The Weekly Walkabout

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 06:11 PM

I like the idea of using native plants in the garden. We live in a state that sometimes experiences drought conditions, and has long, very hot summers. Putting in a lawn and water loving plants is a bad idea if one wants to conserve resources, and we have decided that we won't be doing that.

I also was interested in participating in the discussion because of the spiritual element in it. I have been practicing "co-creative gardening" for several years myself and getting good results from it...

http://www.perelandra-ltd.com/

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Amos
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 05:24 PM

K:

I don't know what answer; I have no idea why they were closed, or by whom, and the only one I know who could answer that question is Joe Offer, to whom it should go if an answer is wanted.

I was just being humorous about your taking the time to count threads, but, ya know, I am sure you had your reasons.


A

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 04:47 PM

The so-called loss of native habitat is obviously more of an issue with you than it is with me. I grow what I grow and am not nationalistic about my gardening and that is an end to it as far as I'm concerned.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 04:42 PM

Do you accept that native habitat has been lost, which has been one of the factors in the decline of some native fauna and flora, LBK? And, if so, isn't leaning toward native plants in our gardens going to help?

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 04:30 PM

I'll stick with my mixed gardening thank you. To state that Green gardening is native gardening is complete rubbish, you compare apples with oranges and you offer no logical reasons for native only gardening.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 04:24 PM

A year or two ago, myself and just one or two others were on the BBC gardening forum arguing for native gardening - for the benefit of native fauna, whose native habitat has been depleted; and for other "green" reasons. At that time, there was lots of hostility from the majority but, when I browsed earlier this year, attitudes have definitely changed, with folks posting lists of native plants, and Monty Don planning an all native garden, etc.

Here's that summary of my argument again (and it's not that far off-topic as the last WEEKLY WALKABOUT mentions Whalley Abbey's gardens) -
(Further to the gardening verses in walkaboutsverse.741.com)

Green gardening is native gardening, and vegetables, plus other consumables, should be the only exotic-flora we plant - as doing so can help limit food-miles, etc. By filling our other garden spaces with natives, we use less water and other resources, whilst aiding the native-fauna that, over the centuries, have evolved with them.
(Even high-nectar exotics, such as Buddleia, that are very attractive to SOME native-fauna, should be avoided, because they upset nature's/God's balance – God created evolution, too, that is.)

Our green gardens, with their vegies and natives, can be made still greener by the addition of compost heaps/bins; a wildlife pond – for native frogs, newts, etc, rather than exotic goldfish; bee- and bird-boxes, plus carefully selected feeders; rain- and grey-water vats; by growing everything organically, including thrifty home-popagation/species-swapping; and by leaving some lush untidy patches, decaying branches, etc.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 04:05 PM

I read that gardening thread from end to end, and will discuss gardening till the cows come home, with anyone knowledgeable. I do enjoy gardening myself, though my garden tends to have far more variety than just 'native' plants, I do love variety.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 03:54 PM

I think it's a shame about the gardening thread being closed (and I can't, myself, understand why it was). I would have liked to have gotten involved in that discussion.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 03:53 PM

I've been watching Wimbledon (my own weekend hit was washed out), a little of the BBC's Last Choir Standing (there were bits of our own culture), and have just re-loaded "Tees to Tyne" - with English-flute/tenor-recorder intro. on myspace . (And thanks for yours CC.)

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 03:51 PM

Well my post is no worse nor better than most of them here. Anyway, my other question has been answered, why were they closed? Amos thank you for providing me with the answer.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Amos
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 03:22 PM

Kitchener:

If you truly are in want of anything better to do, I suggest a serious bout of self-examination is in order.



A

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 02:19 PM

I hate repeating myself, but apparently I hve to. For want od anything better to do at the time, I traced back all the threads started by Walkaboutsverse. All thew ones I could find have been marked 'Thread Closed'. Is this a record? It certainly seems so to me.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 02:17 PM

oops that Guest was me

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 01:33 PM

I've listened to some of the songs on the MySpace page. It sounds to me like this endeavor brings a lot of pleasure and joy, and I wouldn't let any of the criticisms on these threads diminish that. The pleasure and joy of playing and singing is what it's all about.

