If You Could Choose An Instrment..

[Pete Dunk]

Let's hope Keith and I are on fire tomorrow at 5:32 am

 

As long as you understand the pagan tradition you are following.....

 

Hal-an-tow, jolly rumble-o

We were up long before the day-o

To welcome in the summertime

To welcome in the May-o

Summer is a-comin' in

And winter's gone away-o

[m3838]

Alternatively if you want an instrument to strum chords & with a similar tone to a guitar (it sounds like a cross between a classical guitar & a lute) - try a Baritone Ukelele. It's got four strings tuned as the top four of a guitar (DGBE) & most chords only require 2 fingers. Compared to the Concertina it also has a cost advantage in that a not too bad one can be bought for about £40 and a decent one for about £100

 

Actually for stumming the chords you'll need either soprano Uke or, at the very last, Concert. You 'need' that high string on both ends for up-lifting strumming.

A baritone and Tenor mostly used for more elaborate playing. Nowadays usual repetory is bits of Classical and much of Jazz. So much, I stopped buying the records.

But if you want some easy strumming instrument, nothing beats Balalaika (three strings, AAE tuning).

Oh, I forgot to mention Banjo Ukulele - the ultimate strumming machine!

And if you have too much air in your lungs - it's the Pocket Sax!

[m3838]

I think the button accordion is, as Theo said earlier, deceptively easy at first, but surprisingly hard to get very good at.

I have to agree. I also wonder, if people who posted before tried British Chromatic or Vienna Diatonic? Accordion uses two different keyboards at once and the good rhythm on the left is very difficult to master, esp. with only 8 buttons.

I think this will be the same with playing AC the "English" style.

Very few actually mastered the AC, including the Irish style, which is very commonly played with all the available accompaniment. And those who play single melddy often sound like nothing without a guitar player, a fiddle or accordion, backing them.

It's very rare to hear a single melody player, driving the rhythm.

[michael stutesman]

You try the clarsach if you need a challenge.

this same question was on mudcat a few years ago. the answer was easiest to hardest something like this

 

bodhran

autoharp

hammered dulcimer

whistle

melodeon

concertina

fiddle

pipes

 

How about guitar, mandolin, banjo...?

 

I never tried a guitar, but other than the work out keeping up, a few cords gives a good

beat to a session. Play outside the circle first!

 

A banjo or mandolin, can be quite nice. Since they are generally tuned the same as the fiddle, I imagine much about what was said about the layout of the fiddle applies to them as well.

 

Regarding the guitar, well that is a special pet-peeve of mine. A good guitar can add a good beat to the session, but just like the bodhran, too many think if they can strum a few chords they are instant musicians. We have some show up at our sessions who are absolutely awful. Nothing is worse when two guitar players are playing at the same time, and they are playing different chords and with different rhytms. All I can hope is that I am not sitting near either of them.... What is worse, some of them never improve.

 

--

Bill

 

 

I've played guitar for many years and it is not at all easy to play a good crisp rhythm for irish tunes especially using traditional guitar chords. The guitar does have the advantage (in this case) of being relatively quiet unlike the bodhran so if you 'sit outside the circle' as suggested you can play along while you learn and not disturb too many people.

[John Wild]

Let's hope Keith and I are on fire tomorrow at 5:32 am

 

As long as you understand the pagan tradition you are following.....

 

I would like to declare that I have joined a sensible rational dance side: we do our May Day procession across the Kettle Bridge at Barming near Maidstone - at 7:15 PM! This is followed by a jovial evening at the Bull Inn in Barming on the Tonbridge road

 

Best wishes

 

John Wild

[Dirge]

Hal-an-tow, jolly rumble-o

We were up long before the day-o

To welcome in the summertime

To welcome in the May-o

Summer is a-comin' in

And winter's gone away-o

That's next week, proper May day, and for the first time for some years I won't be helping decorate my friend's house with flowers and drinking spingo in the Blue Anchor 'til midnight the day before then up to see the 7 o'clock dance off, back to see Dr. Spingo by 8am, etc etc. Damn.

[Woody]

Actually for stumming the chords you'll need either soprano Uke or, at the very last, Concert. You 'need' that high string on both ends for up-lifting strumming.

Can't say that I agree with you. The Baritone Uke sounds wonderful strummed (as does it's alter-ego the Tenor Guitar - almost identical except for steel strings, different origins and high cost).

 

I tune mine to either an open G chord of D-G-B-D or a C-chord of C-G-C-E, although it spends by far the majority of its time tuned in G.

 

The ones Hobgoblin do for about 40 quid are perfectly playable instruments - and have pretty good intonation.

I tune mine like a Guitar to save me having to learn new chord patterns. The lack of the bottom two strings gives the chords a sparse, slightly haunting sound, to my ear.

 

I've got a £40 Johnson one and I've been amazed at how good a quality instrument it is. Can't wait to get my hands on a £100 one to judge the difference.

 

As for space on the fret-board there seems to be a lot more room than on a Guitar.

Edited May 1, 2007 by Woody

[stuart estell]

I'm surprised that among the "easy to get started on" string instruments, no-one has yet mentioned the Appalachian dulcimer. It's got diatonic frets and is unbelievably straightforward to knock tunes out of to start with. Of course developing any kind of style on it is as hard as it is on anything else...

 

As for the baritone uke, I agree Woody - it's great for either rhythm or fingerpicking.

