I have been looking for alternatives for a while to the multinational platforms such as youtube to post my videos and audio content. It has been difficult, as the smaller platforms have either been bought up by google or FB or other such giants, which practice such cut throat competition via their advertisements and strict policing; or they were not compatible to post/embed on here… the blog.
Over the years I have dealt a lot with Archive.org, not for uploading or presenting my work, but for looking at videos, music and for getting old software for my 32bit music project.
I dont know much about them except that they are linked to a lot of libraries in the US, Canada and elsewhere. I know from practise that they have a lot of info that is not available elsewhere, and I have been grateful for that, so I can explore my various musical projects.
I decided to upload a few test pieces and see if it embeds well here, and although it is not “showy” or “in your face” like other formats, it is possible to do, so I will be posting things from there and elsewhere… and hopefully getting away from the arrogance of YT.
I am against advertisements that cut through your viewing experience, and I think YT has gone beyond reason.
For audio, although I liked audiomack for its “on the edge” hip hop and Rap music, it has also signed various contracts and it is no longer the “on the edge” platform that it once was. Also a recent viewing of my blogs showed that the links have been cut, without reason, and I was not told about this. They have been restored, but it was a lot of work.
Frankly I am bored with all this monopolising, and being forced to watch advertisements that I am not in the least interested in (are you listening WordPress? No, i guess not).
There is nothing perfect, and I am not looking for perfection, but I do require a limit to all these advertisements, and I think WordPress is not as bad as others. But I am looking into platforms that have no advertisements at all… o happy days.
Here is the new page via Archive.org. This test recording is the new podcast that I did a few days ago regarding an electronic music composition, that I am currently working on.
Podcast no. 1
Here is a music video that was composed in Sweden in 2023
Video of my Electronic music Composition
Here is a video of a Tutorial on connecting instruments to a DAW (quite and old video)
I thought to document a process, a thought, and workflow process, as I compose my new piece for a gig that is happening on the 18th April, in Bloc+, Glasgow, UK.
It will be partly a blog, but also an audio diary so I can explain the sounds, and say things that would take ages to write. Ideally it would be a video diary, but looking at synths while I explain things is a bit like watching paint dry, say it in a photo… saying it audio.
It is not the very beginning of the dairy, as I have been composing this piece for 3 weeks now (2-3 weeks). But it is more of a diary of “work in progress”, more of the changes (more about development, success and failings) as the final piece will probably be on the 18th April (hopefully not a few minutes before I go on!)
(Podcast No.1 The music at the beginning and the end are my composition experiments relating to this blog)
The info I got for the gig is that I “have 30 minutes… play what you want”. 30 minutes! and already it has been 3 weeks of trials, error and experiment. Often I would get up early morning start working things out by 10am and basically work though until 11pm or later. I don’t know why it takes so long? Is this normal? When I look at youtube I see people playing things effortlessly…
original set up of instruments
Even now the set up of instruments have changed from 3 weeks ago. The SQ1 (bottom left) sequencer, the keyboard, and the SP404mkii (Right) has gone. More instruments have been added, namely a Volca Bass and the Volca Modular (bottom Right), there might be more or there might be less before I am finished.
From left to right- zoom H8, MPC one, Crave
O Coast, Volca Modular
Volca FM, Volca Bass
present set up of instruments
I brought up a better speaker, it is not excellent but at least it has a better bass range than the small amp.
The podcast will describe more, the music at the beginning and the end is from my audio composition.
Another year of Piping Live is over. 2007 was the first time we went and we have been going there each year. This year was different though. After the pandemic and after the death of my mother I felt I could just sit back and listen to the music, but Piping Live was different also this year, and I think it left the whole festival going in a new direction.
By looking at the program for 2023 (paper copies had to be bought this year, Going Green was the message, along side reusable plastic beer cups) I was struck by the lack of International artists, was this partly to do with brexit? Funding? peoples lack of will to come across? who knows, but in previous years there was, on average, 2 international acts everyday in the big tent, The Street Cafe. This year, there was one act (from Estonia) in the whole week, that’s excluding the Irish musicians (Northern Ireland) and the Breton band (who were performing in the Worlds). The Estonians were here only to represent their piping and were not part of the Band championship on the Green. There were pipe bands from Australia, Canada, USA etc. but I am talking about the non-big band competitors.
We used to go to Piping Live for the International acts, there was such an eclectic mix of styles and instruments. I like the Scots bagpipe, so I was not disappointed in this years festival but by not having the large International element did change the whole “taste” of the festival.
What I found also different was the increasing presence of the Gaelic piping culture, this was/is remarkedly different from the “competition and pipe band” styles. Gaelic language workshops have always been there at Piping Live, but this year there was talks, lectures, presentations etc. about Gaelic piping, and especially Pibroch, and I attended them to learn what I could. I would normally attend the Clasp competitions (amateur piping competitions, including Pibroch, but this year they were in a far away venue and I could not get there easily). The Gaelic events were very interesting and informative and I felt how different the Scots piping is/was and how it has been “manipulated” over the centuries. It has become a different beast, you either love it or hate the competitions.
If funding is a problem (it was announced that one of the big sponsors had pulled out, as well as a advertisement in the program for public donations) one has to ask oneself how is the existing funding being spent? Perhaps by not employing the professional compare everyday you could direct that money towards International acts or acts that are not part of the Piping Centre or the Conservatoire; or by not inviting bands that do not have any bagpipes in their line up!
It was noticeable how many people who played were part of the “Piping Centre’s” orbit; a not so very endearing saying is “jobs for the boys” and I got the feeling this was the way it was. Friends of the Piping Centre, and Conservatoire musicians were ok to use, but to step out of that zone was not the thing to do. This is fine if it is a conservatoire and Piping Centre festival (but it is not advertised as that) but to encourage piping from other fields (amateur, non conservatoire, schools, non competition pipers) who are not part of the festival’s orbit can surely advance piping and bring in a wider range of people.
I guess this is why the Gaelic events were good to attend. I took part in the discussions for the Pibroch each morning run by Barnaby Brown, who is establishing the “Pibroch.net” website to educate about Pibroch away from the competition style. I was also impressed by the South Uist style of playing, and I liked the lecture of Allan Macdonald regarding piping from that Island.
