Hobson's Jig and Briggs' Corn Shucking Jig

Comment by Strumelia on January 1, 2014 at 11:08am

I'm still....still....working on playing Hobson's Jig. It's a challenge for me, and I can play it only at about half the speed you have here.  BUT...I have fun with it!!  And I guess that's the point.   ;)

So...you guys need a little head shakking here methinks... ?  Gotta say there's a lot of reverb going on and various noises I'm not sure of- are the drums amplified here too?  It reminds me a little of the old fife and drum traditional African-American stuff that Lomax(?) recorded...a tradition that still continues today.  Except there's no fife and there's a banjo.  Maybe you guys should start marching... lol!

Comment by Tim Twiss on January 1, 2014 at 11:25am

Half the speed, twice as loud, etc. What's the difference? Enjoy the music in your own way. This music is just so flexible....a gift to us all not to get too penned into anything. The Blues had a point...when IT plugged in too.

Comment by Tim Twiss on January 1, 2014 at 11:26am

ps...didn't change a single note.

Comment by Strumelia on January 1, 2014 at 11:56am

Well all music is flexible- just the nature of music. Being music, it's more like a meandering stream than a brick wall.  And yes of course we all enjoy it in our own way...hopefully!

I just downloaded a book of music from 1602 right now...to learn to play some old dances on my little soprano rebec...which I hold and play like a tiny 'preemie' cello, 'cause the bowl back makes it real hard to hold like a fiddle.  lolol!  working on this first day of the New Year....

Comment by Al Smitley on January 2, 2014 at 6:32am

Now that you gave us the music, Stumelia, let us HEAR it!

Comment by Strumelia on January 2, 2014 at 1:01pm

I'm trying to find a gut E string for my rebec that won't keep breaking, Al.  I've been substituting a nylon for the high E, but it sounds awful compared to the gut other two strings- the bow won't grab it well. I think I found a beef gut violin e string that is supposed to be less break-prone, so will order one today to see how it works.  (I already used waxed floss in the nut/bridge slots).  The high E is a pretty tight tension for gut, I may have to just give up and tune the whole thing down a step or two.  I experimented with a steel violin string e, but it lost the nice renaissance nasal quality and just sounded like a really crappy fiddle.  ;D

Am working on some simpler early tunes so I can get my tone better before 'exposing' myself...lol!  The good news is that I can actually hear improvement every time i practice, so maybe soon I will be brave enough to youtube a small sample clip of some real simple tune.  :)

Tim- very sorry to 'hijack' your video comments- I'll stop now.

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