Fergus_fiddler

Hey, it seems I've a norwegian alter-ego! ( or you have a spanish one ) Cheers, Fer

Exactly as I though, if you're able to play that !"$%$&&/ fiddle, you're able to play almost anything Seriously, fiddle is a constant challenge - and very jelous about letting you play other instruments! - Cheers, Fer

When you upgrade to a better instrument, your inprovement is massive. At least, it's what happened to me when I began to play my Morse after 6 months of fighting with my Stagi... it's night and day. Goals? Never put yourself goals. I say this because I've seen people that, after reaching a level, stop trying to learn. I spent 15 years playing irish fiddle and still not totally happy with the results. When I began - 1994, think - I played 6 hours a day. Now the fiddle is a little in the background, but I'm inproving pretty quickly with the box, mainly because I've got already the tunes in my head and also is a great advantage an instrument you don't have to tune! But I think that the main reason is... well, I play guitar, tenor banjo, mandolin & a little B/C melodeon, but no instrument 'tickled' my as deep as fiddle and concertina. Cheers, Fer

It's not a somewhat one-sided fight, is a complete shame. Pity it's not already totally forbidden because still moves a lot of money To me, it's too a symbol of a totally decadent period of the story of this country. But thinks are not likely to change, I'm afraid... And changing subject, outside the small circle of friends who play irish music with, I'm not very found to tell I play concertina... here is seen more or like as 'clowncertina' or a funny toy... heck of peasants Cheers, Fer

You're welcome, Leo. That's indeed, a popular misconception. The arquetype of Spain in Europe is precisely, that one of the bullfighter and the guitar. In the same way, a lot of spaniards still believe that english people always wear bowler hat, briefcase and cup of tea, dutch people spent their time planting tulips and smoking joints & north american are all cowboys. The festivity you refer to is San Fermin, the 7th July in Pamplona, north Spain. The funny thing is that the TV doesn't show that the bulls finish their run right into the bullfighting ring BTW, the only thing we share with mexican people nowadays is languaje. And not even, the accents are as different - if not more - as british and american english. Cheers, Fer

Playing flamenco until the poor beast is scared to death! Cheers, Fer

if you could only play music if you had a connection to a place people.....I'd be able to play quite a varied range with my ancestry. Irish, Dutch, West Country (Devon), Yorkshire, Liverpool, London and (allegedly) [spanish] Gypsy. Here we go again! Do you realize that I never go out of my home without my bullfighting suit and my guitar? Honestly, if you want to know something else about the true traditional spanish music - much more varied and less archetypical than Flameco - then please, buy/borrow/steal the Alan Lomax album about Spain. Seriously, it's priceless. Cheers, Fer

Precisely. I've the book 'The Northern Fiddler' and there's pointed that western european music was very similar in the pre-industrial revolution age. So, what the heck has to do irish music with celts? Cheers, Fer

(Tongue in cheek mode on) Of course. And Noel Hill workshops are too, you have to be able to take the tune at flight past! And you're not allowed to play irish music if you're not irish, because there's no celtic blood running through your veins.... (Tongue in cheek mode off) I'm bored of hearing such statements. When some irish heard to me play irish music in my country, I had to 'justify' myself telling that i'm from northern spanish descent. Altough it's true, I reckon that the so called 'celtic' Spain has nothing to do with the isles... Trad police strikes again! Cheers, Fer

There are, indeed: -Why is better a guitar than a fiddle? -Because it burns longer. I've not concertina face - at the moment - but my fiddle face gave me serious problems. I used to tight very strongly my jaws when focused playing, with the subsequently teethache! Luckily, I corrected that before losing any molar.... Cheers, Fer

When I readed that smoking and drinking is bad for my health, I gave up... reading Cheers, Fer

Right. So, you can guess from that, at least, two things: 1) I'm not Canadian 2) In that case, I should be part of the 13% left Cheers, Fer

That brings to my mind... I like smoking, strong black coffe, high cholesterol food, alcoholic beer, true instruments and true friends. Am I going to die? Yes. Like everybody, but living the way I wanted. Concerning the other matter - ah, but is there anything else? - the day I try virtual sex, I'll ask somebody please to kill me. Cheers, Fer

