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Location: Utah | Here are two recordings I've made recently using Ovation/Adamas/Hamer guitars (and a Kala bass uke). I play in a medieval/renaissance ensemble which performs at a variety of events. Usually I play the 1537 for those performances because of its appearance. Tons of comments about how beautiful it is and how nice it sounds. The first recording is a polyphony from the late medieval period by Josqin des Prez. Recorded using: Adamas Viper, Ovation 1537, Adamas 1198 40th Anniv, and Kala bass uke. https://soundcloud.com/zozobra/josqin-des-prez-polyphony-on-guitar The second recording is a renaissance processional dance piece called Earle of Salisbury Pavan by William Byrd. First published in 1613. Recorded using: Ovation Patriot, Ovation 1997 Collectors Edition Parlor, Hamer Newport Pro, Adamas Viper, and Kala bass uke. https://soundcloud.com/zozobra/earle-of-salisbury-pavan |
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Location: When?? | Very cool! You guys are dialed in on some great stuff over there. I dig the reflective on the history with mental images as it plays. Then you really got my attention with "It Hurts To Play The Blues". Is that your daughter on vocal? Excellente! Y'all definitely have a new fan here. |
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Posts: 4043
Location: Utah | Ah yes, that's my daughter a few years ago. One of our home brewed collaborations. |
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Location: Yokohama, Japan | Really beautiful FlySig. Thanks for sharing. So are you working from vocal scores and transposing them on to different instruments? The recording sounds like a harpsichord, only more complex because of the various instruments being played. Assuming you record each part separately...do you use a silent metronome to keep things synched? No doubt you've definitely got the renaissance vibe going there. Sweet! |
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Location: Utah | I'm lucky to have sheet music in modern notation to play from. There's a book of "Early Period and Popular Dance Music" available by Al Cofrin who has arranged dance music. This was originally instrumental music and it exists from original sources for original instruments. He's brought it into modern notation. The 4-part polyphony was medieval vocal music. I'm in awe that people could sing polyphony. It can be really difficult to play polyphony on an instrument properly in time with the others because each line does it's own thing.
I used the built in metronome in the recording software, Apple's Logic Pro. Dance music needs to have a consistent tempo. The polyphony could be allowed to flow with less constriction but I couldn't play it without a metronome one line at a time. It was fun to use different instruments for each line, mixing and matching the different sounds and then placing them in space. Some of the experiments were bad failures.
In the ensemble we don't use a metronome. Some people tend naturally to rush a bit, others lag, and the pros in the group have some kind of telepathic metronome where they will vary the tempo as a form of expression but they do it together. On the dance music the tapping toe of the leader is our metronome (and she'll stomp or yell if we get off tempo in rehearsal!). You have to learn how each person in the group taps their toe in case you can't see the leader's toe. One woman taps at half pace, which always screws me up. My son taps quite a bit behind the beat, by about 1/8 of a beat. He feels the beat while his foot is still moving downward. But he plays amazingly (just graduated college as a music major). Everybody has their own way of dealing with 4/4 vs 2/2. It gets really strange with 6/8 because some like to count it in 2 with triplets. And then to really mess everything up some songs will vary from 4/4 to 6/8 in different lines in some places! It is really easy to drop a beat or two.
One of the skills I've polished is figuring out where everybody is in the song and joining back in when I get lost.
