FINALLY, We're Tuned! by Dowser
It has been two weeks of frustration, sickness, and suppressed excitement, as we, (John, my husband), and I dealt with several hurdy gurdy issues, not to mention all else that has been going on.
First, I had the flu. Even when not virulent any more, I was so weak, I was beginning to believe that only HUGE Teutonic beings could hold and play the hurdy gurdy, because it was so massive and so heavy. For the past two weeks, I've been remembering the tiny armors of the French at the Frazier Armory Museum, and, since this is supposed to be based on a medieval French design, I was truly amazed that those little suckers could carry a hurdy gurdy and walk around playing it. I mean, those guys were my size, but skinnier. They must have been TOUGH.
On Day Two, I put the guitar strap around my neck, stood up, and nearly fell over. Not to mention, that after 5 minutes or so, arthritis kicked in... So, I bought a sturdy, heavy duty, wooden music stand with a ledge to balance it on, but my arms wouldn't reach over it to touch the keys no matter what height I adjusted it too, and yes, part of this difficulty is my chest, which sticks out. John cut the top down for me, and now I can reach-- although I do appear to be like Quasimodo, hunched over the instrument, and my chest is smashed against the back of the stand... No matter, I can reach ! The alternative was to hang like a bat from the ceiling, so I could both press the keys and see my fingers!
Then again, today, for the first time, (probably because I have some strength), the hurdy gurdy felt more natural to hold. Less like holding a small refrigerator, and more like holding an instrument. So, maybe, I can pad my leg, and balance it there, with the strap around my waist, rather than have to put it up on a stand... I just need a very small chair-- and as I'm typing this, I'm thinking of my Victorian Era parlor chairs... Hmmmmm. No one but me fits in them anyway...
To carry the hurdy gurdy in it's case, which weighs 40+ pounds together, I bought a luggage dolly, (max weight 75 pounds), complete with bungee cords, so I can wheel it places, rather than struggle and heave and set it down every two steps... I'm going to go and buy another one, to carry the amp, etc.
Then, today, for the first time, I have strength! WOW! I have been so weak from sickness, I didn't realize! The hurdy gurdy only weighs about 14 pounds, and, for Pete's sake, my PURSE weighs 15 pounds, so what on earth was the matter with me? The flu.
Then, there was the tuner issue. The tuner that I bought especially for the hurdy gurdy is just a regular tuner, but overly sensitive. It picked up my wheeze from the cold/flu-- I wheezed in G#. It picked up the dogs, barking downstairs-- Tommy barks in B flat... The one thing it seemingly didn't pick up was the strings of the hurdy gurdy, maybe because of all the screeching and rattling! So, finally, I felt well enough to shop, and I got a new tuner. IT WORKS! Not only that, but it sounds the notes. Amazing what a $30 tuner will do that a $20 tuner won't.
Then, I had a sticky key. You could push it in, but it didn't fall out-- I had to push it back. Well, that screwed up everything! Each key has little frets that push against all the strings, raising the notes above it's basic tuning... It was basically raising all the notes up 1 step, and when pushed back out, the strings were rattling around in the key chest, contributing to the ABCDEFG# confusion of tuning.
You can see that when you press a key, it moves 4 little bridges against the strings, changing the pitch of the string.
Last night, we went to Lowes, and purchased graphite, a small triangle file, and a whole host of tiny tools. John took the key out, filed out the hole a bit, coated it with graphite and now it works like a charm. I now have a tool kit, with allen wrenches, graphite, files, screwdrivers, and all my other various and assundried tools...
THEN, it sounded more like a herd of cats fighting, rather than an instrument. Reading my book that came with the hurdy gurdy, which I shall henceforth call The Hurdy Gurdy Bible, there is a solution to that. It's called raising and lowering the bridge, and shimming the string. Finally, after tilting the bridge just a bit, (and thank God it has two little wheels to adjust the bridge height), I got everything touching, but not too much, and shimmed strings so they sound more like music and less like cats screaming.
