text:
Pianos In Folk Music
Banjiman 01 Feb 08 - 01:24 PM
The Villan 01 Feb 08 - 01:30 PM
Maryrrf 01 Feb 08 - 01:31 PM
The Sandman 01 Feb 08 - 01:32 PM
Emma B 01 Feb 08 - 01:33 PM
Wesley S 01 Feb 08 - 01:35 PM
Dan Schatz 01 Feb 08 - 01:37 PM
Geordie-Peorgie 01 Feb 08 - 01:42 PM
Leadfingers 01 Feb 08 - 01:43 PM
Bonnie Shaljean 01 Feb 08 - 01:47 PM
Stringsinger 01 Feb 08 - 02:07 PM
Little Robyn 01 Feb 08 - 02:45 PM
Richard Bridge 01 Feb 08 - 03:04 PM
PoppaGator 01 Feb 08 - 03:11 PM
mattkeen 01 Feb 08 - 03:17 PM
GUEST,The Mole catcher's piano playing Apprentice 01 Feb 08 - 03:21 PM
Doc John 01 Feb 08 - 03:25 PM
Don Firth 01 Feb 08 - 03:33 PM
GUEST,Curmudgeon 01 Feb 08 - 03:34 PM
Geoff the Duck 01 Feb 08 - 04:27 PM
GUEST,The Mole Catcher's Apprentice 01 Feb 08 - 04:35 PM
Gene Burton 01 Feb 08 - 04:46 PM
Jack Campin 01 Feb 08 - 04:49 PM
GUEST,Terry McDonald 01 Feb 08 - 05:06 PM
GUEST,irishenglish 01 Feb 08 - 05:14 PM
GUEST,Murray on Salt Spring 01 Feb 08 - 05:18 PM
BTMP 01 Feb 08 - 05:22 PM
catspaw49 01 Feb 08 - 05:46 PM
McGrath of Harlow 01 Feb 08 - 06:56 PM
GUEST,.gargoyle 02 Feb 08 - 12:45 AM
Jim Carroll 02 Feb 08 - 02:57 AM
Richard Bridge 02 Feb 08 - 03:24 AM
catspaw49 02 Feb 08 - 03:35 AM
Banjiman 02 Feb 08 - 04:30 AM
GUEST,Jon 02 Feb 08 - 05:10 AM
Nick 02 Feb 08 - 05:20 AM
Roger the Skiffler 02 Feb 08 - 05:46 AM
GUEST,strad 02 Feb 08 - 05:51 AM
The Villan 02 Feb 08 - 06:05 AM
GUEST,Moonmoth 02 Feb 08 - 06:17 AM
banjoman 02 Feb 08 - 06:35 AM
Busy Lizzie 02 Feb 08 - 07:14 AM
Marje 02 Feb 08 - 07:35 AM
GUEST,Walkaboutsverse 02 Feb 08 - 08:17 AM
GUEST,Twinkle fingers 02 Feb 08 - 08:56 AM
Ref 02 Feb 08 - 09:47 AM
Rockhen 02 Feb 08 - 10:00 AM
Midchuck 02 Feb 08 - 10:07 AM
Saro 03 Feb 08 - 05:56 AM
GUEST,Acorn4 03 Feb 08 - 06:15 AM
Geordie-Peorgie 03 Feb 08 - 09:53 AM
Snuffy 03 Feb 08 - 03:15 PM
GUEST,The Mole Catcher's short Apprentice 03 Feb 08 - 03:17 PM
GUEST,Peter 03 Feb 08 - 06:37 PM
Trevor Thomas 04 Feb 08 - 11:54 AM
GUEST,Henryp 04 Feb 08 - 11:55 AM
GUEST,Tunesmith 05 Feb 08 - 03:16 AM
GUEST 05 Feb 08 - 05:47 AM
mattkeen 05 Feb 08 - 06:00 AM
GUEST, Sminky 05 Feb 08 - 06:57 AM
oggie 05 Feb 08 - 07:30 AM
GUEST,Tunesmith 05 Feb 08 - 12:23 PM
GUEST,Edthefolkie 06 Feb 08 - 10:41 AM
GUEST,The Mole Catcher's pianoless Apprentice 06 Feb 08 - 11:07 AM
Teribus 06 Feb 08 - 12:01 PM
GUEST,Jonny Sunshine 06 Feb 08 - 04:06 PM
Rog Peek 06 Feb 08 - 06:27 PM
Tootler 06 Feb 08 - 07:17 PM
GUEST,Black Hawk 08 Feb 08 - 06:27 AM
Alan Day 08 Feb 08 - 12:25 PM
terrier 08 Feb 08 - 04:40 PM
Rowan 08 Feb 08 - 11:00 PM
GUEST 30 Sep 08 - 11:10 AM
GUEST,Graeme, Brother Crow 30 Sep 08 - 11:15 AM
Acorn4 30 Sep 08 - 12:41 PM
Banjiman 30 Sep 08 - 12:48 PM
The Greyt Hound 30 Sep 08 - 04:31 PM
Tim Leaning 30 Sep 08 - 09:52 PM
Banjiman 01 Oct 08 - 03:28 AM
GUEST,Graeme, Brother Crow 01 Oct 08 - 04:30 AM
The Villan 01 Oct 08 - 09:25 AM
Colin Randall 01 Oct 08 - 10:19 AM
Banjiman 01 Oct 08 - 12:04 PM
The Villan 01 Oct 08 - 01:29 PM
danensis 01 Oct 08 - 04:40 PM
GUEST,Tunesmith 01 Oct 08 - 04:43 PM
Tim Leaning 01 Oct 08 - 05:14 PM
The Greyt Hound 01 Oct 08 - 06:28 PM
GUEST,Russ 02 Oct 08 - 12:55 PM
Goose Gander 02 Oct 08 - 02:00 PM
Ian Carter 03 Oct 08 - 11:57 AM
sleepyjon 03 Oct 08 - 02:27 PM
Subject: Pianos In Folk Music
From: Banjiman
I don't like 'em.........discuss
Subject: RE: Pianos In Folk Music
From: The Villan
They are much better than Banjo's :-)
I think its great to hear somebody playing piano and singing a folk song.
Count me as one that doesn't particularly like them although they can sometimes work. Usually not my taste.
it depends how they are played.
on one of my albums Cheating The Tide,I had a superb pianist called Sam Richards.
I think they can also work very well in Ceilidh Bands[ eg Reg Hall].Dick Miles
From: Emma B
An out-of-tune battered pub upright piano was always the focal point of the earliest singing sessions I remember as a kid.
....and, you can put your beer on them too:)
From: Wesley S
Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Skaggs recently released a CD. The bluegrass community generally thought it was "no part of nuthin' " but I liked a lot of it.
From: Dan Schatz
It depends on the context - in Cape Breton fiddle music a piano is just the thing. For a sea chantey not so much.
From: Geordie-Peorgie
Ah! But hev ye ever heard 'Old Brown Dog' by Ralph McTell? - A work of pianistic art and the song just wadn't be the same just on guitar.
That's the ownly one that springs te mind immediately but give uz a minnute and aah'll find more
I personally do not like piano accompaniment for traditional tunes !
I like this one June Tabor
From: Bonnie Shaljean
(I'm speaking of instrumental bands here, not solo singers who use piano backing because that varies so much depending upon the artist): I don't like them 95% of the time because they're so often unimaginatively played by people who simply bash out the same three vamp chords, which dominates tonally and doesn't take any real skill to do. I like keyboards to be subtle, interesting, to be able to carry the melody instead of ONLY chording along, and to not take over.
Pianists I like (these are only the ones I can think of off the top of my head at the moment, so this is not a comprehensive list - there are others too):
Micheál Ó Súilleabháin
Kevin O'Reilley (??I think that's his name) in the band North Cregg
Paul Machlis, who plays sometimes with Alasdair Fraser
Another Irish fella with a very straightforward name - so straightforward I can't remember it, Pat Something? He just put a record out a few months ago which has been aired on Irish radio.
Reg Hall, as Dick has already mentioned.
There are certainly more - but sadly they're outnumbered by piano accompaniments that I hate. Never heard Belinda but she sounds like one of the good 'uns.
And this one June Tabor
Blimey, to think that about 16 years ago, I saw June Tabor live, and didn't like her at all. How time can make you change your viewpoint. I am pleased to say. :-)
it's too heavy to pack around on your back. No strap would work. Capos would be too expensive to fashion. You couldn't carry this on your back while schlepping down a railroad track singing "Goin' Down This Road Feelin' Bad".
It generally is played so loud that it drowns out acoustic voices. You need sound reinforcement to carry it (not folklike).
It sounds the best on show tunes, some pop tunes, some originals, and some blues ala
Ray Charles or rock ala Jerry Lee Lewis. Elton made it sound good on his first album.
A Bachrach song needs a piano IMHO.
Folk? It's hard to integrate it into an acoustic ensemble. It sounds good in a Contra-Dance band, though. Keeps the dancers on their toes (so to speak). I think of Yvan Breaux with Heritage who really made that thing talk for dancers.
It's great for jazz. Chord changes sophisticated and smooth and sets that mood.
In folk? I believe in simplicity. Sometimes an "um-plunk" sound best for a song because it doesn't get in the way. Simple piano tends to sound like "Chopsticks" but simple accompaniments on the guitar or banjo are more appropriate for folk songs.
Lieder or semi-classical arrangements of folk songs work (but not for "purists") but they don't sound folk-like. Schubert was kind of classical-folky. Many of his tunes became German Volklieder. Gotta' have Gerald Moore (great piano accompanist) and Fischer-Dieskau though. Nicht folky though.
Folk is accessible and I believe that the guitar and banjo are more accessible than the piano (which is so musically capable that in the hands of a beginner, it is most unwieldy).
There is a nightmare of four or five pianos playing folk music together although that number works fine with some guitar an acoustic string players.
88 versus 6, 5 or 12 (or 4) sort of says it. (Oh yes, 36 for autoharp)
Frank Hamilton
From: Little Robyn
Johnny Handle in the High Level Ranters. He keeps things bouncing along, using the piano almost as a bass, when he's not playing his accordion.
I've seen him on an old piano that was a semitone out of tune and he just transposed onto the black notes and didn't miss a beat.
But I don't enjoy the semi-classical 'folk songs in evening dress' stuff.
Horrid Horrid Horrid on English folk music (1954 def) and even most nu-folk and neofolk.
They can ruin even June Tabor's singing (which is wonderful). They spoil Carol King.
There was a rather good band (I forget who) at Ely 2007 - and then the effing piano came thundering in and ruined it and my friends all laughed 'cos I stood up and said "Soddit it's a friggin piano I'm out of here" and left.
They ruin the two best Fairport original compositions ("Let her go Down", and the one about transportation to America - Virginny).
Irreplaceable for barrelhouse and boogie and boogie-woogie, great in the hands of Eddie Boyd, Champion Jack Dupree, Louisiana Red, and Doctor John - Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard - people who remember they are a percussion instrument - horrid in the hands of Christine Perfect (Chicken Shack) while still trying to play blues. Grand pianos are worse than uprights. Reg Dwight is wholly unlistenable to (with the possible exception of "Border Song", which nearly makes it as blue eyed soul).
Depends on what you mean by "folk music." As always!
During the century or so immediately before the invention of audio recording, most people's experience of music, in homes and taverns and other places, involved the piano. Where no one able to play was available, there were player pianos. A whole lot of amateur singing-along occurred in gatherings around pianos. To me, that just about defines "folk."
On the other hand, my own current-day experience of the music most of us consider to be "folk" involves more portable instruments. In my (American) experience, the acoustic guitar has always seemed to be the definitive folk-music instrument. But since then, I've learned that some folks consider the guitar to be anethema to their conceptions of folk music: only fiddles, concertinas, and tin whistles need apply...
Each to his own. As always!
From: mattkeen
Huw Warren who usually plays with June Tabor is a marvellous player but at the risk of agreeing with some of the mad rantings of Richard, I do think that piano usually doesn't work in folk and I don't know why.
From: GUEST,The Mole catcher's piano playing Apprentice
try telling that to Beryl Marriott and any number of excellent ceilidh bands currently doing the rounds....discuss
Charlotte (trying to keep her 88's straight)
From: Doc John
I hate them in folk music and Frank Hamilton just about sums it up the reasons why they don't fit. They always remind me of why I was put off English folk music as a child: a plumby voiced sopranoes singing 'Greensleeves' or 'Blow Ye Winds Southerly' to piano accompaniment.
Hmm. I'd say that on the June Tabor links, the piano works fairly well. It seems to be unobtrusive and accompanies the songs rather than overwhelming them, which all too often, a piano (or pianist) will do. Harking back to the minstrel tradition, I've always thought that a small, portable instrument such as a guitar, lute, banjo, whatever, depending on the song, is best, but if tastefully done and in the right setting, a piano is--okay.
From: GUEST,Curmudgeon
'Plumby'? You're dragging the depths with that one.
Little Robyn thanks for reminding me about Johnny Handle an 'oldie' but a good 'un'!
I've heard him on a 'joanna' in a noisy bar have everyone singing along to Blaydon Races!
Johnny Handle was mentioned somewhere above.
I recall one year at Whitby Folk Week, in the original Spa balroom, the "goon squad" were setting out for the evening dance. They were moving a podium on castors with a grand piano to where it was needed.
Johnny Handle was at the time seated at the piano and continued to play throughout the move.
Geoff the Duck.
From: GUEST,The Mole Catcher's Apprentice
"I hate them in folk music and Frank Hamilton just about sums it up the reasons why they don't fit. They always remind me of why I was put off English folk music as a child: a plumby voiced sopranoes singing 'Greensleeves' or 'Blow Ye Winds Southerly' to piano accompaniment."
well I do believe we've come a little further down the road since those days...a closed mind is terrible waste you know.
Charlotte ( looking at the view from Ma and Pa's piano stool)
From: Gene Burton
Must say, I LOVE Kathleen Ferrier's settings of English folk songs; most of which are accompanied on piano...but as in most cases I guess it's a question of what you do with the instrument, rather than the instrument itself...ANYTHING so powerful it swamps the vocal melody is counter-productive, but less is more...
There is a track on Karine Polwart's new album (where she goe back to traditional stuff and not before time) which has a WONDERFUL piano accompaniment, using the fewest notes possible.
Michael Marra (who is no more folk than Leonard Cohen, but often features on the same bill as folkies) is somebody else who uses a piano very effectively.
June Tabor singin' John Tams' "Pull Down Lads"
Aah thowt 'Let Her Go Down' was a Steeleye song - Aah've gorrit on an album caalled 'Sails Of Silver' and the writing credits are Steeleye Span - not arr. Steeleye Span
Aaawww Look! Aah've been and gone an' become one of them buggaz what nitpick every thread - Aah hate that!
It's like name-droppin' - Aah cannit stand name-droppin'! - Aah wez just sayin' the same te Richard Thompson the other night!
From: GUEST,Terry McDonald
I've always loved Kathryn Roberts''Plains of Waterloo'- her piano playing is a perfect accompaniment to a beautiful song.
Whoever's song it was (and yes I could be wrong) the friggin piano still ruins it!
From: GUEST,irishenglish
Richard Bridge-Let Her Go Down, and Gone To America are by Steeleye Span, not Fairport Convention. Ditto to those who have mentioned Beryl Marriott, Reg Hall, and as played by Cape Breton musicians. As for the rest of you, I subscribe to the feeling that ANY INSTRUMENT can be used effectively on ANY GIVEN SONG or tune if the arrangement the performer uses calls for it. Take a well known song, say something like Star Of The COunty Down. Now I have heard that by everyone from Van Morrison to the Oysterband, and from harp players to lush string arrangements. Take your pick which version you like for yourself best, but what that proves is these songs are adaptable to many different arrangements and instrumentation. Last night I saw Richard Thompson's 1000 Years of Popular Music. The opening song of which I forget the title, he performed on hurdy gurdy. Later Judith Owen played a stunning version of Down By The Sally Gardens that was piano based, with sparse help from Richard and Debra Dobkin. I have heard that song many times, but hands down, that will now be my favorite rendition, because in the hands of that performer, the song worked with piano. This brings me back to Tim Hart's famous quote about folk rock being as anachronistic to the folk movement as the guitar (Spanish) and the banjo (African). Does piano always work-no it may not, but then again, maybe what a song needs is not fiddle or accordion as well. BOttom line, if it works, it works and you know it when it does!
From: GUEST,Murray on Salt Spring
To accompany a SONG, the piano has to be discreet. In an ensemble, like our old Schiehallion band, it's very useful, if not indispensable. It is a percussion instrument, and for dancing helps the beat (bass, drums, e.g.). I like to think the way I played, sometimes taking the melody, sometimes playing a counter-tune, or even just running arpeggios up and down, varied the sound appropriately. To accompany a rouser of a chorus song, it's pretty good I'd say. But it's true that as the sole accompaniment of a folk song it can intrude terribly.
From: BTMP
At the beginning of the movie 'Songcatcher', there is a beautiful rendition of 'Barbara Allen' accompanied only by piano. It's in the traditional arrangement and quite moving. I play guitar and mandolin and can make some chords and other sounds on the piano (I really can't play). From my perspective, because I can't play the piano like I can the guitar, I admire a well-played tune on the piano. Also, playing accompaniment is more difficult than just playing a melody from sheet music. Most folk and bluegrass musicians cannot play the piano, but it is a gift just as playing the guitar is.
well...some like the piano and folk, and some don't, that's the way of the world....
Charlotte (trying to remember the words to that grand old song, When Father Papered The Parlour)
From: catspaw49
One day I'm going to write a post about my Mom but for now, take my word for it she could have made it easily as a concert pianist. I grew up listening to her and it took many years before I had the ability to understand just how incredible she was. For now let me say that her playing taught me the one sure thing I could find with great pianists......their sense of "touch."
