (1st) tune: Scan Tester (unofficial) mandolin tab and standard notation (view in browser, or for a printable PDF use that page's download link. No login necessary) The players use some nice subtle little variations, which I've tried to indicate in the written notes. No guarantees of accuracy, but it might be a starting point anyway. Odd that the B part has 12 bars instead of 8, so a 40-bar dance tune then? (8 + 8 + 12 + 12) Or... ?
  11. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Many thanks Jess, very complete!
    I got some of it by ear, will have to do some more playing along. Some of those triplets I wouldn’t have heard, and really nice to see the different variations. Got to get back to the vid too, I’ve almost forgotten that special concertina-type rhythm! Love it, thanks again!

    (yes, he repeats something each time through, pretty cool)
  12. John W.
    John W.
    Thanks for the info Jill… I think my understanding now is that the SAW (or SAM…approximately) is actually only a small aspect of the group. There’s a lot of exchanges on here…which contrasts with my only (recent) experience of the TB group!
  13. David Hansen
    David Hansen
    So if you are in a hurry anyone can post the SAW, in the past Marcy and I think Mike Romkey have posted the SAW at Barbara's direction. I'm sure Barbara would be happy for the help.
  14. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Hi David!!
    I actually posted Hare in the Corn a while ago, and it’s the one that David and Mr. Kelly voted for, though I guess it isn’t the winner until it’s the winner.

    This is the tune that’s running a very close second, just needs another vote:
    https://youtu.be/MxP7eqyQf38

    -and it’s a tune of far superior quality.
  15. John W.
    John W.
    Dennis…your ref to avatar enabled me to get an image in…thank you…I selected settings, and then edit avatar (rather than edit profile picture), then selected an image from my computer (which I know is one of the images I’d played about with to get it to be within the 100 x 100:pixels), and uploaded. At least now I have an image rather then a blank mando headstock…
  16. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    What a cooperative lot we all are here, John. All for one and one for all! Woops, I think the Three Musketeers already claim that motto!
  17. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Simon wrote: "Many thanks Jess, very complete!
    I got some of it by ear, will have to do some more playing along. Some of those triplets I wouldn’t have heard, and really nice to see the different variations. Got to get back to the vid too, I’ve almost forgotten that special concertina-type rhythm! Love it, thanks again!
    "

    You're welcome! It was a fun project, and a catchy tune. I will probably try to record this but I'm going to have to practice it some. I suppose the tune needs its own thread so people can find it easier... seems that search engines prioritize page titles over page text. Maybe whoever records it first could make a new thread to continue the discussion? I believe the tune name is "No. 1 Stepdance" as heard on Amazon (but *not* "No. 1 Stepdance 2", that's a different tune, although both tunes are on the same album).

    Anyway today I worked up an arrangement for my instruments (including clawhammer banjo! ha!) and decided on which chords I want to use, for now anyway.

    My chord determination method is to write some chords in, set it to playback (along with the melody) in the background while I'm watching TV (all through earbuds), wait until one of my chords starts to annoy me (which sometimes doesn't take very long!), change the offending chord to something else, and repeat the process until I've run out of ideas and/or until it sounds more acceptable. Also helps to set it aside for a day or two (or sometimes a month or more in stubborn cases) and come back to it later, seems like errors are more noticeable then.
  18. Simon DS
    Simon DS
    Looking forward to seeing your thread, And hearing your Version, Jess.

    This is the link to the present poll Page, and still open for voting apparently. https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...81#post1845081
  19. Jess L.
    Jess L.
    Simon wrote: "Looking forward to seeing your thread, And hearing your Version, Jess."

    Thanks Simon! I did go ahead and start the new thread for the Scan Tester tune, and a video of me trying to play it... on the 'wrong' instruments... but I kinda like the sound so why not...

    Simon wrote: "This is the link to the present poll Page, and still open for voting apparently.
    https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...81#post1845081

    Well, I didn't vote... I'm allergic to most minor-key tunes...
  20. Barbara Shultz
    Barbara Shultz
    I hope you got the help you needed as far as uploading pics.

    As far as my erratic posting, my apologies. I will certainly try to do better, and yes, this month I think was the LONGEST I'd been between when I said I would post the winner, and when I actually did.

    A little personal history... I do lead a crazy life, and this past year has been even crazier. I live in two places, and last year, when I came down to Texas, supposedly for the winter, there were some major upheavals in my personal life, necessitating me staying in Texas, while my husband went back to Iowa. My disabled adult son moved home, and soon after that, we got his 10 year old son, as well. My life for the past year has been taken up with trying to navigate the (horrible) health care system, getting my son's medical care transferred from a different city, for his numerous chronic illnesses. Also, in assisting my son with his custody battle (he's representing himself), AND raising a 10 year old, who has been going to school virtually since the pandemic! So, my hands have been super full! And yes, I should have posted this most recent poll on 11/19, but my grandson and I jumped in my car on the 18th, and I drove 17.5 hours up to Iowa, to take advantage of my grandson's Thanksgiving break from school, and see my husband, and load up my car with my instrument collection that I'd left up there! Then, on the 28th, jumped back in my car and drove 17 hours back to Texas. That's a lot of non-stop driving for an old lady like me!

    However, things are looking up; my grandson's mother seems to have accepted the need for a custody revision and is going to quit fighting it, we are all fully vaccinated, and my grandson is going to start in person school here in January. Navigating the (horrible) health care system is an ongoing, and never ending battle! My husband will be coming back down to Texas after the first of the year, so hopefully, my life will be on a little more even keel!

    So again, my apologies! To our new members, I can see how it looks like this is a slip shod way to run things.... to our long time members, it's just the way things are! In the beginning, our group was VERY active with the polls, and we had a new poll every week. However, 555 polls later, we've covered a LOT of tunes, and over the past year or so, the interest in the actual poll part of our group has waned, and it's really been more about people just posting videos of what I call "other tunes".... and if there is interest in them, other members will do videos of those tunes, as well. And then, there's the discussion aspect of our group!

    Anyway, again, my apologies, and I promise in 2022, that I will try to do better! I may even have time to pick up my mandolin, and see if I remember how to play!
  21. John W.
    John W.
    Barbara. It sounds like a welcome back is in order. I’ve been well looked after by other members of the group. You obviously have had many, more pressing, things to sort out. Good luck with whatever comes next. No need, on my behalf, to make promises for 2022!
  22. Jill McAuley
    Jill McAuley
    What a year you've had Barbara! Glad to hear things are things are looking up and that you and yours are safe and well! Here's to 2022 (I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the back of 2021!)
  23. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Barbara, so sorry to hear of your very traumatic year. The SAW Group must have been well down your list of things to do, yet you still managed to post updates and polls whenever you could. We are all right behind you and I am so glad that you can now report that events have taken a turn for the better.

    The group rolls along with its hard core of regulars and the many others who find some enjoyment from our postings and ramblings. Hang in there and here's to a much better 2022.
  24. JLewis
    JLewis
    "Mama said there'd be times like these."

    IMO Barbara, the fact that you created a group that can perpetuate itself in your absence is a testament to your good leadership.
  25. Lucindalin
    Lucindalin
    I’m so glad that this is here and for all you have done (Barbara) over the past many years to make it the unique place that it is.
    I’ve been hanging around the cafe for years and have periodically peeked in to see what is going on in SAW, but never considered taking a real dive in until the past few weeks. It is an understatement to say that there is a lot to explore and discover, I have only just scratched the surface.
    I feel like I have found some of my people, even if they don’t know it.
    The way things are run and how this group rolls along feels just right to me.
    Thank you.
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