Hello Matt
I feel my comments need clarification,
For the record, in general I think drones are fantastic, and used all 4
together: GDdg on the Whittingham/Glen Aln/Lads of Alnwick track on the
WG album. I realize this is anachronistic for Lads aEUR| (also fairly
tiring) but I think it works.
Where drones can be destructive is when there is up to 70 cents
difference between one player and the next and each tunes their own
drones to their own chanter.
The move away from the Reid dimensions by those makers aiming for
concert pitched sets in F and the retention of that pattern by David
Burleigh who has now provided 3000+ sets to the piping community means
that this is often the case.
If I have any control over the proceedings I tune one drone on each set
of pipes to the mean (usually around F + 30) and then get each player
to see if they can play acceptably against that drone if the answer is
yes, I invite them to add a second drone if the answer is no, I ask
them to switch the drone off. This means that in a gathering of pipers
with a spread of pitch we usually get something pleasing to the ears. I
would not dream of having a group of pipers playing/performing pipe
tunes without drones but I would limit drone use in the interests of a
pleasing drone hum (bees rather than angry wasps).
And yes, this generally pleases others in the room too. (Thanks JG for
making that point)
Cheers
Anthony
--- On Fri, 7/1/11, Matt Seattle <theborderpi...@googlemail.com> wrote:
From: Matt Seattle <theborderpi...@googlemail.com>
Subject: [NSP] Re: Doublin' (Keenan & Glackin)
To: "Gibbons, John" <j.gibb...@imperial.ac.uk>
Cc: "nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu" <nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu>
Date: Friday, 7 January, 2011, 18:23
On Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 3:55 PM, Gibbons, John
<[1][1]j.gibb...@imperial.ac.uk> wrote:
I'd agree completely about this record. Lovely! I must dig it out
again.
The precision is what marks it out from a lot of lesser
performances, Irish or from wherever.
I am so relieved that peace has broken out. I was especially worried
after Anthony's
"Yes drones are wonderful and powerful but this power can also be,
and
all too often is, destructive."
which reminded me that drones, like the nuclear force which binds
everything together, might, if mishandled, lead to some
Chernobyl-type
musical meltdown scenario.
And I love the Glackin & Keenan record too, I haven't heard it for
ages
but it used to really fire me up, it has The Juice.
A Guid New Year to all from fair Teviotdale
--
References
1. mailto:[2]j.gibb...@imperial.ac.uk
To get on or off this list see list information at
[3]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
--
References
1. http://uk.mc5.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=j.gibb...@imperial.ac.uk
2. http://uk.mc5.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=j.gibb...@imperial.ac.uk
3. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
