Skinning my wife's adufe

Subject: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Dave Swan
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 01:35 PM

So, p.j. has an adufe which needs to be re-skinned. I can find all kinds of help in re-skinning bodhrans and djembes, but no luck with a SQUARE drum. Obviously a square frame won't take tension in the same way as a crucular drum. Any thoughts about estimating tension across the head? I'm using rawhide, as for a bodhran, and I think I'll use the same tension and moisture as well, but if anybody has another idea, I'd be happy to hear it.

Here's a photo, in case you haven't thought about an adufe recently.http://www.adufe.com/index.asp

Thanks,

Dave

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 01:57 PM

It's difficult to say without seeing the drum frame itself. Does it have cross-pieces like a bodhran? How thick is the frame? If it has cross-pieces and/or a relatively heavy frame, rawhide should be okay. If the frame is light and/or not reinforced I would use the lightest weight goatskin I could find.

I once made a bodhran which I skinned with rawhide because it was readily available at the leather store and I didn't want to wait for goatskin to be specially ordered. Big mistake. The thick rawhide warped the frame in short order. Now, I make ceramic dumbeks as part of my pottery business and would never use anything but goatskin on them.

Bruce

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 02:50 PM

I've seen square bodhrans, and they seemed to have been made in a similar way to the round ones, but with angle blocks in the corner to give more strength. (They look bloody uncomfortable to play, but then I don't imagine your wife would be playing that drum she's got in quite the same way as a bodhran.)

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Dave Swan
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 03:03 PM

Thanks, Bruce. No cross pieces. It's pretty light weight, about 1- 5/8" in section, and made of pine. I was thinking of rawhide in the generic sense, meaning cured, not tanned hide. I think I will use goat, thanks for the second opinion.

Thnaks, McG. I'll try to sneak a corner block in. p.j. plays the bodhran very well, and I think she prefers it to the adufe. As you say, the technique is quite different.

Thanks, gents. Anyone else?

D

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Troll
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 08:49 PM

Dave, thanks for the link. Very interesting stuff.

troll

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: catspaw49
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 09:02 PM

Are you ready for the barrage of one liners that occurred to me in the first 15 seconds? Probably, because I have a feeling that most came to use as well huh Bro?

Spaw

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Dave Swan
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 10:22 PM

Hell, yes. I could have phrased this any number of ways, but why waste an opportunity?

E.S.

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Amos
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 11:53 PM

Indeed, ladd, ya put us all on the edge of our chairs for a moment there!! LOL!!

Are you sure she wants to pursue this operation at yourhands?

A

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Sorcha
Date: 27 Oct 02 - 11:55 PM

I'm shuddering...........glad I don't have an adufe. At least I don't think I do.......

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Dave Swan
Date: 28 Oct 02 - 11:43 PM

The new skins are on order (said the bishop to the actress).

I'll keep you posted. (Said El Swanno to pj.....Spaw)

E.S.

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Willie-O
Date: 29 Oct 02 - 11:12 AM

D'ja notice things are just spiralling rapidly out of control in a downhole fashion round here?

Say hi to PJ. Careful round those fires Dave.

Bill

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Dave Swan
Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:22 PM

With respect to said adufe here's the, pardon the expression, stretch. I've got to have this thing repaired in time for p.j. to take it to the studio for the completion of her new C.D. She's recording with her partner Shira Kammen and all indications are that Kammen and Swan's CD, Wild Wood, is gonna be a winner.

Pam's got the talent. I've got the moustache.

E.S.

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Gypsy
Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:56 PM

Well, first you get your gambrel set up, and find a cool building. Hamg up the beastie.........well, i guess i won't get too graphic here.

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Dave Swan
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 06:15 PM

The skins are well and truly on the frame. I used medium thickness goat, (all the thin goat I could find was parchment thin) and allowed about 3/4" slack across the heads for shrinkage. I probably should have made it 1" slack as the heads are tighter than a tick, but it sounds pretty good. The frame has bowed in a little, but no more than it did with the original heads.

Allow me to recommend MidEast Manufacturing as a source for drum skins of many species. Their customer service, shipping time and selection have been superior in all cases. Nice folks who take time, call back when they have questions, and try hard to get you exactly what you're after.

Now for the decoration. I'll let you know how that goes.

D

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Big Mick
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 06:25 PM

I think you have made a mistake. I have seen your wife. While I have never seen her adufe, judging from what I know of the woman herself, I wouldn't change a thing about her adufe. But I might buy her some chocolates, maybe some nice wine, and invite her and her adufe out for a romantic evening. Being the repository of this type of wisdom is why I am the Keeper of the Sacred Fertility rites in the Mudcat Temple, as well as the resident Sex object in the firm of Swan, Patterson, Fielding and Lane, layabouts at large and for hire. Remember, all of you guys out there that don't have time to take care of your wife's adufe, don't let it rot to where it has to be replaced. Call our firm and ask for Big Mick. I will be happy to layabout with your wife's adufe and keep it in good shape. Remember our motto, "It's the least we can do".

Mick Lane
Fielding, Patterson, Swan and Lane
Layabouts at Large and for hire

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Dave Swan
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 06:41 PM

Of course, brother Lane. I should have come to you for advice from the very beginning.

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: p.j.
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 10:35 PM

Well there it is then.

