Well, I'm back to civilization after a fantastic weekend of jamming. I met heaps of nice folks, learned some new tunes, got some decent field recordings, and came back with a to-do list. First on that list is finding resources for "Chattanooga", a G tune that we played at the Beginner's Slow Jam.
I found notation and a cheezy midi audio file. It will remind you of the tune, but be forewarned that it is computer-generated tones based on lifeless notation. It might suck the life out of the tune if you're not careful. [chuckle]
But, as long as I was able to find it, I thought it might be helpful to describe how the search was done:
1. Google chattanooga midi fiddle and get a ton of irrelevant info. Bah! And, that was after I'd spelled it wrong at first.
2. Search for chattanooga in the archives of the Fiddle-L discussion list and got these results. Scroll all the way down for snippets of the list-serve posts to find out that artist Blaine Smith is associated with the tune. Getting closer to a source. (I have some trouble viewing Fiddle-L archives with my Mac's Safari browser, so I use Firefox on that site.)
3. Google "blaine smith" fiddle chattanooga (quotes around the name zero in better on the whole name, the word fiddle helps to weed out irrelevant blaine smiths, and chattanooga helps to weed out other recordings).
4. AHAH! Google returned The Fiddler's Companion which has an ABC file! The search is almost over. [For newbies, ABC is a code that tells the computer how to make notation. Don't be afraid. Once you've found an ABC file, it is easy to get to a notation and sound file. No special software is needed, only a web browser like Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.]
5. Copy and paste the ABC code into the ABC Convertamatic and get notation and the aforementioned cheezy midi audio file. Here's what the code looks like. It is what I pasted into the converter-
X:1
T:Chattanooga
M:2/4
L:1/8
S:Liz Slade
Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion
K:G
(G,/|D/)(D/E/)(D/ G)A|A/ B B/ BB/A/|B/A/e/A/ d/A/B/A/|D/ E E/ E z/(G,/|
D/)(D/E/)(D/ G)A|A/ B B/ BB/A/|B/A/e/A/ d/A/B/A/|(A/ B) (A/ B/)A/B:|
|:gg/e/ g/(A/d)|e/A/d/(A/ B)B/(A/|B/)B/e/A/ d/A/B/A/|E>D E/D/E|
gg/e/ g/(A/d)|e/A/d/(A/ B)B/(A/|B/)B/e/A/ d/A/B/A/|(A/ B) (A/ B/)A/B||
I know, it looks like gobbledigook, but the converter will know what to do with it. There's more info about ABC code on the Concertina.net if you'd like to know what all that means to a computer.
Lesson learned - I should have just gone straight to the Fiddler's Companion website and searched for Chattanooga.
Lesson still to be learned - the tune's history.
Another tip is that I use multiple browser windows, one of the reasons why I like Safari and Firefox. Ctrl T keystroke will produce multiple 'tabs' across a browser window, enabling 3 websites within easy reach. O-oh! This is starting to sound like an internet advice column. Better stop for now and go listen to some tunes. :-)
But, before I finish, I feel the need to say this: PLAYING CHATTANOOGA FROM SHEET MUSIC IS NOT AS MUCH FUN AS PLAYING IT AT A JAM. There. I feel much better having said that.
Stay tuned.
Or, cross-tuned, if you'd rather.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Life lists
I was playing in a train traveling across Canada few years back. A woman who was passing through the compartment, stopped to chat. She mentioned that she'd taken up playing the cello as an adult. I asked her why she did that. She said it had been on her life list for quite awhile and she was quite pleased with herself for following through with it. I'd never heard that term 'life list' before. Seems a very organized way to do what you'd always wanted to. I've since thought back on that woman with admiration.
What a good example for us all.
Also, since then, I've made a habit out of asking people about how and why they learn to fiddle. It's interesting to hear all the different ways that we collect new skills.
What a good example for us all.
Also, since then, I've made a habit out of asking people about how and why they learn to fiddle. It's interesting to hear all the different ways that we collect new skills.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Anything worth doing
... is worth doing poorly.
I heard that gem from the wise old folkie Faith Petric on a radio interview. I was in the early stages of learning to fiddle at the time. Still searching for the 'real' notes, still screeching and scratching, still playing everything ultra, painstakingly slowly.
Her quote stuck in my head because, besides the stark truth of it, I remember quite clearly that the class motto when I was in 7th grade was the more common "Anything worth doing is worth doing well." I suppose that motto is intended to motivate people to do their best. But, with fiddling, there's no way you're going to get to the doing-it-well stage until you get over the doing-it-poorly stage. Seems like that trips people up sometimes.
What to do?