Things change, it is normal, and Piping Live was massive 7 years ago. Economic cuts effect everything, and I hope the festival will continue to exist. I remember in the 70s the World Piping Championship was a free event on the Green, then it became a paid event. There was economic hardship in the 70s too, but things continued. I was told the 2 events (Piping Live and The Worlds) are separate events, and this makes sense as one is open to the world of big band piping, whereas the other is open to the Conservatoire students and to the students of the Piping Centre. It would be great if more collaboration between other piping organizations, groups and individuals could be utilized, as funding is also part of those organizations too, and this would enable non competitive style of piping to be known to a wider audience.
Border pipes were played (but these were border pipes played in a Highland style, not in a Lowland style) and Andy May (Northumbrian Piper) at the festival, but there are other options too to represent piping in the UK. I remember in Strakonice Festival in the Czech Republic having a “Slovak day” a side stage where all the Slovak and Hungarian pipers would play, a wide range of pipes and levels all performed. Having something like that for English, Lowland Scots, Northern Irish, Northumbrian would be very interesting. Not just one person or one group, like the Armagh Pipers Club that come every year. Such an event wold bring in a wider audience, get more organizations and people involved and therefore advertising and sponsorship would increase… a knock on effect. There is a danger of Scots piping becoming elitist, a bit like the competitions, amazing talent playing to an empty room with only the judges taking note. Making something popular can happen if people have a feeling of being a part of it, and that can be done by taking part in the event, not simply watching an event.
I have been attending a “synth club” recently in Glasgow, it has sparked a lot of mental activity, so much so that I can not sleep after the club with so many thoughts full of ideas and impressions.
One thing it has kindled is an interest to play live again. I am actually playing live next month at the club, a sort of demonstration, a work in progress. This terrifies me as I am literally learning about the instruments. I have chosen to play hardware synths, patching them together and trying to make music that I can barely envision in my own head…
But I want to incorporate acoustic sounds too, some of these I can sample, but I want to play the Turkish Ney live also. By doing so I am thinking into two very different worlds: electronic and acoustic, these provide massive challenges in themselves. The Ney is a non-fixed pitched instrument, and electronic music can be so accurate (even when it is non-pitched) that anything not in the same frequency can be jarring; a bit like playing a harmonic piece of music on two out of tune instruments… different textures different pitches/frequencies.
This past month (ever since the last Synth Club session) I have been trying to get a “working” model for performance with the synths I have, as well as playing the ney. It has ben really difficult and frustrating. I have swapped instruments around, different combinations (digital next to analogue), acoustic next to electronic, midi next to live playing, melodies next to discordant reverbs… it is very interesting, but stressful as nothing is working. I mean, it all works… but it is never consistent.
This morning I was laying awake thinking about what I am trying to do here? I mean I have to describe what I am doing musically, right? but I could not think of an explanation, I have never asked myself “why I do music?”. But I am asking myself why am I trying to create this piece of music using instruments that I know very little about. If it was not for the Synth Club I would never of thought to play live. But now I think about it all the time.
I think the answer has very little to do with music! Or, should I say it has little to do with frequency, harmony, pitch, rhythm… it has more to do with personality and personal history. Growing up in Carlisle, Cumbria, UK in the 70s and 80s I was surrounded by “Boundaries”. Carlisle sits on the Border between England and Scotland, it was predominately a “white” city with very few ethic communities, it was macho city in style, it was tribal in musical tastes. You defined yourself by what music you listened too, and if you were into the “wrong music” then you could be beaten for it. I lived in the countryside so being a punk in the midst of Heavy Metal fans was always a challenge. Later on, I was introduced to people who listened predominantly to: folk music, or Classical music, or Ethnic or Blues music…. I liked “music”… and somehow it all fitted together, it was just compartmentalized, divided into groups. I think it is time I merged all these types of musical styles (life styles) and see what style is “my style”.
What I am trying to do (I think) with this combination of instruments and musical genres is to break down those boundaries. Folk music next to ambient music, experimental music next to structured music… it is about finding a combination that works… creating a “harmony in my head” (as the Buzzcocks sang).
I am not so worried any more about performing next week, punk was all about playing… just getting “off your arse” and doing something, I still believe in that philosophy, and electronic music mixed with acoustic music is just another musical journey. I hope to do more live performances in the future, whether it is a solo jam session or with other people. It is important that I (we) keep on playing live.
I have spent the past 10 days re-introducing myself to the Axoloti Core, a programmable software synth, and a hardware synth to play what you have programmed.
I last looked at the Axoloti Core when I programmed sounds for the “Strangled Growth” CD/Cassette (see menu) which are recordings I did on the Axoloti creating soundscapes, textures using improvisations.
This time there was no goal in mind except to make my own sounds and to experiment. I did this in two ways. First just to wade through the many “codes and abbreviations” to find the actual modules needed to make the sound. When I found the midi module/s that I needed, I started adding other midi connections (bottom 2 rows in diagram). Also I strip back all the modules I did not actually need, so I can have a basic understanding to what the modules did. To be honest the software is complex and the Axoloti can be difficult to use compared to VCV Rack and Cardinal. Once I had the sounds I then added FX modules to see what worked. This approach can lead to some interesting sounds.
The 2nd approach was to to use audio (top row of modules in diagram). I connected my phone and had a simple drum beat going into the Core then into the software. Once a signal was passing through I could connect audio modules and FX. Later I could combine the midi modules to the audio modules so they worked together creating different textures and rhythms. The 2 types of signals (midi and audio) passed though a mixer into the “audio out”.
When I had created the patch, I passed it through a Roland DJ 505 Controller and added beats to it, and looping samples. This was very interesting and a new way of working.
Then I had an “equipment change-around” in my room and I started to use the MPC One instead of the Roland. I made new patches and used the synth sounds from the MPC to pass through the Axoloti patch.
By the end of the 10 days, I the was quite excited and encouraged by the progress, and I will be doing a lot more of this in the future. Experimenting with software and hardware can lead to some interesting results.
I have always loved the cello, much more than other instruments. When I was a child it was unthinkable to learn the cello, the cost… obtainability, it just was not possible, especially for a working class kid with pocket money and coming from a non musical family.
Another problem was being left handed. When got my first guitar at the age of 7, it was right handed, my parents bought it for me, it was a cheap “Spanish guitar” from those early package holidays when Spain open its doors to tourists. The lady brought back a few to sell, it had steel strings, small, and it was not very good. When I picked it up I held it left handed, no one commented, my parents did not even know I was holding it wrong, with the strings upside down.
