Hurdy-gurdy Mailing List - June 2000

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Our deepest thanks to Maxou Heintzen for this fabulous photograph, taken at Saint-Cloud near Paris in 1957 by an unknown photographer.

The following are the archives of the Hurdy-gurdy Mailing List, sponsored by Alden and Cali Hackmann of Olympic Musical Instruments.

 

 
 



Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 00:41:56 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: Listmaster Vacation


Dear HG list, 

I'll be elsewhere for a few days, out of touch with the list.  See you all
when we get back. If there are any problems (hope not!) I'll attend to them			
ASAP when I return. 

Alden 

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 11:05:41 +0000
From: jenlord <jenlord _at_ earthlink.net>
Subject: HG: greetings all

6/12/00

Greetings all!

	I understand it is the custom of the list to introduce 
oneself once subscribed, therefore...

	I have no knowledge of the hurdy gurdy, but became 
intrigued by the sound on an old Musical Heritage Society 
record of classical HG music. I stumbled upon a used 
instrument at my local instrument shop (John Pederson's 
"Amazing Grace" in San Anselmo, CA). It is a 3 string, built 
by Philippe Jannsen, who, legend has it, was here from 
Belgium to study Classical Indian Music at the Ali Akbar 
Khan School, and who was building these to support himself 
while here.It was very reasonably priced, partly because 
John had not been able to get it going. Nor have I, yet, but 
feel I am closing in, with help from Olympus. 
	As an Uilleann piper, I am intrigued by the combo of 
melody, drone and rhythm possible, and what effect it might 
have on the tonality of a typical Irish session. As an alto 
recorder player fond of early baroque, I am looking forward 
to exploring some of the classical repetoire. And as a 
dancer, I look forward to learning more about French 
traditional dance music and that repetoire, of which I know 
nothing. 
	I am grateful for this list, and look forward to learning 
more about this instrument. I admit to a sense of 
foreboding, however. The uillean pipes are one of the most 
cantankerous and fussy damn insruments ever conceived. John, 
from whom I bought my HG, is an expert, patient builder and 
player of Uilleann pipes. If HE threw up his hands, what 
have I got myself in for? 

Casey Alan Clapp

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 20:22:33 +0100
From: Nick Nourse <nick.mapworks _at_ frogwell.telinco.co.uk>
Subject: HG: EMS Henry III

hi all
This is aimed principally at the UK contingent here; does anyone have a
copy of the Early Music Shop Henry III HG kit drawings? I do not wish to
make an instrument from these drawings as no-one so far has had a
particularly good word to say about it [the HG], but I would like to borrow
a set if someone out there could be kind enough, purely for my own
self-edification.
Nick Nourse
Chippenham, UK


_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 21:53:40 +0200
From: Xavier AIME <XAIME _at_ wanadoo.fr>
Subject: HG: Georges de la Tour


Hi All,
 
Everyone know the "vielleur" of the French painter George de la Tour.  In
fact, there are three pictures representing a player.  Did somebody study
more precisly the hurdy-gurdies represented?  Thank you in advance.
 
                                Xavier,
 
 


Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 12:56:05 -0700
From: jjandr _at_ netzero.net
Subject: HG: Re: greetings all

Congratulations on finding a hurdy gurdy, Casey.  My first hurdy gurdy was a
not-so-good one that took a bit of work to get playing.  It did give me
something to play and learn on while Alden & Cali were building my gorgeous
volksgurdy, though, so I'm glad it found it's way into my life and glad it
now belongs to someone else.  :-)

Joanne

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 18:10:45 -0600
From: Roger Sperline <sperline _at_ theriver.com>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: low G trompette

Dear HG newsgroup:

I am a chemist who has used a lot of tubing made of various polymers, and in
my experience, one can sometimes identify PVF by color. PVF has a slight
blue-ish cast when compared with nylon, and feels slicker ( almost greasy)
when polished to the same finish.

------------   Roger Sperline, Tucson AZ.


_______________________________________________

Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 06:03:02 GMT
From: Marcello Bono <ghironda _at_ hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: HG: EMS Henry III


Hi Nick

I made a "Henry III" some years ago and I should have the drawings somewhere 
in my garage.
Now I'm moving from a house to another, so it'll be possible to find 
them..... but please, be patient! :o) maybe these drawings are hidden behind 
14 years "vintage" garbage...

ciao

Marcello


_______________________________________________

Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 06:11:12 GMT
From: Marcello Bono <ghironda _at_ hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: HG: Georges de la Tour


Hi Xavier

>Everyone know the "vielleur" of the French painter George de la Tour.  In 
>fact, there are three pictures representing a player.

Actually they're more than three (maybe not by "de la Tour" but by "de la 
Tour workshop") and in my opinion the most interesting (for a gurdy maker of 
course) is the so called "beggar's brawl" in Paul Getty Museum

>Did somebody study more precisly the hurdy-gurdies represented?

I did, but I didn't make any drawings or gurdies then.

ciao

Marcello

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 23:28:09 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: low G trompette


Roger said: 

>I am a chemist who has used a lot of tubing made of various polymers, and in
>my experience, one can sometimes identify PVF by color. PVF has a slight
>blue-ish cast when compared with nylon, and feels slicker ( almost greasy)
>when polished to the same finish.

Maybe that explains why I liked it even less than nylon for the trompette -
it seemed to be "more slippery" and harder to cotton.  YMMV. 

Am I correct that PVF stands for PolyVinyl Fluoride?  I guessed as much
from the name shown in the Pyramid catalog, which gives it in German. 

Alden 

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 23:39:14 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: greetings all

Casey said: 

>	I am grateful for this list, and look forward to learning 
>more about this instrument. I admit to a sense of 
>foreboding, however. The uillean pipes are one of the most 
>cantankerous and fussy damn insruments ever conceived. John, 
>from whom I bought my HG, is an expert, patient builder and 
>player of Uilleann pipes. If HE threw up his hands, what 
>have I got myself in for? 

It's not that bad, really ;-) ;-)  I'd rather deal with a HG than those
bagpipes and their *# _at_ &! reeds and all their little squeeks and squeals and
squalks ;-) ;-) ;-) (Really, I like bagpipes, and I've even considered
playing since Trevor from New Zealand introduced me to them.  Oh, to have
another life where all I need to do is play music...)

But seriously - it's not easy to learn the HG in a vacuum.  You think that
the horrible noise is something you're doing, and you play it for an
experienced player, and they'll say "oh, you need to shim your chanter
string." or "oh, you need to [whatever]".  

It's really good to take the instrument (and yourself) to visit someone who
knows about the instrument.  Hope we see you in September!

Alden 

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 23:44:56 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: EMS Henry III


Dear Nick, 

>hi all
>This is aimed principally at the UK contingent here; does anyone have a
>copy of the Early Music Shop Henry III HG kit drawings? I do not wish to
>make an instrument from these drawings as no-one so far has had a
>particularly good word to say about it [the HG], but I would like to borrow
>a set if someone out there could be kind enough, purely for my own
>self-edification.

In the land of kits, I'd say that the EMS is the best of a bad lot, but
we've never seen the really high-end kits.  

I didn't know, for some reason, that EMS also sold plans for this
instrument.  Please let me know details when you know the story.  

Alden  

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 23:48:33 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: Georges de la Tour


Xavier, 

Have you seen the museum catalog from the George de la Tour show from a few
years ago?  It's listed in the bibliography.  I had it off the shelf a few
months ago, and there's quite a bit of HG information in it, and very nice
photos of many of his paintings.  

I'll have another look at it in the next few days.  

Alden 

_______________________________________________

Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 23:58:52 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: Website Care and Feeding


Dear HG list community, 

I'm realizing that I simply don't have the time to keep up with most of the
updates I'd like to be doing on the HG website, www.hurdygurdy.com.  While
there's a commercial aspect to the site (the OMI portion) much of the site
is educational, and it's reached the point where just keeping up with it
(much less expanding it) is a lot of work.  

Following the theory that many people keyboarding make light work, is there
anyone out there who would be willing to help out?  I can envision several
ways of doing this which maintain the security of the site and give me
editorial control, both of which are important to me.  

If you are interested, please email me off-list and I'll get in touch with
you.  Since there will likely be a group of you, I will probably create a
separate list for HG Site Maintenance.  

Thank you for your help. 

Alden   

_______________________________________________

Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 06:19:21 EDT
From: Roy Shrive <beerroybeer _at_ hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: HG: EMS Henry III

Hi All,
Alden wrote:
>I didn't know for some reason that EMS also sold plans for this instrument:
EMS DOES NOT sell the plans for the Henry III. The Co. that manufactures the 
kits for them sell the plans. Anyone interested can get info at  
www.renwrks.com. I had a set of their original plans that I gave to Henry 
Boucher. I also have the NEW version which is really a nice set of plans. Be 
sure you are sitting down when they give you the price. ($115 US) It makes a 
very nice instrument (look's wise) but since I build only and don't play I 
can't tell you anymore . Hope this helps anyone interested.  Roy


_______________________________________________

Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 07:48:14 -0700
From: george swallow <swallow _at_ beechcottage98.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: HG: Re: greetings Casey Alan Clapp

Welcome to the group. Could we, without boring the rest of the hg group,
privately exchange some  notes on your pipes?

One of the jobs I have  had on the back burner for years is to do something
with the Wilbert Garvin drawings but I have a few bits of them yet to
understand.

best wishes

George Swallow
george.swallow _at_ beechcottage98.freeserve.co.uk

_______________________________________________

Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 21:08:28 -0800
From: Debbie Dawson <goodthym _at_ mcn.org>
Subject: Re: HG: greetings all

>6/12/00
>'Dear Jenlord;  Welcome to the club!