A piano is a percussion instrument and unlike it's forebear the dulcimer, the sound is created through a multi-piece mechanism. This makes it easy to play badly and loudly. But when you find someone who has learned to overcome this drawback and make the instrument capable of a variety of differing sound levels and can make those changes between them without effort but with feeling, you've found a great pianist. And when you find one with a passion for traditional tunes, dance tunes, pop tunes............well for one thing, you may have stumbled upon Jackie Schwab.
You might know her even if you don't. Have you noticed all the piano work in the soundtracks of almost every Ken Burns documentary? Or did you miss it because it flowed in and out and around and through and above and below without any sense of being obtrusive? That is touch and that is Jacqueline Schwab. Here are two YouTube videos using her for the music. Have a listen........
Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier
Battle Cry of Freedom
Now take your simpleass bullshit opinions that pianos have no place in folk/trad and toddle off somewhere else.
Spaw
"Now take your simpleass bullshit opinions that pianos have no place in folk/trad and toddle off somewhere else."
But people WILL insist in expressing views contrary to your own (such temerity!)
Charlotte, stop being so.........reasonable!
"They always remind me of why I was put off English folk music as a child: a plumby voiced sopranoes singing 'Greensleeves' or 'Blow Ye Winds Southerly' to piano accompaniment."
Yep, and though I try, I just can't get away from this! and plumby is the right description.
I'm not saying the piano totally ruins every song or arrangement but it rarely enhances it, as for the June Tabor examples.....these are great performances by June but I would like them more with a different accompaniment......
but then I play banjo...ho, hum.
^^Of course they will.....that's what Mudcat is all about!!! Lines like that are simply the fun of the place and to be taken with less than a grain of salt!
Spaw, for clarity, I started the thread by saying I don't like pianos.....not that they have no place in folk music.
Now, where are my chips (fries to some) to put that grain of salt on?
Still in the fat Paul, still in the fat...............
Spaw(;<))
Now, while we are nitpicking, it's "plummy" not "plumby". The former denotes fruit, the latter a heavy metal.
I still hate pianos, except in the places and styles I mentioned above. Actually, maybe I can tolerate them in music hall (eg "When Father papered teh parlour" as above) too.
I have known people who liked the tinkling noises made in "sophisticated" bars, but they just made me want to leave and find some music.
It's not about "appropriate". I just hate the damned things, except on good thumping honky tonk and boogie. And some rock and roll (eg the Viscounts' hammering version of "Shortnin Bread").
exactly these sort of voices go down like a lead balloon............
Oh, or a Zeppelin or butterfly?
Unless you use them like percussion, and hit the vox hard enough to get over them, pianos are genteel. Hyacinth Bucket.
True enough the piano is an instrument with a fair history in folk song. That doesn't mean you have to like it though. I rarely do, outside of barrelhouse and such.
>>except on good thumping honky tonk and boogie. And some rock and roll (eg the Viscounts' hammering version of "Shortnin Bread"). <<
I love Jerry Lee lewis, Fats Domino,Floyd Kramer,even Neil Sedaka with "I Go Ape" etc etc. That is where my love of music is. The piano is a great instrument.
However, I just love people who can play the piano sensitively as well. Spaw put some lovely examples up there and I think I did with June Tabor.
I hate modern jazz piano.
Elton John when he plays his slower numbers plays some beautiful numbers. One of my favourites of his is "The boy in the red shoes" - I think it is that.
Bad Penny Blues is a great number.
The piano does not suit everything and has its place.
Kathleen Ferrier, I do not like but she does one absolutely beautiful number (I don't think there is a piano in that) and its called "What is Life" and that song bring tears to my eyes as much as any sentimental folk song I have ever heard.
At the end of the day, "blinkered" sometimes springs to mind
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 02 Feb 08 - 12:45 AM
WONDERFUL instrument.
BENJAMINE - Perhaps, you don' lik em because one keyboard can replace five other players.
Personally, I prefer the full bucket rather than sharing but we each have our different gigs.
It is my guess, that "Super Bowl Weekend" is the slowest five days of the year for American musicians....unless your last name begins with T Timberlake, Turner, Art Thieme, Tagger
From fiddle to bass, from harmonica to rhythm, it is ALL under YOUR control.
I like em.
Sinerly,
COUNT 8 against 26 in favor
Motion by Benjamin denied.
DUHHHHH - Richard Bridge 6:33 - the piano IS a percussion instrument!!!!
From: Jim Carroll
"it's too heavy to pack around on your back."
Sadly - no longer the case. My heart sinks when I see a keyboard being hauled in to our local sessions. Was devastated when I heard Peggy Seeger was using one
Have been desperately searching for an album of one of Ireland's finest fiddlers, Martin Byrnes, without a heavy-handed piano driver.
This is somewhat reminiscent of the bodhran thread.
Do some reading Garg. As I said earlier, it is a percussion instrument. Use them as such.
Luckily for the rest of us, some people choose not to do so and extend the versatility.
Thanks for bringing the world democracy.....just like George Bush huh!
(Hee, hee, hee)
From: GUEST,Jon
Going by the Noel Hill LP I mentioned in another thread, I'd have to say Charlie Lennon is good.
There was a lot of piano played in a lot of the Transatlantic Sessions (1 to 3) and I thought a lot of that worked remarkably well. A lot of Scottish music works remarkably well with the piano as an accompanying instrument (Fiddlers Bid are a favourite of mine at the moment). Capercaillie feature keyboards a lot and that seems to work for me.
Some examples - Sam Lakeman, Cara Dillon and Paul Brady or Cara Dillon again or Ae Fond Kiss - Karen Matheson or Julie Fowlis
From: Roger the Skiffler
"Don't think of it as a piano, think of it as an 88-string guitar" (Tom Lehrer an piano and folk song)
(a virtuoso on the pianola!)
So many piano players do seem to stop once they've learnt those three chords and yet a good player can really lift the sound. I spent an evening at a dance near Boston listening to the playing of Jacqueline Schwab and was entranced by her music. Peter Barnes is another whose playing lifts the sound. Andy Thorburn does similar in Scotland. But the Dum-chinging piano sound either has me switching off or going somewhere else. Unfortunately most Scottish dance bands seem to like Dum-Ching.
Thanks for putting the link to Cara Dillon & Sam Lakeman - Garden Valley.
That is such a beautiful version.
The last time I saw that sung at Faldingworth Live by John Blanks and Jane Kitchen. They did such a beautiful version of it as well. John also does that on his own as well and again it is beautifully done.
Brings tears to the eyes.
From: GUEST,Moonmoth
Fiddles sound pretty awful in folk music when the player only knows how to play Beethoven, Bruch, Mendellsohn etc.
As with any instrument, surely it's the musicianship behind a piano that makes it 'bad' or 'good'? (Which are, of course, subjective terms anyway!)
Pianos are OK in the right place - but thats not in most folk music scenarios.
I have found that piano players are in the most part very unweildy and not willing to alter anything to enable other instruments to join in. EG its difficult to play some pieces in certain keys on guitar/banjo/recorder etc and where we would be happy to change key to accomodate, we have never yet found a piano player who would.
Played as a sol instrument thats fine - but otherwise NO
I am tempted to say something Paul LOL No I mustn't otherwise I will get banjoed. :-)
I'll get me coat, but one last thing, maybe you haven't looked around enough, to find that special person who can accomodate your requirements.
Les,
Are you talkin' to me or banjOman post above yours?
Oh Bugger. Sorry Paul LOL :-)
Banjoman and Banjiman - maybe you two should form a duo :-)
From: Busy Lizzie
I only read the first few messages here, but all I can say is, June Tabor 13th June 2008 with Grand Piano played by Mark Emmerson, and June 14th 2008 Jonathan Kelly with Grand Piano, in St Michaels CHurch Middlewich as part of Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival 2008, watch for full line up in the next few days!
Pianos in folk music indeed!!
Busy Lizzie....are you actually trying to attract people to Middlewich by threatening them with 2 grand pianos? LoL.
I actually love June Tabor, but would love her more without the piano!
Seriously, good luck with it.
Pianos seem to be prominent in a lot of Scottish traditional bands, and they are much favoured in Scottish country dance music.
I can't say I like it much - there's something about those plonky descending bass chord sequences that irritates me - but it would be wrong to say the piano has no place there. It evidently has a very important place in the hearts of the Scottish dancing community.
Hello Banjiman no, no, just one £22k's worth of grand piano, hired and insured for 2 nights! I have never been fortunate enough to see June Tabor live, so I have to run my own festival in order to get to see all the artists I like! On saying that, I'll probably be too busy running around doing festival director kind of things and not get to see her again! Ha! Ha!
p.s. Banjiman you wouldn't be a banjo player then??
From: GUEST,Walkaboutsverse
I'm not certain on this issue...but singing around the piano is, of course, a strong tradition in itself. And, for what it's worth, I practice (and have posted on myspace) English folk songs with electric-keyboards set on "piano" - playing just the top-line melody with both hands (in the understanding that English folk-music, at least, has, for centuries, been the repetition of a relatively simple melody, for singing and/or dancing).
P.S: singing Christmas carols around The Cumberland Arms upright-piano is always enjoyable.
Hi Busy Lizzie.....I may occasionally pick the banjo......... (ask my wife!)
As far as I am aware there are no pianos coming to the KFFC Winter Warmer Weekend which I'm involved in organising, I have to confess to one in the dining room though.....but I don't (can't) play it.
From: GUEST,Twinkle fingers
>>I have found that piano players are in the most part very unweildy and not willing to alter anything to enable other instruments to join in. EG its difficult to play some pieces in certain keys on guitar/banjo/recorder etc and where we would be happy to change key to accomodate, we have never yet found a piano player who would.
And when you ask them to retune their piano to your banjo just look at their faces...
From: Ref
Hey it's about Folk Music, or folks' music. If people get pleasure sharing and trading songs around a Steinway Concert Grand, then it's no more or less appropriate to "Folk Music" than doing so around a battered, forty-year-old Martin guitar. I'd more enjoy a fight about the merits of singing music together as opposed to sitting passively while someone else presents their solo "interpretation." Also, spare me the Ralph Vaughan Williams and aaron Copeland versions of traditional folk music. They're over-orchestrated crap!
From: Rockhen
I think it depends on the the piano player and whether the piano is in tune. In my humble opinion, as a player of the said wonderful instrument, if you notice the piano,too much, if being used to accompany a vocalist or instrumentalist...it is not being played sensitively. It is an art to accompany someone.
If played with other instruments to be part of a band for example, it CAN drown everyone out.. but so can many other instruments. I know some fiddle players, for example, who have to always take the lead and play it just a touch too loud. I also know those who play sensitively and know just when it is ok to go off on a solo and when to hold back. Same with accordions, which I also play, (Hey! How unpopular can I make myself? Lol!)...and guitarists etc etc.
I think a piano is seen as an instrument not available to all, so is viewed with resentment by some, and that has contributed to its unpopularity with some but that would be the subject of another thread. If folk music is music of folk, I think it shouldn't be exclusive to certain instruments.
From: Midchuck
There are two things wrong with a piano:
1) It can easily drown out an acoustic guitar, so piano players, like banjo players, consider it their duty to do so, just to prove the size of their balls.
2) Like Stringsinger said, you can't throw it over your back and hop a freight train. You can't bring it to a campfire sing around, either.
I feel pianos are great instruments in their place. That place is either a concert hall or a whorehouse. I'd like to learn so that I could go to whorehouses and have something to do in my old age.
"I feel pianos are great instruments in their place."
What is their place, now? I do not know a single place where I could go and play a piano, that is in tune. That is why I take mine with me. (Don't worry, Peter, I'll leave the second venue you mention, to you, btw!) ;-)
Progress with technology, will mean that the current high quality electric pianos that are being produced, now, will eventually evolve into an acceptable replacement, once they are refined and become less expensive, or at least, an alternative to traditional heavy acoustic varieties. Then, I believe, there will be a change in the attitude by many towards pianos. They are seen as instruments that do not fit into folk music because people are not used to hearing them played because they are so difficult to take to places.
My piano has been played round a campfire and many other locations, from concert hall, pub, back of a lorry, and I do not feel that I plonked it and wrecked the music of others. I am open minded about music and I think pianos can be a valid part of folk music, if they aren't driven by a plinky-plonker. (musical term)
"England" by Ralph Mctell
The Kilfenora Ceilidh band started EVERYTHING with a 2-beat piano vamp and the thing played the rhythm aall the way through aall of the songs while 32 fiddles played the tune and the Bodhran player made the tea
June Tabor kissed uz on the cheek once when we were both VERY much younger - She wadn't remember, but aall nivvor forget!!!
I bet that made your knees shake GP :-)
From: Saro
Just thought I'd add another fantastic paino player to the List. Andy Johnson is capable playing excellent cailidh music as siginificant but never dominant part of a band (with various Tabbush family members) and can also be heard accompanying Carolyn Robson on some of ther CDs. Always worht a listen in my view - unless of course you just hate pianos...
From: GUEST,Acorn4
I'd quote Catherine Roberts' "Girl with the Bonny Brown Hair" and much on the albums of Bill Jones (though she's taking a bit of a break for family things at the moment) as good examples of keyborad backings.
Oooh Cathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman - one of my favourites.
Awww! Villan!!
It wez nigh-on 30 years ago in a tiny folk club in Fareham, capacity crowd and she'd 'ripped the room to shreds'
Aah wez MC and wez totally in lurve with her and as I closed the evenin' and just before her encore she leaned toward uz and just kissed my cheek.
Aah didn't come doon for a week and aah didn't see mah forst wife for three days...... then the swellin' went doon in the left eye!!!
It evidently has a very important place in the hearts of the Scottish dancing community.
And they are welcome to it...
I wonder if the anti-piano crowd would actually walk out of a gig if the performers brought a piano onto the stage?...I bet they wouldn't*LOL*
Charlotte (piano player of fairly long standing)
'The Kilfenora Ceilidh band started EVERYTHING with a 2-beat piano vamp.'
It didn't and still doesn't!
Just like Jerry Lee Lewis, then?
From: GUEST,The Mole Catcher's short Apprentice
actually I'm not as tall as The Killer *LOL*
Charlotte (still growing into her 88's)
Yes, Charlotte, as said above, I walked out of a performance at Ely in 2007 by some big name band whose name I forget, when the piano started to intrude (ie when playing it started).
Charlotte,
....erm, I might not like pianos (in folk music) much , but walking out when someone is performing would just be rude. So you are right, I wouldn't........especially if I'd paid to get in!
From: GUEST,Peter
If it was good enough for Walter and Daisy Bulwer then its good enough for me.
How an instrument is played ,is imo,The Important thing.
It's all a matter of taste Richard. Gui-sodding-tars do the same for me as pianos do for you. I don't walk out - but my brain switches off immediately and goes somehere else for the duration.
In an effort to avoid any more confusion I AM BANJOMAN (alias Pete) and not BANJIMAN whoever that is. I have been posting on Mudcat for many years but in future will sign off as Pete on any of my postings.
PS I have hundreds (seems like itaccording to my wife) of banjos which I have made or restored if anyone is interested
