Intro

[Sally]

I am new to the list so I thought I would introduce myself. I live in
Pittsburgh, PA. I am not currently a hurdy gurdy player, but would
like to be one in the near future. I love the instrument and am
trying to learn as much as I can about them. I am also looking for
suggestions for purchasing (as a beginner - don't want something that
will frustrate me but at the same time don't need top of line either -
also hoping to maybe buy used). I have a musical background, having
studied flute for many years as well as voice. I have a little bit of
experience with piano and guitar.

That's a very little bit about me - I will most likely lurk to learn
what I can as I don't know that I have anything to really add to the
discussions - at least not yet.

Sally

[Ian Porteous]

Hi Sally,

Welcome to  the rabbit hole, a serious can of worms, it's been only one month since I joined the group, and I had no idea what I was getting into. I've learned more in one short month about Hurdy Gurdy's than I could have ever imagined, also made contacts and friends who have helped me so much.

Alden and Cali Hackmann say it best:

"A hurdy-gurdy is a big commitment, for you as the player and us as the builders. It's a demanding instrument."

My first Herdy Gerdy will be arriving next Monday and I'm so exited.

Ian

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[David Gillett]

Hi Sally,

 

Your timing is perfect! If you have any plans for Memorial Day weekend, cancel them! If you come to Folk College (www.folkcollege.com) at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA that weekend (May 27th - 29th) you will meet at least nine other hurdy gurdy players, talk with them, try out a hurdy gurdy, and talk to a hurdy gurdy builder.

 

Folk College is a multi-instrument event (the website will give you all the details), so bring your flute, your guitar, your voice, and anything else you play, and have a great time!

 

David Gillett

[MITC...@aol.com]

Sally -

 

That will be great for you to spend time around players and a builder at Folk College!

 

Not wishing to be too much of a wet blanket, but cautionary words are in order to anyone who contemplates buying their first gurdy. Have a look in our archives for the recent thread on GSOs (gurdy shaped objects). Generally expect to spend $2000 for a good beginning to intermediate level instrument (unless you want the simpler medieval style, which is less money, but not suitable to the music of more recent centuries). Decent used instruments are few and far between, although our list is a good source for the ones that come up. There are two good US based shops I can suggest with good new beginner-intermediate instruments, and some builders in UK and western Europe. Shortest turnaround for a new one from these sources is 6 months, longest can be a year and a half or more (much longer for higher end instruments sometimes).

 

And if you come across a maker you're not familiar with, please ask here. We may be able to spare you some real misery.

 

Mitch Gordon

Guerneville, California, US

[David Gillett]

Amen to that!  Wise words from Mitch, as usual :-)

 

I would add to that and say to read the archives thoroughly, and DON'T LURK!  Ask questions, lots of them. There will be many people willing to answer and help, and we'll all learn something on the way.

 

If you're looking for more information, I strongly recommend www.gurdypedia.com. This is a compendium of useful information of all sorts, including links to lots of other sites, which will have links of their own, and so on. You will be surprised at the things you will find.

 

Good luck with your Walk On The Wild Side, and I hope to see you at Folk College in May.

 

David

[Simon Wascher]

Hello and welcome,

Am 28.04.2011 um 02:25 schrieb Sally:
> I am also looking for
> suggestions for purchasing (as a beginner

further recomendations:
look up http://hurdygurdywiki.a.wiki-site.com - it did not not really updated a lot recently, but much of it is timeless information, and all of it is a good startingpoint.

I made up a text about what should a beginner look out for when buying a hurdy gurdy, which you find here:
http://simonwascher.info/HGbuy.htm

kind regards, Simon

[Melvin Dorries]

Sally, Let me add our voice to the encouragement to join us on Memorial Day week-end at theFolk College. Its almost in your back yard (depending on how big your bck yard is). We will be bringing our new student model, as well as several other gurdies. We would be delighted to loan either of the less complicated ones to you so you can attend classes and stop by our site for a get aquainted lesson before hand. No strings attached. We just want the world to enjoy as many HG players as possible. We hope to see you there. Ann for both of us at Hurdygurdycrafters.