_______________________________________________

Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 16:39:38 +0100
From: graham <graham _at_ altongate.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: HG: EMS Henry III

Hi folks,

I am Graham Whyte, I live with my partner Polly in Hampshire England

I have a EMS Henry III, I built it in 1991, couldn't get it to play and left
it for several years.

In 1996 I got interested in Tudor re-enactment thanks to meeting Polly and
eventually sorted the HG out with considerable help and a decent set of
strings from Cali Hackmann.

It plays well and is much loved and used. We play for Tudor dancing (HG &
Drake drum) and also as wandering players, mostly at Kentwell Hall (a
lovely, moated Tudor mansion www.kentwell.co.uk) in Suffolk England but also
for English Heritage and The National Trust.

There are several other examples of EMS Henry III HGs used by friends at
Kentwell. They all play well but mine is louder than the others (enough to
stand up to English bagpipes, shawms and other raucous early instruments).

I have more info if anyone is interested.

Graham Whyte


_______________________________________________

Date: Sun, 18 Jun 2000 20:57:34 -0400
From: John Roberts <anglo _at_ albany.net>
Subject: Re: HG: EMS Henry III

Hi Graham,

I hope this isn't too tangential for this list, but what exactly is a 
Drake Drum, and what's its provenance? (I know Drake's asleep in his 
hammock and a thousand miles away - H. Newbolt - or is that a 
different Drake?)

Thanks,
John Roberts


_______________________________________________

Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 23:34:06 -0400
From: David Smith <dtsmith _at_ wwnet.net>
Subject: HG: Hurdy Gurdy Presentation

Hello Everyone,
I would like to inform you of an event which will take place on July 25
in  the Detroit area, Michigan, USA.  I will be giving a
lecture/performance titled "The Hurdy Gurdy: History and Performance".
If you or anyone you know lives in the Detroit area, please let them
know about this event.  I don't claim to be an expert musician nor am I
a history scholar.  But, I have been playing HG for five years, I
believe my instrument sounds good and I have collected a lot of
information from books and the internet about the Hurdy Gurdy.
Here is a website URL which will tell you all about it:

   http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=380161&a=6687359

Thanks,
David Smith
dtsmith _at_ wwnet.net


_______________________________________________

Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 21:26:17 -0700
From: Deborah L. White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: HG: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this list, and I wanted to inquire about taking up the
hurdy-gurdy. I'm already a musician (guitar, cittern, and various plucked
string instruments), but I realize that the hurdy-gurdy will require new
technique from me. How difficult it is to take up, coming from a plucked
string background? What is the most difficult part -- fingering the keyboard
with the left hand, or working the wheel with the right? (I hope that I'm
not fracturing the terminology too much here.) Also, what are the main
idiosyncracies of the instrument? Is it awfully temperamental?

By the way, my interest lies primarily with Medieval French music, as well
as the Cantigas.

Thank you,

Deborah
--------------------

Distant Oaks - Celtic Music and Dance
http://www.distantoaks.com



_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 07:11:22 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: To David Smith,


Hi David,
  This should be a very interesting event , I wish I could be there.  We
have no evidence yet but it is possible that the HG was played in your
area around 1630 by a young
"Jésuite" missionary . In those days it was called " Le Détroit" .
 Where did you find the picture used on your poster ?

Henry Boucher
St Lambert, Québec


_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 10:35:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Alden Hackmann <darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: HG: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy


On Tue, 20 Jun 2000, Deborah L. White wrote:

> I'm new to this list, and I wanted to inquire about taking up the
> hurdy-gurdy. I'm already a musician (guitar, cittern, and various plucked
> string instruments), but I realize that the hurdy-gurdy will require new
> technique from me. How difficult it is to take up, coming from a plucked
> string background? 

I don't think it's particularly difficult. I came from a plucked-string
background (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, bouzouki), so I was
used to making different but coordinated motions with my left and right
hands.  

> What is the most difficult part -- fingering the keyboard
> with the left hand, or working the wheel with the right? 

It depends somewhat on how you learn.  Most people start by
learning melodies with the left hand and simply turning the handle 
with the right.  After the initial effort of learning to put the right
hand on "auto-pilot", the left hand is the one demanding attention: you
need to learn fingering patterns and appropriate key pressure.  

Later I learned the coup with the right hand. The real challenge for me
has been (and continues to be) integrating what I know I can do with my
right hand with what I know I can do with my left, without losing track of
either.  I have heard that Maxou's book is good in this regard, but
haven't had a chance to explore this yet. 

So the answer to your question is "both". ;-) 

> (I hope that I'm
> not fracturing the terminology too much here.) 

Not in the least. 

>Also, what are the main
> idiosyncracies of the instrument? Is it awfully temperamental?

Tuning and adjustment are the big issues.  These just take time to
learn.  It's really helpful to have a good instrument that CAN be
adjusted to sound good, or you'll spend a lot of time being frustrated
thinking that you're doing something wrong when it's really not your
fault.  It's also invaluable to get to know other HG players who can help
you troubleshoot - it's hard enough to learn to maintain the instrument
without doing it in a vacuum. 

With that said, it's really not all that bad.  With determination, a
decent instrument and a copy of Destrem and Heidemanns' book, you'll do
fine.

Alden F.M. Hackmann                        darkstar _at_ u.washington.edu
Web: http://www.hurdygurdy.com/hg/hghome.html    
"Beati illi qui in circulum circumeunt, fient enim magnae rotae."


_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 12:54:57 -0700
From: jjandr _at_ netzero.net
Subject: HG: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Hi Deborah,

I came to plucked strings (lute and harp) from a woodwind background, and
then to hurdy gurdy, so I've had a bit of experience learning new
instrumental techniques.  In some ways hurdy gurdy was easier to learn than
some of the others.  For me I think the hardest part was learning the right
hand coup.  You wouldn't use the dog for much medieval music (most of
Chansonnier Cange, for example) but is great fun and fits well with many of
the Cantigas so it is a good skill to have.

If you get a good hurdy gurdy then keeping it adjusted is not much of a
problem.  One of mine is a Minstrel from Olympic that I can play outdoors at
Ren Fairs for hours without more than an occasional fine tuning and a little
rosin.  It's a happy little gurdy that is very user friendly.  My Volksgurdy
requires a bit more fussing with, but honestly I worry more about my reed
when I play the shawm than I ever do about my gurdy.

I don't think you'd have any problem learning to play hurdy gurdy.  It's
easier if you have somebody around who can show you how it's done (shorten
that learning curve) but there are books and videos out there if that's all
you can get.

Joanne

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 21:00:55 +0100
From: rose daly <rose.daly _at_ virgin.net>
Subject: HG: Fw: MAXOU

 
Alden (and everyone)
I strongly recommend Maxou's book which I have recently acquired. 
However, it's definitely not for beginners, as it starts with the coup de
quatre and is primarily aimed at the D tuned hg, although mine is the CG
tuning and I can use it as he has included tunes and exercises in G.  It
is available in English with accompanying cassette, from AMTA email
vpc _at_ amta.com.fr
or from AMTA - Place Eugene Rouher, BP 169 63204 RIOM Cedex  France
Or at Saint-Chartier, of course!
Rose
 

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 13:53:41 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: HG: RE: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Hi Joanne,

> I don't think you'd have any problem learning to play hurdy gurdy.  It's
> easier if you have somebody around who can show you how it's done (shorten
> that learning curve) but there are books and videos out there if
> that's all
> you can get.

Thank you so much for all of the information!

Katie mentioned the fact that you are both located in WA, as is Olympic
Musical Instruments. My Celtic band will be touring in the Pacific Northwest
in September, which I believe is when you'll be having your Hurdy Gurdy
Festival. We'll be in the Sea-Tac area (as well as in Kelso and, possibly,
Port Angeles), performing at several venues between Sept. 9 and Sept. 16. I
wonder if I could make it to one of the events connected to the Festival? It
would be great to meet you and to see your various instruments. Also, you're
certainly invited to come and hear us perform. Our schedule is listed on our
Web site, under "Performance Schedule" (and will be updated as we add gigs).
We won't have a hurdy gurdy with us, but we'll have the Scottish
smallpipes -- so there will be plenty of good droning! :-)

Thanks again,

Deborah



_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 14:04:33 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: RE: HG: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Hello Alden,

> Later I learned the coup with the right hand. The real challenge for me
> has been (and continues to be) integrating what I know I can do with my
> right hand with what I know I can do with my left, without losing track of
> either.  I have heard that Maxou's book is good in this regard, but
> haven't had a chance to explore this yet.

Several people have mentioned "the coup". It's an unknown term to me. What
does it mean?

> With that said, it's really not all that bad.  With determination, a
> decent instrument and a copy of Destrem and Heidemanns' book, you'll do
> fine.

Thank you for the information and encouragement. I hope that I can see some
of your instruments when I'm up your way in the fall.

I have one other question. I work with a piper (Scottish smallpipes and
Border pipes), and the pipes are pitched to play an A Mixolydian scale of
nine notes (G natural below middle C to A above middle C). The drones are
pitched A-E-A. My understanding is that the hurdy gurdy is generally played
in G and D (if I do get one, it would need to be chromatic). Anyway, is the
tuning fairly variable, as I would want to do duets with the pipes?

