davewhite
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Luthier
Aemulor et ambitiosior
Posts: 3,544
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Post by davewhite on Feb 6, 2015 18:38:28 GMT
Here's me playing Lord Aboin's Air on a baroque lute. Note that the manuscript asks for the lute to be tuned to a D major chord - alternate Tunings are nothing new! Also note that most of the bass notes are open strings, which kind of makes things a little easier for the left hand, though not for the right. I've just listened to this performance, and it's too fast - I'm a bit annoyed at myself. However, the ornaments come out clear. Welcome to the Forum Rob. Great lute playing. As well as some great guitar players there are a couple of lute makers here colins (Colin Symonds) who has made several and myself who has made one under Colin's tutelage.
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Post by robmackillop on Feb 6, 2015 23:22:10 GMT
Glad to hear it, Dave. What kind of lute did you make?
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davewhite
Luthier / Guitar Maker
Luthier
Aemulor et ambitiosior
Posts: 3,544
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Post by davewhite on Feb 7, 2015 10:14:41 GMT
Glad to hear it, Dave. What kind of lute did you make? Rob, It's a Heiber 8 course copy in European spruce/ African walnut:
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Post by robmackillop on Feb 7, 2015 17:11:51 GMT
Well done. It looks well put together - no mean feat. How did you get on playing it?
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maninashed
Cheerfully Optimistic
Mad Farmer Liberation Front
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Post by maninashed on Feb 20, 2015 9:16:06 GMT
I picked up this book recently There's a nice time line of early guitar development And illustrating the Baroque period is Rob MacKillop's Gaspar Sanz uke book I can see that being next on my list when I'm back to playing
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Post by robmackillop on Feb 21, 2015 15:48:57 GMT
I like it!
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Post by vikingblues on Jan 9, 2017 19:41:11 GMT
A bit of thread resurrection here, but it seemed an appropriate thread to use. I got a new Rob MacKillop book for Christmas and have been having some fun (and some inevitable frustration) with it. "The Easy DADGAD Celtic Guitar Book". It gets my vote on three counts ... (1) Easy!, (2) DADGAD, and (3) Celtic. 30 tunes in notation and tab of Irish & Scots tunes, with on line audio of them being played by Rob. Plus TAB for 25 Scots 17th century lute tunes. It differs from the other two books of his that I have. Those other books are full arrangements. This new one is the melody line, and maybe one or two additional notes. So I reckoned there's two challenges I could take up using the book:- (1) Turn them into fuller arrangements .... this would need skills that I don't have judging by a recent pathetic attempt to arrange "Wild Mountain Thyme". (2) try to play them in their single line format and try by phrasing, inflexion and interpretation into something that sounds good enough on its own. Maybe with just a handful of additional notes for some sort of emphasis or variation. Not something I've ever tried and it was an appealing challenge. So I've been trying to do that 2nd challenge and I have been enjoying the process. I managed to make and record a couple of tunes on my Vintage Giltrap that at least sounded half decent (to me) and had some feeling to them ..... or so I thought until I listened to the demo recordings of those two by Rob. This was closely followed by my confidence suddenly faltering in a big way. I found his versions to be rocketing along way faster than my own versions. I find myself very confused about my feelings on the (lack of) speed of my guitar playing in general. In this instance I recognise that I could not ever physically play the pieces as fast as Rob McK on his demos which is a blow. It also begs the question how easy is the "Easy" in the book title? Rob does say in his notes that he thinks traditional music is often played too fast these days, and mentions there being great beauty in these tunes. I find that beauty is in inverse proportion to speed. I try to boost my ego by trying to convince myself that if it sounds musical than speed doesn't matter! I do find that I listen mainly to players who tend to play slow stuff - it allows the music to impact much more strongly. I'm maybe just kidding myself! The tunes:- 'Sleep Sound in Da Mornin' 'Drowsy Maggie'Mark
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Post by robmackillop on Jan 9, 2017 21:35:49 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!
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Post by robmackillop on Jan 9, 2017 21:48:16 GMT
Mark's post reminded me that I should give an update on my latest publications. They are as follows:
1. The Easy Celtic DADGAD Book 2. DADGAD Classics for Acoustic Guitar - classical music in DADGAD tuning, starting very simply, and developing into the entire 1st cello suite by Bach, which works brilliantly well in DADGAD tuning. 3. The DADGAD Blues Book - arrangements and new compositions. I'm delighted with this one, and it is proving popular with my students. 4. Old-Time and Bluegrass for DADGAD tuning - not released yet, and the title hasn't been finalised. Should be out in the spring. 5. Ragtime and Early Jazz for DADGAD tuning - ditto.
6. Introduction to the Lute for lute players and guitarists. Includes guitar tab and lute tablature for all pieces, and sound files. It used to be that only classical guitarists would play lute music, but now many guitarists of all styles, electric and acoustic, want to play lute music. This book is aimed at acoustic guitar players, outlining how to best play Renaissance lute music on their guitar. Lots of great tips, and plenty of repertoire.
