Still wishing...

Still wishing I was in Maryland with a banjo on my knee at the Crisfield Folk Musicians Retreat. So, I've been watching banjo videos on YouTube. Here is an amazing piece of playing by Ken Aoki tenor banjo player. He has several videos available on the web.



Wonder what this would sound like clawhammer style?

2009 Folk Musicians Retreat

Wish I was in Maryland making music instead of eating my oatmeal and planning a presentation on Moviemaker for my third hour.

Maybe next year. (click comic for full size picture.)

Banjo Craziness

John Calkin used to build guitars and in recent years started playing around with banjo construction. He is experimenting with wood varieties and different designs to create a clawhammer banjo with the tonal qualities he wants. His website has lots of pictures and explanation. Successes. Failures. I was hooked as soon as I clicked it open, but I admit, I have a fondness for banjos, construction, and design.

He has other pages on tools he uses, guitar building, and instruments he has built over the years. I killed an hour I should have used to clean the garage. Fun site.

The rim pieces in the picture are from his banjo project. The last post on this project was in 2008 but he promises more information as he goes along. I'll be watching for updates.

[Via Tangier Sound]
[Image: Captured from Banjo Craziness: http://tangiersound.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/wooden-head-banjos/]

Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet

While driving to work a couple of weeks ago, I heard a promo for a program on NPR in which they played a little clip from a new album by Abigail Washburn (a clawhammer banjo player). I don't normally write about music here other than the occasional piece related to learning to play an instrument. But, when I heard the clip I was instantly enthralled and wanted to share. It was as if the Appalachians had been settled by the Chinese along with the Irish and Scotts. She was singing in Mandarin but the music had a definite old-timey feel to it.....yet the Asian influence was there. The album is Abigail Washburn and The Sparrow Quartet.

I went home that night and downloaded several songs. I have since gone back and purchased most of the album (and her previous one too). I tracked down the NPR segment on World Cafe. Listen to the interview to learn more on how this all came about. It's a hard album to classify. It's a melding of several styles and cultures. Interesting. Beautiful.


Abigail Washburn Home Page

YouTube video of group performing Kangding Qingge live in China.



Here is a short video of the quartet playing with some Chinese musicians at the Airport

Christmas Wish List

When I was a boy I used to make up detailed lists of what I wanted for Christmas. I'd spend time poring through the Sears and JC Penny's catalogs detailing out the perfect gifts. I usually got something off my list but I think the dreaming and planning were more fun than actually getting the gift. Somewhere along the path to adulthood the presents became less important to me and I stopped making out a list. Now I ask friends not to give me anything. I've got more than enough. A little peck on the cheek under the mistletoe and maybe time spent singing a few songs seem to mean more to me now.

But, I still like looking through all the catalogs that come through the mail. There are sure a lot more than there were back then. And the internet! It's just one big old Sears catalog for a slightly balding boy like me. I still like to wish a little. Here is what my list would look like now.

1. Mindstorms

I taught a Middle School Technology lab for seven years and I have to say one of the best stations we had in the lab was one built around Mindstorms. Even taking away the programmable brick, I would still want a module overflowing with Lego parts and pieces if I were ever to have a tech lab again. I miss sneaking in to build killer robots when the kids were gone for the day. I have this dream of one day clearing a space out in my basement and setting up a bench where I can build my creations and not have to share my toys with any pesky students.

2. Somerset Banjo

Patrick Costello and his father Pat are creating some banjos out on the Delmarva peninsula that have me wanting to cheat on my Goodtime Deering. She is still a good banjo and meets my needs just fine. But, Dang! Those Somerset instruments call to me like banjo bottomed mermaids twanging on the heartstrings of lonely sailors. All American made. Hand crafted. And a sound, that best as I can tell over a YouTube video is great. I've thought about driving down to the Eastern Shore next time I'm out visiting my sister in Maryland to try one out. I fear if I do that, I will be a goner and won't be able to resist the temptation. Until then, it's up to Santa. He can decide if a pretty much full grown man really needs two banjos.

3. iMac

I'm ready for a new computer. I'm always ready for a new, faster shiny computer, and I've got my eye on a iMac. I am anxious to try out the dual boot capabilities with the new models and to get one of those 20 inch screens on my desk. I'd add a second monitor just to make working with my Adobe programs a little easier. You haven't lived until you can put your workspace on one screen and all your menus and palettes on another. It's pure Geek Heaven. A double screen also makes it so much simpler when I'm grading a student project by having their work open on the main screen and my rubric on another.

Did you hear that honey? A new computer would make my job so much easier and it would be so much more functional than a new couch. We don't need to sit.