I changed the strings around and taught myself chords. When I progressed on the guitar I wanted to buy a better instrument. There were not so many left handed guitars back then, and the few that were available, they were 10% more expansive than normal guitars. I made do with getting a right handed guitar and turning the strings around, re-cutting the nut and turning the bridge around. I could not do anything with the angle of the neck though… it was always tilted away from me, it always felt odd… uncomfortable.
Playing Classical Guitar was even more of a problem, no Classical guitars were left handed, and I played a RH guitar and changed the strings around. The “action” was all wrong, but I kept at it and did my grades.
I bought my first left handed acoustic guitar in the early 80s, an Eko guitar, plywood body, thin sounding… but it was left handed. In 1978 bought my first electric guitar right handed, I changed the strings around. I bought my first left handed electric guitar soon after, a 2nd hand Antoria Les Paul copy, beautiful, very heavy body, and I still use it today.
I have learned to play right handed guitars “upside down”, as often you are asked to play something and the only thing available is a right handed bass or guitar. I am not against right handed instruments or right handed people, so why do I find such problems when it comes to me being left handed?
Today, I am pleased to say when it comes to basses and guitars the market and attitudes have changed since the 80s, basses/guitars electric/acoustic are plentiful and affordable, but not so when you step out of that musical genre.
Folk musicians are slowly catching up to the rock market; there are left handed folk instruments around. When I started playing the Northumbrian small pipes, there were no LH pipes around. I learned right handed, there was no other option. Today there are LH pipes. The beauty about folk music is that it is ok to be different; there is no stigma to being left handed. My friend who taught himself to play fiddle, played a right handed fiddle left handed, he also played it in the pit of his elbow (not resting on his shoulder).
I took lessons in rockabilly slap bass, I learned on a right handed instrument but played it left handed. Playing mandolin was a problem, I had to play a right handed instrument but I turned the strings around and put padding in the bridge.
I bought myself a violin years ago, it was right handed, and I tried to take lessons but the teacher was not into teaching me “backwards” and I did not continue with learning left handed. But I have always loved the Cello and the Viola, that deeper sound. I have been looking into buying one, nothing too expensive. I first looked during lockdown, and I was put off by a few articles saying “there is no left handed cellos”. What to do?
In the articles I read about cellos, the attitude to left handed people, to be honest, was a bit archaic, it reminded me of the attitudes to music lessons in the 70s “you must learn right handed”. When I was living in the old CCCP and Middle Eastern countries there is a stigma to left handed people. It was a problem for me sometime finding an instrument, but being from the “decedent west” I could get away with it, locals had to learn right handed.
Articles on the cello used words like “wrong way”, “back to front”, “you will never play in an orchestra”, “you will not find a teacher”, “you will not find parts” “you will not…” etc. generally negative and a little closed minded. It is a surprise for me, but in a way it shows how conservative the classical music community can be.
Recently my itch to learn the cello came back, perhaps I am getting old and I feel I should give it a try… before it is too late, or just that I want to learn something I have always wanted to learn…
Again, I was confronted with “there is no cellos for left handed people”, the debate on how left handed people should play continued… “either learn right handed” or “play a right handed instrument the wrong way, and play the ‘correct’ way later on”. I got quite disillusioned with it all and decided to leave it again… because after all, music is about sharing, and if one is made to feel “out of it” and not able to share, then why bother?
There is a Rumanian company who do make cellos for left handed people, but with limited obtainability, especially after brexit. I have been searching YouTube for left handed cellists… there are some, but they play custom left handed cellos which look rather expensive! There was only 1 musician who played cello using a right handed instrument but playing it in a left handed way. Just one! Here is her video, I think she deserves the publicity, I am sure she went through all this too… but she succeeded.
It feels like in some musical genres left handed people are the “oddity” and it is sad to know that mentality exists in music.
It must have been back in the summer of 2013, after the Piping Live Bagpipe Festival, we went walking along the Forth & Clyde Canal and ended up in Edinburgh. We ended our trip with a visit to the St. Cecilias Hall Museum of Instruments, where there was an exhibition of bagpipes named “The Piper’s Whim” here is a link to the exhibition to read about where it came from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-23516621
I am more concerned about the photos from the exhibition, which I took myself, but also the story about the photos, which were lost and then found.
The exhibition was excellent, and I took many photos to remember it by. These photos I posted on my blog via “blogspot” a site which I no longer use. That blog was seen by a bagpipe social media forum, and the chairman of that forum, without asking, took my photos and published them in the bagpipe’s official web site. He made no attempt to contact me that he had done it, I came across them as I was looking through the site.
He gave a reference to my name, which he spelled wrong (how hard is it to cut and past?) but no reference to my site where he took them from.
This chairman is also a publisher, I have some of his books, so he knows about referencing and giving secondary sources their recognition. He just did not bother, in stead he passed the credit on to himself.
Ok, lets leave it at that. Years later and several laptops later, I wanted to find my original photos. I could not find them, not on any hard drives. They were lost. I went back to that bagpipe site, but the photos were not there either. I had hoped to copy the thumbnail photos, so I could have a reference to them.
I thought they were gone, but I had forgotten I had put them on my Facebook site, all of them, and I came across them in a internet search. So I downloaded the thumbnail images and here they are. I am sharing them again, as I think they are very good, even though they are not a good quality as the originals.
There is quite a lot so I include them in a couple of slide shows:
You might think sampling is a technique for hip hop or DJs, and it is. But there is an increasing amount of music companies sampling and making available folk/acoustic instruments to be used in electronic music production. To name just a few instruments: violin, harmonica, mandolin, zither, Pennie whistle, flute, harp… have been sampled and are used in CDs and compositions. The quality of recordings and usage has enabled musicians to listen to notation and get a feel of a tune, which adds to learning process, memorization and music making. Now, it is possible to hear a piece in 24/8 and not puzzle how to read that notation, hearing it is a key to memorizing it.
I have been sampling my own instruments recently. I have been interested in this topic for some years now, and a lot of my recent compositions involve sampling. I have not been very inventive with it, as sampling requires specific instruments to make it easy. I had not possessed these instruments, so my efforts were time consuming and basic. Recently I bought a “MPC One” hardware device to make sampling easy and creative. This also comes with software to make the process even easier, now I have the means to play and create my own samples (as well as to play and manipulate other peoples samples). Thus, I have been sampling my various acoustic and semi-acoustic instruments and it can add to my compositions and learning process.