I stand by my previous message about pianos
From: Trevor Thomas
John Tams and Barry Coope use a guitar and a keyboard. They are excellent, as anyone who has heard them will be able to attest.
I play regularly with a piano player, who uses a digital piano, and he too is excellent.
The 'drawing room' type stuff with the posh voices and the evening dress is about as far away from my idea of the music as can be.
So aye, they can be marvellous, or they can be twee. Depends who's playing it.
From: GUEST,Henryp
Polly Bolton employed TWO wonderful pianists in her Band. John Shepherd regularly played piano on dates so Steve Dunachie usually played violin, viola or guitar. They lived in Ludlow and a good example of their work is A Shropshire Lad. It's their setting of the poems of A E Housman (with additional verses read by Sir Nigel Hawthorne). They offer their individual arrangements that are completely in sympathy with the words. Other recordings are devoted to traditional folk song and are just as successful.
Planxty travelled with a very heavy harmonium that suffered badly at the hands of their roadies. It steadily lost parts until it eventually expired. However, the roadies' objection was to its weight rather than its sound.
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
The piano is a fantastic instrument, and vastly under used in folk music. I remember listening to Nic Jones' recording of "Master Kilby" and thinking that Nic may be a great folk guitarist, but his guitar sounded so weak compared to the rich full sound coming from Helen Watson's piano. Of course, those much maligned "new age" pianoists have made some beautiful recordings of Christmas songs/hymns and many trad songs such as "The Water is Wide" and "Shenandoah". By the way, shanties would sound fantastic on the the piano - in the hands of the right musician.
It looks like I might have to admit to being in the minority, I've been trying June Tabor therapy.......but I still prefer the songs without piano,
Still, largely a civilised and interesting debate.
Tunesmith, you are joking, right?
If it wasn't for the piano I wouldn't have been taught to sing all those wonderful folksongs at school.
BTW - anybody possess any of the Cecil Sharp songbooks? Check out the arrangements by Alfred Moffat, they're for - piano!
Yur on shaky ground quoting Cecil Sharpe's arrangements as 100% evidence of authenticity and good practice round here
Richard: you clearly lack the ability to imagine!
From: GUEST, Sminky
Matt - I was merely making an observation. I leave it to others to draw their own conclusions.
From: oggie
I have fond memories of Johnny Handle playing "Cushy Butterfield" on a beat-up upright! Sounded great!
Why is that keyboards (usually used for floaty, drony backgrounds, OK I generalise) seem to be acceptable but pianos aren't. I much prefer a well played piano.
The piano has a long history of playing folk type music. I think we all agree that the piano is fine(great!) for blues/boogie-woogie. Bela Bartok used the piano very successfully for Balkan folk tunes - a pentatonic heaven! As an accompanying instrument, the piano is vastly superior to the guitar. Think about that chap (one of the folk clan) who backs Cara Dillon. Great stuff. Think Joni Mitchell! Terrific! I think a lot of folkies have got to "step outside their little square boxes" and explore the piano in all its many settings.
I hate them in rock music too. Except for necrophiliac rock and roll. Floyd Cramer is OK but he is nearly country which rules him out on other grounds...
Not even all that keen on them in jazz (Ramsay Lewis and Dave Brubeck excepted). Hate Horst Jankowsi with a passion.
But are we going to call Bartok folk music? He used folk tunes, but does that make him a folk musician? Actually, on the rare-ish occasions I listen to classical music, the piano is about my least favourite instrument there too.
Absolutely no way the piano is a better accompanying instrument than anything (er - except maybe the banjo).
Oh, and the Highland great pipes are a bit limited for accompaniment too.
I had been taking your comments on piano fairly seriously, but to suggest that the banjo is not a fine accompanying instrument has just completely blown your credibility in my book....go and wash your mouth out with soap and water!
Yours predictably
Richard: Bartok spend more time studying, recording and listening to folk music than almost anyone else on the planet! And, he was undoubtedly the greatest authority on Hungarian folk music.
Quote Matt - I was merely making an observation. I leave it to others to draw their own conclusions.
To Guest,Sminky
Thanks for the clarification, didn't mean my comment as a criticism of what you said, more about how arguments get kicked off on this forum.
Have always felt your posts talked a lot of sense, so thanks for your contributions
Hey Matt - no sweat.
Anyone remember that piano solo from Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air"? I just canNOT get it out of my head at the moment!
Do you mean this one Sminky Something In The Air :-) LOL Sweet dreams.
Yeah, Villan, cheers for that man ;-)
I seem to recall Pete Townsend was involved somehow (?producer).
I remember watching them play it on TV - it's just irresistibly bonkers!
From: GUEST,Edthefolkie
Oh well, that's most of Sandy Denny's oeuvre down the pan then! Don't know why she bothered to buy that Steinway from Harrods.
Julie Matthews bites the dust too.
And er - excuse me - the piano ruins Carol King's stuff? HUH? She plays the blooming thing and composes on it!
As for the rude remarks about Ralph Vaughan Williams, Aaron Copland, and Cecil Sharp - words fail me. (By the way, there are no E's in Copland or Sharp, said he pedantically)
Ed (grade five piano basher)
From: GUEST,The Mole Catcher's pianoless Apprentice
Opps...oh, well...there goes my 15 or so years of piano lessons down the toilet...me dad and late mum will be disappointed that they've been wasting their money....ah me...
Charlotte (the view from Ma and Ps's couch, having tossed the piano stool along with the piano)
By all means use the damned things for something - real honky-tonk, or barrelhouse, or if you like "light music" I'm sure they are suited to that.
Or you could form a trio with a banjo player and a bodhran player.
>>Or you could form a trio with a banjo player and a bodhran player<<
Now that is funny Richard :-)
From: Teribus
Both Stan Rogers and Sean Keane have used them very effectively
Over the past week or so, several folks (in this thread and, I believe one or two others) have made the statement that "the piano is a percussion instrument."
Wrong! The piano is a string instrument.
Of course, the piano can be played percussively, while at the same time providing melody and/or harmony. In the context of a jazz/pop/rock ensemble, the piano (and/or other keyboard) shares a unique role with the guitar (and/or other strummable box) as member of the rhythm section that can also play melody (i.e., solo and accompany).
The time-honored intrumental lineup for New Orleans style traditional jazz consists of a front line of horns (Trumpet, trombone and clarinet), a rhythm section of drum(s) and bass (string bass or tuba/sousaphone), plus a piano OR banjo to "bridge the gap" between horn and rhythm sections, playing chordal accompaniment in rhythm (i.e., "percussively") and also able to interject melody lines as appropriate.
One of my favorite contemporary jazz groups, Astral Project, consisted for twenty years or more of sax, bass, drums, guitar, and piano. A few years ago, longtime pianist David Torkanowsky left the band, not for "personal" or "artistic" differences, but mostly because the ensemble had become crowded, as he and the guitar player became more and more likely to step all over each other, since either one was able to completely fill a particular well-defined role in the group.
Whether a well-played piano has a place in "folk music" depends entirely upon one's definition of folk music. If the piano is played without taste and finesse, overwhelming other voices in the ensemble, it's not very good regardless of any general rule one might believe about whether or not its presence is appropriate.
Piano music is an element of New Orleans musical tradition fully equal to the group-improvisational "Dixieland" combo described above. My recommendations to interested listeners would be two mid-20th-century masters, Professor Longhair and James Booker.
From: GUEST,Jonny Sunshine
I don't have a problem with pianos in folk music, in fact I quite like them. They have more historical precedent in folk music than guitars, going back to the days when there were pianos in pubs and living rooms for musicians to congregate around. The sad thing these days is that most piano players have to use electronic keyboards to perform anywhere, which isn't quite the same.
Well, electric keyboards are a hell of a lot more portable than "real" pianos, and more economical as well, so they represent the future for most "folk."
Electric pianos that really sound like painos are much rarer than cheesy-sounding keyboards, unfortunately...
*prepares a cheese tray to go with Mr. Bridge's selection of w(h)ines*
There will, however, be no cocktail piano music as we had to get rid of the piano after it was found we had been wasting our time all these years.
Charlotte (the view from)
From: Rog Peek
I once watched a fellow busking on a street in Cork City. "Nothing strange about that." I hear you say.........Except, he was playing a full size upright piano. How in the hell he took it home, I don't know!
At one time I tended towards Richard Bridge's view. However over the years I have modified that view as I realised just what an amazingly flexible instrument the piano is. Not for me - I did try to learn to play piano at one time and took lessons. I got as far as grade 1 and that was a real struggle. I do appreciate the ability of a good pianist to produce effective accompaniment in any musical genre.
I still have an electronic keyboard and I admit to rather enjoying those build in accompaniments which you can produce using one finger or simple chord patterns. Tasteful it may not be, but fun it definitely is :-)
Technically, a piano is "percussion" because the little hammers in it hit the strings.
"Strings" are things on which the string is scraped.
I'd have to go away to find a musical encyclopaedia to check about things on whichteh string is plucked (eg guitar, banjo, lute, manfolin, harp, harpsichord, etc)
Well, I suppose that the category to which one assigns the piano depends upon which textbook you consult. I was brought up with the teaching that the piano was/is a string instrument (which is, undeniably, one valid way of looking at it). I can certainly understand the other argument, for classification as percussion.
Most but not all persussion instruments are more-or-less atonal. Some kinds of drums can be "tuned" to a relative degree of tautrness, which corresponds to pitch, but are not generally played to produce different notes. Sheet music for drummers shows timing but not melody/notes.
Now, the xylophone family of instruments (including marimba, vibraphone, etc.) is definitely classified as percussion by just about everyone, and the player is expected to play notes on them, just like on the piano. The hammers are operated manually, whereas the little hammers hidden inside a piano are connected to the keys. I'm not sure how meaningful a distinction that may be.
Anyway, my point earlier was that the piano is quite a bit more than just a percussion instrument in that it can supply melody and harmony as well as rhythm. Not all other instruments can do this; many can produce only one note at a time, eliminating the possibility of chordal harmony and making it more problematic to play a rhythm-makng role. Guitars and banjos, etc., can fill the pianos role in a band, but keyboards are more versatile than strummable strings.
Sourced from Wikipedia.
It (the piano) is sometimes classified as both a percussion and a stringed instrument (in a loose sense of that term). According to the Hornbostel-Sachs method of music classification, it is grouped with Chordophones.
Charlotte (researching from Ma and Pa's piano stool)
sourced from Wikipedia
Chordophone
Charlotte (wikipedia from Ma and Pa's piano stool)
From: GUEST,Black Hawk
GUEST,Walkaboutsverse - I'm not certain on this issue...but singing around the piano is, of course, a strong tradition in itself. .......singing Christmas carols around .....piano is always enjoyable.
As I have posted in the past, as a youngster I used to join my family standing around the (front room) piano singing whilst my mother played. She played everything from folk (raggle taggle etc),country (ghost riders) music hall & classical. Christmas time she was always in demand for carol concerts.
From this I gained my love of music & learnt a lot of songs which I now sing in local clubs. This is the only 'oral tradition' I can believe in therefore to me it is folk.
My father played banjo-mandolin & joined my mother in playing scottish dance tunes. Very popular at dances etc. in the 40's & 50's.
I love guitar but realise this is a relative newcomer to 'home grown' music.
"Electric pianos that really sound like pianos are much rarer than cheesy-sounding keyboards, unfortunately..."
Very true. We bought a really good Technics digital piano about fifteen years ago though, and it was given the thumbs up by my then neighbour, who was a composer, pianist, arranger, choirmaster, and blagger of Steinways. I must say however that the harpsichord and string settings are distinctly cheesy, and the organ sound is closer to a fairground than a church.
So of course what happened - Technics gave up and now it's only Yamaha and Roland I think.
I agree with there being some pretty disappointing piano sounds o keyboards. I have a Casio, (yes, Casio!) Privia which compared very well with piano sound, to the Roland's and Yamaha's I tried. I preferred it's basic piano sound to any others I tried within the price range I could afford. I also remember the piano being part of my childhood experience of music with others. My family passed down tunes via the piano, which I learnt and which my daughters, subsequently learnt and hopefully, so on...
From: Alan Day
Much of the early concertina music had piano accompaniment and most of the early concertina recordings feature a piano.
The piano playing in American Contra Dance music has a superb style all of its own.
One thing a piano (or harpsichord, and some electronic keyboards) has got going for it over the guitar: it can be tuned in non-equal temperament. I think this is sometimes done in Cape Breton piano accompaniment; I've heard it done with 18th century Scottish tunes, and it makes the accompaniment relate much more musically to the fiddle.
With a guitar you're stuck with what the frets give you, barring an occasional blues bend (impossible to use for voicing chords to pure intervals).
Most of my knowledge of electric instruments is second hand. For years, I've heard talk of the Fender Rhodes as the premier electric piano.
When I read above that "now it's only Yamaha and Roland I think," I have to ask: does Fender no longer make/market their excellent piano? Is it now a "vintage" instrument? Or is it just prohibitively expensive for the average person?
Drifting slightly to discussion of other electric keyboards:
The all-time favorite electric organ, of course, is the Hammond B-3. (If I'm not mistaken, the B-3 has become a "vintage" item, no longer in current production. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
However, the player who is arguably the greatest folk-rock/art-pop organist who ever laid hands upon an electronic keyboard, Garth Hudson, preferred another brand of electric organ, one best-known for a rather unimpressive line of "home" organs. Can't remember the brand name...
"vintage" instrument?"
some of the Moog synths and The Melotron
Charlotte (the view from Ma and Pa's Moog stool)
Agree wih you about garth hudson beibg a fantastic musician - he played a Lowrey by the way as opposed to the more common Hammond or less often used Farfisa
Sminky… Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air"? I just canNOT get it out of my head at the moment!
Was that solo Rabbit Bundrick?
Pete Townshend produced and played a lot on it including bass - so I suppose it could have been Pete, he is a pretty good piano player
Acoustic piano is more conducive to folk music because it can be played without sound equipment which is less folky than a natural ambient environment.
Saying that Copeland or Vaughan-Williams arrangements of folk music is "crap" is pure
folkie-snobbishness. Their arrangements of Greensleeves or Appalachian tunes are
not folk music but arrangements of folk music done in musical and tasteful ways. It's this attitude about folk music that will turn so many who would be interested completely off.
Bartok did the same for his collections of folk music, he arranged them in a so-called classical manner.