4. Creative Suite

I work with Adobe products every day in my classes at school. I use at least one of their programs during my off hours in my planning and prep. I have Photoshop and Dreamweaver at home but I'm tired of not being able to work or take on personal projects in the comfort of my house while sipping tepid coffee and wearing my Winnie-the-Pooh jammies. The Master Collection includes pretty much every major Adobe Product:

• Photoshop
• Premiere
  
• InDesign
• Illustrator
• Flash
• Dreamweaver
• Fireworks
• Contribute
• After Effects
• Soundbooth
• Encore

I could do everything I do at school plus a bit more with this software package. It would be swell if Santa tossed this cornucopia of productivity down my chimney this year.

5. Kangoo

I love to run but haven't been able to for several years because of nagging knee and back problems. I miss it. I saw these cool running boots a year or so ago. They drastically reduce the impact on your knees and feet by as much as 70%. I would once again be able to burst out of my front door on a spring morning and run through the streets of my neighborhood. My bottom half would resemble that of the Primus Transformer and I would probably frighten small children and send dogs running with tails between their legs. But, it would be worth it to run again.

They cost several hundred bucks and I'm the kind of guy who has a hard time paying more than a dollar for a cup of coffee. So, I put this idea away thinking I might revisit the concept if the price ever went down or I could find a place locally to try them out before committing to the hefty price. After all, I could get a Mindstorm's kit for that kind of money.

Recently I read a post by Doug Kelsey who writes the blog, The View. He has a pair and likes them. He bought his on eBay. I looked and sure enough, I can probably pick up a pair for $50 or less. If it's meant to be, a pair in size 11 will soon pop up and I will put my bid in. Otherwise, they will stay on my wish list.


So, that's the list. Do I really want all this stuff under the tree for Christmas. Not really. I just like the dreaming. Like I said a few pecks on the cheek and good friends are all I really want.

Now, excuse me while I go looking for a little mistletoe.








[Image: "Bus Santa": Photo by Al Gunn: Creative Commons: My brother-in-law is a bus driver and used to dress up like Santa on the last day before school let out]
[Image: Mindstorms robot: Captured from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/LEGO-4494799-Mindstorms-NXT/dp/B000E4FDAE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1228961450&sr=8-1]
[Image: banjo: "S2-pot"; Captured from http://somersetbanjo.com/s-2.htm]
[Image: iMac: captured from http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac?mco=MTE2NjM]
[image
[image: Kangoo: Captured from http://www.kangoojumps.com/pags.php?doc=644&cod=KJsite_KJ_14&ad_cod=KJsite_KJ_14]
[Image: Captured from Adobe Site: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/mastercollection/features/?view=topnew]
Image: "Kisses for Christmas ;~))": Flickr: Creative Commons: Uploaded on December 24, 2006
by freebird4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freebird4/331746423/]

Waste of time?

Michael Schmidt made an interesting comment on his blog, Melodic Metanoia, recently about learning to play music:

"... the other thing about making music that absolutely amazes me is that even at the basic level of playing a simple song and singing it, people will say, “I wish I could do that.” I have never heard of someone that listened to a musician and said, “Wow, I’m sure glad I didn’t waste my time on that.”

I agree. I have heard numerous people who wished they had learned to play an instrument or had continued on with their childhood piano lessons. My advice is always, "Start now. It's never too late." I am one of those folks who in my thirties was wishing I could play and was cursing myself for not picking up an instrument in my teens. I had the realization that I didn't want to say the same thing about my thirty year old self when I got into my fifties. I signed up for lessons that week. Now in my fifties I have nothing but gratitude to that thirty-something Al for finally picking up the banjo.

This got me to thinking about learning and education in a broader sense. Let's contrast these common positive comments about music with a comment I overheard in a fast food line the other day. A couple of men in their late twenties were talking about the higher level math they took in high school and how they never used it once they graduated. They felt they had "wasted their time."

Wow! Wasted their time. As a teacher this makes me a tad sad. Can learning a topic truly be a waste of time just because you never have or never will use it specifically? I've been told in several educational gatherings that one of the best indicators for success in later high school and college is learning Algebra. Why? No one is really sure. It's suggested that the process of learning Algebra prepares you better for learning more abstract concepts in other subjects.

That argument would not have motivated me in ninth grade when I was struggling to find the value of x in an equation. My motivation was my mother telling me to stop complaining and just get through it. I did. I hated it. But, I passed. I've felt that way about lots of classes, workshops and lets not forget multi-hour faculty meetings. Were those minutes and hours really a waste of my time? Is our real challenge to not only get our students motivated about the topic but about the process?

Tough question. Anybody got a good answer?

[Image: "M. Eli Jackson January 29, 1921 - August 15th 2008" Flickr: Uploaded on August 27, 2008 by coalandice: http://www.flickr.com/photos/coalandice/2802918677/: ((Creative Commons))]

Lonely banjo player looking for other pickers. No long term commitment!

Have you ever been sitting in the backyard with the banjo on one knee and a fresh mohito on the other frailing a lonely song because all your picking buddies are out of town or they have a job? A job that doesn't allow for mohitos in the middle of the day let alone any banjo picking.

