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  Thursday, June 19, 2008

Might I Enquire...

First, let me direct you to this YouTube video of a tiny hurdy gurdy concert performed by Matthias Loibner. Incredible! The hurdy gurdy is an amazing instrument. You've probably heard one and not known it.

Tonight I was at the Bend Drum Circle, once again at Drake Park. My friend Ken Czepelka (sheh-PEL-ka) dropped by with his djembe and his new hurdy gurdy. Woot!

After the drum circle dissipated, Ken played the hurdy gurdy and I accompanied him, at varying times, on didgeridoo, djembe and them bones. This attracted a lot of attention. How often does one hear a hurdy gurdy at Drake Park? Never! Until now.

A few teens walked up and marveled at the instrument. One of them, a (goth?) guy with hardware piercing his lips and other features, approached Ken with a question: "Might I inquire as to the nature of that instrument?"

I kid you not! That was definitely not the phrasing I would expect of a kid looking as he did. Just goes to show. The five of us got into a lively discussion of how the hurdy gurdy worked, how it compared to other instruments, and how wonderful it is that we still benefit from instruments out of the past. I could of course agree, since I was playing instruments which all had a long history. I've heard didges described as one of the oldest instruments, but I wonder how they compare to bones. I bet bones beat didge.

One of the teens had a pitbull-looking puppy with him, with a junkyard face and a constant line of drool dangling from his mouth. He gazed at my didge with some slight curiosity for a moment. Among my repertoire of didge sounds is the common imitation of an Australian dingo, sort of a high bark over the drone. Without even thinking about it, I let loose some barks during my rhythm, and suddenly the dog became quite interested! He approached and stared intently at the opening of the didge, as if searching for the dog inside. Made me laugh so hard I lost the rhythm.

Ken let me play his hurdy gurdy a few times. I've long wanted to try one. It plays two octaves, a chromatic scale. I found it challenging to keep the wheel turning at a steady pace while I fingered the keys, and the fingering was tricky, but I was able to get some scratchy tunes out of it. Thanks, Ken!

See what you missed tonight?


Posted by Dave    Blog Tag: Chatter

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