My wheel is rosined, and my strings are wrapped with cotton. Now, you can turn on all of one tuning, the C/G notes, (the bottom half of the hurdy gurdy), or all the G/D notes, (the upper half of the hurdy gurdy), and it not only sounds like a concert instrument, it resonates!!!
I have played a scale, twice!!!
OK, I know that's not much, but it is SOMETHING, especially when we consider all the issues!!! Next, the only computer that has a built in microphone jack is John's, my old computer. So, I need to use his computer to record an actual something, and I need a better microphone to do it...
I must admit that all of this has been a bit overwhelming. Each string can be turned off and on with its own independent switch, (which is a master of engineering), or by moving it off and on its own little bridge, and there are capos, on both the Trompettes and the Bourdons, (upper and lower drones), and the sympathetic strings are contankerous, and the pegs are a bit stiff... Everything is named and labeled in French and I took German, which again, is of utterly no use. Not to mention that I'm tuning in octaves-- and my keyboard only has a few octaves-- I'd use the piano, but it needs tuning, too! The hurdy gurdy uses guitar, violin, viola, and cello strings-- all in different octaves. Yet, when things finally get together, it sounds like an orchestra, warming up...
John said, "This is going to be something you have to constantly diddle with." I think he's right. It is going to have to be diddled with constantly, as the humidity and outside temperature changes, and no matter what I play, I'm going to have to write down which strings are on and which are off. However, I am feeling braver and much less overwhelmed! No matter, however small, PROGRESS has been made!
I think learning how to play something is going to be like learning how to touch type, without looking at your fingers!
Thanks for coming by!
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This has been rather nerve-wracking, but it is finally working! YAY!!!
Next, to translate all the pictographs from the Indian flute into actual musical notes...
And I thought my 12 string was tuff.
Heard theflu this year is quite brutal, sorry to hear it found you sweet Dowser. Sounds like it knocked the slats out of you, elated you're flue-free and strength is returning.
Now this hurdy gurdy thingy...I think congrats are in order so I extend those
Yet, freely admit I've heard the term and had no idea it was a musical instrument. Any reference to hurdy gurdy, as a child was about stirring up something.
Waiting for your You-Tube appearance
Now I'm going to research mode!
Your aural imagery is priceless ... Thnx {smile}
Gee... It sounds like GREAT fun! I'm gonna run right out and buy one of these things!
Or then again... maybe not...
Yikes!
Think I'll stick to the guitar.
Oh man... The worst part is that no one in town-- i.e. violin fixers, etc., will touch it. So, help is not available, and I know of no one else that actually plays one... I've been looking for someone in town that plays one and have found no one at all. There is a guy up in Bloomington, IN that plays one, but that's a 3 hour drive.
We are on our own, I think. Thank heavens for The Hurdy Gurdy Bible!
We went to dinner tonight, and when we got back, I just checked some of the tunings. It is already out of tune, in spots. I'm going to have to tune it daily for awhile, to get it all to settle in.
Oh my gosh, and it wasn't even the kind of flu I got a shot for... It really knocked me for a loop! I had no idea that I was quite so weak. I mean, I knew all I wanted to do was lie down, but didn't realize that the hurdy gurdy only weighed 14 pounds. I had estimated about 25-30 pounds!
Here is the website where I got mine-- they are well known luthiers! Altarwind Music They are truly beautiful instruments!
Every hurdy gurdy I see on You Tube is 1) played by men, except for one lady who is obviously a giantess, and 2) apparently smaller than mine. I feel like a little bitty girl, hanging onto a very large shiny box.
Remember to value both the journey and the destination
Stay well, have peace.
It actually made my eyes water. No joke, I opened up the keychest, thinking, "Just how many cats are in here?"
Do you remember the thousands of teeny tiny parts that are in an old "works" clock? I mean, all those wheels and things that have to mesh perfectly for a clock to work and actually keep time?
Maybe I just grew up in a household of old clocks, along with old radios and TVs, but I can remember Grandpa opening up the back of a clock to watch it strike and thinking, "Look at all those parts!" Yep, that's what the hurdy gurdy is like! And they each have to function perfectly to make a "pretty" noise.