Sampling has brought up some challenges it is own right, and I have to make some decisions about how my samples should sound. For example, sampling bagpipes. No one has done it yet as far as I can tell, perhaps because it is not as straight forward as sampling a harp or violin (I am not saying these are easy), you have to consider the drone, do you play it along side the chanter or separate? Do you play it Concert Pitch (440c) or do you tune it with the drone?
To play the drone with the chanter is the easiest, as it keeps the chanter (and the note) in tune, so when one has finished the sampling, you have a drone and note in tune with each other. Playing the chanter separately produces a note which if not at the correct pressure, therefore out of tune (not 440c), and when a drone is played seperately it can vary in pressure and so it can “waver”. With a note which is not at the correct pressure, one has to tune it (more work) post recording. This is what I have been doing for the past few weeks.
Why Sample? well, for me it is interesting and relaxing to do. But also it adds to creativity. Recently I made a recording for a Swedish friend of mine. He has composed several melodies for the Swedish Sackpipa, these he had published but not promoted, so for a few decades they have remained unheard. I got his book and tired to play them, but it is difficult to play other culture’s music successfully with out studying their music for a long time, for example the Swedish Polska, it has a different rhythm than the 3/4 waltz time, but it looks like a waltz when written down. I know the theory of the rhythm but to play it takes practice, and it has a “feeling” also. I laboriously put my friend’s Swedish melodies into a midi format, and then played it with samples. It came to life, I could “hear it” and for certain musicians it is the hearing which makes all the difference.
But listening to the sampled melody made me realize that the note A, B, or C… played repetitively, sounded boring. The same note, the same accent… was not natural and human, it was mechanical.
O.K. it is not human, it is a simulation of being human, or trying to be as human as possible. And it is these subtle differences which is what I have been trying to solve with my sampling. I have been using “Round Robins” a variation of the same note, played in different styles (with or with out grace notes, vibrato, slides etc) and played randomly.
When used with the Sackpipa recording, it gave it a “human style”, and I could listen to the notation as a Sackpipa player would of play it. It also adds to the understanding of the music, and something that I can use as a learning tool.
Round Robins are the key to sampling acoustic instruments, and yet a lot of samplers do not have access to it. For example many software samplers do not make it easy to use this feature. I think it should be standard.
At the moment I am using Reaper’s own “Samplermatic5000”, and Native Instrument’s “Battery” for playing samples. Battery is fast to use and seems to work quite well, were as Samplermatic5000 takes some time to set up. I will be using Native Instrument’s Kontakt in the days to come, which is used by many Sample companies to create sample packs.
The recent buying of a 24 track mixer is a big step for me. It is a conscious move away from the computer based recording and workflow. It has been many decades since I used an analogue set up to record my music and I have gotten so used to making digital music on the computer with a DAW and vsts, plugins and a 2 input interface that I have had to re-learn, and it has been a steep learning curve.
What I decided to to do in the end is use both worlds, digital and analogue. Using the mixer to record music, mix music and Master music, while I use the computer as an instrument, do fine adjustments, cuts and edits, and finally make the Master file.
These videos show a process, a working process and solutions to the workflow that I was experiencing. It was enjoyable and frustrating at the same time. I now use 24 inputs as my interface, so I can plug in all my instruments and leave them plugged in, it saves a lot of time. Also I can use my VSTs such as compressors and other FX’s to produce the sound I want. The Model 24 has onboard FX’s too as well as a basic compressor, but it is the sound card that makes the difference and the use of the deck’s sliders and knobs, it gives a different way of working, listening and feel while producing my music.
The biggest difference is its limitations! You might think it is a step backwards, that I have fewer options, but it is this process that interests me. I have to limit my choices, I have to refine the possibilities and make decisions. It reduces the options but in doing so I get a more streamlined approach, I get a feel of what I am doing, it is hands on, it is real and I have an object to create upon. I suppose it is like playing a virtual guitar to playing a real guitar. I have more options on a virtual guitar, but the real guitar “is a guitar” and I don’t have to re-create the sound, as it is the sound.
I will be creating more videos, to show the workflow and how mixing desks can be utilized with in the DAW
I have multiple musical blogs, or should I say “I had” multiple blogs! Downsizing was a conscious effort. Before, my musical interests were separate, I had compartmentalized them into genres, musical genres.
I guess, I felt that people could not “understand” the mixing of genres. We have “Classical Music”, “Folk Music”, “Ethnic/World Music”, “Jazz/Blues”, “Rock/Pop”… we all know these genres as we walk into a music store (do we walk into music stores these days?). To see the labels neatly laid out, we know where to go to find out a genre of music. It is a marketing strategy, it gets you where you want to go quickly, “in/out” fast.
I guess, the thought of having a musical blog full of hotchpotch genres of music would be misleading, the same way as having the music store with “just music” in it, with no classification of what is available, would be overwhelming, you would be there all day! And who wants to do that these days?
I thought the reader (if these blogs are ever read?) would not know what to think, that “he is all over the place, too many sub-genres, it is not serious” (we are told to always specialize, to be serious).
During lockdown and being ill (not with the virus) I learned to rekindle, or bring to the fore, an amalgamation of my musical genres. Prior to 1994, for me, there was no such thing as “genres of music”, I always have mixed them up. But at university we were asked “who is your audience?” define and target, like an SAS attack!
I learned to separate the genres and departmentalize them into “Folk Music”, “Electric Music”, “Ethno Music”… But before university I had an interest in electronic music/folk music/ethno music as 1 source of music. I would listen to Philip Glass then a Dutar from Afghanistan, Punk and Reggae music, and then local musicians playing “Irish music” (again a strange name to classify a musical genre).
At university we were told not to play music as “Therapy” for example, or “not to play music before the 1950s” or “play non-melodic/non-harmonic music” or “we are not interested in classical guitar” etc. Rules were laid down, and that is ok, as the course was looking at new ways of producing music, and it helped one to think of music in a different way, and anyway there was already a lot of universities playing melodic/harmony based music.
The idea of exploring something that I had been dabbling with for years interested me. It attracted me and that is why I applied. I was already making “strange sounds”: recording natural sounds from the environment, looping, reversing, learning to programme an early 1991 Cubase Software on the college’s computer (which used to crash constantly). Experimenting with drum machines and multitracking. Trying to “split the octave” into strange intervals.
