clay pipe fiddle

Subject: clay pipe fiddle
From: GUEST,guest mick
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 11:26 AM

My father told me that he once heard a fiddler play a slow air with a clay pipe wedged somehow between the bridge of the fiddle and the strings. He said it gave the air a sweet, haunting quality. This would have been about seventy years ago.
Does anyone know anything about this technique ?

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: Walking Eagle
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 12:33 PM

I don't know much about the technique, but I guess the sound would be changed by coming out both open ends of the pipe. I can imagine that kind of sound.

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: GUEST,Banned from the Park
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 12:38 PM

I usually stick a cigarette on the top of me guitar (like a lot of ex-50/60's smoking folkies) but I've never noticed a change in the tone of me battered old Martin from doing so...

N.B. all my song have been timed to ensure the cigarette didn't burn all the way down before the song finished and no Martin Guitars have been hurt by this practice.... :-)

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 08:43 PM

It could be like a form of mute if touching the bridge, I assume it was hard fired. If not touching the bridge but further back towards the chin rest, it would act as a form of resonator - assuming it was hard fired.

Robin

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 09:13 PM

G'day guest mick,

I have heard of this being done here in Australia by old fiddlers. A specific example (I'll see if I can find the reference ...) was to one bloke doing this to play Scottish pipe tunes - the resonance of the clay pipe head giving something of a "bagpipe" tone to the fiddle (probably in conjunction with a large measure of 'double-stopping' ... playing 2, or more, strings simultaneously).

Regards,

Bob Bolton

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 09:17 PM

In the 1950's & 60's, my dad and I used to do a medley of scottish tunes on violin & piano, much double stopping with violin. The sheet music was from early 1930's or perhaps even earlier. Was always well received at he old folks homes.

Robin

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: GUEST,Popeye the Sailor Man
Date: 14 Feb 04 - 09:17 PM

I used to fiddle with my clay pipe when it would'nt draw correctly. I used pipe cleaners.

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 01:13 AM

To quote yerself, Bob: Joe Cashmere, whom John Meredith recorded in 1956, had a trick of placing a bowl of a clay pipe under the strings behind the bridge to increase the resonance and also when playing the fiddle to sound like the bagpipes. Found at THIS SITE. **bg**

Nice t'see ya!

kat

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 04:13 AM

A while ago someone on this site said they played the nyckelharpa with a small boy.
eric

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: Bob Bolton
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 05:05 AM

G'day Kat,

Er ... thanks for that - like Art Thieme said the other week: ... "when you memory starts to go - Forget it!"

Regards,

Bob Bolton

(Who shouldn't try to remember references during those late night ... "I'll just have a quick look to see there's anything interesting on Mudcat ..." episodes!

Subject: RE: clay pipe fiddle
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Feb 04 - 09:44 PM

AH, Bob, I wasn't trying ta show ya up....I'd not of known to look for it without your hints; plus with all that you know, you'd probably go nuts trying to remember it all at once!**bg**

G'day to you, too,

kat