Acoustic pianos are great when accompanying in folk dance bands. They are great for dancers because you can feel the vibrations in the floor.
My once-in-my-lifetime visit to Ireland included a one-time-only visit to a local ceilidh dance, where an electric piano was part of the featured 4-piece band. This was in a fairly rural area, but at a hotel ballroom in the center of town (a small town in Roscommon near Mayo). The dancing was pretty energetic and seemed to adhere very closely to sets of rules that the attendees all knew. To my mind, that was certainly an experience of real folk culture, and it definitely involved music. It sure seemed like folk music to me.
A few nights later, at a pub in Doolin famous either for traditional music or for musician-tourists (depending upon who you ask), the adhoc group of players gathered around a table included a keyboard player along with the fiddlers and whistlers. He was using his electric instrument strictly as a bass; he could have played the simple little parts he was playing it with a single left-hand finger, although he probably used more ~ maybe his two index fingers.
A real string bass, or even a washtub/tea-chest, might have seemed more aesthetically appropriate, but he kept his volume approproiately low and his playing simple but tasteful, and so fit in quite nicely. Less obtrusive, certainly, than another participant banging away on a more traditional instrument, the dreaded bodhran...
From: terrier
Now that's a long thread! I started playing piano when I was old enough to reach the keyboard (before that I sat underneath and poked my fingers under the keys to play). At that early age, most of the stuff I knew was folk song (although I didn't know it then). Now I've been playing piano and singing folk songs for more years than I care to own up to and in all that time, I can't think of one person who's approached me and said "I hate piano accompinament to folk songs". Where have I gone wrong?
From: Rowan
When I read this in Alan's post I was transported, mentally, to some recordings I heard about 30 years ago with an ensemble that included hammered dulcimer, fiddle and piano; the pianist was Toby (Toni?) Hall, from memory. Lovely!
And when I lived in SC I made sure I got myself a copy of the CD of the music from Ken Burns' Civil War docco. Jacqui Schwab's (have I got the spelling right?) playing of piano on it surely can't be criticised seriously; it's beautiful!
Yes, I've heard examples where the lack of piano would certainly have improved the result but to generalise from that can't be credibly countenanced. Without knowing for certain, I suspect Richard's generalised attitude towards pianos might be attributed to an overexposure, early in life, to Liberace; that would be a sure turnoff for most folkies.
Cheers, Rowan
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 11:10 AM
"Most of my knowledge of electric instruments is second hand. For years, I've heard talk of the Fender Rhodes as the premier electric piano."
I'm a bit of a latecomer to this thread...which I notice has been dead since February, so sorry for starting it up again...
I actually have a Fender Rhodes electric piano, and a fine instrument though it is, it is a beast to move around (needing two, preferably four) people. Nope, it's not made any more...
Having said that, the Fender Rhodesisn't really suitable for folk music (or indeed, for barrelhouse) as it sounds more like a vibrophone than a piano...
...there are, however, loads of "electric" pianos which feel and sound almost exactly like a "real" piano - even having graded key weights like a real piano (it's heavier at the bass end than the treble end of the instrument), but are very portable (and in tune!!!)
Check out the Nord Stage 88, which is a fabulous instrument, though costs an arm and a leg at £2000...
...at the cheaper end of the scale is the MAudio Prokeys 88 at around £350, and a fine instrument it is...hopefully one may well be winging it's way into the Brother Crow household in the near future - though I'm known as a mandolin player in Brother Crow, my first instrument is actually the piano which I've been playing for 35 years...
Now then Banjiman (starter of this thread in the first place), I'm just gonna have to bring this here piano with me when we play at KKFC in January to get my own back for all the times I've had to listen to the banjo...
All the best folks,
Graeme,
Brother Crow.
From: GUEST,Graeme, Brother Crow
P.S. Check out Rosie Doonan and Ben Murray's version of Black Jack Davy which is great on piano...
From: Acorn4
Date: 30 Sep 08 - 12:41 PM
Recently heard Mike and Ali Vass at Bromyard, - she does fine Rankins style folky interpretations of songs/tunes.
Graeme.....didn't I tell you that your KFFC gig is cancelled?
Pianos my a**e! Not in our club!!!!!
From: The Greyt Hound
OK, we promise not to bring it....honest....really....honest....it isn't red rag to a bull....oh no.......really.....
Brother Crow
"Pianos my a**e! "
Nice try,but if you think ANyone will fall for that old trick....
OK Graeme,
The gig is back on, you know that you and your wonderful mandolin playing are welcome at KFFC anytime! But don't mention the P word.
Thinking back you know Paul, you did allow Frianna (apols if wrong spelling) to use a piano....
Franana ....yes, that's enough pianos for this decade then!
Anyway Fran is much scarier than you and more importantly has the wonderful Amy Thatcher on accordion and the talented Chris Meredith on guitar to cover up the sound of the parlour music making machine!
Fran is also very young....hopefully time for her to learn the error of her ways....(I'll be in for trouble if she reads this though!)
Well Graeme, you are very welcome to bring your piano to Faldingworth live.
We just have a ban on Banjo's, so hopefully Paul won't try to muzzle in with his banjo when Wendy Arrowsmith appears at Faldingworth Live.
This should be the National Anthem for England as already mentioned by Geordie - Poegie in one of his posts above, but he didn't put a link up for it.
For English and Piano lovers Click on the play button.
No Les, I thought I'd bring the bagpipes instead....hope that is OK?
Bagpipes is wicked man
From: Colin Randall
Having missed this thread in its earlier phase, I have found it fascinating to trawl through, June Tabor a renewed delight to hear and Johnny Handle a name to inspire great memories.
I used to loathe piano in folk, but that was quite a while ago and may even have had something to do with being beaten up by a bunch of toughs at the age of 11 for carrying a briefcase for piano lessons (though wearing grammar school uniform was undoubtedly an aggravating feature).
What has swayed me more than anything has been the work of pianists in Cape Breton/Scottish music. I also admire/d a number of individual musicians including Sandy Denny, Beryl Marriott, Huw Warren and Cara Dillon's part of the Lakeman family.
I tend to use piano as an accompanying tool....there's an awful lot of songs Andy has written which we haven't performed live, simply because the mandolin doesn't sound right on them...
...perhaps I'll revisit them using the piano.
I like the piano as an instrument, it was my first love really...I started playing when I was 7 (and I'm a 40-something now...) - I'm a little out of practice, but I've been working up the strength/co-ordination again whilst Andy has been out of action over the last couple of weeks.
I've heard piano used in folk music very very inappropriately on a number of occasions so understand the objections, however, I've also heard it used very well...I referred to Rosie Doonan's Black Jack Davy earlier, which is great and I also like the June Tabor songs (sorry Paul)....as a rule, I'm not too keen to hear it used as a "session" instrument, though having said that, I thought it was used very well in the BBCs "celtic sessions" series'
I guess a lot of North East songs (which often share music hall connections) would originally have been played on a piano (if there was any accompaniment at all), though I'm not sure that I would use this approach...preferring a more "gentle" accompaniment.
I'm a big fan of barrelhouse as well, so perhaps a couple of Jellyroll Morton songs will make Paul change his mind...
It's been an interesting discussion here though, which I stumbled across when doing some research...
...and hey, any excuse to wind up a banjo player ;-)
Wound up....me?
If you can be bothered (though I can undestand why you wouldn't!) to re-read my posts above you will see that I grudgingly admit to liking a lot of June Tabor (this is despite the piano not because of it though, I would like it better without!).
I also don't mind (even like) piano in the right place....music hall, honky tonk, some blues etc etc. In my humble opinion it just doesn't sound right as part of British Isles trad and tradalike.....just my opinion, as with most things it just comes down to different tastes.
I am dreading Brother Crow's "more tea vicar?" phase though.........
Paul (who won't be playing piano in Blind Summat!)
Another lovely one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKCvFjuTT6Q&feature=related
I have heard this live by Tommy Sands, but I still prefer Cara Dillon's version, piano and all.
However and sadly they do not perform together anymore, but one of the very nicest versions I heard of this song was by Lucy Wright & Paul young.
Les, yes, absolutely beautiful song very well sung.....be even better without the piano. Maybe a nice bit of Uilleann piping or fiddle or even accordion......
Wendy has been known to sing it Occasionally (the full versionn not Cara's edited one)......with guitar rather than piano I'm pleased to say!
Hmmm I don't know Paul, I don't think Cara Dillon's husband Sam Lakeman (who in my opinion is a lovely piano player) would be too pleased with your comments.
Cara Dillon & Sam Lakeman - the_snows_they_melt_the_soonest oooh what a beautiful song with lovely piano playing from Sam.
These Lakeman's are such gifted musicians. Why were they at the front of the qeueue :-)
From: danensis
Is Beryl Marriott still around? I remember a brilliant workshop on Folk Piano that she led in the upstairs room at the Friary in Beverley.
As someone said earlier, all those songs we sang in the school hall, sitting cross-legged on the floor around the piano on a rainy lunchtime, later turned out to be folk songs - amazing!
Even more amazing is that the lady who played the piano was called Miss Tune!
Villan: Thanks for that link. Great powerful backing by Sam.
Bugger, I can't stop listening to June Tabor now. Still its really nice :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JjF9KnF-qU&feature=related
She is on in Lincoln a week Thursday at the Peter O'toole theatre, North Hykeham. The only problem is that I am not sure if I would enjoy it, as I think it is slanting to modern Jazz which I am not very keen on.
Thursday 9th October 2008 | 7.30pm
UK Lincoln - North Hykeham | Terry O'Toole Theatre | NK Centre, Moor Lane LN6 9AX
QUERCUS - June Tabor, Huw Warren (piano), Iain Ballamy (saxophones)
01522 883311 www.terryotooletheatre.org.uk/
Each to their own mate! I'm sure Sam is a great piano player...... it is just not my cup of tea. There are plenty of people out there who don't like banjos..... a position I find very hard to understand, but there you go!
Ah but to the properly trained earhole banjo is the voice of the angels.
....by the way Les, I'm sure Sam wouldn't be too bothered about my opinion, after all we have already shelled out for Cara's album on the strength of "There Were Roses" alone.
My favourite Tim is the Tenor Banjo.
To be fair to Paul, I like the Banjo and Piano as long as they are played well. Ah well I suppose you are not going to change your opinion about piano's. I was going to put a Kate&Anna McGarrigle
song on where a banjo and a piano were used, but it didn't sound very good. So I didn't.
However Have A Drink On Me next time I see you. Notice that I am on it.
Brother Les :-)
Paul...tut tut, I read every one of your posts...it was a grand thread...
...Think of it not as a piano, but as a banjo with 88 strings...
:-)))))
See ya,
"Think of it not as a piano, but as a banjo with 88 strings..."
Plays havoc with your back though.......
There is a version of "The Bands Played Waltzing Matilda" where Eric has a piano and some wonderful clawhammer banjo backing. It actually works. I've only heard this version once.....anyone know where I can hear it again?
...and if you find it, let me know too...!
Will this do for starters
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=66483350
And this one for effect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI&feature=related
Saw him live at Cassies a couple of years ago, and he had me in tears. The git :-)
Thanks Les....takes more than a piano to spoil that song!
Fab, I saw him in a barn behind the TanHill Inn (allegedly the highest pub in England) a couple of years ago.... got to have a chat and a fag with one of my heroes (I don't have many, Tony Benn is the only other one) and act like a starstruck teenager.....great stuff.
From: GUEST,Russ
Pianos In Folk Music Trivia
There was rather obscure WV string band, the Tweedy Brothers, who were active in the 20s and 30s.
They played traditional fiddle/dance tunes.
The group included a pianist.
They would load the piano onto the back of a flatbed truck and use it in concerts.
Russ (Permanent GUEST and old time musician)
Not Russ Conway is it? :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnIpQhDn4Zg&feature=related
From: Goose Gander
The Field Recorders Collective has released a CD of Appalachian piano playing by Heywood Blevins (FRC 508). I haven't heard it (beyond the sound clip), but it looks like quite a tracklist . . .
FRC508 - Heywood Blevins
1. Cacklin Hen (4:12)
2. Listen to the Mockingbird (2:18)
3. Old Molly Hare (2:04)
4. Fishers Hornpipe (2:10)
5. Sourwood Mountain (0:43)
6. Goodbye Liza Jane (1:33)
7. Wildwood Flower (1:49)
8. Down Yonder (1:53)
9. Lonesome Road Blues (1:39)
10. Molly Put the Kettle on (0:52)
11. The Old Marine Hymn (1:49)
12. Sally Ann (1:15)
13. Sally Goodin (1:06)
14. In the Sweet Bye and Bye (1:52)
15. Precious Memory (1:10)
16. Sweet Hour of Prayer (1:40)
17. What a Friend We Have in Jesus (1:18)
18. Lonesome Road Blues (1:59)
19. Wildwood Flower (1:30)
20. Dance All Night with a Bottle in Your Hand (2:53)
21. Old Jimmy Sutton (1:17)
23. Cacklin Hen (2:05)
24. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down (1:35)
25. Old Joe Clark (1:19)
26. Girl I left Behind Me (1:19)
27. Casey Jones (1:18)
28. Flop Eared Mule (1:58)
29. The Preacher and the Bear (1:46)
30. Little Liza Jane (1:39)
31. Fishers Hornpipe (1:35)
32. Roundtown Gals (1:26)
34. Cripple Creek (1:09)
36. Wabash Cannonball (1:34)
39. Liza Jane (1:58)
40. Alabama Gals (2:09)
FRC508– Heywood Blevins –(From the collection of Peter Hoover) $15 per disc
This recording is an infrequent glimpse into Appalachian Mountain piano playing. Oddly enough, there were more than just a sprinkling of pianos in the mountains, a fact corroborated by Virginia pianists such as Hobart Smith, Clarice Shelor of Meadows of Dan and Mabel Dalton of Galax. John Hoffman, writing about Peter Hoover's recording trips, described Heywood's style; "Mr. Blevins, from Baywood, VA, said that he played piano the way that his father played the banjo. The tunes have that banjo bounce bearing some resemblance, or feel, to Hobart Smith's piano playing. What is interesting about Heywood's playing is the fact that many of the tunes are played in atypical mountain music tunings, F, E, G#, etc. Peter noted how often Haywood was playing on the black keys." These recordings come from two other sources beside Peter Hoover, including those of the late Blanton Owen and Carol Holcomb, whose father Howard Joines plays fiddle with Heywood on several tracks of this CD. - Ray Alden
From: Ian Carter
As a piano player, I suppose I'm biased, but I really can't see what all the fuss is about.
....ain't no fuss, just a friendly debate!
From: sleepyjon
Jack Campin had it (several posts ago). I'm sure it's a temperamant thing (that's the temperament of the piano, not of the people hearing the songs!) - just gives the typical trad tune a completely different feel - compounded by all the overtones and upper harmonics from the multiplicity of strings on the piano. John-in-Kansas had some very erudite stuff on temperament in this forum some years ago which I'd like to read again if only I knew how to find it. I think it's the basis of many interesting things - eg why an "a capella" folk trio such as Coope Boyes and Simpson sound like more resources than the Huddersfield Choral Society, and exactly why tunes of a certain character - especially a modal character sound so different on the piano. I'd challenge anyone to accompany "Gathering rushes in the month of May" on the piano without totally changing the feel of it. Also explains why so many sub-classifications of "folk" sound absolutely ok on the piano - they are harmonically based, so are comfortable in equal temperament.
Just guessing really.


