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Post by vikingblues on Jan 10, 2017 19:39:33 GMT
Mark, I'm sorry I play them too fast for you, but to be honest I play them slower than many fiddle players around Edinburgh. That said, I actually loved your renditions! Truly. You heard and brought out the poetry in them, and I am delighted that you have shared them for us to enjoy. So, NO, you are not kidding yourself. You are on the right track, a good track, and I hope you influence more people to play your way, I really mean this. As you know, most Celtic music arrangements are fairly full, with arpeggios and decoration. My book was called Easy because all I present are the tunes, with nothing added. This is the great thing about DADGAD tuning: single-line melodies can be mapped out over the fretboard, and still get a full sound without the need for clutter. So, I suppose the are RELATIVELY easy, by comparison to others. I found the tuning to be really wonderful for these tunes. Best of luck with them, and keep at it. I really did enjoy your performances! Many thanks for your reply Rob - it's great to get feedback from the teacher / author of the book, especially when it's favourable! I'm glad to have my worries calmed by such a positive reply from you. I'd like to take the opportunity too to say what a good book this is - I feel really connected to it. I'd agree with you that the way you have presented these tunes does make them (ignoring speed! ) a lot easier than fully fledged arrangements. You're so right that the DADGAD tuning allows that simpler sort of single musical line to sound so much better. The way the guitar resonates on these arrangements makes it sound so much fuller and better than could be expected. I do strongly feel that all my guitars sound generally better when tuned down to various open / altered tuning - the guitar just seems to come alive more. I'm certainly intending to continue working through these pieces - I have another couple currently on the go and am enjoying trying to maximise their musicality. In my own slow way. Enjoyed those a lot, Mark - really musically played and nicely recorded too. Keith Thank you Keith. The wonderful way you play so musically make this comment from you a very nice boost indeed. I think these two tunes are excellent Mark and very well played in my opinion. The speed is not an issue here at all for me because they sound right. They are fluent, expressive very atmospheric and the tone/recording is really good too.
Phil
That's the thing isn't it Phil .... if they "sound right". I'm glad to hear you feel they do and as an admirer of your beautiful playing I'm very happy to see what you've said. Hey Mark, I absolutely adored your recordings. You get such a lovely tone out of the guitar you play. And such lovely phrasing. You play these two tunes as if they are the most beautiful tunes in the world, which of course they are. Forget speed. It's not a race in music, it's all about the feel, and playing tunes as if you were singing them. And this you do, most marvellously. That has to rate as one of the nicest things anyone has said about my guitar playing Robbie, and I'd be lying if I denied that I got a bit choked reading it. Great advice about the feel of the tunes being so important. I periodically worry a bit about being so much more the tortoise than the hare, but my listening preference is for slow music too as it's where I find the emotion and feeling in music most. I'm thinking I'll copy your post and print it out on paper and make it prominent where I play the guitar most. Just to remind me what's important. Hi Mark, I've had a dabble in dadgad in 2016 and tried a couple of Celtic tunes from a Jim Tozier book that Brian recommended; but my 'individual string' work (if that makes sense) is not really up to it unless it is very simple. (I'm still largely a chord shape guy with little soloing skills). I loved your sample tunes and your playing; without having listened to the pieces in any other way it wouldn't even have occurred to me that they were 'slow'. And I tend to prefer slow and melodic anyway to faster jigs, reels etc. Perhaps I should try the 'easy' book of Rob's although at my skill level to be frank if its no easier than the Jim Tozier book then I don't think I would want to spend the time needed to get to grips with it. It's a pity I can't find a web sample of one of the simpler pieces from Rob's book. But I hope you keep your work going on this and post some more stuff that you are learning. Regards John I appreciate those positive comments John. Your hearing them and it not occurring to you they were slow I guess confirms what everyone has been saying in response to my post. I had felt they were going well, but I think I maybe listened to Robs version when I was at a low ebb - more than a bit stressed workwise! I have a Jim Tozier book - "Celtic Guitar Solos". If that's the one you have I can confidently say the way these tunes are arranged in Robs book do make them much simpler to play - the challenge being more in getting the flow, lilt, and mood right. ................................ Many thanks to you all, and to Martin and Brian for their likes. I'm encouraged to keep working at this book - very much so after reading your posts here. If I can get any up to the same sort of overall standards I'll pop one or two up on here to let you know how things are progressing. This has been a nice big plus for me ...... a welcome oasis in a sea of tribulations and tedium. Mark
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Post by earthbalm on Jan 10, 2017 20:06:32 GMT
I have the excellent "Scottish Guitar" bought as an mp3 and pdf set several years ago. Recommended.
