To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan

Subject: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: eleanor c
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 01:16 PM

Hello & many thanks for coming to make such a nice throng, esp those of you who drove a long journey. Good to meet some people whom we only knew electronically.There was some awesome performing from you guys! I felt I should have paid to get in! The next one is on the Wednesday in 2 weeks & I would be most honoured if you would all air your talents again. See some of you at the Great Eastern maybe.

Breezy I have taken pliers to my fingerpicks. It does help get the striking angle better.I noticed they sell plastic ones like my metal ones but they don't look crimpable! Still I seem to be at a transitional stage when I can't play with 'em or without 'em, sigh.You played a great spot, what was the song? I'd never heard it before.
Alan, Alaska picks are ordered. Many thanks for the info and hurray for your mending Humerus.
M.F.B. those tunes are Factory Girl, Strayaway Child, Garrett Barry's Jig and Chapel Bell. Your accordian sounded pretty good to me. I think of it as one of the hardest instruments I ever tried in vain to learn.Let me know a couple of tunes you know that I might have some hope of learning!

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: breezy
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 01:38 PM

elenor, I was very taken by your guitar picking, that was very impressive, made me sit up. I havent heard or seen many women do that. With picks you may find you will eventualy be able to play slightly faster. Plastic ones have to be placed in boiling water to be made pliable to shape.with the metal ones not only do I bend and 'lip' I also twist alittle so that they are playing so as not to drag on the string.

When Julie Ellison comes to our club she is willing to hold a guitar workshop before hand. 4th and 6th Feb if there are any takers.

And you play a lovely flute too.

mmmmm

Do try and visit us in St Albans on a Sunday, you'll be very welcome.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: jacqui.c
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 02:30 PM

Wish I could hAve been there - sounds like it was a really good night. Who was there?

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: breezy
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 02:43 PM

and it great to meet Kieth again, as well as hearing him sing, his choice of song was perfect and very well delivered.

He must come to St Albans again, he did once!

Lanfranc, sang Sisters of Murphy and Timothy Winters

Chris Amos very ethnic, he's already played the spotlight.

Martin Dent plus Accordion, mmmm, and Derek

Salina and Ian

and I didnt catch the other's names

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 03:32 PM

Hello all. A great night and some lovely ale as well. I hope we should make it next time. And I will get those names of the tunes for you Eleanor. Hi Jacqui wish you and Kendal was ere. See you soon Breezy when I have practised a bit more.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 03:40 PM

Oh yes and to answer your question to Derrick Eleanor, his big one is an E Flat. And he was chatting away on the way home about your flute playing. (V impressed)

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: eleanor c
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 04:24 PM

And Rik was there, and Steve came here for the first time with his partner, nice to meet you guys, come again! and Derrick (Martin's mate) with mining songs and a bodhran which I couldn't keep in time with despite being a quarter irish, shame you weren't here J&K but at least where you were you could build a snowperson in the garden.
Guys many thanks for your encouraging remarks about my efforts, actually I was pretty nervous with such a big crowd of muso's , maybe I should have steadied my nerves with some Courage from the Low Land of Holland. If you want to play a few irish session tunes all tergether let me know which ones & I will learn them but my floot is in D which will be at odds with Derrick's big one.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: stevi
Date: 13 Jan 05 - 05:39 PM

yes a good session we both enjoyed it eleanor.
sorry about me coughing i am recovering from a cold which half the nation has i beleive!

steve

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: Chris Amos
Date: 14 Jan 05 - 01:35 AM

Yes a wonderful night, and good to put faces to names, the acoustics in the room are good too.

Chris

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 14 Jan 05 - 03:37 AM

How did we let Breezy slip away after only giving us one song!
It was Cousin Jack by Steve Knightly.
I've never heard it sung better.
Keith.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: breezy
Date: 14 Jan 05 - 10:34 AM

I have.

thank you Keith for your kind words,

Considering Eleanor has only been at the flute for a year, she fooled me, but thats not hard to do, her phrasing was very good and you could follow and recognise the tunes immediately.
While on guitar, Her finger picking was impressive too, at this rate of progress ,well who knows.

st Albans tonight at the Legion
and Sunday
Vin Garbutt in May
Steve Tilston in June

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 14 Jan 05 - 11:32 AM

I think Derrick has one in D so should not be a problem. Looking forward to the next one. I am hoping to get Derrick to become a MudCatie. He trying to think up a silly name. I think Derrick is silly enough. Any ideas?

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: Doktor Doktor
Date: 14 Jan 05 - 11:43 AM

Ummm .. when is the next one?