(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor, UTA's liaison for Weber and Box Elder counties, listens during a meeting in 2017.
Before he was killed in an attack in Afghanistan last week, Brent Taylor fought the battle of Utah Transit Authority.
The North Ogden mayor — who wore the hats of father, soldier and politician — couldn't seem to do anything halfheartedly. When Taylor was chosen to represent Weber and Box Elder counties on the UTA board last year, the old guard at the transit agency was so unnerved they tried to deny him the appointment. They claimed it violated nepotism rules because his father was a FrontRunner train operator, and it took a ruling from State Auditor John Dougall to force the board to seat him.
Once he was on the board, Taylor did something other board members almost never did. He started questioning management's financial decisions. He challenged UTA's plan to borrow $88 million when it was already $2 billion in debt. He questioned why UTA drastically discounted passes for Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University students.
Ultimately, he fought to dismantle the board and replace it with a more functional system, and the Utah Legislature did exactly that while he was overseas.
Taylor's tenacity in the face of so much bureaucratic inertia says mountains about a man who was taken too soon from his wife, his seven children, his fellow North Ogdenites and the entire state of Utah.
Politics for Taylor was about problem solving, not building fiefdoms or protecting turf. It's that attitude that led the Republican to join with Oscar Mata, a former executive director of Weber County Democrats, to form "Weber County Forward." As with UTA, Taylor and Mata were looking to replace the county's three-commissioner government with a better system of checks and balances.
Utah will never know how far Taylor's star would have risen. Three days after his commentary ran in The Tribune in January, he announced that he was taking a yearlong leave from being mayor to serve in Afghanistan. "Service is really what leadership is all about," Taylor said in his Facebook announcement.
True enough, but leadership is also about courage. Brent Taylor was never afraid to do what is right.
The angels better be ready. Heaven just got a new reformer.