It is what attracted me to non-British music, as once you step out of the UK (and Western Europe) you are introduced to monophonic microtonal inflections, not based on harmony, not based on fixed pitches or tunings. It was ok to sing “off key” as there was no key to begin with. If you start in the key of G, then you expect it to go up and down with certain pitches. The voice and the pitches are something in themselves, everyone is different and non better than the other.
In 1985 I walked away from a punk band saying to myself “no more electrics”. It was a lot of hassle to form a band as so many perifocal items were need just to come together: rehearsal space, transportation, amps, wires, FX, mics, mixing desk, P.A., mic stands, drums etc. before 1 note is played. Switching to acoustic instruments took me out of the rehearsal space of the nightclub and allowed me to play on the streets, as well as in venues. I did not have to lug around equipment, I got on public transport and travelled (in my case, half way round the world). Lots more music was created, more people were met and more ideas were exchanged.
My listening habits changed also, I listened to a lot more acoustic music, more of the Afghanistan Dutar and less of Steve Reich! But it did not go away, in fact the more I got into the Makam system for example, the more I understood people like Reich or other composers who used “non-European” music theory. Studying the Turkish Ney in some depth has helped me to break away from the harmonic and fixed pitch music/instruments (Classical Guitar for example), and this has helped me re-look at the guitar again as a non-fixed instrument (eg. different tunings).
So, being “locked up” for a year and a half (lockdown) and not being able to play these instruments for about 9 months made me re-look at music in a different way. The only thing I could play without being in any pain, was the keyboard, and it has led me to revisit the synth and computer music in a more detailed and appreciative way. In many ways it is a continuation of the B.A. course I did in 1994, but with out the “genres”. I can quite happily mix genres of music now, modular synthesis with a classical guitar, a farmer’s tractor motor or an Iranian Ney… is all good music, and it all fits nicely in my head.
The combining of my different music blogs is a way (to myself) of re-uniting my musical past. Of not separating, of not departmentalizing. There is an “acceptance” and a “confidence” to allow these musical cultures exist side by side, within me, and also to the outside world.
No, it is not retro thinking on my side. I do not crave for the past nor for the item. But the cassette, for me, is the best form of creativity, when it comes to music and transmitting music.
Why do I say that? It may take a few blog posts to describe what I mean, but the cassette for me is manipulative, if I think about it, the whole process of music making with the cassette is D.I.Y.
Why bother using cassettes? To be honest I am disgusted with the way the internet treats musicians. This year of lockdowns has reduced a lot of musicians to poverty. I attended quite a few online meetings where musicians discussed how their income has dropped to a non living wage over night. The only option left open for them to sell their music, was the internet.
The internet is a terrible way to sell your music, as there is “so much free music out there”: free downloads, free download sites, free downloadable playlists, free platforms: youtube, spotify, soundcloud, mixcloud etc. the list of free music is endless, of course if you pay anyone it is the media company, not the musician. fuck that. Bandcamp is the only reasonable outlet for a musician, but the problem is you listen to the music first! Why bother to buy it?
If you asked a plumber to come round to fix your tap, not pay him, and he does not ask for money, and they accept that it is normal not to do so, normal that he would be out of pocket; you would think the situation complete bonkers! That is what happens to a musician. After all the training, he offers a service and gets nothing back, not even a thank you.
But what is saddest is that the musician expects nothing, they are so used to receiving Zero! Free concerts, free CDs, free downloads, free lessons, free time, as though what they do is not valuable. bollocks to that too. so I am stepping away from the mainstream, and seeking another medium to sell my music, to communicate with people on a different level.
If you used cassettes in the past you know you can record on them, re-record on them, take them to pieces, splice the tape, have different lengths of tape, play it backwards and forwards, design covers, design stickers, design inserts… and for a musician and a producer, designer and an artist these are good things to do, creative and with accessible possibilities without the need of a 3rd party.
With a CD, you can not re-record upon it (unless you use a re-Recordable CD, but not all players play them); a vinyl record can not be recorded over, a digital recording you can delete and record again, and is the best D.I.Y. medium, but you can`t produce it in hard copies! I am not singing the praise of one over the other. But to be creative in a multi dimensional way, the cassette is ok and should be thought of in a more up to date way.
Cassettes are not popular today, except for a small number of people who want to produce music/art with it. It is a pity as it would bring the price and availability down of the cassette. Not that it is expensive compared to a Vinyl record, to get cassettes done to your required length is relatively cheap, the problem is the postage and that is not a music problem. Although I would say, that the UK companies that produce these tapes, do not have a 2nd class post option listed (as ebay does). They offer courier or 1st class, and the postage price is more than the purchase! (I did not buy the cassettes due to p&p…we both lost out).
Finding cassettes to use is not difficult, but because it is a minority product it can be expensive if you want to buy old tapes (TDK, Sony, Maxwell etc), new cassettes bought in shops is virtually non existent. One needs to troll the 2nd hand shops looking for used middle of the road music cassettes that no one wants, so Perry Como, The Corries and the Nolan Sisters determines how long your music will be!
(top L-R) Axoloti, Interface. (Bottom L-R) Volca Sampler and Volca FM
Accessibility of a musical medium also makes one think about what to compose. Recently I have been working on a series of compositions using the Volca Sampler, the Volca FM and the Axoloti Core, a piece of hardware that one can programme and manipulate to make electronic music. The improvisations were recorded into Reaper DAW and then processed with basic effects (reverb, compression). When the mix was completed I set up my old Sony Professional Walkman and recorded the compositions onto a C90 cassette.
But what if I had a C60 or a C40? Do I cut the composition down? Do I look for another cassette, or do I just say “go back to digital?”. There is a limitation, but is that a bad thing? Those improvisations might be great live, in the moment they sound wonderful, but does it relay to a recorded medium? Maybe a 17 minute improvisation does not convey to digital, and it would be better chopped up to 5 minutes. So, different questions need to be asked when thinking about production and composing. More thought is needed, questions need to be asked where as with digital you would not consider.
After the recording was done, I now got down to making the cassettes sleeves. Here is where I am learning new things. Even in the 80s I did not know about the Maltese Crosses, or O cards or others ways of packaging a cassette. Even with CDs, I did not know about all the ways of being creative in producing packaging! In the past I did my CD and cassette sleeves myself using Word and Paint software, they worked ok, but had limitations.
test design of cassette covers
Now, I am learning Photoshop, Illustrator and other such programmes and really enjoying designing my cassette covers and reinventing my CD covers. It is a different way to be musical: composing, recording, producing, designing and contacting people; the whole package…, from the cradle to the grave.