Or, maybe it's the middle of the night and it's humid and the sheets are clammy and you just had that dream. You know, the one about a mountain sized lizard with sub-prime teeth and budget-cut eyes chasing you through the school's hallways and all you have on is a pair of underwear. That embarrassing pair hidden in the back of your sock drawer because they're bikini briefs, pure silk and have "hot papa" stenciled in pink right across the fanny. And, and in your dream, all the children are laughing and screaming "Run hot poppa, run." while your principal is standing there saying, "Can't you control your classroom Mr. Gunn?"

That dream.

It wakes you up and drives you out of bed to the refrigerator looking for pickles and salami. On the way to the ice box, you grab the banjo with the idea of playing the night heebi-jeebies away and wish that you had a picking buddy to play with you there in your dark kitchen. But your picking buddies all frown on being called in the middle of the night to come over and play. Their wives already disapprove of you because of your mohito habit.

What's a picker to do?

Go to Mando Jam! This website comes out of Maine where the proprietor, Adam, records songs and lists the chord progressions of each song. You can pick along. It lets you play with someone else anytime you want.

Patrick Costello over at Tangier Sound pointed his readers to this site. If you have the time, visit his blog and take a look at the new line of banjos he and his "Dear Old Dad" are creating. He demoed the Somerset S-2 recently. Impressive.

[Image: "Al in a field": Feel free to use this picture if you ever need a shot of a man sitting in a field playing a banjo.]

Building a Banjo

After writing about tearing a banjo down last week, I ran across this post on Make that had a flickr stream detailing all the steps to building a wooden banjo. Fascinating.

I tracked down the fellow who posted the pictures and he sells handmade banjos out in Massachusetts. His site is fun to browse and if you are interested in instrument building, his blog is filled with information about his methodology.

Someday I am going to build a gourd banjo. I am pretty sure it is my destiny!

[Image: "canarywood2side"; flickr: J.P.Banjo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12786541@N00/sets/72157604084635308/]

Banjo Break Down

I'm a big supporter of folks tearing things apart in order to see how they work. The problem is that sometimes they don't work so good after you put them back together again. No one said learning was going to be easy.

I make it a habit not to tear anything apart that I will need to use within the next six months. This is also a condition of me remaining happily married. So, I was in awe of this photo from Patrick Costello's Tangier Sound, a great website for all you banjo, guitar and harmonica players. Or wannabes! (I'm a big fan of Patrick's site and I visit it daily for an online lesson.) Steve, one of his readers, tore down his own banjo to all it's itty-bitty parts and sent in this picture. He got it all back together again and posted a video of the rebuilt banjo being played. There were no pictures (or video) of a grown man weeping into a crumpled banjo strap, so I am assuming it went back together without a hitch.

I don't have the nerve to do this with my precious banjo. Maybe my neighbors banjo......but not mine.

[Image: Captured from Tangier Sound: http://tangiersound.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/oh-the-humanity/]

Banjo Lessons, Learning and the Web

I'm a banjo player. Not a great banjo player. A fair to middlin' kind of picker. Many years ago after seeing a performance by Ken Perlman in a little town in Maryland, I wanted to learn his clawhammer style of picking and I bought a few instructional books. I studied the diagrams and photographs. I practiced what I thought was the correct style. I never really developed a sound I liked and eventually gave up.

A few weeks ago, one of the guys I jam with regularly, asked me if I knew anything about old style banjo. I shared what little I knew. I left his house that day thinking about maybe trying to figure it all out again. I came home and did a search on the web. I quickly came up with a down loadable book on old style banjo called The Tao of the Banjo written by Patrick Costello a guy who lives about 20 miles from where I lived in Maryland at the time when I first got interested in old style banjo. He also had some video files available through his site and through the National Archives. I watched a couple the lessons and saw immediately what I was doing wrong. Hearing and seeing him explain it at the same time made it all click. I've also picked up helpful information that I've able to apply to other areas of my playing.

In the past year I have sought out and found instructional information on soldering a copper pipe, troubleshooting a wireless connection, numerous recipes for dishes I wanted to cook, how to do circular breathing (when playing the digeridoo), and a primer on f-stops once when I was trying to help a friend with his new camera.

A student, of any age, with an internet connection, can find instruction on a huge number of topics. As an educator, I've always been a gatekeeper in regards to instruction. I fed it out to my students at the pace and in the sequence I (and the state) thought most appropriate. Sure, kids could always go to the library and get ahead of me, and a few have done just that. But, what are the implications of any student quickly being able to move beyond his or her teacher? Why listen to me lecture about the Bill of Rights when a student can find a smarter guy giving a lecture on the same subject or maybe a more clever person giving the shortened "Cliff Note" version?

No answers. Just some thoughts I'm having about education and my teaching while I practice my banjo. If you are curious about frailing the banjo, I highly recommend Patrick's site, Tangier Sound.

[Image: Original captured from http://www.archive.org/details/frailing.banjo; Final image created in Photoshop by Al Gunn]