Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
That's wonderful news Lisa. Enjoy the rebec which it seems you are doing already.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Forum Activity for @ken-longfield
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Woo-hooooo! Ok...My little soprano rebec arrived today and I love it ! 
I had some nagging worries about whether it would be even playable, considering it was made in Pakistan and I bought it from a big Ebay re-seller. But it arrived exactly as advertised, in a sturdy overbuilt hard latched case and seems halfway decently made for an entry-level rebec. Three gut strings, and a bow included.
Happily for me, rebecs are tuned in 5ths, just like violins, mandolins, cellos. And since I used to play the cello in middle school and high school for 6 years, this was not totally alien territory for me...though the last time I touched a cello was about FORTY TWO years ago. =8-o
At first I tried holding it in my elbow crook as is suggested for rebecs, but that was incredibly awkward with the bowlback. It just seemed sooo much like a tiny newborn cello to me that I simply propped it between my knees and tried playing it the same way as cellos and bowed dulcimers. Yay!- that felt immediately and totally right to me somehow, with an underhand bow grip. It has a dainty VSL scale length of 12 1/2"....which is 1/2" shorter than Brian's fiddle.
Fooling around on it, I was thrilled to find some of my creaky cello skills still not forgotten, and I somehow knew how to play a few rudimentary melody patterns on it from the start. This was very very different than my jouhikko experience, which has been a very steep learning curve.
I think i am going to take to this little rebec very well! My goal is to play some simple old folk and medieval/renaissance tunes on it.
It feels really, really good to have a bowed instrument again, especially one that I understand and seem to have a little head start on already! 
Wheee!
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Well, I sold one of my two jouhikkos (to a fellow FOTMD member who was anxious to try one), and I used the money to order an entry-level rebec to try out. I've been wishing I could try out a rebec for years now. I hope the one coming is at least decently playable- we shall see in a few days when it arrives!
I hope to play some medieval and renaissance tunes on it, and perhaps some old hymns or shape-note melodies. I have not figured out how I will hold it yet- folks can variously play it under the chin like a violin, or against the shoulder, chest, or crook of the arm like a fiddler, or even in mini-cello position also like a bowed dulcimer.
Fun! 
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Robin; the fourth one down in the construction list on that site is Rabel de Calabaza, which is a gourd body. A teardrop shaped gourd would make a more medieval style, although the gourd they show looks pretty neat. Gourd and wood would be my bodies of choice; and gourd saves you a lot of hard work, even if with that internal framework.Toledo & Toledo have been sister cities for longer than I've been on the planet!Lisa; somehow rubber garden clogs just don't seem like they'd work....
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Ken, sadly, the closest thing I ever to wooden clogs were my old disco platform shoes....and some rubber gardening clogs that gave me blisters. LOL
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Those are cool. I wonder whether a decent one could be made from a gourd?Ken, I believe Toledo OH has a sister city relationship with Toledo Spain-- at least they used to.
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
Very nice clip. I like the playing position she uses. Would be neater if her bow was the medieval arc type rather than a modern one. I know...picky...picky...Lisa - you got a spare pair of wooden clog laying around? I'll make us a pair of rebecs...If you look at the other Spanish styles, I may have to make the wine bottle shaped one from Toledo, since I'm from Toledo, OH!!
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
I absolutely LOVE the sound of the rebec! (I also love the vielle)Here is my favorite little youtube rebec clip:
Rebec
Adventures with 'other' instruments...
After the enlightening discussion on ED about Spanish Rebecs, I'm considering building at least one.
here's a page in Spanish about them:
http://www.es-aqui.com/payno/rabel/menu.htm
The Rebec or Rabel is/was a small medieval "fiddle" of 1-3 strings, which pretty much died out when the violin came along. What I never new was that they have lingered on as a folk instrument in Spain and Spanish-influenced South America (Peru, Brasil, Chile, etc). The body is not usually made from four pieces of wood. It is usually carved out of a thick piece and then a soundboard is added; or made from something already dimensional like half of a large gourd. In one part of Spain they even use a wooden clog as the hollow body!!