Thank you again,

Deborah
----------------------------

Distant Oaks - Celtic Music and Dance
http://www.distantoaks.com

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 14:47:33 -0700
From: jjandr _at_ netzero.net
Subject: HG: Re: RE: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

September 16 is the night Cliff Stapleton will be playing a solo concert at
Dusty Strings in Seattle.  Sept 8th (I think) we'll be starting our season
of French Dances at the Ballard Community Center, also in Seattle.  You're
welcome to dance or to play with us (we have music for those who don't know
the tunes.)  The Festival itself is Sept 19-24, and we are planning Marcello
Bono's solo concert for Oct 1.

I'll have to check your schedule for SeaTac.  That is really close to home
for me.

Joanne

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 19:38:15 -0300
From: kaiser <kmkaiser _at_ usp.br>
Subject: HG: (no subject)

Hi. My name is Marcos Kaiser Mori, 26. Please forgive my english...
   I'm a music student at Universidade de Sao Paulo, in Brazil. My
research is about instrument making and medieval music. Last year I 
bought a Tekerölant, or hurdy-gurdy in Hungary, where I was studing and 
started to learn.
   My instrument is a very different one, four-stringed and with a lot
of problems. The nut is glued, the bridge is enourmous, etc, but the
sound is potent.
   I've been performing some Cantigas de amigo from various sources, and
now I would like to start making a baroque HG. I have drawings and
measurements of a french model made by Jean Louvet, (or Louvet, le
jeune) but would like to ask for some help. The bridge is missing.
Should I try to create one? Do anyone know about this specific model?
                                      I thank you in advance.
                                           Marcos

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 16:19:33 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: HG: RE: Re: RE: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Joanne,

> September 16 is the night Cliff Stapleton will be playing a solo
> concert at
> Dusty Strings in Seattle.  Sept 8th (I think) we'll be starting our season
> of French Dances at the Ballard Community Center, also in Seattle.

So far we only have an afternoon gig on Sept. 16 in Seattle. If we're free
in the evening, the concert at Dusty Strings sounds great. Dumb
question...is this a hurdy gurdy solo concert?

> I'll have to check your schedule for SeaTac.  That is really close to home
> for me.

I forgot to give you our Web address:

http://www.distantoaks.com

Thanks!

Deborah


_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 19:43:31 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: HG in New-France,


The exact citation is in " Relations des Jesuite" , a collection of
texts written by the
Jesuit missionnaries and sent to the superior of the congregation as
report of their
activities in New-France .

Page 268,  written by Father Lejeune , year 1636 : ... and the Indians
asked that
in sign if friendship , they could dance to the sound of a hurdy-gurdy
played by a young
Frenchman.
So far it is the only evidence of hurdy-gurdy playing in
Nouvelle-France. In other
texts it is impossible to know if the narrator means a " vielle" ( HG)
or a " vièle" (fiddle)

This event is related in a ( very) short sequence of the film " Black
Robe"
where Daniel Thonon plays .... a lute back ( that will be design in mid
-18 centh. <g>)
The HG in use at the time could have been the one visible on the George
de la Tour
paintings (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/xaime/vielle/histoire/delat.html) or
th HenryIII style.

The HG on your poster ( with the equidistant keys <g>) is similar to one
shown
in the chapter about Russian HG players  , in the book " Vielle a roue
territoire infini"
( look in the Olympic w-site bibliography ) and BTW there are photos of
people
playing similar 3 strings instruments ( with equidistant keys ....
wonder how it sounded ?)
A similar instrument is in the Boston fine art museum , (#1977,7) it is
said to have been
made in Canada ...


_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 20:06:20 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: Louvet and Irish HG


Marcus,  do you mean the "buzzing bridge " is missing ? 18centh makers
made
instruments with or without it , as asked by the customer . One thing to
check on those
museum plans , is the string lenght , some of those18 centh .
instruments much smaller than the
folk style instruments made in Jenzat 1n the 19 centh. and that are the
" standart" today.
Have a look at those pictures from the " La Villette" music museum in
Paris.
http://servsim.cite-musique.fr/museedelamusique/photo.asp
Write " vielle"  as keyword. ( this w-site does not work with some
Netscape browsers)

Deborah , Alden and Cali can explain the " coup de poignet"  in proper
English <g>
much better than I can.
You could use an " Organistrum" style HG fitted with thinner strings and
tuned in A.
But I once saw the picture of an " Irish style HG "  in a museum catalog
, I will try to
find the proper  reference.



_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 17:33:34 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: HG: RE: Louvet and Irish HG

Henry,

> But I once saw the picture of an " Irish style HG "  in a museum catalog
> , I will try to
> find the proper  reference.

I would be very interested in hearing about an Irish style hurdy gurdy.

Thank you,

Deborah

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 06:29:28 GMT
From: Marcello Bono <ghironda _at_ hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: HG: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Hi Deborah, Hi hurdy-gurdy friends



I was already a "musician"(?) (mandolin, cittern, concertina, hammered 
dulcimer etc.) when I started to play hurdy gurdies.
As far as I'm concerned hurdy gurdy is just an instrument and the most 
difficult part is to make "music" with it.
In order to try to make music with it I gave up the other 
instrument...:o)...but I'm not a "professional" player, I mean I can't play 
every day (sometimes I just play some hours before a concert, and I usually 
play no more than 5 or 6 concert per year...).

Maybe the right hand asks for a "strange" work, expecially for a beginner, 
but it's just a work "different" than usual.

All you really need is a good teacher in order to learn how to adjust and 
play your GOOD instrument (in the battle "bad gurdy VS good teacher the 
first is always the winner...).

You can tune your gurdy in a different way, you just have to change the 
string's gauges properly.


And now MY problem...Dear HG list friends

as usual in the summer I got problems with my email server, expecially from 
and to US.

Can you please send me a mail to:

ghironda _at_ hotmail.com
lyra_mendicorum.yahoo.it
bono _at_ bologna.enea.it

I need to know if ONE of these work fine
Thanks.

I'm moving from a house to another...It's a mess here...I have to work in 
the new house, and then I have to move 6 gurdies, 3 bicycles, 2 open reel 
recorders, a band saw (and some stupid furniture of course :o)

ciao for now

Marcello Bono

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 06:44:29 GMT
From: Marcello Bono <ghironda _at_ hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: HG: (no subject)


Hi Marcos


>now I would like to start making a baroque HG. I have drawings and
>measurements of a french model made by Jean Louvet, (or Louvet, le
>jeune) but would like to ask for some help. The bridge is missing.
>Should I try to create one? Do anyone know about this specific model?

Can you give me more information about the drawings?
Is that a little guitar shaped gurdy?
where did you find that?

ciao

Marcello Bono

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2000 23:53:35 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: Irish HG


Henry said: 

>> But I once saw the picture of an " Irish style HG "  in a museum catalog
>> , I will try to
>> find the proper  reference.

And Deborah said: 

>I would be very interested in hearing about an Irish style hurdy gurdy.

Me too.  The only Irish HG I've ever seen or heard of is in the Palmer
book, where she has a picture of a somewhat odd instrument made by an
Irishman named Quig in the 18th century.  It's in the National Museum of
Ireland in Dublin (or at least it was when she wrote the book). 

Alden 

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 00:01:11 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: Welcome Marcos


Marcos said: 

>   I'm a music student at Universidade de Sao Paulo, in Brazil. My
>research is about instrument making and medieval music. Last year I 
>bought a Tekerölant, or hurdy-gurdy in Hungary, where I was studing and 
>started to learn.

How did you come to get ahold of a tekerö in Brazil, if I may ask?  And who
was the maker?

>   My instrument is a very different one, four-stringed and with a lot
>of problems. The nut is glued, the bridge is enourmous, etc, but the
>sound is potent.

The Hungarian instruments tend to be larger and to look more "rustic" than
the French style.  I expected a rougher sound and feeling when I sat down
to play one of Bela's instruments, so I was pleasantly surprised with the
feeling and tone of the instrument.  

Does it have two chanters and two drones?

>   I've been performing some Cantigas de amigo from various sources, and
>now I would like to start making a baroque HG. I have drawings and
>measurements of a french model made by Jean Louvet, (or Louvet, le
>jeune) but would like to ask for some help. The bridge is missing.
>Should I try to create one? Do anyone know about this specific model?

Do you have a set of formal drawings (elevation, section, etc)?  

And which bridge is missing?  

Alden  

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 07:22:28 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: Quigg HG

Exact Dr Hackman , I meant the Quigg HG , all I have somewhere is a
small B/W
photocopy and a short description  .The HG never was a popular
instrument in Ireland
My friend Nicolas did some busking when travelling in Ireland and nobody
seemed
to know what he was playing untill one day he found himself playing in
the same street
as Paul Kelly .

Paul Kelly is a  Scott/Irish HG playing busker well-known all over
Europe who adapted
a lot of reels and 6/8 music for the HG. He plays the big   French
lute-back style gurdy.


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 08:53:33 -0600
From: Roger Sperline <sperline _at_ theriver.com>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: low G trompette

Alden asked:

Am I correct that PVF stands for PolyVinyl Fluoride?  I guessed as much
from the name shown in the Pyramid catalog, which gives it in German.

A:  Very close. It stands for "Poly Vinylidene Fluoride" and is something
like Teflon, but has less fluorine and more hydrogen. (Teflon has no
hydrogen.)  This gives it a lot more tensile strength and workability.

