Play hurdy-gurdy

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Basics and background. Textbook

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ISBN: 9783927240476 SKU: DLS Category: Tags: ,

Description

The hurdy-gurdy, an instrument with a centuries-old history, is experiencing a renaissance in the modern music scene. In order to do justice to this development, “Playing the Hurdy-Gurdy” offers a textbook that comprehensively illuminates the basics and background of hurdy-gurdy music. This work is aimed at musicians of all levels and offers a deep insight into the diverse musical and technical expressive possibilities of this fascinating instrument.

A bridge between tradition and modernity

With “Drehleier spielen”, Kamini Barbara Govil-Willers and Friedhelm Capelle present a textbook that is the first of its kind to bridge the gap between traditional music and the demands of modern musicians. It offers the opportunity to explore the musical spectrum of the hurdy-gurdy in all its variations and to deepen the relationship between the musician and his instrument.

Comprehensive exercises and music examples

The focus of this richly illustrated book “Playing the Hurdy-Gurdy” lies in the compilation of extensive exercises that enable the development of a wide variety of musical styles and techniques. Musical examples from different eras expand the stylistic range of the hurdy-gurdy and transfer what has been practiced into musical practice.

From history to practice

With an introductory foreword by Prof. Dr. Marianne Bröcker, the reader is immersed in the fascinating history of the hurdy-gurdy and drone music. The author sheds light on the enduring appeal of this musical form and explains how the constant resonance of the drone tones exerts a fascination all of its own. This historical review provides a valuable context for an examination of the instrument and its music.

The hurdy-gurdy – a “body” instrument

“Playing the hurdy-gurdy” goes beyond the mere teaching of technique and emphasizes the physical connection between musician and instrument. The authors emphasize how important it is to approach the instrument not only through care and playing technique, but also on a more personal level. This aspect makes the textbook an indispensable companion for anyone who not only wants to play the hurdy-gurdy, but also wants to communicate with it.

Creative use of the hurdy-gurdy

The textbook encourages an imaginative and creative approach to the hurdy-gurdy. The aim is for students to learn to play not only on their instrument, but also with it, right from the start. This approach is intended to merge musician and instrument into a musical unit and thus create the basis for an individual and artistically satisfying musical performance.

“Playing the Hurdy-Gurdy” is therefore much more than a textbook; it is an invitation to rediscover the world of the hurdy-gurdy and to find your own musical language. Immerse yourself in the multi-layered world of hurdy-gurdy music and experience how this extraordinary instrument can enrich your musical journey.

Additional information

Weight 0,690 kg
Pages

154

GTIN

9783927240476

Foreword

Bordun music has a very peculiar fascination, because there is something compelling about the constant resonance of one or more unchanging notes that the ear and psyche cannot escape. No other musical style evokes such opposite reactions as it does – either hot love or violent rejection.

When I began to study the hurdy-gurdy 30 years ago, the instrument was as good as extinct in Germany and no longer known even to instrument experts. The only area where it was still played by more than just a few last, old musicians – as in Galicia (Spain) and Hungary at the time – was in central France. It was therefore possible to foresee the time when the hurdy-gurdy would be nothing more than a dead instrument of European music history on display in a few museums. However, this impression was already deceptive in 1967, when the first attempts to revive the instrument began. Since this new beginning, amazing things have developed, both in terms of the instrument and the music that is played on it. Today’s situation is in no way comparable to that of thirty years ago. It has been a long but continuous journey from the first tentative attempts in Germany to build and play hurdy-gurdies again to the opportunities available today to learn to play in courses at any time or to purchase an instrument from the now numerous hurdy-gurdy makers. Thirty years ago there were only a few important hurdy-gurdy players who were universally admired, but today the playing ability and musical level of many musicians is extraordinarily high. There are probably more very good players in Europe today than ever before in the almost thousand-year history of this instrument.

Lesson books for beginners and advanced players as well as collections of melodies from various sources are easy to obtain today, and anyone interested has the opportunity to acquire the playing technique and a certain repertoire. However, the accessibility of extensive material does not explain why someone would want to play the hurdy-gurdy. Because, on closer inspection, drone music is an anachronism in our diverse, ever-present soundscape, a relic from earlier times. And yet the development of the last decades has shown that the drone has not lost its fascination. However, this also has a lot to do with the corresponding instruments, because the drone instruments are “body” instruments in a very special way: the player of a bagpipe feels the bag directly on his body, almost like an additional respiratory organ, and the Jew’s harp vibrates directly into the oral cavity through the breath. The hurdy-gurdy is also closely connected to the body, as the vibrations generated in the instrument are transmitted to the internal organs and stimulate them to resonate like aliquot strings. Hardly any other musical instrument is felt as directly physically as the hurdy-gurdy, so that it is extremely important to devote oneself to the instrument beyond care and playing technique. However, this aspect is hardly taken into account in existing textbooks and is therefore a particular concern of this school. Mastering the technique is only one side of playing, but the other is knowing your own abilities and the possibilities of the instrument in order to make full use of both. This is why, in addition to the fixed teaching material, an imaginative, creative approach to the hurdy-gurdy is taught here; the student should learn from the outset not only to play on his instrument, but also to play with it. Only in this way can musician and instrument grow together and become a musical unit. And this is the essential prerequisite for an individual, artistically satisfying musical performance.