To see a most beautiful medieval replica, check out this well researched project by Paul Butler (check out his other instruments too - they are fabulous!!
http://crab.rutgers.edu/~pbutler/rebec.html
updated by @ken-hulme: 06/11/15 07:23:52AM
Every teacher I have had has said take the extra string off. I was a die hard and held on to it for ever. I paid for the darn thing so I was going to use it. But when I finally gave in I went and took it off all my dulcimers it is so much easier to play, finger picking exp. put strumming and back picking to.
Julia Poor said:
I don't like double melody strings. I take one off and I'm a happier strummer.
However you feel most comfortable is what is important. If you persevere, you might like them, but if you already don't like them, take one off. There is no right way to play a dulcimer.
Diane, there is: a recent thread over on Everything Dulcimer forum that has been discussing some of pros and cons of using a double melody string. It might contain some additional nugget of wisdom that would help you in addition to the discussion here. :)I would definitely advise against putting any rosin on your fingers or the fingerboard though. =8-oI assume you are bending notes a lot?- this might entail pushing the strings at an angle, which might well cause the pair to tangle together so to speak.If it were me I would try out playing with a single melody string to play blues. Perhaps just one gauge heavier than the double pair was. Can't hurt to try, but remember, every new takes a little trial period to get used to.
Experience!!!! I hate the word "practice"!!!! My best advice is do not remove one of the melody strings until you've given it six months of concentrated experience. Get used to it; it won't take long. Happens with noters too, even after 30 years. Caused by bringing your fingers down at an angle to lay of the strings, not straight down.
updated by @ken-hulme: 02/16/16 04:29:24AM
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OK, I just posted the upload/linking HOW-TO as a discussion on the Home Studio Recording Group. I'll create the group tonight or tomorrow.I would be grateful for any edits to the HOW-TO document.
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Yes looks great to me too. You can always do some fine tuning to the group later.Go for it! :)
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Here's an edit. I will need to create a HOW-TO document for posting links. I'll post that document here this weekend.How does this sound?---------Call the Tune is a place to post songs or tunes in which youre the performer (or at least one of the performers).Our goal is to provide an inviting atmosphere in which people of ALL skill levels can post songs for their and others' enjoyment. You don't have to be a pro or hot-shot player to post here.Please dont post copyrighted material to the group. If you do, well have to delete it immediately to protect FOTMD from legal action. If we have to delete something that you posted, well leave a note on the comment wall saying why we deleted it. If you don't know whether your song is copyrighted, just post a question to the comment wall before posting the song. If you see copyrighted material here, let us know and we'll remove it promptly.If you're posting a new song that has never been posted to Call the Tune, post it as a new discussion.If you're posting your version of a song that has already been posted, please post it on the discussion for that song.For example, if you're the first person to post a version of "Shady Grove", start a discussion named "Shady Grove". If someone else has already posted a "Shady Grove" discussion, post your version of Shady Grove to that discussion.The idea is to have one discussion per song with many versions by many people posted to that discussion.It's best to keep discussion titles simple. The name of the song is usually all you need.It's important that you post songs to discussions rather than to the comment wall. Songs posted to the comment wall tend to sink without a trace and there goes your 15 minutes of fame!Always post a link to an audio or video clip when you post your song. See the HOW-TO document [ hot-linked ] for information on posting a link to your song. If you have trouble posting a link, please post a question to the comment wall.It's not required, but you can be certain that listeners will want to know the key and tuning in which you're playing. Feel free to post additional information that you think is interesting. (Whose version influenced yours, song history, meanings of lyrics, what kind of instrument you're playing, etc.)Always give credit where credit is due. It's perfectly OK to post a version of your favorite Jean Ritchie song (so long as its in the public domain), but if you learned your version from someone else, it's good form to credit them.Positive, constructive comments are welcome on any discussion. Let's keep the atmosphere friendly and welcoming to people of all interests and skill levels.