---------- Roger


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 09:06:12 -0600
From: Roger Sperline <sperline _at_ theriver.com>
Subject: HG: peg problems

I repair violins (etc.).  The peg problems you describe usually arrise from
the pegs shrinking and being out of round.

Touch up the pegs one at a time - do not mix them up because each one will
be custom fitted to its hold.

First sand one, but use 80 grit paper parallel to the grain, that is, in the
long direction of the peg shaft. (Later this allows them to grip the peg
compound better.)

Next, put the peg in its hole and rotate completely but gently several
times - remove and inspect. Where the peg is widest, it will rub in the hole
and show a shiny spot. Use a scraper or small piece of sandpaper and remove
some wood at the shiny spot. Replace and rotate, then inspect again. Repeat
this process until the rubbed spots completely circle the peg (on a violin
there are two rubbed rings - one at each side of the pegbox.)

Last, apply violin peg compound. Do NOT use "PEG DROPS" !! Use a paste such
as "Hiderpaste" or the brown lipstick kind.  Peg compound has a little
pumice for "grip" and a lot of grease or parafin for "slip". Chalk is too
grippy and will cause the peg to squeak when turned. Squeaking is a sign of
bad fitting and excessive grip.

Reinsert the peg and move on to the next one.

Enjoy.

Roger, Tucson, AZ, USA

_______________________________________________

Date: 22 Jun 2000 17:52:30 +0200
From: Ulla Salzbrunn <ulla.salzbrunn _at_ main-rheiner.de>
Subject: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines

Hi,

I'm usually just a "lurker" and don't post much myself. But with St.
Chartier and Gennetines being so close - and - with me probably being able
to go after all * smiles * - I thought I might ask who else of this list
might be going. Would be kinda nice to meet RL.

So... I'm curious.... who else might be there?

Greetings to all
Ulla

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 11:52:00 -0700
From: Christina Wright <ccwright _at_ halcyon.com>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines

Hi,

	I'm another lurker, probably out of the fact that I don't 
have too much technical knowledge to share.  I will be at St. 
Chartier and at Gennetines with my husband, Luther (no, not 
Luthier...)  and we will be dancing and playing as much as we can 
manage.

	Maybe we should make a time and place to meet.  What do you 
think, Maxou and RT?  Should we meet under a particular tree at a 
particular time?  Shall we attach red carnations to our hurdy gurdy 
cases?

	This could be fun.

Chris Wright (from Seattle, Washington)

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 11:53:10 -0700
From: jjandr _at_ netzero.net
Subject: HG: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Deborah,

Yes, Cliff is a hurdy gurdy player, and his concert at Dusty Strings will be
a rare opportunity to hear him "up close and personal."

Regarding your question about hg drones, most are tuned with G and C or D
and G drones.  This doesn't mean you have to.  I have one instrument that I
keep an A drone tuned, which comes in handy at times.  Of course, one option
is to play without a drone engaged when playing with the pipes.  He probably
has enough drone for the both of you anyway.  You can then play in any key
you want, and only play in a "hg" key with your drone when the piper isn't
playing.

The coup is the rhythmic buzzing sound you make by changing the speed of the
wheel.  It's a good technique to know, even if you play mostly early music
because it works so wonderfully well on dance music and many of the
Cantigas, so you'll want to learn it at some point but not necessarily on
day 1.

When you shop for a hurdy gurdy you'll definitely want a chromatic one, with
a trompette (the string that does the buzzing.)

Joanne

_______________________________________________

Date: 22 Jun 2000 21:56:56 +0200
From: Ulla Salzbrunn <ulla.salzbrunn _at_ main-rheiner.de>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Christina Wright <ccwright _at_ halcyon.com>
An: <Hg _at_ hurdygurdy.com>
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 22. Juni 2000 20:52
Betreff: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines


> Hi,
>
> I'm another lurker, probably out of the fact that I don't
> have too much technical knowledge to share.  I will be at St.
> Chartier and at Gennetines with my husband, Luther (no, not
> Luthier...)  and we will be dancing and playing as much as we can
> manage.
>
> Maybe we should make a time and place to meet.  What do you
> think, Maxou and RT?  Should we meet under a particular tree at a
> particular time?  Shall we attach red carnations to our hurdy gurdy
> cases?
>
> This could be fun.
>
> Chris Wright (from Seattle, Washington)
>
<<<<<<< Hi,

same here - not too much technical knowledge either. I'll probably "only" be
in Gennetines, don't know if  I can make it to St. Chartier.
Hmmm, will it be okay if I attach a red carnation to my accordeon case
instead :-) - as I don't think I'll bring my hurdy-gurdy (it doesn't fancy
staying in a hot place so much....)

And yes - this would be fun.

Ulla (from Mainz, Germany)


_______________________________________________

From hasebe _at_ jim.seikei.ac.jp Wed Sep 13 12:29:07 2000
Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 09:20:37 +0900
To: hg _at_ hurdygurdy.com


hi, i am a japanese h-g beginner who received my first
instrument from alden a few month ago.  i have been
playing this precious one since then, but recently
my key-buttons seem to stuck in the hall when i press
and don't return to its "not-pressed" place.  i think this
is because of japanese rainy season and its humid air,
and they made the wooden keys are expanded.
(so far, did you get the picture from my poor english?)
does anybody face same problem and know any solution?

by the way, i became one of the loudest player in my band
after i got this instrument.  i beat the banjo and fiddle!

hurdie-gudiely yours,

hiroshi
HASEBE, Hiroshi
Center for Asian and Pacific Studies
Office of International Exchange and Research
SEIKEI University
----------------------------------------
3-3-1, Kichijoji-Kitamachi,
Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8633, JAPAN 
Tel: 0422-37-3549 Fax: 0422-37-3866
http://www.seikei.ac.jp/university/caps/index.html


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 18:02:40 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: RE: HG: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Hello Marcello,

> You can tune your gurdy in a different way, you just have to change the 
> string's gauges properly.

It sounds like it wouldn't be too difficult to make the switch.

Thanks!

Deborah

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 18:07:10 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: HG: RE: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Hello Joanne,

> Yes, Cliff is a hurdy gurdy player, and his concert at Dusty
> Strings will be
> a rare opportunity to hear him "up close and personal."

Thanks. I hope that we can make it.

> The coup is the rhythmic buzzing sound you make by changing the
> speed of the
> wheel.  It's a good technique to know, even if you play mostly early music
> because it works so wonderfully well on dance music and many of the
> Cantigas, so you'll want to learn it at some point but not necessarily on
> day 1.

Yes, that rhythmic buzzing sound is just wonderful, so it would be something
that I would want to learn how to do if I take up the instrument. Medieval
dances in general (such as are in McGee's book) are of great interest to me,
so I'm sure that this technique would be a must.

> When you shop for a hurdy gurdy you'll definitely want a
> chromatic one, with
> a trompette (the string that does the buzzing.)

Sorry to ask so many questions, but is the "trompette" the same thing as the
"dog string"?

Thanks again,

Deborah


_______________________________________________


Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 21:28:33 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: Sticking keys ,


Hi Hiroshi ,
The keys and keybox do expand and get stuck with humidity, I got stuck
like that
one spring evening near the riverside.

The simple , fast and dirty way to a fix sticking keys five minutes
before a show is to
coat it with graphite powder or lead pencil .... but it is very dirty
indeed .
If all the keys get stuck at the same time a more permanent solution is
to be found.

How is the weather in your area ? How long and humid is the humid season
?


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 22:15:56 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: ¨Ça se précise,


Salut,

  Au travers des arnaques annoncées dans les journaux ( Paris pour 459$
... retour 2 jours plus tard .... ) j'ai fini par trouver quelque chose
de correct ( je te dis pas le prix
mais j'aurais trouvé une scie a ruban a ce prix -la<g>) , et
Marie-Christine , la fille
d'une amie de Monique  , et qui est agent de voyage , m'a trouvé le
mêmepour 30$ moins
cher , par principe <g>. J'aurai la comfirmation demain .

La compagnie se nomme Corsair , départ le samedi 8 juillet (
probablement le soir)
et retour le 18 . J'aurais un peu de temp pour voir André Bissonnet et
le musée de la Villette.

Monique partira le 19 pour la Suède , on pourra aller se reconduire a
l'aréoport
mutuellement , et on n'aura pas a faire garder le chat <g>.

 Pour l'instant comme la St Jean tombe un samedi nous aurons congé lundi
prochain .

A bientôt ,

Henry


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 22:20:50 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: ERROR

Hi Cali and Alden,

As you may notice , there was a mistake in the last mail , wich was not
for the list.

As you also notice , I may have found an affordable ticket for Paris (
and St Chartier)
I will have confirmation tomorrow .

Henry


_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 11:33:41 +0900
From: Hiroshi Hasebe <hasebe _at_ jim.seikei.ac.jp>
Subject: Re: HG: Sticking keys ,

thanks, henry,

i was thinking to shape the keys w/ knife to make them small,
but powdering is a better and safer way.

Japanese rainy season will be over at the middle of July, but
after that a long and humid summer is waiting.  Not good weather
for this instrument. 

HASEBE, Hiroshi
Center for Asian and Pacific Studies
Office of International Exchange and Research
SEIKEI University
----------------------------------------
3-3-1, Kichijoji-Kitamachi,
Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8633, JAPAN 
Tel: 0422-37-3549 Fax: 0422-37-3866
http://www.seikei.ac.jp/university/caps/index.html


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 22:40:42 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: Are you at lunch time ?