Concentrate on learning how to tune your instrument and tune it often. At least at the start of each practice. The newer clip-on electronic tuners are great. They pick up the vibration of the instrument and ignore background noise. Most folks like the ones that have a lighted display. Otherwise, you'd have to bring a flashlight to the late night jams so you can see your tuner display. Also, fine tuners installed on the tail (see the pictures below) really help. I don't know how people cope using only the pegs for tuning.
Do your playing away from the ones you love. A big house helps, but also jumping at the opportunity when your loved ones are away. Or, find a group that meets somewhere away from where you live.
Get those waxy ear plugs for your significant other, if you live in tight quarters.
Get some sort of ear plugs for yourself, for that matter. I found that muffling the sound makes it somehow psychologically less punishing.
Use a mute. Doesn't have to be an expensive thing. Clothes pins on your bridge will do. You can snap one on each side of your bridge for the maximum muting. (I found this helpful in getting me to experiment with altering the bow pressure as well.) If you're bashful at a jam, using a mute might help you be less self-conscious on the off notes.
Play with a recording. This will mask your oopses and get you more ready to play with others. Digital recordings will be a tad superior to cassette tapes or very old recordings. The digital recordings will preserve a truer pitch, making your fiddle sound more in tune with the recording. Cassettes may have been recorded on one piece of equipment and played back on another piece of equipment, thereby changing the playback speed and pitch ever so slightly, enough to make you feel like you can't get in tune with the recording. Very old recordings, eg. off of some 78 RPM vinyl, might have used a different standard of tuning and not the standard A 440 that is used today. (Remember, I'm talking about learning to fiddle by ear. So, if you're playing with a recording, try, try, try, try to not read the music at the same time.) And, don't set yourself up for defeat ... choose some slow recordings. Waltzes work well for this purpose.
No one's opinion about your playing should influence how you try to play. If your spouse or kids or roomies make comments about how you sound, remind them that beginners have to start somewhere and congratulate yourself for trying. Too often, disparaging comments serve to make us more shy or less likely to persevere. If you want to fiddle, you have to fiddle. Don't let anyone throw you off your course. Just add another clothespin.
I heard that gem from the wise old folkie Faith Petric on a radio interview. I was in the early stages of learning to fiddle at the time. Still searching for the 'real' notes, still screeching and scratching, still playing everything ultra, painstakingly slowly.
Her quote stuck in my head because, besides the stark truth of it, I remember quite clearly that the class motto when I was in 7th grade was the more common "Anything worth doing is worth doing well." I suppose that motto is intended to motivate people to do their best. But, with fiddling, there's no way you're going to get to the doing-it-well stage until you get over the doing-it-poorly stage. Seems like that trips people up sometimes.
What to do?
Concentrate on learning how to tune your instrument and tune it often. At least at the start of each practice. The newer clip-on electronic tuners are great. They pick up the vibration of the instrument and ignore background noise. Most folks like the ones that have a lighted display. Otherwise, you'd have to bring a flashlight to the late night jams so you can see your tuner display. Also, fine tuners installed on the tail (see the pictures below) really help. I don't know how people cope using only the pegs for tuning.
Do your playing away from the ones you love. A big house helps, but also jumping at the opportunity when your loved ones are away. Or, find a group that meets somewhere away from where you live.
Get those waxy ear plugs for your significant other, if you live in tight quarters.
Get some sort of ear plugs for yourself, for that matter. I found that muffling the sound makes it somehow psychologically less punishing.
Use a mute. Doesn't have to be an expensive thing. Clothes pins on your bridge will do. You can snap one on each side of your bridge for the maximum muting. (I found this helpful in getting me to experiment with altering the bow pressure as well.) If you're bashful at a jam, using a mute might help you be less self-conscious on the off notes.
Play with a recording. This will mask your oopses and get you more ready to play with others. Digital recordings will be a tad superior to cassette tapes or very old recordings. The digital recordings will preserve a truer pitch, making your fiddle sound more in tune with the recording. Cassettes may have been recorded on one piece of equipment and played back on another piece of equipment, thereby changing the playback speed and pitch ever so slightly, enough to make you feel like you can't get in tune with the recording. Very old recordings, eg. off of some 78 RPM vinyl, might have used a different standard of tuning and not the standard A 440 that is used today. (Remember, I'm talking about learning to fiddle by ear. So, if you're playing with a recording, try, try, try, try to not read the music at the same time.) And, don't set yourself up for defeat ... choose some slow recordings. Waltzes work well for this purpose.
No one's opinion about your playing should influence how you try to play. If your spouse or kids or roomies make comments about how you sound, remind them that beginners have to start somewhere and congratulate yourself for trying. Too often, disparaging comments serve to make us more shy or less likely to persevere. If you want to fiddle, you have to fiddle. Don't let anyone throw you off your course. Just add another clothespin.
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