I play the accordion for the pleasure and joy of it, and even though I've been playing for almost eight years, I still consider myself a beginner. People sometimes give me a hard time for not being more forthcoming with recordings of myself playing, even though I don't think I play well enough for that. I expect that if I was more forthcoming in that respect, there would be other people just waiting to criticize me for not being a better player. No matter what one does, there will always be people who will feel compelled to criticize.

This is me badly playing a Finnish Christmas song...

http://www.alcdv.com/soundsamples/SylvianJoululaulu.mp3

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 01:16 PM

Thanks for that info., CC, which I'll keep in mind should I start looking for a wooden recorder. I have a plastic soprano and alto also, but the one I nearly always use is an Aulos tenor, moulded in ABS plastic - you can see and hear it on myspace if you wish (simple intro's to "When I survey the Wonderous Cross" and "The Water is Wide").

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,Jack the Sailor
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 01:16 PM

I think the difference is, in the one case, to preserve culture by clinging to traditions and it in the other it is to preserve culture by murdering those imposing exotic influences. The difference is clear and wide.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:31 PM

It just seems to me that it's considered acceptable (and not Naziesque) for people of pretty much every ethnic group except for English, to want to have some sort of "pure" form of their culture. Now, I think I can understand why that might be, but I really don't believe for a minute that everyone who would like to preserve a pure form of English culture is doing so for reasons that could be compared to the Nazis.

I was once in a session with some people from the UK who strenuously objected to the idea that the music of O'Carolan could be considered Irish. They said this was because he had studied classical music in Italy. Nobody accused those people of being of the same mindset as the Nazis.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:13 PM

It would all probably make about as much sense, which is none at all. IMHO

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:03 PM

I wonder what people would be saying if the word "Irish" was substituted for the word "English" in the posts that are being criticized.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 11:55 AM

In my younger days, I had a rosewood soprano and an ebony sopranino made by Aulos, both of them Baroque, and a Renaissance soprano (can't remember what kind of wood or who made it). Before that, I had a soprano made by Gill of some sort of softer wood. I now have plastic recorders (Aulos soprano and sopranino, and Yamaha alto and tenor - I am no longer a serious recorder player as I was in my younger days). My opinion is that softer wood recorders are harder to play than plastic, but that good hardwood recorders are much easier to play than plastic. Plus they don't drip quite as badly. But as has been noted, wood recorders require careful handling in order to avoid splitting.

I seriously doubt that any of the members of the Flanders Recorder Quartet is playing a plastic recorder. I would say that he is playing a wooden recorder that has ivory trim. They are not uncommon.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 07:45 AM

I could have put "having moved from Lancashire (where I was born) in 2001" Stigweard-in-pedantic mood - but I didn't put "having moved fron Lancashire, where I was born in 2001"...do you now understand the difference?
To Tim-in-terrible-mood - I hate imperialism: be it Nazi, Victorian, or any other.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Stu
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 06:14 AM

"having moved from Lancashire, where I was born, in 2001..."

That explains everything - you're only seven ; )

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: mandotim
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 06:12 AM

Okay, I've finally done it; I've read WAV's output on the web. All of it. I've even listened to his music. I felt I ought to, before passing an opinion that lots of posters seem to hold, without actually saying it.

WAV, your notions of an idealistic 'English' culture which must be preserved at all costs are, to me, utterly repellent. The idea of separating cultures in the way you describe is precisely the excuse that was given for apartheid in South Africa. Your ideas on repatriation are very close to those initially put forward by Adolf Hitler, who talked about removing the stain of Judaism from the Aryan culture, and instituted a widespread programme to repress any culture that did not reflect his misguided notion of Aryanism.