Hi  Hiroshi,

 I see that you are at your computer at the same time as me , I still
find it amasing
even if I understand that it is perfectly logical .

Before you scrape the keys , wait for Alden and Cali 's reply , there
may be a more
elegant solution .

Have you seen Gregg 's w-page ? I wonder if New-Zeland has the same
climate
as Japan ? http://www.kaon.co.nz/greg/buildlog.html

His solution was to sand with ultra fine sand paper and apply some kind
of hard wax on the keys

Henry


_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 15:13:07 +1200
From: Greg Whitcombe <gregw _at_ kaon.co.nz>
Subject: HG: Sticking keys


Hi Hiroshi, Henry, Alden, et al ....
 
NZ's climate is subtropical - temperatures (in Auckland, where I am)
between 8 & 30 degrees Celsius, humidity up to 95% in summer, down around
10% in winter. I think our Moisture Content is rated at about 18%
overall.
 
I don't know how this compares to Japan.
 
The wax I used on my keys is just a plain furniture polish which has a
good amount of carnauba wax in the formula. When the solvent evaporates,
rub rapidly with firm pressure, and the keys become very slick. I've only
applied the wax at the time of building, and I've had no sticking keys as
yet (after 2 years). I suspect that if I took it to the U.S. I would find
a few sticky spots after a few days, though.
 
Alden will doubtless advise a procedure to cure the problem.
 
If it was my instrument, I'd try & find which side of the key is
sticking, take some 1200-grit - or similar fine abrasive paper glued to a
flat board and VERY gently sand the offending key after removing it from
the instrument.  I would then use the wax polish to re-finish the key.
 
That would work on my instruments, but I can't say if the same is true
for for one of Alden's.
 
Best regards,
Greg
 
 
Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 23:14:05 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: Hi Greg

This is almost a chat <g>

Here in Québec it is 23 h ( 11pm ) and I should go to bed , but this is
to much fun !
My friend Nicolas choose to use plexiglass square rod for the keys of
his very modern looking electric HG . In the old days of plain wood
wheels the wheel would distort
and twist  and playing would be just impossible .



_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 12:14:57 +0900
From: Hiroshi Hasebe <hasebe _at_ jim.seikei.ac.jp>
Subject: Re: HG: Are you at lunch time ?


Henry,

telling you the truth, i am at my office and working.
at least i look like typing something important.
Since nobody but me doesn't understand this language
in this office, i am a kind of "workaholic".

anyway, back to h-g, yeah, i would wait and see.
it is okay if i use my thumb to push back the 
sticking key everytime i press it, but i found out
it is impossible to play any of "fast" song.
and very irritating, too.  and i would look like a 
kung-fu master massaging the backbone of
some animal, like skunk.

regards,

hiroshi
HASEBE, Hiroshi
Center for Asian and Pacific Studies
Office of International Exchange and Research
SEIKEI University
----------------------------------------
3-3-1, Kichijoji-Kitamachi,
Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-8633, JAPAN 
Tel: 0422-37-3549 Fax: 0422-37-3866
http://www.seikei.ac.jp/university/caps/index.html

_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 15:49:44 +1200
From: Greg Whitcombe <gregw _at_ kaon.co.nz>
Subject: HG: Key Materials

Henry,

>Here in Québec it is 23 h ( 11pm ) and I should go to bed , but this is
>to much fun !
 
Here in NZ it is16:30, and I am about to leave work & go home for the
day. Tonight is band practice - we have 3 performances this weekend so I
will be glad to get back to work on Monday for a rest .. ! :-)
 
>My friend Nicolas choose to use plexiglass square rod for the keys of
>his very modern looking electric HG .
 
I never thought of that. I wonder if Delrin would work as well. It's
self-lubricating, after all ....
 
>In the old days of plain wood
>wheels the wheel would distort
>and twist  and playing would be just impossible .
 
I have a wheel with a plexiglass core, and laminated wooden rim on an
experimental HG. I'll be very surprised if that warps in any way.
 
Best regards,
Greg
 


Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 22:31:30 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: RE: HG: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy


Marcello said: 

>> You can tune your gurdy in a different way, you just have to change the 
>> string's gauges properly.

Deborah said: 

>It sounds like it wouldn't be too difficult to make the switch.

It's not, but choosing the right string diameter is important, so that the
correct tension is maintained.  Marcello has a nice webpage on his site
where he talks about string diameters.

For example, we once had to air express strings to someone in a recording
studio in Hawaii.  Being new to the instrument, he had thought that he
could just tune those g' chanters up to an a'.  The strings broke. 

Some strings are more forgiving - we usually use a pretty large diameter
string for the mouche, tuned to g, and Cali likes to tune it up to an a,
which it does with no problem.  The tension is quite a bit lower than the
chanters, which explains it.

Alden  

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2000 22:36:01 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: RE: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy


Deborah said: 

>Sorry to ask so many questions, but is the "trompette" the same thing as the
>"dog string"?

Yes, "trompette" is the French name for the string, and "dog string" or
"trumpet string" (a name I really despise for some reason) is the English
name.  

The bridge that actually does the buzzing is the "chien" in French, the
"dog" in English, the "Schnarrsteg" in German (hardly anyone in the HG
community calls it that except for German speakers, but I love it - it
means "snoring bridge").  If you're RT Taylor, you call it the
"buzz-o-matic". ;-) 

Alden  

_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 02:28:59 EDT
From: Maxoubbn _at_ aol.com
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines

Hello !

The meeting point is the drinking place (no special hour, no special day). I 
will have a beer in my right hand. You will recognize me...

Maxou

_______________________________________________

Date: 23 Jun 2000 11:57:05 +0200
From: Ulla Salzbrunn <ulla.salzbrunn _at_ main-rheiner.de>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines


> Hello !
>
> The meeting point is the drinking place (no special hour, no special day).
I
> will have a beer in my right hand. You will recognize me...
>
> Maxou
>

Hello!

* smiles * Well - it might not be too difficult - at least not if you also
say some words - probably there won't be too many English speaking, beer
drinking people around :-))

Ulla


_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 18:35:27 +0100
From: rose daly <rose.daly _at_ virgin.net>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines


----- Original Message -----
From: Ulla Salzbrunn <ulla.salzbrunn _at_ main-rheiner.de>
To: <Hg _at_ hurdygurdy.com>
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2000 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines

Hi Ulla, Chris, Maxou, everyone

We will be at SaintChartier as well and we will most certainly be drinking
beer and speaking English ...

See you there!

Rose

_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 11:04:01 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: Sticking keys Luthiers

Gentlemen:

I need to tweek you just a little bit :-)  Hurdy-gurdies from Olympic
Instruments are not just built by Alden Hackmann.  This is a partnership
and I do most of the woodworking.  I am not particularly sensitive, but it
does get just a bit old when everyone assumes that Alden built the
instrument.  I will grant you that I think my husband is brilliant, but
then so am I :-)

Cali Hackmann   

_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 11:19:11 -0700
From: "Meador, John" <john.meador _at_ unistudios.com>
Subject: RE: HG: Sticking keys Luthiers

to all:

a comment from a sometimes "lurker' 
and a very impartial commentator...

Alden and Cali are both very brilliant..
and very nice people too...

Meador-Man



_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 20:03:44 +0100
From: David Bawden <David.Bawden _at_ btinternet.com>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines

Ulla

Sorry, four more English speakers - 3/4 of Cheap Jack (formerly the Angel
Band) + caller ( a bit like the Islington Folk Club on tour, Rose?). But
not beer drinking - the Breton cider is just wonderful! Also looking
forward to another helping of rabbit stew served in a baguette! 

Last year I went to pick up my HG which was being made by Helmut Gotschy.
Great festival but unfortunately Helmut's stall was filled with Macedonians
and Helmut was in hospital with badly broken knee. Finally got it in
January and it is great! This year I'm taking the HG back for some
adjustments. For those of you going, my HG has been much admired by players
in England including Cliff Stapelton and it is also reasonably priced
compared to French gurdies (but don't buy one from Lark in the Morning -
over double the price Helmut charged me!)

Incidentally I returned from holiday to find that many keys would not fall
back. I used fine grade abrasive paper to ease them, but is use of
furniture polish also recommended? I find graphite powder OK but dirty.
Also, after a couple of months my gros bourdon didn't touch the wheel -
hence the adjustments needed - but suddenly last week it did. Which brings
me on to the English' favourite topic of discussion... the weather....

David


_______________________________________________


Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 16:28:29 -0300
From: kaiser <kmkaiser _at_ usp.br>
Subject: HG: Re: Hg digest,

Hi Henri, Alden, Marcello, Thanks for the wellcoming.

> Marcos,  do you mean the "buzzing bridge " is missing ? 18centh makers
> made
> instruments with or without it , as asked by the customer . One thing to
> check on those
> museum plans , is the string lenght , some of those18 centh .
> instruments much smaller than the
> folk style instruments made in Jenzat 1n the 19 centh. and that are the
> " standart" today.
> Have a look at those pictures from the " La Villette" music museum in
> Paris.
> http://servsim.cite-musique.fr/museedelamusique/photo.asp
 
This site will be very useful to me. Thank you. Unfortunately, I could
not find pictures showing the model of the drawings.(The head has a hat,
with a feather, and curly hair) 
  The bridge missing is the "Chevalet de chanterelles". The drawings
show only the place and size of the feets. They probably lost it and
have clues from its size by marks on the soundboard. By the way, the
back is so thin and free of weight that I was wandering which one of the
parts is the soundboard. The plans also show that Louvet used a guitar
soundboard , with "rosaces"( or rosetas... I don't know the word in
english) covered as bottom of the soundbox. 

