Chiff and Fipple Forums

Sorry, I have to be skeptical. "We noticed that pitch-naming ability was roughly an all-or-nothing phenomenon," she said. That lead [sic] researchers to conclude that one gene, or perhaps a few, may be behind this talent. By this logic, understanding Chinese is genetic. Survey 2200 adults ...

Here is a recent example of supremely bad marketing.

Caj

Whoa, I totally missed this thread! Claudine, I think you made an excellent choice. People undervalue 20-button concertinas because they lack a C#, but the fact is that you can still play half of all Irish tunes on them. Since you already play another instrument, it's not a problem. Indeed, I know o...

I can't hear it, but if I get close to the speaker I feel pressure in my head. People now sell speakers that play this sound to keep teenagers from hanging out in front of convenience stores. A while ago there was a story on Slashdot about a crochety old man installing one on his house because he ha...

say Caj, what's the "vintage" of your lefty there? Who made it? (Man or machine? :lol: ) Looks pretty new! It is indeed new. It's a Gliga GEMS, and I just got it this year. Gliga is lefty-friendly, building left-handed versions of all their models. I guess it's fitting that a demonic left...

Here's Lefty:



It's not a conversion, but born that way.

I was thinking the same thing. I've never been to a session and threads like this don't exactly encourage me to find one. I can sympathize with the point of the original poster, but the hostility takes all the fun from those not in advanced clique. Hold on now: nobody is being hostile to beginners ...

For some reason whistlers seem to be most prone to this. Thank god it isn't typical for box players. I never thought about that. My experiences are the same: I've heard this kind of random note playing from flutes and fiddles, but never box players. As a concertina player, I think I can explain tha...

What really gets you chasing your tail, though, is that common session tunes in one locale are often less so in another, and you'll never really know them all. Moreover, I think the more universal the tune, the less likely sessioneers will enjoy you starting it. Half the fun of a visitor sitting in...

Lest I be accused of guitar-bashing, let me point out that some people pull this crap with melody instruments as well. There was a fellow who showed up at my old session right before I moved away. He had a beautiful wooden flute made of some highly figured wood, and a music stand. Apparently he was ...

It sounds like you want to know what the common tunes are that are often played in a lot of sessions. On the other hand, you might want to consider working on the tunes that you personally think are really nice, and never mind about their commonality. After all, you're doing this for your own enjoym...

I spent most of the week hanging out at Furlong's, since in my old age I can't travel far without getting all cranky and tired. They had an amazing hidden session there several nights in a row, down around the corner behind the building. It was mostly the next-generation crowd, and I'd listen to the...

I'm back from the Catskills festival and, although I had a very good time, I was amazed at how some people can be so clueless on how they should behave in a session. Az has a very refined sense of etiquette: the one time I heard him play at the Arts Week, he actually sat outside in the dark, near t...

I'll be there, mang.

Caj

Nothing is coming to mind for C, though... (Edited to add -- "Geese in the Bog" starts on a C... but it goes right down the the E, which makes it sort of exactly the opposite as the way you're using "Connaughtman's Rambles".) I've occasionally heard people in sessions play the R...