(Incidentally, it's an instructive exercise to read WAV's outpourings, and substitute the word 'Aryan' for 'English'. )

As with almost all demagogues, you hold a set of views which in your mind are unchallengeable; after all, how could someone as well qualified, erudite and artistically gifted as you be wrong? It doesn't matter that your readers include some serious scholars, historians and brilliant performers; they don't agree with you, so they must be wrong.
I'm trying to refrain from offering a professional opinion on your state of mind, despite being qualified to do so. Suffice it to say that there are a number of clinical syndromes that describe your behaviour in some detail.

To those who contribute to WAV's threads; the psychological 'payoff' for this behaviour for the person concerned is the affirmation and attention provided by those who argue with WAV's views. The best thing to do to help WAV is to scrupulously ignore any and every provocative remark, idea or proposal. This may encourage him to get out from behind his computer persona and engage more meaning fully with the real world and people around him. Hopefully, in time, this will build a set of varied experiences and moderate some of his more extreme views. But I doubt it.

Finally; does anyone else suspect (as I do) that WAV is not actually English at all?

This is my last contribution to any of WAV's threads, but I hope the suggestion about ignoring him (for his own long-term wellbeing) is taken up.
Tim

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 06:11 AM

200!

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 06:11 AM

... and before anyone else posts...

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 06:06 AM

"I hear, though, that wooden recorders are harder to maintain, but easier to play."

My AUD$300 pear wood one - bought ages ago - you have to 'play them in' when new (only short periods at first, gradually increasing the total daily playing time) and if you don't play them for a few weeks, start again the same too. You need to get the internal humidity level up slowly so the wood will absorb it slowly and not split. You also need to oil them occassionally, for the same reasons.

The $2 plastic cheapie is actually very easy to play, and only needs knocking the dust and cockaroaches out before playing.

Like many instruments - recorders are easy to play, but difficult to play well! In other words, not hard to get a sound, but hard work to get real music! :-)

The trick with the cheapies, same as with whistles, is that beginners usually blow too hard. Remember when 'Don The Tank' and other were trying to tell you about 'breath support'? You actually need BETTER breath support to play the cheapies, than the good ones, because the cheapies will make a horrible squeaking sound that most school recorder bands seem to have... But if you can't play the cheapies to sound like real music, then you will just feel that you have wasted the money!

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 05:27 AM

Thanks for those clips, CC - one of those chaps seems to be playing a plastic recorder; the rest wood, which I've never tried...I hear, though, that wooden recorders are harder to maintain, but easier to play...? To FT, I do keep trying to play the 50 or so top-line melodies that make-up my repertoire as well as I can. And I've corrected that out of date "two years" line on my site - it was 2004 when I first turned-up at a folk club (yes, a relatively short-time, to save you saying it), in Newcastle, having moved from Lancashire, where I was born, in 2001...

THE WEEKLY WALKABOUT, E.G.

Poem 118 of 230: WHALLEY ABBEY...WHAT TALES? - AUTUMN 2000

Cistercian monks have clearly been -
    Their Abbey's ruins can still be seen;
And, sounding for centuries before,
    Calder flows have passed - seeking the shore.
Lords of the grounds have, more lately, stayed -
    Their manor houses reused and unscathed.
Through beautiful gardens insects fly -
    The ruins of folk just a pass-by;
And, by viaduct, trains pass above -
    Folk thereby viewing a town I love.
Anglers and C. of E. delegates,
    Hikers and tourists, have crossed the gates...
Opportunistic masons, kings-men,
    Model makers, Turner, and men who pen...
Perhaps the witches came down from the hill,
    And do ghosts haunt - still questing their fill..?

From walkaboutsverse.741.com

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 01:25 AM

I just have one more thing I want to say about Piers Adam. From what I've seen of him, I would say that Piers Adam is to the recorder what Michael Flatly is to Irish Step Dancing.

Subject: RE: The Weakly Wackabout
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 01:16 AM

From another thread in which WAV stunned regaled us with his profund and extensive musical knowledge and experiecnce.

"I think you're all being a little harsh on old WAV, after all he has been into folk music for over two years now."

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Don Firth
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 01:06 AM

Thank you far sharing that, Jack. I shall give it all the consideration it is due.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:55 AM

Well actually, I don't think Don was anywhere as Tank-like as Spaw about WAV's performance skills... just a little more passionate and detailed as to what would improve him.