Here is an interview with a Swedish instrument maker Börs Anders Öhman, recorded in August 2020 at his home in Sweden, near the city of Nyköping.
Bors has been making the Swedish Sackpipa (Bagpipe) since the 1980s and is well known for his innovations and approaching the sackpipa with one eye on the past as well as its future, a traditional design with modern workings.
The interview begins with his early career in the Swedish Military Brass band then later transitioning into the Medieval and folk Fairs, a career covering a span of 50 years, an interesting insight into the Swedish music scene from the late 1960s until the present day.
Börs Anders Öhman playing the Swedish Sackpipa in his kitchen
More info about the Sackpipa and other instruments he makes, can be got from his web site at https://www.borsljudet.com
I have just finished the new CD “Til the tide comes in“.
It is very different to my other solo CDs as it grew in size and texture. In fact the name of the CD, at first was going to be called “Textures”. I wanted to record traditional melodies, with each track being different; different in style and feel…texture.
I tried to create this texture by using different instruments: Spanish Gaita, Northumbrian Small Pipes, English Concertina, Mandolin, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electro-acoustic guitar, guitars with different tuning’s, open tuning’s, whistles, drums, shakers, etc.
The recordings were done in Madrid (Casa Asturias), Carlisle and Glasgow. The project kept on growing and I finally decided to release it. I am happy with the result, and I will be doing more of this style in the future.
I also decided to sell my digital CD on Bandcamp, but this time do it more seriously. Since I have stopped busking (due to the lock-down and other reasons), I need to get making music for a living once again.
The melodies were taken from the music books that are associated with the Scottish and English Borders, they are not necessarily Border tunes. But it follows my wish to only play and record the “old melodies”.
Have a listen via the link above, see if you like it?
With the C. virus changing our life style over this past month, there has been a big increase of music videos online. Strangely enough Leila and I have not changed our lifestyle that much, the only big difference is that we do not go for long walks. We generally work from home. For me that means playing, recording, pipe making…
I have had a trapped nerve in my shoulder now for 4 weeks so my concentration has not been on the C. virus or playing, but now the pain is slowly going, I am thinking more about music and carrying on with my pipe making (even though there will be no workshop classes this year, sessions, festivals, concerts…are all being cancelled).
Yesterday I began turning wood and dusting off my bags/bellows after the winter months of being packed away. Thinking about making reeds and generally improving my design.
I made a chanter stock so I can attach a Galician chanter to my Northumbrian Small Pipes, and I will be converting mouth blown bags to bellows blown and trying out ideas on chanters.
My recordings are going well, and I am learning to play a midi controller and learning various musical software, the latest being Maschine 2, and as from yesterday I uploaded my first tutorial onto Youtube on Reaper DAW and Maschine 2. I created a new blog as I felt home recording did not fit into this blog, as it deals with Recording; if you want to have a look check out my new blog on Home Recording: https://ethnorecording.wordpress.com
On the blog you will also find my musical experiments mixing acoustic and electronic music, and tutorial videos.
Due to my trapped nerve in my shoulder, I had to stop playing instruments, I noticed I need 2 hands for all of my instruments! The only exception being my midi controller. So I thought to learn a 1 handed instrument and this rekindled my interest in the pipe and tabor. I contacted the Pipe and Tabor Society and ordered a 3 holed flute, a pennie whistle style flute to begin with. I eventually want to buy a Spanish 3 holed flute, but they are quite expensive, so I thought to start with something less expensive. I have some ideas to make my own, and this I might try to do this year.
I ordered the pennie whistle 3 holed flute from the Society, but it seems to have gotten lost in the post! I knew there was delays due to the C.virus but there has been so many things “lost”. So I will have to wait a bit more to learn this instrument.
Because of the good weather I have been able to sit outside and let the sun do its magic on my shoulder. I have been reading various books on music… History of electronic music; Krautrock; Kraftwerk; Biography of Alan Lomax; Home Recording techniques….
As my shoulder improves I am able to play mandolin and Ney, so I have been trying to learn new melodies from the Border bagpipe repertoire, memorising the tunes and joining them together to form a set. I have been practising finger pick exercises on the guitar, learning D open tuning and Dagdad tuning…this has been a wish of mine for some time now.
Keep busy, pass your time creatively, enjoy your time.
These recordings are from the World Solo Drumming Competitions, which were held on Saturday 19th October 2019, at the Caledonian Univiersity, Glasgow, Scotland. It was an all day event, free of charge except for a small charge for the Finals in the late afternoon.
I was a bit hesitant at first as I am normally listening to the melody instrument, and I thought the drumming would be over powering, but not at all. The mix was just right and I came away with an appreciation of Highland drumming styles.
I include the recordings in reverse order, starting with the Finals, the ones that made it through the Heats. I do not know the names of the drummers, or the pipers, nor the tunes. My intention was to record the event, and for people to listen to it. I am sure those who were there can detect themselves (?) but I only wanted this to be a resource for drummers/players who were not able to attend, and for them to hear the technique and styles.
Finals
Semi Finals
The Heats took place all over the University, in many rooms, with many players of all ages. I mainly sat and recorded the participants in the Carnegie Suite in room M137.Heats, but also there were other events and some were young drummers.
By moving to another city/country to live, one has to get used to a new musical environment. It can be a upheaval and it may take weeks, months, years until you find an environment that suits you, or perhaps you never find it….it happens.
Recently we moved from Spain to Scotland, from Acala de Henares to Glasgow.
Moving house is a big deal, I never thought it would be as I have always lived out of a rucksack and moved from one country to another without much trouble. But we accumulate “stuff” and I had accumulated a lot of musical “Stuff”… various musical instruments, wood/metal work lathes, wood, computers, and pipe making equipment, tools, notation/manuscripts… the list goes on.
30 boxes later and in a new country we are slowly unpacking and sorting, finding our way around a new city and a different culture. For me it is not such a big change, but “visiting” a place is still different to moving and living there permanently.
Musically, I have to start again. I did not know where to go in Glasgow to hear traditional music, I knew no musicians to meet and play music with. I did know the Piping Live Festival but not the people who organize it or the musicians who play in it. I knew there were sessions but not sure if it was what I wanted or where they were.