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Randy Adams said:
fwiw this can be done.Yes, we tested it earlier in this thread:{{I posted to this discussion and clicked on "Upload file" under the text box for my new post. There, I was able to point to an MP3 file residing on my computer, and it uploaded to the discussion and clicking on it brought up my Quicktime program which played it no problem. You can do that in any post within a group as well. If anyone wants to test that themselves, feel free to test it in a group or here and then delete it after you see if it works ok.So, equally do-able in either a forum or a group. Youtube videos can just be embedded as usual.}}
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Strumelia said:
fwiw this can be done.It looks pretty good to me !
{{Please post a link to an audio or video clip when you post your song. See the HOW-TO document [ hot-linked ] for information on posting a link to your song. If you have trouble posting a link, please post a question to the comment wall.}} -- I think it'd be ok to 'embed' a youtube video clip in a song discussion as opposed to only posting a link to it. We sort of have to only 'attach files' of audio clips because that's the only way to do it in a discussion thread.Other folks' thoughts on Ken's overview...?
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Just ran across this. Looks like a great idea, probably better than the existing video section. I always look at every version of a song that I can find when I learn new material, and it would be nice to gather multiple versions under one cyber-roof.
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REALLY useful feedback. I think that given the projected traffic, any time invested in ironing out wrinkles is apt to be repaid many times over.I'll work on this some more tomorrow. It's going to rain frogs and ducks, so I have a day off from farming.
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Ken's overview & Strumelia's comments look good to me.Ken, I would use "please" less-- both to clean up wording and so as not to make some actions appear to be optional. ;)
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It looks pretty good to me!Things might get pretty messy if folks accidentally start posting their songs to the group's comment wall and then others start responding to them. So perhaps it's best if they are guided towards re-posting their clips to the discussion area. The comment wall will get full of questions and unrelated comments anyway. I doubt it will happen often enough to be much trouble.A couple of minor points-{{If you're posting your version of a song that has already been posted, please post it as a comment on the discussion for that song.....If someone else has already posted a "Shady Grove" discussion, post your version of Shady Grove to that discussion.}} -- avoid the suggestion of posting a song as a 'comment' as this might confuse people as to the Comment Wall again. better to just say "please post it in the discussion thread for that song."{{Please post a link to an audio or video clip when you post your song. See the HOW-TO document [ hot-linked ] for information on posting a link to your song. If you have trouble posting a link, please post a question to the comment wall.}} -- I think it'd be ok to 'embed' a youtube video clip in a song discussion as opposed to only posting a link to it. We sort of have to only 'attach files' of audio clips because that's the only way to do it in a discussion thread.One other thing we should keep in mind is that not all of Jean Ritchie's songs are public domain. ;)Ken, it looks good! Kinda funny all our fussing over starting a little FOTMD group. But I'm guessing it'll be rather high traffic.The main difference between the idea of this group and the FOTMD video and music lists already in place (where feedback often gets left by others as it is), is that multiple versions of the same song or tune can be easily compared and enjoyed, and there will be a centralized place for folks to comment on the versions and exchange information on them.Other folks' thoughts on Ken's overview...?