All the books are published by Mel Bay, and you can read more about them in their website. All books have sound files of every piece in each book, as well as guitar tab and standard notation - except the lute book, which has lute tab and guitar tab only.
Any questions, just ask.
Best wishes,
Rob
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Jan 10, 2017 0:11:22 GMT
Enjoyed those a lot, Mark - really musically played and nicely recorded too. Keith
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Post by sweyne1 on Jan 10, 2017 9:30:35 GMT
Thanks, Andy. Again, much appreciated. What a nice place this is Oh yes — only the best guitarists are here! Plus me .
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Jan 10, 2017 10:19:09 GMT
A bit of thread resurrection here, but it seemed an appropriate thread to use. I got a new Rob MacKillop book for Christmas and have been having some fun (and some inevitable frustration) with it. "The Easy DADGAD Celtic Guitar Book". It gets my vote on three counts ... (1) Easy!, (2) DADGAD, and (3) Celtic. 30 tunes in notation and tab of Irish & Scots tunes, with on line audio of them being played by Rob. Plus TAB for 25 Scots 17th century lute tunes. It differs from the other two books of his that I have. Those other books are full arrangements. This new one is the melody line, and maybe one or two additional notes. So I reckoned there's two challenges I could take up using the book:- (1) Turn them into fuller arrangements .... this would need skills that I don't have judging by a recent pathetic attempt to arrange "Wild Mountain Thyme". (2) try to play them in their single line format and try by phrasing, inflexion and interpretation into something that sounds good enough on its own. Maybe with just a handful of additional notes for some sort of emphasis or variation. Not something I've ever tried and it was an appealing challenge. So I've been trying to do that 2nd challenge and I have been enjoying the process. I managed to make and record a couple of tunes on my Vintage Giltrap that at least sounded half decent (to me) and had some feeling to them ..... or so I thought until I listened to the demo recordings of those two by Rob. This was closely followed by my confidence suddenly faltering in a big way. I found his versions to be rocketing along way faster than my own versions. I find myself very confused about my feelings on the (lack of) speed of my guitar playing in general. In this instance I recognise that I could not ever physically play the pieces as fast as Rob McK on his demos which is a blow. It also begs the question how easy is the "Easy" in the book title? Rob does say in his notes that he thinks traditional music is often played too fast these days, and mentions there being great beauty in these tunes. I find that beauty is in inverse proportion to speed. I try to boost my ego by trying to convince myself that if it sounds musical than speed doesn't matter! I do find that I listen mainly to players who tend to play slow stuff - it allows the music to impact much more strongly. I'm maybe just kidding myself! The tunes:- 'Sleep Sound in Da Mornin' 'Drowsy Maggie'Mark
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
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 12:09:10 GMT
Oooh, very interested in the bluegrass and early jazz books Rob. I'll look out for these.
Rob
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 12:14:51 GMT
A bit of thread resurrection here, but it seemed an appropriate thread to use. I got a new Rob MacKillop book for Christmas and have been having some fun (and some inevitable frustration) with it. "The Easy DADGAD Celtic Guitar Book". It gets my vote on three counts ... (1) Easy!, (2) DADGAD, and (3) Celtic. 30 tunes in notation and tab of Irish & Scots tunes, with on line audio of them being played by Rob. Plus TAB for 25 Scots 17th century lute tunes. It differs from the other two books of his that I have. Those other books are full arrangements. This new one is the melody line, and maybe one or two additional notes. So I reckoned there's two challenges I could take up using the book:- (1) Turn them into fuller arrangements .... this would need skills that I don't have judging by a recent pathetic attempt to arrange "Wild Mountain Thyme". (2) try to play them in their single line format and try by phrasing, inflexion and interpretation into something that sounds good enough on its own. Maybe with just a handful of additional notes for some sort of emphasis or variation. Not something I've ever tried and it was an appealing challenge. So I've been trying to do that 2nd challenge and I have been enjoying the process. I managed to make and record a couple of tunes on my Vintage Giltrap that at least sounded half decent (to me) and had some feeling to them ..... or so I thought until I listened to the demo recordings of those two by Rob. This was closely followed by my confidence suddenly faltering in a big way. I found his versions to be rocketing along way faster than my own versions. I find myself very confused about my feelings on the (lack of) speed of my guitar playing in general. In this instance I recognise that I could not ever physically play the pieces as fast as Rob McK on his demos which is a blow. It also begs the question how easy is the "Easy" in the book title? Rob does say in his notes that he thinks traditional music is often played too fast these days, and mentions there being great beauty in these tunes. I find that beauty is in inverse proportion to speed. I try to boost my ego by trying to convince myself that if it sounds musical than speed doesn't matter! I do find that I listen mainly to players who tend to play slow stuff - it allows the music to impact much more strongly. I'm maybe just kidding myself! The tunes:- 'Sleep Sound in Da Mornin' 'Drowsy Maggie'Mark 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.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Jan 10, 2017 15:33:44 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
Regards
John
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