Now WAV said

"I do indeed try to play like I sing, and sing like I play, Foolestoupe¹ - good or bad at it, that's my thing, within the English tradition"

- which may well give the impression that he cares NOT about quality - indeed based on the amount of self promotion of his website and the ... er, interesting musical concepts thereon, he seems far more interested in quantity.

Now the 'source singers and players' of trad folk music may well be rather 'inept' musically due to lack of performance training skills, but remember that it is their CONTENT that we 'worship', not the lousy performance! I seem to get the impression from WAV, that he reveres the lousy performance more than the content - which if he is just repeating their limited content in the same lousy performance skills limied style, is not by itself sufficiently unique that he should be equated 'god-status' with them...

Well if he insists on refusing to change/improve his performance skills because he sincerely believes that lousy perfromance skills are part of the unique and interesting 'tradition' that he is promoting, fine.... but as others have said - if you put yourself up for public performance and can't cope with negative feedback, then don't cry...

I can be good or bad at performance too - Once grabbed a fistful of wrong Bass buttons - one row off! :-) so had to stop, say, "sorry about that, playing the wrong buttons, I'll start again" - and the applause afterward (when I finished, not for saying that!) was no less... :-)

I remember performing in front of some elderly long term (Om-pah-pah style) Piano Accordion players who criticised my use of just a single keyboard reed in parts as 'not real Piano Accordion music style' and was told to stop doing that if I wanted to improve .... GAAAAAHHHH! :-)

People have different ideas... some of them VERY strange...

I am not 'attacking WAV' because I enjoy picking on him (can't speak for others!) but because I used to be that bad once myself... :-)


¹ sic... a wrong spelling of my handle, but I haven't yet criticised him for that... :-)

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:32 AM

That's precisely the same argument I keep having with Ron Davies, Jack...only on the political threads. ;-)

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,Jack the Sailor
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:17 AM

Don Firth,

I am sure that if some one ever asks, that your Sherman-Tank-like Musical knowledge would be appreciated. The difficulty seems to be that your approach to criticism is also akin to a small under armed, under armored world war two vintage, rusty, tank dropping in, uninvited to a tea party. The problem is that once the tea is spilled and the porcelain shattered, the party is probably not interested in your opinion of the brew. It is also hard to hear the conversation over the sound of the engine.

WAV has done nothing to deserve your constant barrage of insults. Sherman Tank class musical knowledge is impressive indeed, but bear in mind that that The Mudcat has a number of A-10 tank killers who have the grace to keep their criticism to themselves unless asked and then who have the sense not to insult those who won't listen. This is a musical forum, not a contest to see whose barrel is the largest.

I am sure that you will take this exactly as it is intended. I mean to criticize your method of criticism in the same way that you are criticizing WAV's music. Indeed, my opinion of your ability to criticize is on a close par with your opinion of his music.

You need not reply to this. I am not interested in what you have to say to me. Especially if it is more of this weak, childish, name calling and ill tempered criticism.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:16 AM

Well, it takes time to build up a taste for Shatner's unusual style of vocal delivery, Don.

Sort of a bit like Dylan, I guess...but a good deal moreso. ;-)

Now then, there's Tom Waites. I understand he's a brilliant songwriter and all that...but his voice? Uh...well...I'd rather listen to a baboon's voice put through a distortion box, frankly. Just a matter of personal taste.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 05 Jul 08 - 12:00 AM

...or, if like me, you prefer circus music...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWpbeSzPPqM&feature=related

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 11:38 PM

This, in my opinion, is a good use of recorders...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcp164LBWfQ

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: CarolC
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 11:13 PM

I just have to comment on that Red Priest Four Seasons video. I found it to be incredibly pretentious and played like a carnival ride. That guy doesn't seem to understand the soul of the instrument at all. His playing is all flashes and parlor tricks with no real depth or beauty.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 09:53 PM

Littel Hack

I do apologize for any typos - not using my usual machine at the moment, and my MMD sometimes causes me to miss some.