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 14 Jan 05 - 01:37 PM

It's every second and forth Wednesdays, so not the next Wednesday coming but the next one. Wed 26th I think.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: eleanor c
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 11:56 AM

Re: silly names for Derrick's mudcat alias. Martin go to Google and search for

the ultimate list of stupid names

there is a list of 1,345 stupid names.
Have you come up with a tunelist for me yet?!

Breezy , shucks, you're very encouraging. No I've not been playing too long & this shows up in the fact that my repertoire is a bit limited- each of those tunes takes ages to get respectable!

Doktor D - come along, Wed 26th 8.30, we'll send you a map if u don't know the Millstream

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 01:36 PM

I think he has thought of one already I can't spell it so you will have to wait until 26th. Also for the list as well, I will ask Derrick what they are called. He's handy like that. (plus he is driving) so I can sample some more ale. Yippee.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: stevi
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 01:48 PM

Hi all when i opened my guitar case last night i seem to have aquired anougher capo i think i picked it up last wednesday when i packed my guitar up on leaving. i think it may belong to the chappie with the apalation dulcimar! If anyone is a less one capo post here and i will return it.

steve

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: breezy
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 04:22 PM

that was Chris Amos

If not its mine

So how does eleanor learn her tunes then?

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 06:46 PM

It must be her super human brain, Breezie

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: eleanor c
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 07:55 PM

No - via the superhuman brains of the writers of guitar Tab and of my lovely guitar teacher David Guest

and slavishly obeying the instructions at www.guitarprinciples.com

Flute tunes by ear off CDs and my lovely irish flute teacher Kevin Naughton

Oh and if a section of a "famous" tune is too hard to play I'll write a substitute section, so it might look as if I'm playing say Anji but actually half of it will be made up easy stuff and the hard bits Bert plays can wait till the Summer

That and I was blessed with a totally unmusical family : we are all alienated postindustrial suburbanites from Birmingham so any resemblance to Folk/tradition/heritage/rustickness on my behalf is total pretension. I visited a field once and have seen a picture of some cows.

How do yous guys learn your tunes?

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: breezy
Date: 16 Jan 05 - 07:11 PM

with difficulty ?

repeated listening, la la ing a few phrases, then working them on the instrument !

trying to learn from dots requires very good well written music and the knowledge of being able to read it, unfortunatly most folk tunes are only providing the order of notes and omit phrasing, thus the poor attemptee ends up playing a succession of notes devoid of that facet which makes the tune recognisable .
So its best to learn aurally from listening to a competant exponent.
so I could learn from eleanor's playing.

Tonight Ross played Beethoven and he was recognised.

who won ? I hear you cry.

E C has talent.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: Chris Amos
Date: 17 Jan 05 - 01:41 AM

Stevi,

Yes, I think the cappo is mine, it should be a brass Shubb, bring it with you if you are coming to the next one.

Many thanks

Chris

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 17 Jan 05 - 08:50 AM

Is David Guest any relation to the bloke who seems to post to every thread on Mudcat?

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 17 Jan 05 - 11:33 AM

Hi Elenor. I have a dicta phone which I record two tunes on, from a cd I have bought, I then walk to work (about an hour) listern to them non stop, when I get to work I can't always remember the tunes but during the day they come back to me, spinning around in my head. Then like breezy, when I get home I TRY to work them out.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 18 Jan 05 - 11:04 AM

See you all on Wednesday. I hope. Don't forget The Bull at Barton. Beds. On Monday night if you can't wait.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 18 Jan 05 - 05:28 PM

I don't know Keith. Let's hope someone else comes on the thread soon who does.

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: eleanor c
Date: 18 Jan 05 - 06:05 PM

Oh Keith, you guessed.

No he's a guitar teacher in Croydon & quite brill. I recommend. And he has 4 budgies flying around the music room singing the while. Sometimes they chuck bits of millet at me but so far nothing worse.

Millstream NEXT wednesday, the 26th Martin.....Monday 24th I'll be at Leraud's CD launch at Waltham Abbey so can't come to Barton but will Bartonize at my earliest opportunity.
A dictaphone? Why not a walkman or is that the same thing?

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: stevi
Date: 19 Jan 05 - 02:19 PM

RE Capo
chris i am gona come next wednesday unless something crops up!
if you cant wait or i cant make it i will post if you wish.

steve

Subject: RE: To Hertford Millstreamers 12thJan
From: The Unicorn Man
Date: 20 Jan 05 - 11:48 AM

Oh yes sorry. When said Wednesday I didnt realise it was only Tuesday when I was posting, it felt like a Thursday. And I use a dictor phone so everyone else can hear the lovely tunes as well as I walk along. Might see you on Monday anyway.