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"Call the Tune" rules and suggestions.Please comment and critique. Can some rules be eliminated? Are additional rules needed? Is the language clear really clear too forceful, not forceful enough? Are the rules in the right order? Feel free to give this a stern edit!Are they too verbose? I think they're too verbose.Eventually these should be numbered. I'll do these as RTF with emphasis on key words. I'm writing them as plain text now so they can be cut and pasted easily.---------------Call the Tune is a place to post songs or tunes in which youre the performer (or at least one of the performers).Our goal is to provide an inviting atmosphere in which people of ALL skill levels can post songs for their and others' enjoyment. You don't have to be a pro or hot-shot player to post here.Please dont post copyrighted material to the group. If you do, well have to delete it immediately to protect FOTMD from legal action. If we have to delete something that you posted, well leave a note on the comment wall saying why we deleted it. If you don't know whether your song is copyrighted, please post a question to the comment wall before posting the song. If you see copyrighted material here, let us know and we'll remove it promptly.If you're posting a new song that has never been posted to Call the Tune, please post it as a new discussion.If you're posting your version of a song that has already been posted, please post it as a comment on the discussion for that song. (For example, if you're the first person to post a version of "Shady Grove", start a discussion named "Shady Grove". If someone else has already posted a "Shady Grove" discussion, post your version of Shady Grove to that discussion.The idea is to have one discussion per song with many versions by many people posted to that discussion.It's best to keep discussion titles simple. The name of the song is usually all you need.Please post songs to discussions rather than to the comment wall. Songs posted to the comment wall tend to sink without a trace and there goes your 15 minutes of fame!Please post a link to an audio or video clip when you post your song. See the HOW-TO document [ hot-linked ] for information on posting a link to your song. If you have trouble posting a link, please post a question to the comment wall.It's not required, but you can be certain that listeners will want to know the key and tuning in which you're playing. Feel free to post additional information that you think is interesting. (Whose version influenced yours, song history, meanings of lyrics, what kind of instrument you're playing, etc.)Always give credit where credit is due. It's perfectly OK to post a version of your favorite Jean Ritchie song, but if you learned your version from someone else, it's good form to credit them.Positive, constructive comments are welcome on any discussion. Let's keep the atmosphere friendly and welcoming to people of all interests and skill levels.
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Well, double-dang. I hate it when stuff like that happens.Ken, I imagine others of us will keep an eye and ear open for music that's not in public domain. We want no trouble for FOTMD! Flint Hill said:
Dangit, I just posted a list of rules/suggestions, and they didn't post.
Back to the drawing board.
Should have done it in a text editor first.
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Dangit, I just posted a list of rules/suggestions, and they didn't post.Back to the drawing board.Should have done it in a text editor first.
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Agree, no voting or contest-like atmosphere.Regarding how to get a permalink: Doh! I never thought of that.I'll agree to do it for a year, barring unforeseen illness or whatever. I don't mind policing it for copyrighted material.I'll post some suggested header material (suggestions, rules, whatever) to this thread in the morning, and ask for comments.
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Yes, of course no voting or judging...eeewww! =8-o ;DWe must realize that once a thread is started for a particular song or tune....then that thread will be there for good and someone new might contribute their new version like a year from now or more! Unless the discussion thread gets 'closed' by a moderator...but I can't really envision a reason for doing that.Another good reason for making it a group rather than just a forum is- the description of what it's all about and instructions on how to go about contributing can be laid out clearly in a big text box right on the group's home page. On a forum you can't really set up a 'forum home page'.
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No, no voting, just sort of a play around, where one person starts with a tune and then the next person to come along picks it up until everyone who wants to play that tune has shared the version they do. It's not a contest so much as a group sharing. Bobby Ratliff said:
I really like the sound of this, as it sounds fun and challenging both. A couple things I'd like to re-mention, is I think anytime we challenge ourselves it helps us get better... and it's always refreshing to hear someone else play the same song, because we learn more that way.
And, as someone else said or come close to saying..... I would be all for this, so long as we didn't do any voting as to WHO did the best job on said song.