Dave presented me with the finished product this evening, and I must say it's a wonderful job. This drum was in desperate need of restoration, and Dave did tons of research, both here and elsewhere, before bringing his own abundant skills and experience in leatherwork to bear on the project. (Leave the leatherwork line alone guys...) He did a fantastic job and the drum looks-- and sounds-- just great.

An adufe is a square, resonant, double-headed frame drum from Spain, with jingles on the inside frame between the skins. This old girl has had a tough life on her way to me. She started out somewhere in Galicia (Northwest corner of the country also known as Celtic Spain.)

A few years ago Glen Velez found her in Spain and bought her for himself. For those of you who are not yet fans of Glen's, do yourself a favor and check out his website (and sound samples) at http://www.glenvelez.com

Glen took pity on me recently when I was desperate to find an adufe for a Galician show coming up in December. I'm the featured percussionist and I had found several Galician drums, but not an adufe. Turns out they are as rare as hen's teeth in the U.S. of A.

I wrote to Glen and he sent me his, but warned me that the skins had been damaged long ago and it would have to be re-skinned before it could be played. I go into rehearsals for the show this month, where was I going to find someone competent to skin my adufe on short notice? (Insert your own joke here...)

Da da-da DAAAA!!!   Capitano El Swanno Stud Muffin to the rescue!!

Faster than a speeding bodhran player, able to leap tall conclusions at a single bound... LOOK!   Up in the sky!   It's a gorrilla-suit wearing, fishnet-clad, lime-jello covered layabout.... it's....SUPERSTASH!!!

Tonight I beat my husband's skin until I was exausted. His firm support structure warming in my experienced hands, internal jingles rattling to the rhythmic pounding of each compa, I experimented with every adufe position I knew. Finally, our muineras and pasacorreadoiras completed, we retired for the evening...he to put away his leatherworking tools, and me...well, me to the Mudcat.

Thank you for your advice, fellow Catters. You have contributed to one of the finest evenings of percussion ever heard by the walls of this old house. I have to go now, I think I have a txalaparta striker that needs sanding....

pj

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Big Mick
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 10:50 PM

El Swanno...............toldja..............nyaa nyaa nyaa na nyaa nyaa

Love you guys........now........after reading this thread,.........especially the last post.............I MUST go find Mary Lou............or the cold shower.............Oh MAAAAARRRYYYY LOUUUUUUUUUU.............honey...............come read what PJ wrote........while I pour a couple of glasses of wine..........no, honey, I WANT you to read it by candlelight.............

Mick

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Willie-O
Date: 09 Nov 02 - 10:58 PM

DOWN, Mick, DOWN.

A taxa what? Is this some kind of sophisticated metaphor?

W-O

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: Tinker
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 02:21 AM

To: Fielding, Patterson, Swan and Lane
    Layabouts at Large and for Hire
RE: Marketing

An add run by Mr. Patterson several weeks ago was picked up by this office and forwarded FYI to interested clients in the Wall Street area. It was felt they would be most in need of the services there to be rendered.

There was a glimmer of interest by several parties and I had hopes of closing on a real pretty boat. Your current ad while crafted to provoke seems to distract the target market from the work at hand.

The test market showed a sudden interest in esoteric instuments and the tecniques being there described. He quized on the parties involved and when I mentioned attending PJ's workshop on Celtic Mouth Music at Getaway in 2000,somehow multiple spread sheets are now missing and misfiled. Rather than referring business, this potential client is now wondering how it might be structured to maintain the benefits of a private company while taking the concept public... seems we need more research.

Subject: RE: Skinning my wife's adufe
From: p.j.
Date: 10 Nov 02 - 10:32 PM

Willie-o I'm so glad you asked...

A txalaparta (cha-la-PAR-ta)is a wonderful Basque percussion instrument made of two upturned apple baskets, a pile of flax, and several planks of wood which are hit with 2' long strikers. Originally it was played only at night, after the planks had been used all day as a platform for crushing apples into cider.

This great primative instrument was nearly lost, but in the past generation there has been a resurgence in interest among the young folks in Northern Spain. Sawhorses have replace the apple baskets, and sheepskin has taken the place of the flax, but the sound of tuned wooden planks being struck by two players in counter-rhythm has just gotten better and better.

It's been elevated to a high art form by great percussionists such as Ugarte Aniak and Oreka TX, two great groups from the Basque Country.   I was commissioned to research, build and play the txalaparta for a show I'm doing next month about music in Northern Spain during the late 1600's. Turns out as far as anybody can tell there is exactly ONE txalaparta in all of North America, at the Basque cultural center in Reno, NV. It's 8 feet long, contains 13 planks of wood, stone and iron, and weighs over 300 pounds. Why couldn't I have taken up the pennywhistle?

Long story short (too late now, I guess) with the help of Igor Otxoa (one of the members of Oreka TX) and some wonderful folks at the local Basque cultural center in South San Francisco, I have spent the last few months building and learning to play this beast. Now there are two txalapartas in North America, and one of them is in my livingroom. My partner Shira holds down the basic rhythm on one board and I do the ornaments and counter-rhythms on the other planks.

We're just babies starting out with this complex and wonderful thing, but having a great time. One txalaparta piece is on our new CD, and we are working on others for upcoming shows.

Here are some links to txalaparta information
and the wonderful guys at Oreka TX. You can also hear the instrument on The Cheiftains album "Santiago" and Alasdair Frasier's "Skyedance Live in Spain".

Hey, are there any Mudcatters in Euskadi(Basque Spain)? Any Mudcatters out there secretly harboring the third North American txalaparta?

xoxo
pj