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Location: When?? | @FlySig - >>>Some of the experiments were bad failures.<<<
Nooooo... how COULD that be?? Personally, it seems like a failed experiment every time I pick up a guitar, but sometimes those failures end up being the genesis of a whole new piece of music aside from the one I was working on. Kind of like WD-40 being originally designed as a water displacer (WD), but ending up more successful as a lubricant instead. Porch swing pickers like myself are in stark awe of you guys who can mash it all together. I'm down with 4/4, but to me 6/8 means June 8th. Looking forward to hearing more. |
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Location: Indiana | Interesting genre. Nice work. |
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October 2014
Posts: 270
| FlySig - 2018-06-06 9:01 AM
In the ensemble we don't use a metronome. Some people tend naturally to rush a bit, others lag, and the pros in the group have some kind of telepathic metronome where they will vary the tempo as a form of expression but they do it together. On the dance music the tapping toe of the leader is our metronome (and she'll stomp or yell if we get off tempo in rehearsal!). You have to learn how each person in the group taps their toe in case you can't see the leader's toe. One woman taps at half pace, which always screws me up. My son taps quite a bit behind the beat, by about 1/8 of a beat. He feels the beat while his foot is still moving downward. But he plays amazingly (just graduated college as a music major). Everybody has their own way of dealing with 4/4 vs 2/2. It gets really strange with 6/8 because some like to count it in 2 with triplets. And then to really mess everything up some songs will vary from 4/4 to 6/8 in different lines in some places! It is really easy to drop a beat or two.
One of the skills I've polished is figuring out where everybody is in the song and joining back in when I get lost.
This gives me an interesting insight into the complexities of staying together as a group. Thanks for sharing your recordings, your playing and recording/editing skills are outstanding. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4043
Location: Utah | Here's another recording, this one an early Renaissance polyphony from around 1500 by Johannes Ghiselin also known as Verbonnet. Performed on 4 guitars. Ovation 1537, Adamas 1198 (40th anniv model), Adamas Vipera (carbon fiber capped solid body from 2017), and Hamer Newport.
https://soundcloud.com/zozobra/verbonnet-polyphony-on-guitar |
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October 2012
Posts: 1034
Location: Yokohama, Japan | FlySig - 2018-07-11 9:58 AM
Here's another recording, this one an early Renaissance polyphony from around 1500 by Johannes Ghiselin also known as Verbonnet. Performed on 4 guitars. Ovation 1537, Adamas 1198 (40th anniv model ), Adamas Vipera (carbon fiber capped solid body from 2017 ), and Hamer Newport.
https://soundcloud.com/zozobra/verbonnet-polyphony-on-guitar
Beautiful FlySig! Listened to the piece several times on HiFi headphones and ext speakers...it's amazing how consistent your pick strokes are and you play so cleanly without any string squeak especially in areas where you need to stretch a bit. That's quite remarkable spanning a 3-minute performance. Its one thing to play a piece like this on a harpsichord - a whole different ball game on 4 guitars! Really enjoyable. Thanks for sharing! |
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October 2005
Posts: 4043
Location: Utah | Thanks for the kind words arumako! The secrets are playing to a metronome and multiple takes in the studio. And great guitars to play. |
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September 2006
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Okay... I am impressed. They had good taste in music way back when.
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | Absolutely Breathtaking FlySig!!
I LOVE this very style and period, and these are Beautifully done!
Thank You so much for sharing it! I am listening to them all again! |
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October 2005
Posts: 4043
Location: Utah | I'm glad people are enjoying the recordings. One of the hard core medieval band member commented "well, it's guitar". I choose to take that as a compliment as it was the point of the project, though I think she was trying to politely say something else. |
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Location: Colorado | What did she want - a Lyre, Harp, natural horn and bagpipes? |
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October 2005
Posts: 4043
Location: Utah | Actually she is always very complimentary about my Ovations and welcomes me to the group, but when it comes to listening to recordings I think she is more of a purist. She's a very good musician on a number of authentic early period instruments, of which she owns quite a few very nice examples. Her thing is appreciating an experience more authentic to the original performances. |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | I didn't find "It hurts to play the blues" |
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October 2005
Posts: 4043
Location: Utah | nerdydave - 2018-07-14 9:13 PM
I didn't find "It hurts to play the blues"
Try this
https://soundcloud.com/zozobra/it-hurts-to-play-the-blues |
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Joined:
August 2011
Posts: 887
Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | Gracias!! |
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A couple of recordings