 

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[Felicia Dale]

Welcome, Sally, to the world of the hurdy gurdy and to this excellent
list.

Best wishes for an easy and smooth entry into playing!
Felicia.

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[Jeffery mayott]

oh i saw the note to sally you plain on bring some instruments could i try some as well  that would be great 

---

Date: Thu, 28 Apr 2011 05:31:51 -0700
From: mela...@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: [HG-new] Intro
To: hurdy...@googlegroups.com

hurdygurdy+...@googlegroups.com

[Jeffery mayott]

hay there sally welcome to the group i am a newbee as well for me about 8 months now slowly learning  i am in the albany new york area  write me and do know some thngs  and maybe i can pick your brain as well    jeff

> Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:25:56 -0700
> Subject: [HG-new] Intro
> From: sall...@verizon.net
> To: hurdy...@googlegroups.com

[Felicia Dale]

Just got this link from a friend:

http://work.chloeveltman.com/2011/03/for-unconventional-music-build-new.html

I wish there was a picture or a sound file!

Felicia.

[Felicia Dale]

Here's a bit of video that shows a moment or two of the Hurdy Grande:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueZGTRti95I&feature=youtu.be

I'd love to hear what a gurdy player would do with it.

Felicia.

[Melvin Dorries]

Hi Jeff,

 

Of course you may try any and all of our instruments.  Brian will have his new Madrigal that is a 5 string electroecoustic symphonie and he may have his pedal board done by then. Will have my Maestro there too as well as a Monarch 6 string and one in kit form.

 

See you there

mel

From: Jeffery mayott <play1...@hotmail.com>
To: hurdy...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 8:46 PM
Subject: Re: [HG-new] Intro

oh i saw the note to sally you plain on bring some instruments could i try some as well  that would be great 

The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. --

[Matthew Szostak]

Hi Felicia!

Try this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkqzvDC0w4

I think it shows a prototype of the instrument you brought to our attention. It doesn't *look* like a HGSO, but it sure sounds like one! I like the little plucked strings demo at the end - kind of like wind chimes, only less musical...

~ Matt

[Jeffery mayott]

that will be so great  thanks  jeff

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Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:55:13 -0700

[Felicia Dale]

Thanks!
Felicia.

[Sally Stewart]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome!!  I will try and make it to Folk College, though if I do it will only be on Saturday as I have workshops (dance) in the city on Friday and Sunday.  But it's close enough that I could manage one day.  Just seems like such a great opportunity to meet people and try out instruments that I would hate to pass it up, especially considering how close it is.

 

I have a question on fingering on the keys - it looks from the pictures I've seen that the thumb is not used to key but rests above the keyboard.  Is there a certain technique used to finger the keys - I'm used to piano fingering, but it seems it doesn't work exactly like that if the thumb is out of play.

 

Thanks!

Sally

 

Adopt a pet, don't buy!
Vegan - for the animals, for the planet, for life.

[cwhill]

---

You can't really use your thumb as it would have to bend the wrong way (unless you have very, very long thumb. I just tried and, for me, it's pretty well impossible to do without bending the wrist so far it hurts. Having said that, I'll bet some here manage it.
Yes, it rests on the top of the keybox. Arms get very tired without that little rest. There are sequences (like on the piano) but I've never bothered to learn them - I do what seems to work for me but I play for fun only.

Colin Hill

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[Arle Lommel]

In general, Colin is right: the thumb doesn't get used on HG. That said, there are some Blowzabella pieces, like Death in a Fen, that I find MUCH easier if I do use my thumb.

-Arle

On May 6, 2011, at 18:57 , cwhill wrote:

You can't really use your thumb as it would have to bend the wrong way (unless you have very, very long thumb. I just tried and, for me, it's pretty well impossible to do without bending the wrist so far it hurts. Having said that, I'll bet some here manage it.
Yes, it rests on the top of the keybox. Arms get very tired without that little rest. There are sequences (like on the piano) but I've never bothered to learn them - I do what seems to work for me but I play for fun only.

Colin Hill

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[Felicia Dale]

Thanks, Matthew!

Felicia.