When I was doing my M.A. in Ethnomusicology in Ireland, (Irish World Music Centre, Limerick Ireland), we shared the Centre with Irish traditional musicians, we shared some lectures also. One of the lectures was about the “session” how it started and how it evolved. I had never thought of it before, I always thought it was in pubs, jolly drinkers enjoying a pint and singing a few songs and having a tune on the fiddle (happy days).
But the session started in people’s homes, and it was not only songs and music, but anyone could do a turn…tell a story, recite poetry, dance, etc. Food, beers, wines, spirits, all included. It was like the house parties we had when I was a teenager. I can’t remember how the shift came about, how the session went from the house to the pub, but there was a shift in society, things changed and people moved, people changed and communities moved on.
If you are reading this outside of the UK you might not get what I mean, when I say “I don’t like pubs”, because I like bars! In Spain I finally got comfortable in bars, but each time I enter a UK pub I become very nervous. I have attended pubs since I was 14 years old (illegal drinking is a part of growing up in the UK) but also I have been to traditional music festivals where the sessions were in pubs. But if I look at European bars and compare them to UK pubs there is a big difference to attitudes and etiquette. In the past it was impossible to get a coffee in a pub, if you asked for something other than alcohol you could feel the pub “stiffen”, when I went to Europe I could ask for anything and it felt ok.
Things are not so strict now in the UK, in most pubs you can ask for an alcoholic alternative and not get looked at strangely (if you were a man) things have mellowed, but for me (and I know a lot of my friends) still feel uneasy about it.
The sessions I attended in Spain were relaxed, friendly and open. I sat down, got relaxed, chatted and maybe after 20-30 minutes ordered a drink, if I felt like it. I played a few tunes, got given a complimentary drink (free) bought my coffee/soft drink, and ate my tapas. My first experience on going to a session in Glasgow was different, after sitting down for a few minutes we were asked for our order…”coke please”!!! Reply “is that it?” “eeeerrrrrrr yes”. Some things don’t change (if you are a man).
I am not sure if sessions are my thing anymore. I like the house sessions, and I like the festival atmosphere, but pub sessions is not my thing. I have attended a lot of them over the years, I enjoy listening and occasionally playing, but my repertoire is not a typical session repertoire. I play bagpipes and pipe music and a lot of pubs do not allow pipes (they do not differentiate between the small pipes and the GHB) so I play concertina, but it does not endear me to the anti-pipe attitude. I like to be relaxed and I do not feel relaxed in pubs.
Another reason I dislike pub sessions is the high prices for a drink (often I do not need to drink) in a pub, it can be quite an expensive night when you consider transport in getting to the inner city, drinks and a bite to eat. There has been a lot written and said about “alcohol and musicians” I have seen quite a few good musicians ruined by alcohol, punters buying musicians drinks can lead to a ruined talent, alcohol problems and ruined careers.
Often too, you cannot hear the music in a pub due to the amount of chatter, festivals are becoming a big problem with a lot of people not listening to the music but shouting and talking loudly. I know musicians are not going to festivals due to this, musicians are staying away and only the talkers are going until they realize that there is no music and they stop going too, so the festival dies.
In the UK you cannot disassociate drink and violence, local youths are all too quick to find fault with an outsider, it livens up their weekend, again, this might be a purely UK experience, I have not experienced it outside of the UK. Sometimes I like to hope things have changed but every so often I find evidence that it is not so.
I think you can go out every week to a session in Glasgow or in the surrounding areas, Glasgow is alive with all sorts of music, it is a vibrant city, lots to do and they are very friendly, but I think and hope my musical future will not be in a session, I want to put my energy into making music in a different way and I hope explore these avenues while I live here.
I went to listen to a selection of groups perform Christmas carols in a church in Azuqueca de Henares, Guadalajara. I knew Casa Asturias´s choir was singing there, but I was also surprised to see and hear ensembles representing the local Christmas carols in various regions of Spain: Extremadura and Andalusia, as well as Guadalajara. New and old songs, all different all incorporating elements of tradition and modernity.
I do not know the name of the bands, or where they came from exactly, so I have just titled them “band 1, Group 2” etc. Casa Asturias I know only.
I made note of some of the instruments used by each band:
Band 1
Bottles for scrapping, Cajon, accordion guitar, drum, (friction drum) zambomba, triangles, shakers, castanets.
Band 2
Guitar, bandurria , drum, (friction drum) zambomba, bandurria rondalla, tambourine, Mortar and Pestle, various percussion instruments, castanets, a split bamboo percussive instrument used in Extremadura.
Casa Asturias (Alcala de Henares)
Guitar and Accordion.
Band 4
2 guitars and Ukuleles.
Band 5
Guitars, violin, percussive instruments, bandurria rondalla.
Each Group played an average of 3 carols, and all the groups came together at the end to perform “Silent Night” in the Final piece.
There is a joy to making, even the mistakes although frustrating, can be instructive. This summer I have been making bellows again. I have made quite a few over the years for my small pipe workshop and they have all been a bit different. The only constant thing about them is the form.
Form of a French Musette Bellow
The bellows I am making are still in the shape of the old Musette bagpipes I saw in various bagpipe museums in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Gijon. The shape of the musette bellows intrigued me, and the designs and colours made it stand out as a work of art. It depicted the culture of the French court of the 18th century, the flamboyance, the intricacy, the colour.
I thought to mimic it’s form but keep a Border/Northumbrian style of “austerity and plainness”; a protestant in stead of a catholic style! The shape (sosceles trapezoid) also allowed me to play around with the construction of the bellows, it is a deliberate move away from the traditional way of making NSP bellows.
The style of Northumbrian Small Pipe bellows are plain, with the natural wood being the only design and the leather as the only other material. The clack valve being either wood or ivory, and plastic with modern designs. The form of the NSP bellow has also a rounded back.
Besides the form I wanted to change the position of the clack valve; the NSP bellow has the clack valve in the front on top of the cheek, this is prone to obstructions from shirtsleeves, jumpers, arms etc. The closing of the air hole due to these obstructions made blowing problematic and it often gave a sound like a “whuppy cushion” which not the desired harmonic effect I am after!
The construction I have been playing around with this summer is to put the clack valve at the back of the bellow, out of the way of the arm and any clothing. Instead of 1 clack valve I made several clack valves in case if one got blocked others would still draw in air.