[Stephen Chambers]

I'm surprised that among the "easy to get started on" string instruments, no-one has yet mentioned the Appalachian dulcimer.

Maybe because Alan's original question was about "If I were to take an interest in playing Irish tonight ..."? And though I used to play (and make) Appalachian dulcimers, I've never taken one to an Irish session because they're too quiet to be heard in an Irish pub (unlike my 4-stopper melodeon, which has just as few notes but loads of volume ).

 

Mind you, not too many baritone ukes around here either ...

[stuart estell]

I'm surprised that among the "easy to get started on" string instruments, no-one has yet mentioned the Appalachian dulcimer.

Maybe because Alan's original question was about "If I were to take an interest in playing Irish tonight ..."? And though I used to play (and make) Appalachian dulcimers, I've never taken one to an Irish session because they're too quiet to be heard in an Irish pub (unlike my 4-stopper melodeon, which has just as few notes but loads of volume ).

 

Mind you, not too many baritone ukes around here either ...

 

Ah, I'm guilty of thread drift again... I'd lost sight of what the original thread subject was while following the rest of the conversation - sorry!

[sarahforgot]

I think it depends on the person and their expirence lever with music and different instruments. FI someone has played like a cello before I'm sure the violin would be at the top of the list with easy instruments, but I supose that goes with out saying. I also think your determination to learn the instrument makes a difference. I have a dulcimer but my determination to play has never been great how ever I'm learning the concertina relitively quickly (faster than my husband) and I also play the banjo and picked that up rather fast.

[Pete Dunk]

That's next week, proper May day, and for the first time for some years I won't be helping decorate my friend's house with flowers and drinking spingo in the Blue Anchor 'til midnight the day before then up to see the 7 o'clock dance off, back to see Dr. Spingo by 8am, etc etc. Damn.

 

I don't know what planet you're from but the pagan rites of Beltane (May Day) happen on the first of May around here. Here's a little info gleaned from the net... Oh and I'm still on topic because Beltane has Celtic origins and is celebrated with music.

[Dirge]

I don't know what planet you're from but the pagan rites of Beltane (May Day) happen on the first of May around here. tongue.gif Here's a little info gleaned from the net... Oh and I'm still on topic because Beltane has Celtic origins and is celebrated with music. smile.gif

Aha NO! You were quoting from the Hal an tow that happens on Flora day, May 8th and they've always told me that it's old May day, the Christians having arbitrarily interpolated some extra days into the calender in the past (but not all of them, which is why Orthodox churches have their ceremonies later, apparently).

 

Why should a good Pagan take note of a Christian calender change? I suppose it gives those of you who want two bites at the cherry a chance.

 

I'll just edit in the comment that I am genuinely a planet away from you; there's a whole world between us...

Edited May 1, 2007 by Dirge

[Stephen Chambers]

Ah, I'm guilty of thread drift again...

You Devil!

 

Nobody ever does that around here ...

[Mike W]

I would like to add that every one has completely underestimated the Uilleann pipes. In fact, with Uilleann pipes, there should be three spaces left blank above them as nothing is more difficult, more frustrating, more prone to failure and sounds so terrible in the hands of a beginner than Uilleann Pipes.

I have left out Bodhran for obvious reasons.

So my list is

autoharp

whistle

Keyboard

hammered dulcimer

accordion

melodeon

concertina

pipes

fiddle

 

 

 

 

Uilleann Pipes

[asdormire]

Why wouldn't a cellist jump to a mandocello or the Irish equivalent say the bouzouki? i know my wife has jumped from mandolin to violin.

 

Alan

[Woody]

Aha NO! You were quoting from the Hal an tow that happens on Flora day, May 8th and they've always told me that it's old May day, the Christians having arbitrarily interpolated some extra days into the calender in the past (but not all of them, which is why Orthodox churches have their ceremonies later, apparently).

 

Why should a good Pagan take note of a Christian calender change? I suppose it gives those of you who want two bites at the cherry a chance.

Ah - I knew I'd come across this before & a quick search comes up with the following info....

 

In 1752 the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar which necessitated "losing" 11 days, and is incidentally why the British Tax Year starts on 6 April rather than the old date of 25 March. See this link for more info.

 

I couldn't find details why Flora Day is the 8th - maybe it's to do with the change to the Gregorian calendar combined with the fact that Flora Day is never celebrated on weekends? Or as it is nominally linked to St. Michael, maybe the church got it moved slightly to the closest local holy day?

 

 

As for thread drift - it's a disgrace - you'll never find me guilty of that

[spindizzy]

I don't know what planet you're from but the pagan rites of Beltane (May Day) happen on the first of May around here. tongue.gif Here's a little info gleaned from the net... Oh and I'm still on topic because Beltane has Celtic origins and is celebrated with music. smile.gif

Aha NO! You were quoting from the Hal an tow that happens on Flora day, May 8th and they've always told me that it's old May day, the Christians having arbitrarily interpolated some extra days into the calender in the past (but not all of them, which is why Orthodox churches have their ceremonies later, apparently).

 

Why should a good Pagan take note of a Christian calender change? I suppose it gives those of you who want two bites at the cherry a chance.

 

I'll just edit in the comment that I am genuinely a planet away from you; there's a whole world between us...

 

 

I'm sure all those pagans, would have been well ahead of the christian calendar and out there exactly on the spring equinox regardless of the drift in date (becuase the western calendar was putting in too many leap days :-) )

 

 

 

Chris