On Apr 29, 2011, at 4:34 PM, Matthew Szostak wrote:

[Ulrich Joosten]

Hi everybody,

I had a 5-day course with Gilles Chabenat in the week after easter and we discussed that question. Gilles said he rarely uses the thumb but mentioned that it might be helpful to use it in  certain situations. Me personally I find it really un-ergonomic to use the thumb. Just my point of view.

Best regards,

Uli

[Arle Lommel]

I think Death in a Fen is the only piece where I routinely use my thumb. For anything else that I play, it's not useful. You can play that piece without it, but I find it easier (= more ergonomic) with it because of the particular progression of notes. So it really comes down to the piece: use it if it makes sense, otherwise don't. And for probably 99.55% of all music, it won't make sense...

-Arle

[Augusto de Ornellas Abreu]

Coming from a piano background as well, I feel tempted to use my thumb every once in a while.

For traditional HG repertoire (especially French and Galician), the thumb is NOT necessary at all, all the progressions work perfectly with four fingers, with easy fingering and shifts.

For other kind of music, though, sometimes the thumb comes into play and is quite useful. In some of the music my band plays (we play a sort of contemporary folk take on some traditional Celtic tunes, mixed with a lot of Brazilian influence), I use my thumb a lot. I don't find it that unergonomic (is there such a word?) if I keep the same hand position throughout the tune, that is, if I do not shift from a 4-finger style to a 5-finger style during the tune. But I can see how it puts some extra strain on the wrist and how that could be a little painful if you had some tendency to develop tendinitis, etc (I used to have some tendinitis when I played the piano more vigorously, but fortunately it's been years since I felt it last!)

Augusto

[Augusto de Ornellas Abreu]

As for good fingering technique, do you own a copy of the Muskett method? It is quite good and has a lot of great excercises of fingering styles and shifts/extensions (especially on page 26 and 27)

If you don't have a copy, do try and get one!

Augusto

[Barbara Currier]

I come from a harp background. I have had to build up the strength in my left pinkie finger, which I never used on the harp.

Barbara

[Sally Stewart]

Any ideas where I might find this?  The only book I have right now is the The Hurdy Gurdy Adjustment and Maintenance by Destrem and Heidemann, and it was a little tough finding that one.

 

Thanks,

Sally

 

Adopt a pet, don't buy!
Vegan - for the animals, for the planet, for life.

From: Augusto de Ornellas Abreu <augusto....@gmail.com>
To: hurdy...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, May 8, 2011 6:32 PM
Subject: Re: [HG-new] Intro

[David Gillett]

Hi Sally,

This is a list I made up a couple of months ago for the Gurdy List.
It should answer all your questions about the HG! :-)

--------------------------------------------------------
Here's a library list that every hurdy gurdy player should own:

1. Hurdy gurdy method - Doreen Muskett, revised by Michael Muskett
www.hurdygurdymethod.co.uk
(This is the book you're asking about. You need to email Michael
Muskett directly to order from the UK. He accepts payment by PayPal)

2. "The Hurdy-gurdy: Setup and Maintenance" by Philip Destrem and
Volker Heidemann
The "Owner's Guide" for all HG players! Appears on eBay fairly
regularly - I got mine from Dusty Strings in Seattle.

3a "Tutor for Hurdy Gurdy" - Neil Brook
3b "Hurdy Gurdy Maintenance"
www.hurdy-gurdy.org.uk
Very well regarded - order from his website. Don't forget to order
NTSC, but any format will play on a PC

4 “Learning to play the hurdy-gurdy” - Dr Ina Lemm
http://www.drehleier-musik.de/index.php?int=1
Order from her website. Don't forget to order NTSC, but any format
will play on a PC

Two more books, if you're interested in French Baroque:

5. The Hurdy-Gurdy in Eighteenth-Century France - Robert A. Green
This is nearly alway available on eBay

6. Richard Haynes Music Services
http://www.richardhaynesmusicservices.com/index.htm
Richard Haynes has done extensive (and valuable!) research on the
Baroque HG and has published several contemporary methods and music
collections.

There are several other sources of goodies (it's surprising how much
there is out there) which I shall collate and send to David McCoy to
post on HurdyGurdySociety.com (Shameless plug - please support his
site!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

David