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Post by vikingblues on Jan 11, 2017 7:33:43 GMT
And I tend to prefer slow and melodic anyway to faster jigs, reels etc. Me too - in fact when I try to play jigs and reels they end up sounding like slow airs! I have the excellent "Scottish Guitar" bought as an mp3 and pdf set several years ago. Recommended. "The Scottish Guitar" is a particularly good book and is the favourite in my collection! I found a lot of inspiration in it and I keep going back to it to try to improve more. 'The Scottish Guitar' - Rob MacKillopI notice Rob said about it :- "This book (I believe for the first time) attempts to define a uniquely Scottish way of playing the guitar, and it does so not through a dry academic analysis, but through performance – the heart of any musical culture." Fits in totally with my preference for learning music through performance and not academic analysis. Mark
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Post by earthbalm on Jan 11, 2017 16:25:53 GMT
And I tend to prefer slow and melodic anyway to faster jigs, reels etc. Me too - in fact when I try to play jigs and reels they end up sounding like slow airs! I have the excellent "Scottish Guitar" bought as an mp3 and pdf set several years ago. Recommended. "The Scottish Guitar" is a particularly good book and is the favourite in my collection! I found a lot of inspiration in it and I keep going back to it to try to improve more. 'The Scottish Guitar' - Rob MacKillopI notice Rob said about it :- "This book (I believe for the first time) attempts to define a uniquely Scottish way of playing the guitar, and it does so not through a dry academic analysis, but through performance – the heart of any musical culture." Fits in totally with my preference for learning music through performance and not academic analysis. Mark Good to see that the book has a paper and ink publisher.
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Post by robmackillop on Jan 11, 2017 19:17:04 GMT
Is there a way of uploading a pdf here? I could share one piece from my Celtic DADGAD book...
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Post by Martin on Jan 11, 2017 19:57:11 GMT
Is there a way of uploading a pdf here? I could share one piece from my Celtic DADGAD book... Hi Rob, yes that should be possible. click the REPLY button on the thread, and it should open a box with the ADD ATTACHMENT option. you should be able to select your pdf file to upload, click insert and then you're done, it'll show as a link which can be opened or saved.
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Post by robmackillop on Jan 12, 2017 7:46:40 GMT
Da Forfeit O Da Ship.pdf (30.11 KB) Here's one of the pieces from my East Celtic DADGAD book. Note that apart from one note, the whole tune is either open strings or the second fret. This means that apart from the single note on the fifth fret, you can just use one finger of your left hand to play the entire tune. Yes, this is possibly the easiest piece in the book, but it demonstrates my thinking behind my arrangements: using the tune itself to get a full sound out of the instrument. The capo indication is optional. It's there is you want to play the tune in its original key, perhaps if you are playing with other instruments (flute, fiddle, mandolin, etc) and they are playing in the traditional key. But, on your own, you can have the capo anywhere (sometimes it helps with stretches) of nowhere. The book consists of 30 classic session tunes. But there is also a large bonus section of 17th-century Scottish lute tunes! 88 pages in total. Easy DADGAD Celtic Guitar Introduction Banish Misfortune Carrick Fergus Comely Garden Reel Cooley’s Reel Da Forfeit O Da Ship Da Mirrie Boys O Greenland Drowsy Maggie Father Kelly’s Reel Jack Lattin Lord Kelly’s Reel Maggie Lawder Morrison’s Jig O’er Bogie Roslin Castle Sleep Soond In Da Mornin Sleepy Maggie Soldier’s Joy St Anne’s Reel St Patrick’s Day In The Morning The Balleydesmond Polka The Concertina Reel The East Nook Of Fife The Humours Of Tulla The Kesh The Lasses Trust In Providence The Maid Behind The Bar The Rights of Man The Wind That Shakes The Barley Willafjord The Parson and His Boots BONUS - 25 Scottish 17th-century lute tunes in DADGAD TAB
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Post by vikingblues on Jan 29, 2017 8:05:00 GMT
Hi Mark, I've had a dabble in dadgad in 2016 and tried a couple of Celtic tunes from a Jim Tozier book that Brian recommended; but my 'individual string' work (if that makes sense) is not really up to it unless it is very simple. (I'm still largely a chord shape guy with little soloing skills). I loved your sample tunes and your playing; without having listened to the pieces in any other way it wouldn't even have occurred to me that they were 'slow'. And I tend to prefer slow and melodic anyway to faster jigs, reels etc. Perhaps I should try the 'easy' book of Rob's although at my skill level to be frank if its no easier than the Jim Tozier book then I don't think I would want to spend the time needed to get to grips with it. It's a pity I can't find a web sample of one of the simpler pieces from Rob's book. But I hope you keep your work going on this and post some more stuff that you are learning. Regards John I have certainly kept my "work going" on this book (Easy DADGAD Celtic Guitar) - though it's too much of a pleasure in playing a lot of these pieces to call it work. There's such a strong musical element going on in these apparently simple stripped back arrangements. A particular plus for me is how well these pieces suit a learning process involving all aspects of the music at once with 'interpretation' able to take a front seat right from the beginning. A couple more tunes have really taken my fancy and they are going OK as works in progress:- 'Lady Lothians Lilt' 'Lillybullaro'You'll note there is no sign of a 'totally tropical taste' in Lady Lothians Lilt! I also wanted to highlight the 25 extra pieces in the "bonus" section of the book from 17th century Scottish Lute Music - they are in no way just a lightweight filler, but there is no online audio to go with them (not a problem). Here's a couple of these that have taken my fancy, one of which is in one of Robs other books in open D, but I think I like it more the way it sounds in DADGAD:- 'Lord Kellys Reel' 'Comely Garden Reel'All of these feature the Vintage VE200 GG - it has a sound in the lower registers that makes it sound right for me for this sort of style. Mark
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Jan 29, 2017 13:31:24 GMT
Hi Mark,
You really are developing well. Particularly liked the Lady Lothian's Lilt. Your technique is clearly becoming more natural and if you keep at it then you'll be a DADGAD star. I've tried one or two since you posted and still can't get any real fluency but that's simply because I've never done 'solo' pieces before, irrespective of the tuning. I intend to keep going back to it and perhaps it will click more. I don't know if it would be best for me to actually start trying to do a few scales and suchlike or keep going at a few pieces. My nose tells me that to start scales at my ripe old age needs more patience and concentration than I can give it but we'll see.