> Can you give me more information about the drawings?
> Is that a little guitar shaped gurdy?
> where did you find that?
> 
> ciao
> 
> Marcello Bono

  Yes , it is small ( 45,8cm x 24,2-soundbox)and guitar shaped. 
I got the drawings from a friend, harpsichord maker in Sao Paulo, who
bought it in Paris, at "musée instrumental du C.N.S.M."
 It is in 1:1 scale, with cuts, elevation and description of the
material, including changes of thickness in the soundbox and early
repairs.

> > How did you come to get ahold of a teker=F6 in Brazil, if I may ask?  
> >And who was the maker?

> 
> The Hungarian instruments tend to be larger and to look more "rustic"
than 
> the French style.  I expected a rougher sound and feeling when I sat
down 
> to play one of Bela's instruments, so I was pleasantly surprised with
the 
> feeling and tone of the instrument. 
> Does it have two chanters and two drones? 
> 
> Alden 

  Have you been to Hungary? My mother is hungarian. There is a lot of
hungarians here, and they still keep the traditions. I'm practicing the
gurdy with folksongs, some collected by Béla Bartók.
  My hungarian HG was made in 1983 by Bársonyi Mihály, Tiszaalpár.It has
only one chanter, and play in D, with original gut strings.  
       
                                     Marcos

_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 22:47:22 +0200
From: B&D Renaudin <d140557 _at_ club-internet.fr>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines

Bonsoir,

rose daly a *crit :

> We will be at SaintChartier as well and we will most certainly be drinking
> beer and speaking English ...
> 
As will about 654 other people!

;>)

Dominique "Ah la la ce Maxou il est-y-chti" Renaudin



_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 09:31:22 +0900
From: Hiroshi Hasebe <hasebe _at_ jim.seikei.ac.jp>
Subject: Re: HG: Sticking keys Luthiers


Maybe sometimes people are just too lazy to type "Alden and Cali",
but i think this is important.  My partner would feel the same as Cali
and I definitely would feel the same as well.  Welcome to the 21st Cent.,
boys and girls!

So, dear Alden and Cali and ladies and gentlemen, what is the best way to
solve the problem of sticking keys?  Or best way to keep the HG dry 
enough?

Hiroshi-Man (NOT Hiroshima)


_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 18:04:42 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: Re: Sticking keys, hg's and the weather

Hi,

Sticking keys are a problem which everyone will encounter from time to time
unless you keep your hurdy-gurdy in a sealed room, in which case what good
is it? :-)

There are many ways to deal with sticking keys.  Several of you have
mentioned using very fine sandpaper to sand the key a bit and this is a
reasonable solution.  Take care when you do so though because when the
weather dries out a bit you may find that your keys are suddenly floppy.
Graphite/wax/other lubricants can also help.  We use powered teflon, it
isn't quite as dirty/messy as graphite and it has great lubricating
qualities.  As with graphite and wax, you need to be careful to keep it
away from your wheel surface.

The flip side of sanding a bit off the keys is filing a bit from the holes
in the keybox which they slide in.  If you have one or two sticking keys
examine them carefully on both the front and back side of the keybox and
see if you can tell where they are rubbing.  Hint, the problem is usually
(though certainly not always) in one of the corners.  Sometimes all you
need to do is round the corners of the key a bit which will solve the
problem, but not leave you with a keyhole which can be too large. Sometimes
it does help to get a small needle file and file the keyhole itself.  The
time to do this is if the keyhole isn't quite square and is causing the key
to torque a bit.  This may become worse if the humidity causes the keybox
to swell a bit.  By the way, the keys can also stick if it becomes too dry.
 When the humidity gets very low the wood can shrink which causes the
keyholes to tighten around the keys as well.  Usually it is not the key
itself which is causing the problem, it is the keybox which is made of a
wood which is more reactive to the changes in humidity.  We make our keys
out of cocobolo which is a type of rosewood.  This wood has a high oil
content (or as Daniel Thonon would say "it is a greasy wood") and it
doesn't change much in variable weather.  The keybox sides on the other
hand are maple which is a bit more reactive.  This is a problem I think
about alot.  I have even thought about using sheet graphite to make the
keybox sides.  I haven't yet come up with a solution which fits all my
criteria i.e. it must be stable, easy to work, of reasonable cost, look
great, and be as organic as possible.  If anyone comes up with the perfect
suggestion let me know.

The other thing to check is whether or not the keyholes are too large.
Sometimes if the keyholes aren't square and the front hole and back hole
aren't aligned properly the key ends up being fitted by filing the hole a
little larger in order to allow it to slide.  When this happens the key
will slide freely when it is in just the right position, but if you push on
it just a bit offsides the key will torque in the extra space in the hole
and bind.

One last bit of info and I will step down off my soapbox.  I have played
several instruments lately which had keys which fit well, but the keys
either were hard to push or stuck a bit when I played.  I found that they
were in a poor playing position for me (I have short little fingers) and I
was pushing down on them when I played and causing them to stick a bit.  If
this should happen to you with your instrument, try making an effort to
center your fingers on the keys and push straight back when you play.

Hiroshi,  we will send you some teflon and instructions to try. Also,
sometimes a packette or two of silica gel (they pack it in with electronics
like computers and TV's) in your keybox when you are not playing can help.
Also, keep your instrument in the case when you are not playing and keep it
in as dry a place as you can.  We get pretty high humidity here in
Washington State, but it does not get very hot here often so probably your
relative humidity is higher than ours.

:-)----Cali Hackmann
 

_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 18:08:03 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: Sticking keys, hg's and the weather

Oops, that should have read powdered Teflon.

:-)---Cali



_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2000 23:05:30 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG: Still sticking...

Let's look at this from a positive angle .
Years ago the ( before 1930 ? ) the wheel was made of solid wood  and
was the
first part of the HG to go out of order . I have been told that in some
area like
in East -Britanny the players would stop playing after sunset because
the wheel would
become oval shaped with the humidity .Modern wheels are made with a
laminated
core and wheel deformation is a thing of the past ( with the exeption of
the people playing
on genuine antiques instruments <g>).

Before the invention of the steel cast frame , even piano playing was
impossible or at least very inconveniant ,
in most of Asia , today some of the best pianos ( or the most popular ?)
are made
in Japan and Korea .

There are no such thing (yet) as a perfect HG , or bagpipe , every
instrument seems to
have a different personnality , it is the duty of the musician to use
all details of the
character of the instrument . It could happen that your HG will be a bit
stiff for some
part of the year and loose for the rest of the year ,  you will have to
develop a different style of playing  ( I would not think of playing
outside in Québec winter at -30°C )

_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 00:43:37 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: Louvet HG from Paris


Marcos said: 

>  The bridge missing is the "Chevalet de chanterelles". The drawings
>show only the place and size of the feets. They probably lost it and
>have clues from its size by marks on the soundboard. 

I have some photos of a Louvet instrument.  I put the ones showing the
bridge on this webpage: http://www.hurdygurdy.com/hg/louvet.html.
Unfortunately there aren't any good views of the bridge from straight-on,
but this is a hard shot to get unless the tailpiece is missing ;-) 

These are from a lute-back, but I would imagine that the bridge style was
the same.  

One interesting aspect of this is that you don't know the scale length
unless there are nut marks shown inside the keybox.  There are
computational ways around this. 

>By the way, the
>back is so thin and free of weight that I was wandering which one of the
>parts is the soundboard. The plans also show that Louvet used a guitar
>soundboard , with "rosaces"( or rosetas... I don't know the word in
>english) covered as bottom of the soundbox. 

Ah, THAT Louvet.  Henry and I have discussed this instrument before, on the
MIMForum.  ;-)

If we're talking about the same Louvet, Cali and I saw it in the Musée de
Musique in Paris last summer.  It's pretty much in pieces, which explains
the missing chanter bridge.  

BTW, we highly recommend the Musée de Musique to anyone who is visiting
Paris.  We went there, and we skipped the Louvre.  Need we say more?  

>  Yes , it is small ( 45,8cm x 24,2-soundbox)and guitar shaped. 
>I got the drawings from a friend, harpsichord maker in Sao Paulo, who
>bought it in Paris, at "musée instrumental du C.N.S.M."
> It is in 1:1 scale, with cuts, elevation and description of the
>material, including changes of thickness in the soundbox and early
>repairs.

We are, of course, interested in getting ahold of a set if they're not
outrageously expensive.  Is anyone going to Paris this year?  ;-)  This
isn't a museum I've heard of.  Anyone know more about it?

Alden 


_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 10:09:19 +0200
From: Ernst Kainzmeier <kainer _at_ chello.at>
Subject: HG: Key problems and Destrem book

Hi Hiroshi, George and all

I agree with Cali in using Silica Gel for keeping Your HG dry. But I don't
use the packets, I use loose pearls. They have originally dark blue colour
and will change it to salmon or pink when they absorbed the humidity. And
the best thing is You can reanimate them when You put them in Your oven for
approx. 45 minutes at 80-100°C! Then they will get back their dark blue
colour. You can do that very often, maybe unlimited... I recommend You to
put a small portion of pearls in an cloth bag and put it into Your
instrument case when You don't use Your HG. A small hygrometer would also be
useful to control the humidity inside the case.I think 50-60% humidity would
be fine. I have a lot of those pearls (bought 5kg 3 years ago) and would
send You some if You want. Let me know.

