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thanateMy stress response this past week appears to be researching early instruments; this is partly brought on by pennsic, and partly by (modes class handout in hand) running across a beautifully dismal selkie verse (the one at the bottom of the entry) which clearly needed a simple tune in hypodorian, and which would of course be properly accompanied on rebec, rather than my violin.
The rebec, for those of you who don't have a strange fascination with historical bowed strings, is a medieval precursor to the violin; it is a roughly similar size to a modern violin, but has an oval silhouette and rounded back more or less like a lute, and only three strings. Tuning is generally in 5ths, with the bottom 3 strings of the modern violin (G-D-A), but there are variants with more strings or different tuning, and a modern folk descendent in Spain that I've seen with up to 13 strings.
The only rebec I've ever met in the wood (er, as opposed to in the flesh? never mind) was at last year's pennsic, and someone else thoughtfully bought it before I could talk myself into doing so. Also, Micha von Wolgemut took it away from me when I was sitting around petting the instrument and did a very inspiring demonstration of what the thing is supposed to sound like in the hands of someone who knows how all this works. Sadly, this year the music shop that had it wasn't even back... and given my track record for playing violin at present, I have no excuse for buying even a cheap (er, several hundred dollar) medieval instrument I'll mostly not play. So... this brings us to the making of things.
For the record, the Early Music Shop (in England) does make a cheap rebec; it's about L299 (a little under $500, presently) from them, and can presently be found for exactly $306.75 with hard case, bow, and shipping included on both amazon and ebay. From several different outfits, so I'm not quite sure where that price point came from, but whatever. (other rebecs available from early music luthiers come in at $800 minimum.) EMS also has a kit for L153.25, which appears to be everything in their basic instrument pack except sanding & gluing, and you get to choose & carve your own sound hole design. Cute, but also a bit of money.
So, google turns up a seriously horrible page by some laurel in Calontir (which I can only tell you because of an off-hand comment buried in one of his daughters' project pages) which actually contains a nice bit of information if you're willing to sift for it, and a fairly nice page from an East Kingdom laurel with some intensive picture research as well as a building diary using hand tools. (Also, a rather testy article from someone who's spent too much time arguing about documentation, and this crazy link guide for all sorts of instrument building, which would be less frustrating if it didn't have dead geocities links in it. Also of possible interest, if little use, a hobbyist plan from the 1950s for a "rebec fiddle" you can build at home... includes "hard balsa wood" in the materials list for the instrument body, and a twine-strung bow.) Some of this I can perhaps work with, though I think I may use Master Some-guy-from-Calontir's suggestion and start by asking my father if he's got a large enough wood lathe to turn two body blanks on. (Of course, he's in CO this week.)
Meanwhile, I find that the east kingdom guy also does slightly later period dance, and has another page on making himself a pochette, which is a slightly later period stick-fiddle designed to fit into a greatcoat pocket. (He also mentions one designed to disassemble & pack down into a walking stick!) Also, much easier to shape, and to find a block sized to carve it out of. Mmmm...
Incidentally, his pochette research includes a link to the fascinating National Music Museum in South Dakota, who has extensive pictures and measurements on much of their collection, including a whole page of early bowed strings. Sadly, their treble viols are all buy the plans or get your own (as the seagull says), but they have a great deal of lovely pochette detail, and scrolling down from there, one finds the Trumpet Marine.
The Trumpet Marine is neither a brass nor related to the ocean. Instead, it is a tall thin single-stringed instrument of roughly the height of a string base with a vibrating bridge that reputedly gives it a trumpet-like tone. And instead of the conventional pressing fingers to the bridge and bowing on the long side of the string, it is played using harmonics (resting the finger lightly on the string at a resonant point) and bowing on the short side, up by the player's ear. Very peculiar. I have no particular desire to make or own such a thing, but I'd be very curious to meet one.
ETA-- but Lark in the morning sells a trumpet marine, if anyone else desperately needs one. In fact, they've even got a "cheap" model for special order!
The rebec, for those of you who don't have a strange fascination with historical bowed strings, is a medieval precursor to the violin; it is a roughly similar size to a modern violin, but has an oval silhouette and rounded back more or less like a lute, and only three strings. Tuning is generally in 5ths, with the bottom 3 strings of the modern violin (G-D-A), but there are variants with more strings or different tuning, and a modern folk descendent in Spain that I've seen with up to 13 strings.
The only rebec I've ever met in the wood (er, as opposed to in the flesh? never mind) was at last year's pennsic, and someone else thoughtfully bought it before I could talk myself into doing so. Also, Micha von Wolgemut took it away from me when I was sitting around petting the instrument and did a very inspiring demonstration of what the thing is supposed to sound like in the hands of someone who knows how all this works. Sadly, this year the music shop that had it wasn't even back... and given my track record for playing violin at present, I have no excuse for buying even a cheap (er, several hundred dollar) medieval instrument I'll mostly not play. So... this brings us to the making of things.
For the record, the Early Music Shop (in England) does make a cheap rebec; it's about L299 (a little under $500, presently) from them, and can presently be found for exactly $306.75 with hard case, bow, and shipping included on both amazon and ebay. From several different outfits, so I'm not quite sure where that price point came from, but whatever. (other rebecs available from early music luthiers come in at $800 minimum.) EMS also has a kit for L153.25, which appears to be everything in their basic instrument pack except sanding & gluing, and you get to choose & carve your own sound hole design. Cute, but also a bit of money.
So, google turns up a seriously horrible page by some laurel in Calontir (which I can only tell you because of an off-hand comment buried in one of his daughters' project pages) which actually contains a nice bit of information if you're willing to sift for it, and a fairly nice page from an East Kingdom laurel with some intensive picture research as well as a building diary using hand tools. (Also, a rather testy article from someone who's spent too much time arguing about documentation, and this crazy link guide for all sorts of instrument building, which would be less frustrating if it didn't have dead geocities links in it. Also of possible interest, if little use, a hobbyist plan from the 1950s for a "rebec fiddle" you can build at home... includes "hard balsa wood" in the materials list for the instrument body, and a twine-strung bow.) Some of this I can perhaps work with, though I think I may use Master Some-guy-from-Calontir's suggestion and start by asking my father if he's got a large enough wood lathe to turn two body blanks on. (Of course, he's in CO this week.)
Meanwhile, I find that the east kingdom guy also does slightly later period dance, and has another page on making himself a pochette, which is a slightly later period stick-fiddle designed to fit into a greatcoat pocket. (He also mentions one designed to disassemble & pack down into a walking stick!) Also, much easier to shape, and to find a block sized to carve it out of. Mmmm...
Incidentally, his pochette research includes a link to the fascinating National Music Museum in South Dakota, who has extensive pictures and measurements on much of their collection, including a whole page of early bowed strings. Sadly, their treble viols are all buy the plans or get your own (as the seagull says), but they have a great deal of lovely pochette detail, and scrolling down from there, one finds the Trumpet Marine.
The Trumpet Marine is neither a brass nor related to the ocean. Instead, it is a tall thin single-stringed instrument of roughly the height of a string base with a vibrating bridge that reputedly gives it a trumpet-like tone. And instead of the conventional pressing fingers to the bridge and bowing on the long side of the string, it is played using harmonics (resting the finger lightly on the string at a resonant point) and bowing on the short side, up by the player's ear. Very peculiar. I have no particular desire to make or own such a thing, but I'd be very curious to meet one.
ETA-- but Lark in the morning sells a trumpet marine, if anyone else desperately needs one. In fact, they've even got a "cheap" model for special order!
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Date: 2011-08-24 01:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-24 01:17 pm (UTC)