alex_holden Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I recently made a pair of marionettes a la planchette (dancing puppets that a musician can operate with a string tied to their leg) depicting Queen Victoria and a Highland soldier. Here is a video that I made to show them off, including a rather clumsy performance of Scotland the Brave on my Lachenal English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABGOK8mYYbw And here is the full write up on my blog with photos and description of the puppets: http://alex-holden.livejournal.com/277198.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Jones Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Nice one Alex. I am toying with the idea myself, have been for sometime, because they are a local tradition; see this URL http://www.eatmt.org.uk/jigdolls.htm. EATMT recently organised a day for fledgling puppeteers , but I had to miss it. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Yes, very nice Alex - love this traditional stuff being kept up, and you're so good at crafting these figures, I still recall P.C. Peeler and the ghost and not forgetting the crocodile... Very interesting and entertaining blog of yours...! Best wishes - Wolf P.S.: Thanks a lot for repeatedly visiting my cloud, very glad you like what is displayed there too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Nice one Alex. I am toying with the idea myself, have been for sometime, because they are a local tradition; see this URL http://www.eatmt.org.uk/jigdolls.htm. EATMT recently organised a day for fledgling puppeteers , but I had to miss it. Thanks Mike. I sent them an email because they say they are interested in hearing from jig doll makers. I made a detailed Morris dancer jig doll for a friend last year, but he didn't dance very well (mainly because his costume was too restrictive). We recently converted him to a marionette a la planchette so that she can operate him while playing her concertina, and it turns out he dances much better on a string than he did on a paddle. I should give credit for the idea of converting a jig doll to a planchette puppet for hands-free operation to Jody Kruskal, whose Youtube videos were inspirational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Yes, very nice Alex - love this traditional stuff being kept up, and you're so good at crafting these figures, I still recall P.C. Peeler and the ghost and not forgetting the crocodile... Very interesting and entertaining blog of yours...! Best wishes - Wolf P.S.: Thanks a lot for repeatedly visiting my cloud, very glad you like what is displayed there too! Thanks Wolf! I am in awe of your harmonic-style English playing and the speed at which you are able to pick up new songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAc Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 (edited) . Edited March 4, 2016 by RAc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 (edited) Yes, it is certainly not easy to both play and operate the puppets well at the same time. Controlling the puppets is the easier of the two skills (in my experience), and after many hours' practice it has become mostly automatic, allowing me to concentrate the majority of my attention on playing the instrument. To a large extent the tempo chosen is based on the resonant frequency of the puppets' limbs: i.e. they don't like to dance to slow tunes! Incidentally, Victoria can dance more energetically than she did in the video. I think something about dancing on sloping ground interfered with the swing of her feet. It's impossible for the performer to see what her feet are doing without a carefully-placed mirror. Edited July 9, 2014 by alex_holden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Stein Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 That was cool. Well played. rss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Thanks Randy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Wilson Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 G'day Alex, Well done, I liked that. You've put a bit of effort into making the puppets, it shows. Just wondering if the feet have to be weighted to get a good swing? Or any other not obvious tricks to make them work? Cheers Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Thanks Steve! The feet aren't specifically weighted, though the legs are ash and the feet are oak, so they are relatively heavy. The tenon parts of the joints are made of stainless steel, and the ankle tenons are slightly longer than the heels so the metal parts hit the board each time the feet come down and make a loud tap. Getting the swing right is mostly about moving your leg at the right frequency and amplitude to control how high the puppets' legs go. Preventing them going out of control and flapping their legs around unrealistically is more of a challenge than getting them to swing in the first place. There are a couple of moments in the video where Jock begins to kick a little high but I reined him back in. Varying the force of the taps to emphasise the downbeat is an extra challenge. The length of the string, the position of the puppet(s) on it, and the heights of the two ends all matter to some extent so play around until you find the setup that works best for your particular puppet(s). The restrictiveness of the costume is a very significant factor. A little restriction (e.g. from a loose kilt or skirt) reduces the problem of the legs swinging out of control but too much restriction (e.g. from tight trousers) will stop them swinging easily. The wire frame under Vicky's dress makes it quite difficult to get her to go completely out of control. If you only have one puppet on the string you can control it more precisely and get it to do more interesting things (e.g. getting their arms swinging as well as their legs) than if there are two of them on the string and you are limited to frequencies that work OK for both of them. If you start out by just learning to operate the puppets while listening to recorded dance music (or get someone else to play for you), you'll quickly pick it up. The tricky part for me was learning to play my instrument at the same time as making the puppets dance and not failing miserably at both. I can still dance better when not also playing, and play better when not also dancing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekc Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 great - thanks for sharing - it brought a smile to our faces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Alex, I've been utterly taken by the marionettes a la planchette from watching your video and Jodi K's also...to the point that I was compelled to make one. It's mostly complete now and just needs some minor adjustments here and there for string tension, board control, etc. I quickly realized that having only one string does not equal ease of operation. This is tricky business! I was just about to send out a plea for technical assistance when I saw your informative post above. I think that will give me the inspiration to keep at it and make a video posts once I figure it all out. One challenge is that I find it much easier to operate the marionette while standing. However, I have always played sitting down. Just learning a tune confidently is one thing, but then adding a new body position and coordinated rhythm of one leg...whoa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted September 29, 2014 Author Share Posted September 29, 2014 That's great! Really looking forward to seeing the results. Feel free to ask if I can help at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maki Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Super cool! The dancing puppets were delightful. I thought your playing was good as well, makes me want to learn Scotland the Brave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thanks Maki! It's a fun tune and not too difficult to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wild Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 for years i was put off playing that tune, because I was taught it in school as a song. Then i discovered that this and a few other song tunes are so much better when you take the words away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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