September 1997
Marianne Bröcker

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. I. CIRCLES
    1. Closed position, even turning
    2. The tones of the keyboard, legato and staccato
      • The sun arouses all (Angelus Silesius)
    3. Rotational speed and dynamics, short and long snares
    4. Church modes, fingerings/ fingering patterns
      • Agnus Dei (anonymous)
      • Loibere Risen (Wizlaw of Rügen)
      • Saltarello (anonymous)
  3. II BREAKING UP
    1. Single beat, buzzing from standstill, double beat, upbeat
    2. Change of register, scales, phrasing, repetition of notes
      • Ungaresca (Jakob Paix)
    3. Triple stroke, steps to learn a stroke type, position or direction
    4. Portato, embellishments, vibrato
      • Hoboeckentanz (Tielman Susato)
    5. Four-beat, independence of the hands, open posture
    6. Arranging a piece, developing a fingering, further embellishments
      • Jouyssance Vous Donneray (Thoinot Arbeau)
      • Dance of death (anonymous)
      • Ecco La Primavera (Francesco Landini)
      • Why (Tielman Susato)
  4. I WILL
    1. Counterpoint of the snare, phrasing and dynamics with the right hand, constant and changing wheel speed
    2. Finger exercises, fluid changes of position, use of the thumb
      • Les Primevères (Philibert Delavigne)
      • La Soeur Cadette (Jean-Baptiste Anet)
    3. Six stroke
    4. Trills, alternating harmonies, triads
      • Gratioso (Charles Buterne)
      • Vivace (Antonio Vivaldi)
      • Un Poco Vivace (Antonio Vivaldi)
  5. SEARCH
    1. Rhythm, Odd time signatures
    2. Keys, intonation, tuning
      • Le Pont ( Frédéric Paris)
      • Hurdy-Gurdy-Blues (trad. USA)
    3. Bow technique, free stance, advanced use of the six-point stroke
    4. Sounds, suggestions for practicing
      • Estas Mesas (trad. Sephardic, Bulgaria)
      • Razvrastanata (trad. Bulgaria, Matthias Loibner)
  6. OPEN BORDERS
    1. Eighth stroke, ninth stroke, free snare
    2. Blues scale, chromaticism, whole tone scale, chords of fourths, backing, harmonics, plucking strings
      • Zhe kreveri de fã (Matthias Loibner)
  7. ANNEX
    1. Appendix to the hurdy-gurdy notation
    2. Appendix for setting the instrument
    3. Appendix to the literature
    4. Thanks to
    5. Index

Author:inside

Riccardo Delfino

born. 1963 in Germany; piano and cello lessons; traveled Europe for several years as a street musician and explored the traditional music of various countries; has played hurdy-gurdy since 1983, lessons with Evelyne Girardon, Valentin Clastrier and Matthias Loibner; studied hurdy-gurdy, drone and early music at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (graduated with the “University Certificate in Music”); Worked as a theater musician in Sweden; studied music pedagogy at the Waldorf Teachers’ College in Stuttgart; member of the early music ensembles “Oni Wytars”, “Unicorn” and “Accentus”; many years of international concert experience, course leader for hurdy-gurdy and ensemble playing; several recordings, radio and television productions.

Matthias Loibner

born. 1969 in Graz (Austria), piano lessons with Nono Schreiner, guitar and trombone in self-study, partial studies of classical composition, jazz composition, orchestral and choral conducting in Graz; since 1990 he has been playing the hurdy-gurdy, initially self-taught, later lessons with Barbara Grimm, Valentin Clastrier, Riccardo Delfino and Gilles Chabenat; 1st prize at the “Concours des vielles et cornemuses” St. Chartier, 1994; participation and collaboration as hurdy-gurdy player et al. with deishovida, Sandy Lopicic Orkestar, Tunji Beier, Linsey Pollak, Ross Daly, Christophe Coin (Ensemble Baroque de Limoges), Le Concert Spirituel, Les Eclairs de la Musique, DJ Shantel, Alex Deutsch; theater music et al. with Henning Mankell, Hubert v. Goisern, Manuela Soeiro; teacher of hurdy-gurdy technique and improvisation since 1994.