The whole thread reminds me about a discussion I had some time ago with a friend. He defended the idea of modern art. I really find this disgusting - the modern art, not his opinion -. He doesn't know how tho hold a f*ck*ng brush, and I spent all my life struggling with those things. So, my poin of view is that an artist is somebody with developed skills throughout a whole life of work and discipline. I mean, if everybody can be an artist, then nobody is. The most modern art I can understand are the prerraphaelites - I was delighted with the Manchester Art Gallery -. In the same way, I understand a musician is somebody with some qualities that not everybody has, and cannot be developed thus by everybody. Of course, there are degrees, from the 'decent' musician to the virtuoso level. And of course, this is only my opinion. But I'm afraid, Dick, that such 'freedom of speech' is a phalacy. We've been trapped by the political correctness to such a ridiculous degree that you're only free to express your opinion as long as you agree with the majority. If not, I'm afraid your're condemned to ostracism. Well, you don't like the midi instruments. Neither do I. But nobody is going to convince my that playing a keyboard that sounds like a bassoon is not cheating. Do you like the sound of the bassoon? Right. Learn to play it. NOTHING compares to the 'real things'. I feel that playing a midi concertina should be like washing your feet with your socks on Cheers, Fer

Amen to all those wise advices I have played fiddle during 15 years and I supose that helped to develop my ear. Anyway, since I'm playing concertina I'm learning to read the dots better - perhaps because the note is already there, and don`t have to find it in the fingerboard!-. Some time ago, I made this chart and have it in front of me every time I play; helps a lot to know were the duplicates note are to achieve the best fingering. With time, you'll memorize it. When you have some tunes, you'll recognize that some fingering patterns are repeated. Try to remeber them, and trust your instinct. As we say here in my country, nobody is born learned! Cheers, Fer Cowardly edited for grammar layout_3Ob_Wheatstone.pdf

It's funny you say so... Although I'm spanish my wife is british - from Sale, Cheshire - and played piano during a lot of years. Well, when her dad sold the old 'real' piano and bought an electric one, - sensitive touch and everything - she named that 'the machine' and gave up playing till today! I'm nowadays planning - and saving - for to buy for her a not too expensive upright piano to tempt her And we're both in our late 30's... Maybe a little too old fashioned?

Indeed, and the funny thing is that everything begun - I think - when Matt Molloy developed his irish flute playing into a 'piping style'... Honestly, when somebody asks me for to play a cran on the fiddle, I answer: 'Why?' Cheers, Fer

Agree. Is because of that I prefer scottish fiddle music and the wild style of Donegal ( or northern irish, if you prefer ). (for a sample of my playing, go to the thread Teaching an Learning -> Performance anxiety?) Cheers, Fer

And nothing else. I know the blokes that are developing the midi pipes here in Spain - Hevia, Parrado y Aragón - and have seen the 'abherrathion'. Is funny, but that wouldn't make improve a piper. Bagpipes are not only fingering the chanter, but blowing inside the instrument and squeezing the bag properly with your left arm. They're now trying to make the sensors more sensitive for to be able to play sliding notes. From my poin of view, this is like trying to re-invent the wheel, a real chanter can do that centuries ago!. LDT, is allright you can play with headphones, but I doubt you'll learn to play properly concertina. Not only the buttons, but the bellows would have a totally different feeling... ( and even worse on anglo!) Yes, you can play with headphones with a midi concertina... and you can play without any electric power with a real one! Of course, this is ONLY my point of view. Cheers Fer

I don't know, Ptarmigan... I agree mostly with you, and I like very much the sound of the old instruments. I supose it begun with people who only knew to play a keyboard but they couldn't or didn't wanted to learn to play more instruments, but, despite this, wanted to sound like them. I don't like the sound of the appeareance of such gadgets, but I don't have bad feelings about them either... One of the few things I learnt is that the only constant thing in life is change. And things do change faster everyday pd: When you say fiddles sounding like bagpipes, what do you mean: a midi fiddle or to use piping rolls and crans on fiddle? Cheers Fer

Honestly, I don't get the point of all this bussiness. I myself don't like midi instruments, but is ok if anyone else wants to play. I wouldn't pay 1500 quid for a midi concertina because I prefer a real one for that price ( and because is english system, too ). But, seriously, I pray for the fact that these 'instruments' become popular in the hope that the Jeffries, Dippers and Suttners prices will drop down. I've got two wonderful old fiddles and I would't exchange any of them for one of those plastic toys, but there's people who fancies them Right, but they're not my cup of tea...

We've too that one in Spain, it's called 'the one of the bull & his son'. Funny how close are some things between different countries...

Well, I said a couple of pints, not get totally pissed off ... But, seriously, busking is a very good exercise. After a while, you get accustomed to play in public and don't feel embarrased or inhibited anymore. This is me & my friend Alex busking a sunny day: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVT-Qhl2ZNw Cheers

IMHO, I think this has a lot to do with hormones. Nowadays, I'm 38 and play a lot slower; and the chaps around the 20's play exactly at the same breakneck I used to. Thus, our session looks most times like a geriathric (sp?) center... OMG, we only need the slippers and the blanket on the knees when we gather to play

That's quite an insult to the poor concertina Cowardly edited for grammar. I was doing spanglish again....