RAc Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 As far as emulating guitar slaps, there's always the option of sitting on a cajon and drumming with your heels! Lincoln actually, no. A slap is much more than and very different from simply hitting a resonating body concurrently with shaping a sound on a melody instrument. A slap is a technique to attack *the string* such that the shaping of the sound interleaves with the rhythmic effect. It's sort of hard to describe, but those who play guitar, banjo, mandolin or something the like may be able to relate: You can either pluck the string or string pair with a movement parallel to the instrument's body or you can come down on the string vertically. (in a third version, you can also use your finger as a claw, reaching under the string and pulling it upward). In both cases you will generate the sound whose pitch is defined by the fretted length of the string, but the actual shape of the sound will be very different in each case. The guitar allows you to create all kinds of grooves this way. @Jim: I am in danger of repeating myself, but I'm convinced the world would be poorer without your killer instinct for puns. You just made my day once more. Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstein Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I think a rendition of a melody-less minimalist piece like Phillip Glass's "Einstein on the Beach" might work quite well on the concertina. Being able to play it and being able to enjoy it could be quite independent concepts, at least for someone who feels a need for melody. As far as emulating guitar slaps, there's always the option of sitting on a cajon and drumming with your heels! Or you could have a friend stand beside you and beat your concertina with a stick. You could call that method "slapstick concertina". I sometimes beat my head against the wall after messing up the fast triplets for the tenth time. Will that do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartEstell Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hi Wolf, Like you I strongly believe that a piece of music without a recognizable melody line doesn't have a lot of value. I think a rendition of a melody-less minimalist piece like Phillip Glass's "Einstein on the Beach" might work quite well on the concertina. Has anyone attempted it? As far as emulating guitar slaps, there's always the option of sitting on a cajon and drumming with your heels! Lincoln I've had a crack at Glass's "Opening" from Glassworks and "Mad Rush" from the solo piano collection. The first song from "Songs from Liquid Days", "Changing Opinion" also works well. My own arrangement of the Stone Roses' "Elizabeth My Dear" leans heavily on Glass's aesthetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Obviously it's you who already has successfully explored this territory, Stuart! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Hi Wolf, I don't think we are in disagreement here. Like you I strongly believe that a piece of music without a recognizable melody line doesn't have a lot of value. The purpose of any polyphonic arrangement (be it on a single instrument or in a "real" band context) should be to support the melody voice such that the listening experience makes sense as a whole. Sorry if I should have been unclear; I never meant to imply that the different voices ought to be equally weighted. The pianist's left hand should certainly not dominate the piece or outweigh the right hand (unless of course the piece is meant that way). Maybe it should be added to my previous reply that I'm rather coming from the opposite side, trying (and at times struggling) to give the melody sufficient "room" but at the same time embed it in the harmonic texture. My above-mentioned statement was thus rather meant as a needful concession in your direction... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 OK... Lots of great examples of one musician maximizing their instrument to sound like many. Here is a nice example of the opposite, sort of. Many musicians playing no instruments to sound like one event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlagJ7OzMGw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted February 19, 2016 Author Share Posted February 19, 2016 Well that was just silly. Here is something more on target, a flashy bit of fun from Evan Marshall performing the William Tell Overturehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHLPvE7uiUc Less flashy and more like what I was looking for Evan J. Marshall, Solo Mandolin: Ave Maria (Schubert)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imDg23yex7w&ebc=ANyPxKplghNiBtEbyAR0gLZEUGqaqkIHkHlI6pn-zouQjNe_rIJk1wL0RX7YAIE7QKGtgSP2vmyc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted February 20, 2016 Author Share Posted February 20, 2016 (edited) I remember you (many years ago) describing your style on the anglo as "as many notes as possible at all times". Yeah, I remember those days too. I'm still recovering...and actually finding more notes to play every time I practice. Still, I've gotten more selective over the years and being more mature I've let the "at all times" slip a bit. Sure, what you leave out is just as important as what you leave in and I've been studying the leaving out part in great detail. I've found that putting my fingers down at the right time does not surpass the importance of picking them up at the right time. That stream of little silences after each note is where the true deep music lies and I've been paying close attention to them since you last lived in New York City. Edited February 20, 2016 by Jody Kruskal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 I ran across this amazing player with a novel approach to sounding like a band... Playing two instruments: harmonica and concertina by TijnB42https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5Q0DcmTs9c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Are two instruments sufficient to qualify as a one-man-band ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 I ran across this amazing player with a novel approach to sounding like a band... Playing two instruments: harmonica and concertina by TijnB42https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5Q0DcmTs9c Nice harmonica playing, but I'm not sure that it all qualifies as "amazing". As he notes, he's only doing left hand bass notes on the anglo. Lots of folks play guitar and harmonica (not usually in that style, I admit) at the same time. And have you not heard/seen Ken Sweeney play harmonica and English concertina together? Not just simple chording on either one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Ok then, how about this one from the same guy a few years later: https://youtu.be/FpwmM_zZAKY Melody and counterpoint this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted April 13, 2016 Share Posted April 13, 2016 The Stanley Jordan "Over the Rainbow" clip was just amazing. Yes he does sound like two guitars rather than a band, but no matter. In this one he is emulating an entire orchestra. I love how he is not just displaying extraordinary technique, but getting to the heart of the music with such sensitivity. Stanley Jordan - "Piano Concerto 21" by Mozart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-m2haPvoHk I just came across another interesting Stanley Jordan clip. In this one he plays both piano and guitar... separately, and even at the same time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9Ae3R6QP6c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted April 16, 2016 Share Posted April 16, 2016 Ken Sweeney plays the harmonica and English Concertina simultaneously, first in unison, then in harmony. He's done it at the NESI talent show many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Laban Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 In the concertina/harmonica vein there's no getting around Rick Epping and/or Mick Kinsella I would think. They have been at it for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven r. arntson Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 He's certainly an oddball, but I've always admired the efforts of S.K. Thoth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrXCzsWcK5Y There's a great movie about him and his life, which was nominated for an Oscar a few years back: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoth_%28film%29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted April 20, 2016 Author Share Posted April 20, 2016 Hi Steve, Thanks so much for treating us to the amazing performances of Thoth. Seeing as how I live here in NYC, I have to make a point of seeing him perform in person. This is a link to the documentary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjnd__isN0Y&ebc=ANyPxKrUGs475cqWUMT1gLIhMk4ANAzNJY_Oz6mdBRMYFa1b3CmiIjkApyddXlK1wrFoihgrjFMu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven r. arntson Posted April 21, 2016 Share Posted April 21, 2016 I didn't realize you were in NYC! I hope S.K. is still playing; let me know if you do see him. I teach college here in Seattle, and I used to show the movie about him every quarter to my Humanities class. Not only is he a great player, but I consider him to be a pretty courageous person, trying to be himself in a world that doesn't always encourage that ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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