text:
Historical InterestPalo Pinto County
Wesley Cravens
Palo Pinto County, Texas
John Cravens and Nath Darnell established an old ox-treadmill in the western part of Palo Pinto in 1858 or 1859, and it was from this old structure that Mill Branch derived its name.
John Cravens owned a sandy bearded African called Wesley, who often looked after the mill. Early one Sunday morning in 1860, this darky rode out on Lynn Prairie for the purpose of finding the oxen. There was little timber on this prairie at that time. The African had not gone far when he met Mrs. Wm. Cain, a daughter of Geo. Hazelwood, and her brother John. They were on their way to Palo Pinto, to stay with Mrs. Cal Hazelwood, while her husband was away. When Wesley reached Little Elm, which bounds the prairie on the southwest, he was suddenly attacked by six or seven Indians. The African took a northeasterly course in an attempt to reach the home of Uncle Johnny Lynn then located just north of the present highway. But when the darky reached a point about one half mile south of the Lynn home, where two small tanks are at present located, near some hackberry bushes, and a little more than one mile southwest of Palo Pinto, Wesley fell dead from his horse, with several arrows sticking in his back. The exciting chase was seen from the home of Uncle Johnny Lynn.
The African was buried near the Upper Graveyard, and the first of seven murdered by the Indians, to be buried at Palo Pinto.
Note: Before writing this article, the author personally interviewed and heard the following people relate this story; H.G. Taylor, who extracted some of the arrows from the African's back. E.K. Taylor, his brother, Mrs. H.G. Taylor, Mrs. Huse Bevers, Mrs. M.J. Hart, Jodie Corbin, J.C. Jowell, Mrs. Wm. Metcald, M.F. Barber, Mrs. Matilda Van Cleve, Mrs. Julia Cott, Calvin Hazelwood, Mrs. Wm. Cain, a daughter of George Hazelwood, A.M. Lasater, W.D. Reynolds, whose death occurred today, T.C. Powers, Mrs. J.C. Smith, a daughter of Wesley Nelson, and others. To be sure H.G. Taylor and Calvin Hazelwood were not living when the author began to take notes for the present work, but he heard each of them several times relate this incident.
The above story is from the book, The West Texas Frontier, by Joseph Carroll McConnell.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Chapter 7. District of Columbia Employees Retirement Program Management.
Subchapter IV. Reporting and Disclosure Requirements.
§ 1-736. Public information.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the contents of the descriptions, annual reports, statements, and other documents filed with the Mayor, the Council, the Speaker, and the President pro tempore pursuant to this subchapter shall be public information, and the Mayor, the Council, the Speaker, and the President pro tempore shall each make such documents available for inspection in an appropriate location. The Mayor, the Council, the Speaker, and the President pro tempore may use the information and data in such documents for statistical and research purposes and may compile and publish such studies, analyses, reports, and surveys based thereon as may be considered appropriate.
(b) Information described in § 1-735(a) with respect to a participant or beneficiary of a retirement program may be disclosed only to the extent that information respecting that participant's or beneficiary's benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act may be disclosed under such Act.
(c) Except to the extent that information which is protected from public disclosure under subsection (b) of this section, or which relates to personnel matters the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, is involved, all meetings of the Board shall be open to the public.
(Nov. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 866, Pub. L. 96-122, § 166.)
1981 Ed., § 1-736.
1973 Ed., § 1-1836.
"Title II of the Social Security Act," referred to in (b), is 42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq.