[See - that's using the 'don't beat up on a cripple argument!"] :-)

I do thank you for spelling my name correctly! - unlike WAV - who I have not yet criticised for that... :-P

Now in the Great Tradition of Mudcat Debates...

Moving right along...


"I've learnt from others (TV - e.g. "Musicians Channel", mentioned before; radio; folk clubs; web articles and forums; books; etc.)"

This is fact the problem with your 'self education' - to quote the site
The Amazing Recorder is misleading as to claim that 'English Recorders' are what you play. Bet your chromatic instrument has a thumb hole... Do you know if any of King Henry VIII of England's collection of 47 recorders [12 tone chromatic?] have thumb holes, or where they just 8 tone diatonic 'whistles'?

Since you isnist that YOU are the only one correct with your theories formed on misinterpertations of things better known by those with more 'Sherman Tank' type education, you might want to consider not telling them that THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. Damn, anothter typo - hit the shift lock - but I'll leave the emphasis...


"it's more folkie to play by ear"

Ahhhhhhh.... Documentation?

Ok, I get it now - never let the facts spoil a good argument in the Mudcat BS threads...

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Don Firth
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 09:04 PM

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" as sung by Captain Kirk!??

I still have an urge to dive under my bed, grabbling the sheets as I go and stuffing them into my ears when I even think about it!

"Oh, nurse!"

Don Firth

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Don Firth
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 08:57 PM

I'm no authority on brass instruments, IB. The comment about the French horn being an English hunting horn with valves was something told to me over coffee one evening by a French horn player in the Seattle Symphony. He also told me about the English "horn" sailing under false colors. He had a whole list of little verbal anomalies like that having to do with music.

By the way, regarding recorder players, how about Michala Petri? This piece starts kind of slow, but about a minute into it, she shifts gears.

Yes, WAV, we can agree on that. It is, indeed, better to learn both ways.

And Little Hawk, I don't want WAV to crawl away and hang himself. That plays hell with one's ability to sing, and all along I've been trying to jar him into taking a bit of advice and learn how. When it comes to singing, hanging oneself is a bit unproductive (although I could make a list of singers who. . . .).

And Chongo Chimp and William Shatner? Well, if it comes to music (which is what I was talking about, but I am a true Renaissance man, so my range of knowledge verges on the universal), I have yet to hear a chimpanzee who could sing for sour owl jowls, and I've heard Shatner's record! I suffered for a time from post-traumatic stress syndrome, but I'm stronger now and fully prepared, so—bring 'em on!!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 06:27 PM

The French horn is not French, it is an English hunting horn with valves

Maybe not. The English hunting horn is a small trumpet used for sounding basic calls by fox hunters, like this one here. The horn used by French hunters is a coiled natural horn, played in ensembles & creating some of the most thrilling music you're ever likely to hear - I've got a record of it somewhere, but for a taste see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOeyQUmkQjs. Never anything quite like this in England!

I was wondering if the fact that Piers Adam may or may not look like David Tennant is important in regards to Adam's playing ability.

I shouldn't think so, but it gives him a fashionability that I doubt will hurt his career any. My favourite recorder player remains, now & forever, Woody Allen look-alike Rene Clemencic...

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 05:35 PM

When it comes to formal musical education, Don, you may well "Sherman tank" me, as I don't have any: my poetry and music are both "self-taught" - for want of a better term, becuase, informally, of course I've learnt from others (TV - e.g. "Musicians Channel", mentioned before; radio; folk clubs; web articles and forums; books; etc.). But I'm happy that I've stuck with just the top-line melodies of songs and hymns, which I can now, just about, write as well as read (it's more folkie to play by ear but, still, better to know both ways, I feel - perhaps we can agree on that much?).

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: s&r
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 04:24 PM

"Humanitiess graduates are attractive to many employers because of their personal transferable skills rather than the specific skills that they have gained during their degree course. Many of the skills that are gained on a humanities degree are highly sought after in almost every job. These skills include:

ability to write well in a variety of styles.
to organise your work and meet tight deadlines.
to convey meaning precisely.
to summarise, argue and debate.
to research, select, analyse, organise and present information.
to think logically."