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Strumelia said:
I posted to this discussion and clicked on "Upload file" under the text box for my new post. There, I was able to point to an MP3 file residing on my computer, and it uploaded to the discussion and clicking on it brought up my Quicktime program which played it no problem. You can do that in any post within a group as well. If anyone wants to test that themselves, feel free to test it in a group or here and then delete it after you see if it works ok.So, equally do-able in either a forum or a group. Youtube videos can just be embedded as usual.I like Vicki's "You Call the tune" name- sounds friendly and inviting.We need to keep it all public domain or traditional material though- I would need any copyrighted submissions to be deleted . Pain in the butt I know, but a "You Call the tune" group or forum would tend to accumulate a 'lot' of material over time, and i don't want FOTMD ever shut down for copyright violations.Personally, I think that since there is no technical advantage either way for group or forum....I think a group might be better organized if it had someone guiding it a bit. And it helps if people need to join the group before posting. Ken, I suspect this would quickly become one of the largest groups here on fotmd.I don't really want to have to spend extra time keeping watch for copyright issues there on a daily basis (I already do that on the video and music playlists), so I would ask the group leader/administrator to please make sure the submissions are always public domain.The other thing is that if it's a group, the group leader would need to require that people post a new song as a new discussion thread. Others posting their version of the same song would reply within that discussion, not start another new discussion for their version of the song. And some will post their version to the group's comment wall by accident- they'd have to be guided to post it in the proper song thread. Just some logistical thoughts.More ideas and opinions...?Ok, I just did a test.....
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Flint Hill said:
You are right- that would be a slight issue. There is no way to have a direct link to a tune on FOTMD's Playlists. You *can* have a direct link to a video, but not to a sound clip in anyone's playlist. the best you can do is go to their page and click on the specified tune in their playlist.Ok, I just did a test.....One peripheral but significant question is this: Is it possible to obtain a permalink to an individual song that has been posted to FOTMD? The best I have been able to do is to get a permalink to a player showing all of my songs, so someone would have to pop the player and then scroll down to find the song. It would eliminate a lot of potential confusion if it's possible to get a direct link to an individual song.
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I have still been confoozled about what would be the best way to go, not for lack of puzzled over it this weekend.I think a group is probably the way to go, but maybe it should be broader than a collection of "challenges". I also think that "challenge" is freighted or easily conflated with "contest", and I'm in agreement with others that this is not something we want. Not to mention the name collision with "challenged players".This might leave us with a "Sound Off" kind of group in which one flavor of discussion might be a "Turkey-in-the-Straw, post yours?", or going back to the original post, something like "Post your Jean Ritchie Song?".If that's an agreeable way to go, then we need a name for it:"You call the tune"."Sound Off"I am really lousy at thinking up names like this.One peripheral but significant question is this: Is it possible to obtain a permalink to an individual song that has been posted to FOTMD? The best I have been able to do is to get a permalink to a player showing all of my songs, so someone would have to pop the player and then scroll down to find the song. It would eliminate a lot of potential confusion if it's possible to get a direct link to an individual song.
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Yes, it's great that we've been posting our various thoughts on this.Ken, I would go along with whatever you decide to do here.If you want to make it a new group, i think that might be a nice way to keep it organized.If you want to make it a forum- then I can add a new forum category and each song 'project' could be its own thread I'd think.You decide, and I'll support it. :)
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Well Ken....I don't care about what it's called or the format.....as long as it's done in a welcoming and open-arms manner....& I'm sure it would be.....I'd play as long as I liked the song at hand. What tune are you thinkin' about?
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Ken, in a jam a person "calls" a tune. Flint Hill said:
I wanted to say thanks to all who replied. I am feeling sort of stumped and stupid right now -- just got in from a long day working in a pasture.
It does seem like "challenge" is the wrong word, and maybe the wrong concept, even. I'll post again after I've gotten some rest. :)
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I wanted to say thanks to all who replied. I am feeling sort of stumped and stupid right now -- just got in from a long day working in a pasture.It does seem like "challenge" is the wrong word, and maybe the wrong concept, even. I'll post again after I've gotten some rest. :)
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It sounds as if it would fit into the Group category. A group whose main purpose is to have those involved play a tune and then ask "So how do you play it?" not as a contest, just as a general sharing of music. A "Play it again, Sam" group. If it was in the general posts then it would need it's own category to keep from being lost in other discussions. Sounds like an interesting idea.