text:
Q: REGEXP_LIKE DB2 regex pattern I tried to query search pattern this my sql query but unable to get the result.
SELECT * FROM table1 where REGEXP_LIKE(paramater,'^*RHEL[RHEL77435]','i')

my goal is to search pattern that start with first 4 character including * (*RHEL) and contains any character input in meta-character[ ] and this case is (RHEL77435).
SELECT * FROM table1 where REGEXP_LIKE(paramater,'^*RH[RHEL77435]','i')

when I tried 2 character (RH) it works for me
expected output:
|---------------------|------------------|----------------|
|      ruleid         |     parameter    |     Operating  |
|---------------------|------------------|--------------- |
|          1          |      *RHEL       |       Linux    |
|---------------------|------------------|----------------|

Thank you.

A: Why not just use =?
SELECT *
FROM table1
WHERE parameter = '*RHEL';

Or, if there could be additional characters after '*RHEL', then use LIK:
SELECT *
FROM table1
WHERE parameter LIKE '*RHEL%';

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Android activity difference between active and running I was reading the Android documentation on the Android developer website and I read the following near the Android Activity Lifecycle:
If an activity in the foreground of the screen (at the top of the stack), it is active or running.

What is the difference between active and running? It says that they are both on the foreground of the screen, so I can't see the real difference between those states.

A: An activity can still be running, but it is not active, whenever it is still visible on the screen, but partially obscured by another activity.


text:
Ранчо ел Алазан има више значења:

 Ранчо ел Алазан (Ебано), насеље у савезној држави Сан Луис Потоси у Мексику
 Ранчо ел Алазан (Тамуин), насеље у савезној држави Сан Луис Потоси у Мексику

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Chinese state media outlets took aim at US President Donald Trump with a barrage of criticism following recent escalations of trade tensions, Reuters reports.
Trump, whom reporters claimed was "starring in his own carefully orchestrated street fighter-style deceitful drama," was engaging in "wishful thinking," according to the Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily.
"Governing a country is not like doing business," the editorial wrote, saying that the situation had become a "zero-sum game" and threatened the standing of the US.
Elsewhere, China Daily mocked Trump's claims that "tariffs are working big time," pointing to US Commerce Department data that shows the country's trade deficit with China has climbed $3 billion since the imposition of duties, and that any negative effects to China's economy were already present.


text:
Bender, Legendary Creative Soul – My Tribute from the Fan Perspective
By Tyler Birss
Image courtesy of the "Bender vs Soul – Who Won?" video posted on YouTube.
Alex "Bender" Buchanan was a gifted artist. Gone far too soon, word came on March 1st that Bender had passed away. I found out through Twitter when some of the battle rappers who I follow began posting tribute messages. While I never had the pleasure of meeting the man, I was a fan of his music and battles for years. This article is meant to be a tribute to Bender from the fan perspective. But before delving into my thoughts, let me say this – my deepest condolences go to Bender's family and friends. My thoughts are with all of you during this time.
Bender was the most lyrically vivid battle rapper that I ever heard. Like many fans, my first true understanding of his greatness came when viewing his battle against Miracle. This beast with a beard strung together devastating haymakers with comedy in a seemingly effortless fashion. He commanded the audience with his powerful conviction and used multis in a manner that felt perfectly natural. The versatility of his performance blew me away.
This showcase came early on during Bender's rise, and what a rise it was. His run through KOTD from newcomer to champion possibly stands as my favorite battle rap storyline of all time. I was in my teenage years when I peeped the Miracle battle. I remember being in my college dorm watching Bender defeat Arcane. Multiple times during that Arcane battle, I got chills.
Two things separated Bender from others in my estimation – his writing ability and his brilliant mind. On the writing note, Bender had a massive vocabulary. He had a tremendous grasp of history. He was an excellent source of pop culture knowledge. Bender never sold out for a reliance on the relevant or the popular to appease crowds. Rather, he emphasized the obscure and the unusual, something seasoned fans got behind. I lost my mind when Bender told The Saurus, "I just royal flushed him, now who the fuck is Doyle Brunson!?" Who thinks of multis like that? It was an insanely dope line, one of many crafted from Bender's endless stream of knowledge. Allow me to name some of my personal favorites (quoting these as I watch the battles so I apologize for any minor errors).
Against Miracle – "Cus I ain't come here for horse play, but I might just bludgeon this corn flake, apply his blood like it's war paint and snipe the judge at my court date." Later on, the spawn of the famous sorry player scheme – "Sorry player, I'm Noriega crossed with Schwarzenegger, the orphan maker, orchestrate your fate in the torture chamber, a force of nature, firestorm and warn the forest ranger, you're a flamer, if we dropped you off at a gay bar, you'd probably catch a rape charge like Lawrence Taylor."
Against 24/7 – "See I've watched friends die for nothing, I've seen others graduate law school, I've seen the worst in people, and I've done things that would haunt you, so you would understand in a second if you knew half the shit I gone through, there's no number to describe the years I've actually got on you."
Against Arcane – "Little man, take lessons, this is the kind of performance that makes legends, so consider this a great blessing you'll have your name mentioned in the same sentence." Then a bit later – "This man is corny, tasteless, average, boring, basic, bland and formulaic, vastly short of greatness, stand before me shaking, shake the hand of your replacement, think you can't ignore this blatant fact, sadly you're mistaken."
Against Fredo – "See I was crafting my pen into a tactical weapon, while you were hanging with meth heads waiting on a batch from your chemist, now, class is in session for the master's apprentice, how'd you think this was a mirror match, I don't have a reflection, you quit your day job you better cash in your pension, I start infernos, Arctic Circle turn to Galveston, Texas, came to leave a body, no astral projection, Julius Caesar getting stabbed in the senate, I'm back with a vengeance, you can't capture the essence with camera lenses, you've been gassed since you stepped in, Fredo, you're just gas for this engine, a massive percentage won't catch till years after I said it, even after I'm dead, that's not the exit, they'll travel for miles to trample the entrance, and stand at attention where my casket's embedded like Vladimir Lenin's cadaver that's kept under glass at the Kremlin, god dam that's expensive."
This gift with the pen is probably why fellow battlers developed such respect for Bender. Make no mistake, fans loved him for his individuality, but other battlers knew they had to step up their writing games if they wanted to compete on a similar level. Bender both changed the battle world and, more importantly, elevated it. The reaction from battlers hearing of his death drives home this fact. They appreciated what he brought to a community that they all take such pride in.
On my second point, Bender's mind was a gift. I called him a "creative soul" in my title. His creativity spanned across multiple platforms. Alongside Patience and DJ Calkuta, Bender helped form the group Flight Distance. Battle rappers often have to deal with the assumption that they can't make quality music. A flawed generalization, Bender helped erase this notion every time he hopped on a beat. Run for Your Lives, Bad Information, and High Priests of Low-Life all had countless gems. Bender and Patience developed an unforgettable chemistry as they both rapped about similar topics but had distinctive sounds. I've been blasting their CDs in my car for years and will continue to do so.
Beyond his talents in the booth, Bender was a painter. And a legendary one at that. I purchased two paintings from Bender during 2016 – a Breaking Bad piece featuring Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, and one of Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander character from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. They are gorgeous creations that are proudly displayed in my room. I am deeply thankful that I am able to hold onto these pieces of artwork even after his passing. But tying this back to my earlier point, Bender's intelligence was a force. I would say that his creativity in multiple avenues helped him in the battle rap arena. He was a highly intelligent person who used his brain to often outwit his opponents.
Of course, I didn't know Bender. I was merely a fan of his. And I definitely didn't know Alex Buchanan, the individual his family and friends knew long before I came across that Miracle battle. But I will say this – it takes a special person to have an impact on others without meeting them. His battles and music gave me joy. His paintings in my room give me happiness. His existence, and by this I mean my anticipation for his next creative project, be it a battle or song, gave me excitement. I was always on the edge of my seat to hear what Bender was dropping next.
Gone, yes. Forgotten, no. Never. Bender's legacy lives on, because as he said after his battle with Sketch Menace, "long live the king."
Thank you, player.
Related Items:bender, handh, music, rap, rip, ticker
Amazing read! The world lost a genius. Ill hold on to the painting i got from him a few months back forever.
2018 NCAA Bracketology: 3/3/18 Update