Underside of my bellows
I had experimented with solutions to this problem before, by putting the clack valve in front next to the hinge. I have also experimented by drilling holes in the side of the clack valve so air could still be drawn into the bellow if it became blocked, but it was never enough air for it to be practicle.
A friend of mine, has a small pipe bellow from France, its form is not like the Musette, but it has its clack valve at the back of the bellow, it has only one valve and recently I had a conversation with a piper who said this design is prone to get blocked by cushions on seats etc. So I renewed my idea of having multiple clack valves. My first attempt had only 3 clack valves, but this did not allow enough air to come through; this summer I made 8 clack valves, but I think this is too many, I have a feeling 6 will be adequate, and it will be my next experiment with this system.
Another observation I have of bellows (after visiting Piping Live 2018) is that they look very heavy. I would say there are 3 types of bellows in my region: the NSP style of bellow – plain; Irish pipe style – padded, heavy and dripping in studs; and the 3rd type the French style which is mainly used in the South of UK. I am experimenting with the object of getting rid of the weight, it serves no purpose, in fact it is detriment to the playing technique. The weight of the bellows pushes the bellow down towards the hips (instead of the desired position of the lower chest), so the position of the bag will be off-kilt, the bellows dragging down the blowpipe; there is no reason for this. A lighter bellow will be kept at the desired height, by the belt and arm, blow pipe and bag; less weight pulling the bellows downward.
Topside of my bellow
My final experiment is to play around with the decorative design on the bellows. Again, thinking of the original Musette bellow with its ornaments and colour I have been looking at decoupage techniques and thinking of ways to personalize the bellow cheeks. To move away from the plainness of the wood (however beautiful that may be) and to use images or designs to highlight the bellow’s surface. I used to cover it with fabric and it can work well especially when it matches the fabric of the bag, but why not be more creative with the design? Also, I am thinking to burn images onto the wooden bellow cheeks, to give it a added beauty.
I think once I made the decision to move away from the traditional making/design style of the Border/NSP bagpipe I feel there are possibilities for creativity. For those who feel tradition should be left alone, I say that without experimenting and breaking away from tradition we would not have the NSP pipes at all. I would argue that the NSPs are a result of breaking from tradition. Innovation is part of the tradition.
Here my bellows experiments until now:
Recently I have finished a bellow made from bamboo. The material is light (my desired effect) and strong. I used the French arm strap construction as is pictured in the first photo for this posting.
It takes a lot of optimism (or lunacy) to get on my bike early morning and cycle 8 miles to go busking in -1c. The ice on the roads has not thawed in the early morning sun, and I always imagine my front tire being slip-out in front of me on black ice.
When I get to Carlisle I find my busking spot has been taken by a young lad who obviously has a shorter distance to travel than me. He is a singer/guitarist, and although good, he is loud, no amplifier for him! I turn by bike around and go to my other spot.
This 2nd spot is taken by a homeless boy who is asleep on the pavement. His arms and legs are sprawled out; even though he is in a sleeping bag he has managed to take up more than half the pavement. The people walk around him, leaving him to his sweet dreams!
This view reminds me of the war in Syria for some reason. When I see the bombed houses and people being pulled from the rubble I notice the way the public always rush with broken bodies in their arms to the ambulances. The scene of the homeless boy reminds me of this because “no one is lifting this boy to safety”. There are no ambulances to take him away, no place of rehabilitation. It reminds me of how war can make people come together, were as peace can divide us. I do not grudge him his sleep, I move on into the centre of town.
In the centre of town there is the Salvation Army Band playing Christmas carols. I can not play in the area “Humbug…humbug”. I don’t know why but each year I am reminded more of the books by Charles Dickens, Dickensian Britain I call it. It would not surprise me to see children begging next year, or Scrooge shuffling along disappearing down the back-streets with his I-phone in his hand.
That is where I am heading, down back alleys to find my final spot for busking; if that is taken then it has been a wasted journey. To my surprise it is empty. Normally another singer/guitarist stands there, he has been there for years and I have given up going there for that reason. He gets there early and stays there all day. There are only a few spots to play without amplification, and if they are taken there is no chance to play.
I set up, it is cold; I am not sitting in the sun, and my hands freeze first, so I put my fingerless-gloves on. I play on and I finally loose myself in the music, I do not notice the people or the surroundings. I warm up and the world stops spinning.
After a while I notice I am invisible, or it feels like that. People walk past me, oblivious to me or the music, I hear them but they do not hear me. There is no recognition I am there. Maybe it is all a dream and I am not playing in the freezing cold, maybe I am still in bed asleep? I think of the homeless boy and I wonder am I similar to him?
Then I see life, and I know it is life as someone acknowledges me, I am not an illusion. Life, (she) skips along the pavement, each skip in time with my melody’s rhythm. Later on I see 2 others skipping along too, I do exist, it is not a dream!
The skippers are children aged between 7 to 10 I would say, and they acknowledge things that their parents have forgotten. Again, I am reminded of Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present. It is like I am looking at things past, unable to interact, just an observer.
Over the years children have been an excellent audience. They all have individual characters but they also have a “type”. First, there is the Shy Type, they stand back, they look scared, and they are shy to put their parent’s money in the box. When they approach me they freeze and go rigid, their parents have to come and take their hands and help them to approach me, and some children are so frightened they start to cry or hide their faces in their parent’s coat. Often the money stays in their hands and they have to be led away.
Another type is the Less Shy, they are given money by their parents and they come over and drop the money in the box, they smile or they look amazed at the instrument, they skip off, or show their love of music in some way. They are happy and they enjoy the moment. These are the majority of children, as I think the children love live music if it is not too loud. There has been one exception to this as I remember one child holding her ears and crying with fear on her face…she was in her own world then I think.
The third type of child is the Confident Child. They have a mental age of 30 in 10 year old body. They are totally independent. They have a will of their own and are financially savvy; they have sussed the world out already. I have seen them, walking behind their parents, until they are in front of me, they stop and open their purse and drop a coin in, they smile and walk off with an air of superiority. They do this as they know what they like and what they do not like. They do this because they can.
For all the “types” of children, they are in their own universe, sometimes it is a good universe sometimes it is a bad one, but they are a joy to observe. And it is nice to be observed too.
Ethnopiper & BusinessControlled 