You're obviously getting a lot of pleasure out of DADGAD and these celtic pieces so good for you.
John
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Post by robmackillop on Jan 29, 2017 16:33:34 GMT
Hey, Mark, I REALLY like your playing of these tunes. You've caught the spirit of them, for sure. I'm not 100% sold on the slides, but I might get there with repeated listening, which I intend to do. The guitar sounds good to me, warm yet with clarity. I'm all for playing tunes rather than effects, so I'm glad you mentioned the Bonus Section. I had finished the book without them, and was just about to send it off to Mel Bay for their deadline, when I remembered I had twenty-five of my transcriptions of Scottish lute tunes on my hard drive. I took a gamble and added them as a Bonus Section. It didn't take long to make tabs for them in DADGAD. Some good stuff in there. Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm impressed!
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Post by robmackillop on Feb 11, 2017 9:07:11 GMT
Mel Bay has just published my Introduction To The Lute, which is aimed at guitar players and beginning lute players. Both Lute Tablature and Guitar Tab are included for all pieces and exercises, along with tips and advice for guitarists. The book starts with exercises in reading the two tabs, and will be useful to people on this forum if they have an interest in learning to read lute tablature. There follows two-part pieces, and then 25 repertoire pieces, covering English, Scottish, Italian, French and German Renaissance lute styles. The book is available as a hard copy, or as an eBook from the Mel Bay website HERE. The playing level runs from Easy to Quite Advanced. It's an overview, so those of us who have been playing acoustic guitar for years will have some meaty solos to work on, while those of us who are at the early stages of playing will have some lute music at our level. Here is my promo video: All the sound files are played on a lute, but I've started making guitar videos, so far only on a gut and silk-strung classical guitar, but will add steel-strung guitar videos soon. Any questions, just ask.
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Post by vikingblues on Feb 13, 2017 17:34:34 GMT
I meant to reply to you Rob some time back but in the midst of the fierce rush of things I don't enjoy at this time of year I forgot! Thank you for your positive comments and if I've caught the spirit then that's the main part of the battle as far as I'm concerned! Getting the notes right etc I'm afraid is a secondary priority for me! I have a feeling that there might be some slides I use without planning to where I can't manage the best option fingering on the left hand as I can't use my pinkie. Sometimes there's alternative strings can be used to play the right notes without sliding, but I just make the best of it in this way. Likewise hammer ons or pull offs that require the higher note to be played by the pinkie I have to amend and do various workarounds some of which are suspect. Fortunately I'm not too fussed about getting to higher tempos so that helps. Matk
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Post by robmackillop on Feb 13, 2017 20:13:50 GMT
As long as you enjoy making music your own way, that's good enough for me every time.
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Post by vikingblues on Feb 17, 2017 19:26:31 GMT
Rob has just posted a YouTube video of "Lachrimae Pavan on Steel-String Acoustic Guitar" in relation to this book. I hope you don't mind me linking it Rob - it just sounds so beautiful on steel strings the way you play it! I hadn't realised there were wire strung lutes back on the 16th/17th centuries. Hearing your video it makes sense on the basis of how your guitar sounds. Mark
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Post by robmackillop on Feb 17, 2017 20:29:03 GMT
Thanks, Mark. I actually came here to share that video, but you beat me to it I have a dozen or more videos from the book, including two more on acoustic guitar, ornate a dedicated web page: link Yes, the orpharion was the wire-strung equivalent of the lute, and it was quite popular during Dowland's day. It had those diagonal fan frets that have become popular of late, and a surreal curly outline. Quite an instrument. I like the shimmer steel strings bring to Dowland.
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