I'm thinking that I'm going to be diddling with it for quite some time, just to get it to work right.
Glad I quit my job! I will definitely NOT be bored in 'retirement'!
You should! Then, we could compare notes... Then, too, you could have hours of endless fun, working on its innards, like we are! Just getting the cotton wrapped is a trip-- it has to be wound so that turning the wheel winds it further, instead of unwinds it.
I am truly excited about it, even though I've had a few minor setbacks at the beginning. I must admit, this makes the hammer dulcimer look Oh So Simplistic!
And I was thinking this would be easier to play because it's just one note at a time...
It can be that, but it can also be so much more.
Hope you gain your strength back. My wife and I were hit with something a couple of months ago that took us nearly a month to get back to feeling right again.
Perhaps inserting some catnip would help {big smile }
Dowser,
I find that instrument scary. I wouldn't even know where to start. I admire that you are taking it on!
On the other hand, it does remind me of this song:
I hope that you are both feeling better!
I'm slowly getting my strength back-- it was a shock to realize how different I felt today, versus yesterday. I still want to lie down and take a nap, but it isn't such a necessity!
I have a very good friend that plays guitar like a pro, professionally, and HE does all kinds of wonderful things with one. I was thinking that this was just going to be one note at a time, and am hoping that it is just going to be one note at a time. Too much more and my brain will explode!
I'm already going bats on which key I'm in.
An actual "hurdy-gurdy" man; Philadelphia, 1897 (a photo I restored).
The journey is very valuable, as I'm learning the instrument's quirks as I go... Also gaining experience in lots of things... How much vibration is too much, how to "wind" cotton, etc. I'm hesitant to get into the tangents right now, (the frets in the keyboard thingy), but feel that it is going to be next. Some of them seem to want to sit on the strings and vibrate.
I will do my best to stay well, dear friend. This knocked me for a loop!
And GUESS WHAT!!! I Found My Camera! It had been put on the bench of the kitchen table, behind the kitchen table, where I never go to, and hadn't realized it had been covered up with a sweatsuit, and then, Matthew found it! Halleluiah! It is charging, as we speak!
Much love to you, my dear friend!
I love this song! Even if he is really singing about a barrel organ, (a common mistake), and this is a lot to take on-- and thank you! However, I am determined, and excited about it, and between the two of us, we'll get it. John has absolutely no trouble holding it and cranking it. Of course, he is tone deaf... But then, he is a lot larger than I and has no chest to hamper him. It will all work out, somehow. So far, I'm on the prowl for a stool, and am going to buy some oven mitts to stick onto a pair of pants, so I can bear to balance it on my lap. Then, I'll bring up one of the parlor chairs and try that... And, of course, retune tomorrow!
There is a lot to learn and to understand about it. But it is kind of neat, and one thing for sure, there isn't a whole lot of competition...
I'm starting to feel better, and that helps, too!
Love you, dear Perrie!
Dowser ,
When all the cats are tuned up they should sound exactly like this :
One of my favorites! Thanks for linking this!
And that is a perfect picture! You can even see the rolls of music he is carrying with him! My only question: Where is his monkey?
Thank you for including this!!!
And GUESS WHAT!!! I Found My Camera! ( did you find your money that you hid yet?) I hope that when you get this figured out, you will make some tapes so we can hear it!!
I'm confident that you will get it figured out and play it very well Dear Dowser!!! Keep recovering from that nasty flu or whatever the heck it was.
Nope, still haven't found the money... I've got 4 bookcases in the "office" and it's in there somewhere!
Finding the camera was a great thing! Now, I can make some videos of what the hurdy gurdy actually does!
I admire your determination, Dowser
! Congratulations!
YIPPEE!! I can't wait!!!
The monkey took the photo.
Hahaha! He may have... From what Uncle Louie told me about the old box cameras, all the subject had to do was keep still for a loooong time!
Oh, thank you, Neetu!
I'm just hoping I can learn how to do it!
Sweet Nona! You are tops!
aaawwww...shucks Dear Dowser...you're making me blush!!