From the Univesity of Kent

Stu

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 03:21 PM

Whoo-Hoo! Impressive rebuttal, Don. Perhaps WAV will crawl away and hang himself now, eh? ;-)

What you don't realize, though, is that Chongo Chimp and William Shatner both have educational credentials that would blow yours right out of the water like an overripe melon getting hit by a cruise missile. Yesirree. I'd list them all here (first Chongo's, then Shatner's), but I'm simply too compassionate to engage in that sort of acute psychological bludgeoning of another human being.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Don Firth
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 02:53 PM

". . . you're not just talking down, but talking a long-way down to someone who has achieved 4 tech. certificates and a Degree in Humanities."

Frankly, WAV, I don't give a billy hoot how many certificates and degrees you have in however many fields. That doesn't alter that fact that you talk a great deal of unmitigated blather and your musical efforts are greatly in need of much improvement, especially before trying to inflict them on an unsuspecting public. And if you want to compare musical educations, I'm quite sure I could roll over you like a Sherman tank.

Apparently you think I'm talking down to you because, rather than being sufficiently worshipful, I—and others—have tried to give you some frank and honest criticism along with some helpful suggestions. But it appears your God-complex requires you to take offense rather than even consider that you might gain a great deal by at least listening to what people are good enough to offer you.

You see, I made the mistake of assuming that you are seriously interested in singing traditional songs.

FYI:    The French horn is not French, it is an English hunting horn with valves. The English horn is not a horn, it is a woodwind.

How's this for cultural pollution? Spanish guitar, Chinese flute, and an "English flute (??):"      CLICKY.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,Lord Batman's Kitchener
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 02:01 PM

I was wondering if the fact that Piers Adam may or may not look like David Tennant is important in regards to Adam's playing ability.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 01:58 PM

I watched that Early Music series the first showing, IB, and, I agree, Piers Adam is an amazing recorder player.
Thanks Leeneia - I'll be re-loading that track soon, as I've added a simple (melody only) recorder intro. to it...just a but more amateur engineering to be done to my Audacity-software recording of it.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 12:13 PM

brought back as a student, folk, as well as early music, instrument, early last century

You persist in this notion that the recorder was brought back as a folk instrument, which is most clearly not the case, despite the exceptions I've pointed out elsewhere. The main motivation for this singular piece of resurrectionism was in the revival of Early Music, which is not folk music, though the development & exploration of various early & medieval repertoires has certainly had an impact on certain folkish artistes, including Shirley Collins, The Amazing Bondel, and the Third Ear Band, all of whom used recorders in their music. That it became a student / kids instrument was entirely due to the cheapness of mass produced plastic instruments the intention being to give a grounding in basic music theory before moving on to a proper woodwind instrument. The main effect of this is that countless thousands of kids were put of music for life, and left with the impression that the recorder is a toy!

The recorder is no toy, nor is a folk instrument; rather it is a highly developed dynamic instrument designed for extremes of solo virtuosity. Watchers of BBC4's recent Early Music programme can't fail to have been impressed by the playing of David Tennant look-alike Piers Adam in his ensemble Red Priest. A David Munrow for our age perhaps? Those who didn't see it, check this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8wL1AR7iqo

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 12:05 PM

I play recorder, and I was interested to see Walkabout's term 'English flute.' Sure enough, my dictionary simply says:

English flute. Music. a recorder

I HAVE heard the term German flute for a transverse flute. In fact, I have just attended an early music workshop where we saw the cover for a book of Scottish music published in the 18th C and suitable for 'German flute.' The music was published in Paris.

(Henry the VIII, the English king, was a recorder player.)

Walkabouts, I went to your page and listened. I like the pretty tune for Tees and Tyneside.

Subject: RE: The Weekly Walkabout
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 11:56 AM

No, I expect I'll stick with guitar, harmonica, and keyboard. ;-) Pennywhistle is nice, though. I enjoy hearing them.