This is probably where I had planned on starting, but I'm not sure that it totally works that way for me. The specific post that lead me to starting this, I have about 3 lines of notes for. Each one of these could easily end up being at least a single paragraph, and maybe as much as about 200-500 words.
So, I guess I realised that I don't really want to dive in with that kind of detail, and will probably break it down further, or into different ways of thinking about this stuff.
I guess maybe I'll try to have a post in more detail about what executive function is, in terms of pretty basic stuff that I would like to write about.
Basically, in the simple explanation where I don't really want to give it all away at once, it's the ability to get stuff done. And I think that's probably about where I want to leave the question for now.
One thing that I was really thinking about is the tools which help (or maybe don't help). Some of this is pretty good, and I think that some things are good to note that they are helpful. And then, also think about things that for me didn't actually end up being helpful.
Many people talk about the importance of some kind of journalling. I'm not sure that this helps for everyone, yet I can't think of what kinds of things will make it not work as a general concept.
The Bullet Journal is a specific format which some people really like. I don't know that I fully like some of the things about this, but it's what got me thinking about some of these concepts, and how important they are, and actually start working with this stuff, so it is really important to acknowledge as I have been working with a lot of these concepts for a while.
This came about with my sense that I just couldn't explain the concept of Bullet Journals in a way that made it accessible to some people. I knew something had to be handled differently than the whole "Bullet Journal" concept, and there needed also to be some opening up with this.
A big part of this is the idea that this is more of a, "whatever works for you," type concept, and there isn't any right or wrong way to do it.
Some concepts about what works for me are actually a good part of what this is about, but it's also taking what works for me, and trying to slim it down to the essentials of what it is.
I think I have come up with basically two parts that I think really are essential for finding what works for me, and that is the journal key, and the daily log. Everything else is probably a bit too much to introduce to begin with.
This is a bit of something that I felt I needed to find a solution for for a number of reasons. One, it was something that I was having a lot of trouble with keeping track of with how I was handling it at the time (it was really complicated at the time), and I needed to find a way that I didn't end up getting frustrated with creating it every time I needed to do a "new log".
Taking breaks is a really good thing that I think a lot of us fail to account for. We keep pushing through, and in my experience, this is not a helpful way to deal with things. In fact, it seems to take a lot less of a "helpful" approach than I would say, and a harmful thing to not acknowledge that you need to take a break.
So, while I don't really think that what I'm talking about is what is implied by "goofing off" necessarily, I like the term, because it feels a bit like a reclaiming of a term which is used against people when they are doing something which "isn't their job" and is "not viewed as productive" which I really hope to be able to explain why it is genuinely a productive use of time to stop doing unproductive work, and maybe do something unproductive (or if you can manage it, just rest).
Games have been an important part of goofing off for me. These are easy to fit in the category of goofing off (unless you are getting paid to play them, or make them). To me, they are really important, and I probably will want to write a fair bit about why they are important to me.
Most people are familiar with some form of playing games. And really I don't need to talk about what that is (as far as I know). But I do need to talk about how it is an important thing to do as a way of creating a meaningful life.
Lately, I have been trying to do some writing of games. I haven't made a lot of progress in any of the games that I have tried to write, but in a way, I don't think that matters much.
A lot of why I write games, is because of the process, not because of the outcome. And working on a game long enough to feel that I have an idea where I want to go with it is a great way to play with that process. Of course, I still can try to get that together, and that would be a good extension of that process.
Many people would never really consider writing a game, and to that, I say, go for it. Don't worry about how well it turns out. Talk to the people you know who are aware, or are doing game stuff, and find a place to start. And then start writing the games you want to, (often games that you don't see other people creating).
This is an interesting discussion, and I've fallen all over the place with this. But I also have found that people who feel that they have an answer to this, often don't see how there are different ways we process things when they are handled different ways.
My current sense is that it's great to work with different ways of handling how you handle things. I know that kind of feels like a crummy way of saying things. It's just… I'm right now talking about how do you "get things done" and I think that's a useful thing, but there are other aspects where I think this comes as an important thing. Like how do you "learn things" and how do you "explain things." So I wanted something generic. And well that's what you got.
In all seriousness, I have a lot of trouble with working with other people, and I want to find ways that I can make that a lot better. I know that some of this is stuff that I'm either not going to be able to change, or how I'm going to be able to change it, is to learn to ignore the ways that things aren't working.
My experience with learning to ignore the ways that things aren't working, has failed me miserably. At best, it means that no one else knows things aren't working, and leads to it never really getting to a way of actually working.
At worst, it can lead to severe burnout, even in the space of a few hours. If in the space of a few hours of dealing with something it invariably leads to burnout, and you keep doing it, this can lead to really serious problems, like has happened with me and the fact that I no longer use public transit because of having felt, "I should be able to do this," and continuing to push through.
Working with other people is often really difficult. Even when working with people who are good, when things have been difficult for a while, it can take quite a while to be able to find a nice flow with working with that person again.
When working around other people, I often have sensory issues. Some of that is things like people using fragrances which can be very overpowering for me (and if exposed for too long, lead to a great deal of pain). Other times it's the way that people are in a space, and that they make noises, or try to talk while the radio is on, or other things like that.
I have a lot of problems with communication, and learning how to express that in ways that don't make it even worse has been very difficult. Sometimes I manage it, most of the time I don't.
One thing for me (and I think this might be more of an introversion thing, than an autism thing) it can be really overwhelming to be in a social situation for long, especially when there aren't breaks. It's not that I don't want to be in it. It's more that it takes so much energy to remain in it.
So, I think that I'll leave things there. And probably get to more of this in the next few days (Hey, I'm almost 4 weeks ahead of schedule at this point (March 5th I'm writing April 1st's post)) some better idea of where I want to go with these posts.
This entry was posted in 30 Days Projects, Autism, Autism Acceptance, Communication, Future Plans, Journalling, Personal, Relating/Connection, Sensory Overload, Skills and tagged 30 Days Projects, acceptance, autism, bullet journal, communication, connection, disability, executive function, introversion, journalling, Open Journalling, pain, smell. Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.


[…] Dude…me and my friends have been playing this game for days on end! if a game like this were Online Play or Multi-player…it would be one of the greatest games ever…its just so fun to play!!
Sounds like a game to be [re]made? 🙂 Hear that Chris?
Be sure to see this talk by Sean T Cooper – Boxhead (unreleased) Deconstruction.
Head over to seantcooper for the latest news.


The Takata airbag crisis has become so huge that a big reminder is needed, so this article gives access to a list of all of the different types of vehicle affected. Check the list for yours, today!
This photo was taken no more than 2 seconds after the collision that triggered the airbags, which are now in the process of deflating. The driver and his passenger are still in the car, stunned. Possibly through distraction, the car driver had just collided with the back of a stationary truck — not an "accident," an act of negligence; a collision. Copyright image.


co-morbidities. There was 100 percent compliance with completion of the decontamination protocol by patients in the intervention group. Rates of SSIs were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (1.1 percent versus 3. 8 percent; p = 0.02).
50 percent reduction in SSI rates, adherence to and cost of a decontamination regimen is a cardinal factor for its success. It was noted that a decolonization protocol containing PVP-I instead of mupirocin could potentially dissipate concerns regarding antibiotic resistance, broaden application beyond S. aureus carriers, and result in cost-savings ($35.00 per patient for the PVP-I regimen vs. $54.00 for mupirocin and chlorhexidine).
PVP-I decolonization is a promising alternative to mupirocin for the reduction of SSIs and may promote better patient compliance. Maslow and colleagues studied patient experience with preoperative nasal decolonization. The study evaluated and compared patient experiences and satisfaction of patients randomized to receive either PVP-I or mupirocin ointment (MO) along with 2 percent chlorhexidine gluconate wipes.
Of 1679 patients interviewed, the majority felt that being an active participant in SSI prevention was a positive experience. Those assigned to receive PVP-I as nasal decolonization reported significantly fewer adverse events than the nasal MO group (P<.01).
Of patients receiving PVP-I, 3. 4 percent reported an unpleasant or very unpleasant experience, compared with 38. 8 percent using nasal MO (p = <.0001). Of participants in the MO group, 67 percent felt it to be somewhat or very helpful in reducing SSIs vs. 71 percent of patients receiving PVP-I (p= >.05).
PVP-I has rapid bactericidal activity against both mupirocin-sensitive and mupirocin-resistant strains of S. aureus, has no reports of bacterial resistance, can be applied immediately prior to surgery to suppress nasal carriage during the period of risk for bacterial contamination, has high patient satisfaction scores, and is cost-effective. PVP-I offers a promising alternative to mupirocin for the prevention of SSIs.
Joan Hebden, MS, RN, CIC, FAPIC received her baccalaureate and master's degrees from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Her clinical background includes general medicine, oncology, and cardiothoracic intensive care.
PVP-I nasal solution in both nostrils by staff within two hours of surgical incision vs. MO 2 percent ointment twice daily for five days preoperatively until the morning of surgery), it was perceived to be similarly effective in reducing SSI risk. In addition, 54 percent of patients reported paying out-of-pocket expenses for MO totaling as much as $115 per treatment.