George: the book You wanted to know is really a useful one! Here are the
informations: "The Hurdy-Gurdy" / "La Vielle" / "Die Drehleier"  by Philippe
Destrem and Volker Heidemann, Verlag der Spielleute, Hoffmann&Co.KG,
Langlosenweg 14, D-64385 Reichelsheim, Germany, Phone (inside Germany):
06164/912083 FAX: 912084, ISBN 3-927240-15-x. URL:
http://www.spielleute.de/
For France only: amta ISBN 2-9507682-0-2.

Many regards from Austria!
Ernst


_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 10:09:00 +0100
From: graham <graham _at_ altongate.demon.co.uk>
Subject: HG: Helmut Gotschy HG

David (Bawden)

You wrote:
------------------------------------------
Last year I went to pick up my HG which was being made by Helmut Gotschy.
Great festival but unfortunately Helmut's stall was filled with Macedonians
and Helmut was in hospital with badly broken knee. Finally got it in
January and it is great! This year I'm taking the HG back for some
adjustments. For those of you going, my HG has been much admired by players
in England including Cliff Stapelton and it is also reasonably priced
compared to French gurdies (but don't buy one from Lark in the Morning -
over double the price Helmut charged me!)
-------------------------------------------

I was interested in a similar purchase last year but got put off by Lark in
the Morning's
prices and attitude.

Have you or anyone else got a WWW site for Helmut Gotschy ????

Graham Whyte
graham _at_ altongate.co.uk


_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 11:31:02 +0200
From: Burkhard Mueller <BurkhardMueller _at_ t-online.de>
Subject: Re: HG: Helmut Gotschy HG

Hi Graham,

Helmuts site is:  http://www.gotschy.com/

Have much fun
Burkhard


_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 12:36:47 +0200
From: Xavier AIME <XAIME _at_ wanadoo.fr>
Subject: HG: String density - carved figurehead

Hi all,

My first question is about the string's density, specialy drone's density.
To reckon their tension on a hg wich is tuned in g', I need some parameters
: string's length, tune and density. For the bass drone (Savarez BF 1002),
we have 4246 kg/m3, and for the tenor drone (Savarez BF 422) , we have 3512
kg/m3, but our results (with Arto's String Calculator) are too great
(between 6 and 7 kilogs). So, could somebody give me the good density of
this strings ?

My second question is about carved figurehead. I would like to know the
origine of this practical on hg, and if there are some particularity or
rules on their making.

Thank you in advance,

                                                                    Xavier

____________________________________________________________________________
_
Xavier AIME - informaticien - Webmaster du site "Vielle à Roue"

Site            : http://perso.wanadoo.fr/xaime/vielle.html
E-mail (site) :     hg.vielle _at_ wanadoo.fr

#### Dernière mise à jour / Last update : juin 2000 - june 2000
#########################
____________________________________________________________________________


Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:24:17 -0700
From: george swallow <swallow _at_ beechcottage98.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: HG: Adjustments to HG

I keep seeing references to a book by Destrem & Somebody.  Could someone
give the full title please? And an ISBN or publisher would be useful.

Thanks

  George
  ("-"-/").___..""`-._
   `6_6 )     `-. (     ). `-.__.')
   (_Y_.)'   ._ ), ._. ``-..-'
_..'--'  ..- / /--' .',/
  (il),-" (li),' ((!.-'



_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:36:05 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: RE: HG: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Alden,

> It's not, but choosing the right string diameter is important, so that the
> correct tension is maintained.  Marcello has a nice webpage on his site
> where he talks about string diameters.

Right. I understand this, as I use open tunings on my guitar (which change
the tension considerably, in some cases).

Thanks,

Deborah


_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 08:37:05 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: RE: HG: RE: Re: Inquiring about the Hurdy-Gurdy

Alden,

> Yes, "trompette" is the French name for the string, and "dog string" or
> "trumpet string" (a name I really despise for some reason) is the English
> name.  
> 
> The bridge that actually does the buzzing is the "chien" in French, the
> "dog" in English, the "Schnarrsteg" in German (hardly anyone in the HG
> community calls it that except for German speakers, but I love it - it
> means "snoring bridge").  If you're RT Taylor, you call it the
> "buzz-o-matic". ;-) 

Great. Thanks.

Deborah

_______________________________________________

Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2000 15:59:59 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: String density


Xavier said: 

>My first question is about the string's density, specialy drone's density.
>To reckon their tension on a hg wich is tuned in g', I need some parameters
>: string's length, tune and density. For the bass drone (Savarez BF 1002),
>we have 4246 kg/m3, and for the tenor drone (Savarez BF 422) , we have 3512
>kg/m3, but our results (with Arto's String Calculator) are too great
>(between 6 and 7 kilogs). So, could somebody give me the good density of
>this strings ?

I'm interested: where did you get these densities?  

I developed a spreadsheet which calculates the average density of a wound
string based on the diameters and densities of the core material and the
wrap material.  This then allows the calculation of the tension or the
pitch or the sounding length (assuming you know the other two parameters.)  

According to my calculations, these are reasonable densities for copper or
silver-plated copper.  I don't know the density of the alloy Savarez is
using for these strings, but it is somewhere between 8.16 (copper) and
10.50 (silver).   It's certainly possible to have these strings tuned to
somewhere in the range of 60 N tension (=6 kg). 

Alden 

_______________________________________________

Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 08:59:06 +0200
From: Xavier AIME <XAIME _at_ wanadoo.fr>
Subject: HG: Re: Carved heads.

Hi Henry and all,

> To those who do not already know , Xavier is the host of a very
> interesting w-site about our favorite instrument , it is in french but is
certainly worth a
> look.
> http://perso.wanadoo.fr/xaime/vielle/vieldeb.html
>
>  IMHO ( in my humble opinion ) as far as I know  and other bla-bla -bla

Thank you very much, but there is a little error ; my web address is:

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/xaime/vielle.html


                                                Xavier

_______________________________________________

Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 14:57:12 +0200
From: Xavier AIME <XAIME _at_ wanadoo.fr>
Subject: HG: Re: String density

Hi Alden,

> I'm interested: where did you get these densities?

I reckon the density with string's length, string's diameter and string
weight (gave by friend) :

    Petit bourdon   :  length -> 645mm, weight -> 3.1g, diameter -> 1.32mm
    Gros bourdon   :  length -> 660mm, weight -> 5.4g, diameter -> 1.6mm

For example :

 - Gros Bourdon :

 Volume=length*pi*(diamter/2)^2
  Volume = (0,660 * pi * (0,0016/2) * (0,0016/2))
  Volume = (0,660 * pi * 0,0008 * 0,0008)
  Volume = (0,660 * pi * 6,4.10-6)
  Volume = (0,660 * 2,01.10-6)
  Volume = 1,327.10-6 m3

  Density = Weight / Volume
  Density = 0,00541 / 1,327.10-6
  Density ~ 4076 kg/m3

And when I reckon the tension with 450mm as string's length, I obtain :

 6,79 kg - Petit bourdon           and              6,77 - Gros Bourdon

What do you think about this results ?

                                                                    Xavier



_______________________________________________

Date: Sun, 25 Jun 2000 20:09:47 +0200
From: Pello Garcia <pellog _at_ jazzfree.com>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: St. Chartier - Gennetines


Hi !

> I'm usually just a "lurker" and don't post much myself. But with St.
> Chartier and Gennetines being so close - and - with me probably being able
> to go after all * smiles * - I thought I might ask who else of this list
> might be going. Would be kinda nice to meet RL.
> 
> So... I'm curious.... who else might be there?

I will be at St.Chartier as every year, but probably will bring only my
gaita (galician bagpipe)...


Greetings from Catalonia - Spain

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 22:13:40 +0000
From: jenlord <jenlord _at_ earthlink.net>
Subject: HG:St. Chartier

6/28

Hello y'all!

	Apparently this is some kind of hg festival? Is this something I should 
be checking out? 

Curiously,

Casey Clapp, in sunny Marin County

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 20:41:58 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG:Recognizing each other at St. Chartier


Though we won't be there (sigh, sniff, sniff) we're looking forward to the
upcoming HG list-members meeting at St. Chartier.  

If you would like to send me a photo of yourself, I can make a little
webpage of the photos so you can all recognize each other (since there will
of course be a lot of people drinking beer and speaking English... ;-) )

Please contact me off-list about getting the photos to me.  

Alden  

_______________________________________________

Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 22:05:09 -0700
From: Deborah White <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: HG:RE: St. Chartier

Hi Casey,

> Casey Clapp, in sunny Marin County

I'm in sunny Sonoma County! Are you a hurdy gurdy player?

Deborah

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 00:03:36 -0700
From: R. T. Taylor <rtaylor _at_ amp.csulb.edu>
Subject: Re: HG:RE: St. Chartier

Hello y'all!
Apparently this is some kind of hg festival? Is this something I should
be checking out?
Curiously,
Casey Clapp, in sunny Marin County

..........................................................
From: "Deborah White" <gaidheal _at_ distantoaks.com>
Subject: HG:RE: St. Chartier


> Hi Casey,
>
> > Casey Clapp, in sunny Marin County
>
> I'm in sunny Sonoma County! Are you a hurdy gurdy player?
>
> Deborah
>
................

So this is how we find out that we live next door to another Hurdy Gurdy
player.
Through this wonderful list.

Yes Casey you guessed right. St. Chartier is a Festival, the bigest one in
the whole know universe. It is also a town in the center of France.

