As the early morning mist hovered over the fields like a soft blanket, I walked uphill towards the prayer tower on Gottesacker (God’s acre). Gravestones etched with the marks of time loomed eerily out of the haze and I pondered on the stories that they held. Read More
A wonderful drum, I managed to pick up on my travels in India. Whereas the Tabla and Pakhavaj are used more in classically influenced situations the Dholak is widely used in folk music in India.
A wonderful afternoon at Barona reservations 7th annual Gathering listening to traditional bird singing and watching the dancers. Unlike many other tribes, where the drum is the instrument of choice, a gourd or tortoise-shell rattle filled with native palm seeds accompanies the Kumeyaay bird songs. Read More
Martin’s musical mystery tour – This month’s blog comes from Switzerland. I have just come back from Geneva where I have been working for the last 10 days – also had a couple of days exploring inland and re-visiting Montreux, a lakeside city that has had links with the music industry since the 70’s – Smoke on the Water!!
Check out this world record gathering of 508 Alphorn players in 2013. What an incredible sound!
What an amazing sound – apparently they were used to signal to each other from across the valleys, in order to summon help, communicate to each other, and announcing daily activities, such as calling a council, or gathering for war!
If you would like to learn how to play – check out the Alphorn project.
Talerschwingen or talerrollen is a fascinating tradition used with yodeling in the east of Switzerland. The players take a 5 Swiss franc coin and throw it inside an earthenware bowl. The bowl is then slowly rotated as they sing. Three bowls of different pitches are often used in a performance. The sound created is inspired by the cow bells heard in the fields.
A wonderful tradition of singing that many people associate with Switzerland although there are many forms that have been traced back to Georgia, Persia, Central Asia and Central Africa. In Appenzell, they come in two forms: the Zäuerli and Ruggusseli yodels. The Ruggusseli is thought to be a sadder yodel due to being sung in minor keys.
Enjoying the amazing city of Geneva where you can hear most of the world’s language’s as you walk down the streets. I played at a wonderful gathering of the nations. 12 hours of musical expression, praying for the country and it’s people. This is the city where many organisations have their headquarters, including the UN, International Red Cross and World Health Organization’s. I was amazed to go to the church where the International Red Cross was started – a vision in 1863 that now has around 97 million volunteers! WOW! This weekend is the 200th year celebrations of Geneva joining the Swiss Confederation.
Just got sent a video of a track I worked on in 2009 in the UK with my friend Dave Bankhead. He had produced the backing track and they have now recorded a vocal arrangement out in Rwanda.
Read my report of travels in Rwanda, July 2000 here. ♥
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