Re: [Harp-L] Suggestion for playing "Ashokan Farewell"

[burket@xxxxxxx]

 Great feedback on this tune!  David's recording is really a lovely arrangement with wonderful tone and vibrato.

I also perform this song occasionally at trad. Celtic sessions.  But I have the best results using a D chromatic (a problem of course when I'm playing with a racked harp when backing myself with guitar).  I prefer to go hands free on this one so I can get at the slide.  Steve's suggestions for building the arrangement is good and definitely would make it more interesting.

Assuming the key of D, that C note is a challenge on a diatonic.  I would be curious if anyone has tried it on a D diatonic using the 6 hole over blow to get that lingering C note?

I can't do it on a low D, but see it as a challenge to OB technique to try to get it smoothly on a high D. 
I'm still working on it.  It sounds dreadful if you don't hit the over blow cleanly, but certainly can get people's attention!!

dee, ... da dah- dum deeee,      screeeeeeeeee :)

Alternately, the 3 draw bend could get your there, but has to get really clean to be able to bend to the C and then the B again right on its heels. 

Updated.....I see that this was also addressed by Eric and Doug S. in the most recent digest! 
Thanks-  Burke T. 
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From: Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Best way to play Ashokan Farewell
"I play it exactly as you suggest--with the 6 hole overblow. The change in
timbre with
the overblown reed colors and accentuates the flatted seventh--an important
note in this beautiful tune.
Of course, one has to sustain an overblow--with vibrato: but that's a good
reason for spending some time on
developing technique."

Eric
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> Ken Burns did it with unaccompanied violin. Of course in his documentary it 
was background music for pictures and voice-over. It requires dead-on intonation 
and just-right vibrato.  
> 
> Our band does it starting unaccompanied, adding second violin, then 
finger-picked guitar and finally bass and piano.  We reason that changing the 
accompaniment by adding instruments keeps it from being monotonous.  Unless you 
are a diatonic purist, C or D chromatic works very well.
> 
> Changing keys for the repeat might also add some variety.
> 
> Vern
 Cheers, Vern. I'm glad you said that.  Ashokan with us has become a bit like 
Duelling Banjos or the Wild Rover. It is a pretty monotonous, threadbare melody 
that works very nicely as long as the musicians playing it indulge in their 
fertile imaginations. What you say your band does is, in essence though not in 
particulars, just what my band does! :-) 		 	   		  

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Message: 12
Date: Sun, 6 May 2012 17:38:22 -0700
From: David Naiditch <davidnaiditch@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Suggestion for playing "Ashokan Farewell"
To: harp-l harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
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If interested, here is a version I did in 2005 using a D-tuned chromatic, 
together with my guitar backup and a bit of harmonica harmony.  (This was done 
as a ProTools exercise, to learn how to record multiple tracks.)

       http://soundcloud.com/david-naiditch/ashokan-farewell-david

--David Naiditch
www.davidnaiditch.com