Re: [Harp-L] Re: Old Time Harmonica (Rick Dempster)

"Bart van Strien" <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx> · Wed, 30 May 2012 11:33:09 +0200

Thanks Rick!
Ha, this is becoming an old-time & celtic lecture.
Which is not so bad actually ;-)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rick Epping" <rickepping@xxxxxxxxx>

To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>

Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2012 11:19 AM

Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Old Time Harmonica (Rick Dempster)
One interesting thing that came out of the Celtic Roots of Southern Music
conference I attended recently in Atlanta was that all the academics there
were in agreement that the vast majority of Southern Mountain fiddle tunes
are Southern in origin, largely from descendants of Scots and Ulster Irish
settlers.  The African syncopation that infuses some of these tunes is
said
to date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the popularity
and influence of ragtime.
Folk music is ever evolving and ever influenced by its cultural
environment.  For instance, many of the tunes in Edward Bunting's
collection of Irish harp music, dating back to the late 18th century, have
a distinctly baroque flavor.  And most of the jigs, reels and hornpipes
played today in Ireland date back only to the 19th and 20th centuries.
Best regards,
Rick
p.s. Nice playing, Bart!

On Wed, May 30, 2012 at 3:11 AM, <harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 30 May 2012 10:20:50 +1000
From: Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Old Time Harmonica
To: "Joseph Leone" <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>, <knuppel@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID: <4FC5F3FE.7C8A.0066.1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
You call that 'Celtic' Joe? OK...Irish/Scots roots maybe, but the US
derivative is quite a different beast in my book. To me, US southern
string
music is whites  trying to sound like pre-civil war blacks trying to
sound
to sound like
whites playing music from the 'old countries'. Not only is the rhythm
completely different, but, with a few exceptions, the tunes are either
completely new or have morphed into something entirely new.
'Soldiers Joy' and 'Fishers Hornpipe' are, for example, tunes that
were/are played here in Oz, and don't sound much different from
renditions
in the US or Ireland, but a lot of the US stuff has been suffused with
the
African tinge so that you'd have a hard time connecting it with the old
country. Then again, other than just pointing to the Afro thing, there is
a
general spirit too, that entered that music, that is simply 'American'.
Charles Frazier's excellent novel 'Cold Mountain' devotes some space to
this; worth a read for anyone interested; which probably doesn't include
you Joe, as you have too much of that European sophistication to like
such
lowdown stuff, unlike an Aussie bogan such as
Yours truly,
RD
>>> Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx> 29/05/2012 10:31 >>>
Nothing negative possible. I have to be honest. I am not a fan of Celtic
music so if I thought this was stupendous, it must be stupendous. Do you
find the breathing easier in first OR second positions. I'm being serious
here.
smo-joe
On May 28, 2012, at 4:09 AM, Bart van Strien wrote:
> Hi, I'm Bart and a newbie to Harp-L. I play banjo and on
> occasion hca with the Blue Grass Boogiemen from the
> Netherlands. I expect it will be nice to talk to & hear
> from other harmonica-enthousiasts. And maybe even some
> players that are into old-time or bluegrass as well.
>
> I recently uploaded 2 old-time tunes on Youtube. It would
> be really great to get some feedback or reactions (even
> negative ;-)) from you guys. Ye know, so that I don't get
> the feeling I'm alone in the dark :-) Here's the links if
> you're interested:
>
> Harmonica - Give The Fiddler A Dram:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F04dkjo36WQ
> Harmonica - Sandy Boys
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dOzK8ey8E8
>
> Hope you like em, cheers!
> Bart van Strien
>