You must go there as soon as possile. Book your flight as soon as possilbe
so that you can meet the rest of us and have a fantastic time.
Check out their web site.

 http://www.saintchartier.com/

r.t.


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 01:15:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: SB/JW <duodrone _at_ earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG: Stamps,

Rubber stamps are still used today. Boudet  has (or had) at least one
border motif he calls 'petites fleurs' and as the name implies depicts
small flowers. The stamp is a floral S shape that when repeated along the
border of the soundboard gives the impression of a continuous garland. The
print is made in black and green and red touches are added by hand on the
leaves and flowers respectively.
Apparently one of the techniques for applying transfers onto the keybox, or
other parts, was to place a newspaper illustration  face down on freshly
varnished (still wet) wood. When the varnish dried the paper was soaked
with water and rubbed till it wore away leaving the ink of the illustration
enbedded in the varnish. I tried this some years ago with varying results,
in my experience acetone rubbed on the back of photocopies works better.

R.T.:I went to Hurdy Gurdies R Us but their decal section is all 4th of
July stuff. Perhaps I should paint the ribs red and white and have a blue
soundboard with stars on it ? hmmm....

Juan



_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 10:18:09 +0100
From: peter.j.hughes _at_ bt.com
Subject: HG:RE: Recognizing each other at St. Chartier

Hello Everybody 

What we really need of course, is a live audio website so we can make the
sounds and sights (or even smells?) of the festival available to you unlucky
people who can't come this year.  Let's think... a few webcams at strategic
points (village square, bars, on one of the towers, on Maxou's straw hat,
etc), roving reporters with microphones, infra-red links to laptop PC
running the website with mobile phone link to the internet....

Well, maybe not :-)

I'm sure we can arrange a few photographs though.

Looking forward to meeting some of you.

Peter Hughes (Probably also wearing a straw hat, speaking very bad French,
and playing a Chris Eaton HG).

____________________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 07:15:56 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG:Et dans quelle direction ça flanche ?


Salut,

  Les amortisseurs , c'est pas trop grave , mais la direction ?

Il y a un site ouaibe qui donne toutes sortes d'itinéraires , je le
retrouverai ce soir.
Le Louvre c'est une blague , je sais bien qu'on ne peut pas tout voir un
deux jours.
Il y aura bien assez d'aventures avec le trajet en Uno <g>. Faudra
prendre des photos
et tenir un journal de bord .<g> Il yaurait un article de journal a
faire avec ça .
A bientôt,

Henry


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 07:21:19 -0400
From: Henry Boucher <boite _at_ sympatico.ca>
Subject: HG:1999 photos


Here is a link to Stephane Rabier's w-site , with pictures of 1999
festival
http://perso.easynet.fr/~vielleux/stchartier99/pix99.htm


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 13:50:51 +0200 (MEST)
From: Stefan Neumeier <S.R.Neumeier _at_ gmx.de>
Subject: HG:introduction to list


I signed up the list some time ago and had no time to introduce myself. So
I am going to make up leeway. My name is Stefan Neumeier and I am living in
a suburb of Munich, Germany. Some years ago I heared a hurdygurdy at a
christmas market. Thenceforward I knew that I want to learn to play such an
instrument, too. Unfortunatelly it seemed too expensive to buy a hurdygurdy.
But last December my dreams became true. I had the chance to get an used
hurdygurdy built by Kurt Reichmann. It is a wonderful rennaissance hurdy
gurdy (I think at the Lark of the Morning homepage is a black and whit picture
of such a hurdygurdy). 
And lucky as I am I found a teacher in Munich.

See you,
Stefan Neumeier


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 15:28:03 +0200
From: Totof <chriscyb _at_ cybercable.fr>
Subject: Re: HG: Re: Re: Where to meet in St. Chartier

"R. T. Taylor" a écrit :

> From: "rose daly" <rose.daly _at_ virgin.net>
> To: <Hg _at_ hurdygurdy.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2000 12:48 PM
> Subject: HG: Re: Where to meet in St. Chartier
>
> >
> > Brilliant idea!  Is the Espace Plus actually in St Chartier?
>
> It is part of the Festival area surrounding the Chateau.
> When you enter the area of the Festival you will see everything if you walk
> around for a while. There is a large tent that is used for the small
> concerts and the concours. This tent area is called Espace Plus.
>
> _______________________________________________
> The Hurdy-Gurdy Mailing List
> hg _at_ hurdygurdy.com
> http://hurdygurdy.com/mailman/listinfo/hg_hurdygurdy.com

Hello there!  ;o)


I am back... finally!  :o)

Yes, I realise I haven't been writing for many weeks but I am too busy
and
always away from Paris! Sorry!  :o/

I take the opportunity of the messages I have received from some friends
I have
in the States and in Canada to say I will try to be in Saint-Chartier as
well.
I also will do my best to join the meeting, though I am not quite sure I
will
be able to come this year since I will be back from Montreal on the 11st
or
12nd of July, after the concerts...

I really hope you will arrange other meetings near the ' Château ', so
that we
all can gather and so that I have the pleasure to meet the people -
hurdy-gurdy
or bagpipe players - I don't know! - :o)

Well, I will try to write another message a bit later, before I leave...

You all take care and see you - possibly - in Saint-Char(cu)tier (that
is a
well-known play on words I can't translate, I am afraid; " Saint Pork
Butcher "
doesn't mean anything!)...

Those tricks and ' wisecracks ' are snatches of jokes we all can hear
among
people who visit the Festival every year!  ;o)

Enough verbiage for tonight / tonite (US way of typing, in order to
please
Alden, Judy and RT! LOL)

BTW... I have given some Ukrainian cousins I have the new link to this
forum.
Of course, they play the Ukrainian hurdy-gurdy and " dudy " but their
English
seems to be rather poor... anyway, they probably will subscribe! Bye and
long
life to the list!  ;o)

Christophe (Tellart)

_______________________________________


' Carpe diem, dum vivis ! '


chriscyb _at_ cybercable.fr
chriscyb _at_ caramail.com
pranguli _at_ yahoo.fr

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 11:24:47 EDT
From: APeekstok _at_ aol.com
Subject: Re: HG:1999 photos


In a message dated 6/29/00 4:25:45 AM, boite _at_ sympatico.ca writes:

>Here is a link to Stephane Rabier's w-site , with pictures of 1999
>festival
>http://perso.easynet.fr/~vielleux/stchartier99/pix99.htm

Hey, there are some nice shots of Alden and Cali Hackmann near the top.

-Anna Peekstok

_______________________________________________


Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 10:53:32 -0700
From: R. T. Taylor <rtaylor _at_ amp.csulb.edu>
Subject: Re: HG:1999 photos, even more photos !

Also go to the top of his web page
http://perso.easynet.fr/~vielleux/
for more interesting HG stuff with a really cute picture of a "Hurdy Gurdy
Baby",

And this link to some beautiful black and white pictures from St. Chartier.
Including the village, pubs and the dancing areas at night.
http://matd.citeweb.net/stchartier.htm

r.t.

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 11:24:55 -0700
From: R. T. Taylor <rtaylor _at_ amp.csulb.edu>
Subject: HG:Passacaille, Wild French Folkers

Any of you that have been to St. Chartier or have played in Paris for the
Wednesday night jam at Quai St. Bernard, will recognize the musicians in the
group "Passacaille".

If you come to St. Chartier, look for them playing at night in back of the
Chateau.
Nice friendly folk. Come on and Jam with us.

r.t.


http://www.chez.com/passacaille/index.htm


_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 22:04:05 +0000
From: jenlord <jenlord _at_ earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: HG:RE: St. Chartier

Deborah White wrote:
> 
> Hi Casey,
> 
> > Casey Clapp, in sunny Marin County
> 
> I'm in sunny Sonoma County! Are you a hurdy gurdy player?
> 
> Deborah
> 
> _______________________________________________
> The Hurdy-Gurdy Mailing List
> hg _at_ hurdygurdy.com
> http://hurdygurdy.com/mailman/listinfo/hg_hurdygurdy.com

I have HG potential! bought one, am trying to get it to work. wheel is 
still juuuuust out of round...
csaey

_______________________________________________

Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 15:29:33 ICT
From: OTAKE Keiji <kei_otake _at_ hotmail.com>
Subject: HG:Re2: resin & weather


Hi,

Thank you for your advice, Marcello.

>No, I think that extreme humid weather can change the dimention
>of some parts (according to direction of wood grain). Usually I change the 
>amount of cotton (but I can do that because I
>like to play baroque music, and my gurdy has got a very light "action")

And so, the last way against the humidity is ...... silica gel !

  Reading the name of St. Chartier, I really regret that I cannot visit this 
year. I have been there once about 20 years ago, I hope the 2nd time will 
come to me someday.
  So, have a good time, you all who have an opportunity to visit St. 
Chartier !

Kei (^_^)/~


_______________________________________________

Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2000 23:36:08 -0700
From: Alden & Cali Hackmann <hurdy _at_ silverlink.net>
Subject: HG: Re: HG:St. Chartier


Casey said: 

>	Apparently this is some kind of hg festival? Is this something I should 
>be checking out? 

This is THE hurdy-gurdy festival in Europe, the world's largest, held at a
chateau in central France.  It's coming up in mid-July.  There are concerts
every night, followed by playing and dancing until the sun comes up, tons
of instrument builders and vendors of CD's, books, and all sorts of other
cool HG stuff. 

There's a link on our Links page to the official St. Chartier page. 

Alden    

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