View Full Version : Campfire Instruments
A senior American officer once said: ‘Going to war without the French is like going deer-hunting without my accordion.’
Regardless of the slur on French military prowess, he had a point. Music round the campfire is pleasant, but not when you’re carrying the accordion. So I thought I’d look at the more lightweight options.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b160/pewing/013.jpg
The tin whistle/penny whistle has long been a staple of Irish music but is also a traditional instrument in Scottish and English culture. It is both easy and impossible to play. Easy, because you can pick one up and rattle off simple slow tunes within minutes. Impossible, because – well just look at the speed of some jigs and see if you can get there.
The great thing is that there are fantastic resources on the internet for learning instruments- free tutorials, music, mp3 files, you name it.
The picture shows, from left to right, the Clare Whistle, the Irish Feadog, and the ‘Meg’ whistle by Clarke’s – all in the key of D, which is recommended for the beginner. It’s a close tie between the Clare and the Feadog but I prefer the Feadog. The Meg is more cheaply made, quieter, and just not in the same league in my opinion. All these whistles are very cheap - £5 to £10.
The 12 gauge cartridges are there for scale – although those who’ve heard me play might suggest another use for them…
An alternative to the whistle is the harmonica – also known as a ‘harp’ by our colonial friends, or a ‘moothie’ here in Scotland. The traditional harp is the Hohner Marine Band, which has been in continuous production for a century or so. However, it has a wood comb which is apparently harder for beginners, and may warp with outdoor use. Right in the picture is The Marine Band Special 20 by Hohner, which has a plastic comb and is highly recommended. The other harp is a £3 Chinese Golden Cup. It was out of tune on purchase. Not recommended. I have heard good things about the Suzuki Folkmaster which is £10 delivered on ebay, and the Hohner Big River Harp, which is between the Folkmaster and the Special 20 in both price and quality.
The harp is, IMHO, much harder than the whistle. It took me 2 wks to get single notes reliably, but now I’m progressing beyond ‘Kumbaya’ with a target of Springsteen’s intro to The River. Like the whistle, the internet harp resources are amazing.
Now the dark nights are on us, a campfire instrument is worth considering. A whistle or harp weighs little, and costs a fiver or a tenner. Acquiring skill takes a little time and perseverance, but it fits with the ‘know more, carry less’ ethic.
I've inherited a Bandmaster harmonica from the wifes grandad, I keep having a go now and then but it's hard work.
I can just about muster a very poor rendition of Popeye the Sailorman, it's so poor in fact that I wouldn't dream of inflicting it on any fellow campers just yet. I do like a good tune round the fire though, I've been to a couple of meets this year with some talented musicians and it makes a nice accompaniment to the usual banter.
harlequin
09-12-2009, 01:24
Harmonicas!
Lets see if you're this good!
If you are you can play around my campfire anytime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJB1j5PFsQg
Enjoy!
Harmonicas!
Lets see if you're this good!
If you are you can play around my campfire anytime.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJB1j5PFsQg
Enjoy!
:eek:
WOW
Never thought hearing somebody play a harmonica could make the hairs on my neck stand on end.
I'm still on page 1 of "How to play a harmonica", got a bit of catching up to do.
Andy2112
09-12-2009, 10:57
:eek:
WOW
Never thought hearing somebody play a harmonica could make the hairs on my neck stand on end.
I'm still on page 1 of "How to play a harmonica", got a bit of catching up to do.
Keep at it Shewie, i've played one on and off for a few years now, i've got a Hohner Blues harp in A, but the classic one is in C i think.
Here's a nice site for a few harp tabs to have a go with. Suck blow, and breathe through your nose lol.
http://www.harptabs.com/
Pucker up baby. :bigok:
stonyman
09-12-2009, 11:03
Thank you for that link, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and brought tears to my eyes, the first piece he played was my late grand mothers favourite piece of music.
Cap'n Badger
09-12-2009, 11:19
Holy smokes!....That was awesome.....Thanks fer the link there fella.
As a campfire musican mesel'......penny whistle....Mouth organ....guitar....digeridoo.. ...An' basically anything found at the fireside.....includin' bits o' pipe an' a funnel!...I loves music in the wilds....but there is a time an' place....an' not ALL are into it. Tho I've sat around many a fire wi' some awesome singers...both folk an' contemp.
Melonfish
09-12-2009, 11:36
heh, got a harmonica and a book for christmas last year, spent a while trying to learn it, got a few tunes out of it but i'm not great. my m8 picked up a harmonica and within a week is blasting out tunes without problems, he's never played before but has a great ear for music and is already jamming along with me and another m8 whilst we sing/play guitar.
i've been tempted by the whistle for a while actually and i can't really find an excuse not to get one now, although i was looking at making my own double flute from elder.
Asa Samuel
09-12-2009, 11:44
I have three harmonicas, one in C, one in G and the other is a Chinese tremolo harmonica, all plastic combs and I really want to learn to play them properly. I can play some tunes like "camp town races" and "she'll be coming round the mountain" but I'd love to be able to improvise on them or play some nice blues.
John Fenna
09-12-2009, 11:46
I love a bit of folk music around the camp fire - now and then!
There were some awsome musicians at "the naughty corner" and I would like to have heard more of their stuff.
Me - no musical tallents at all...but I like to join in anyway!:D
Cap'n Badger
09-12-2009, 11:49
Me - no musical tallents at all...but I like to join in anyway!:D
Get out John....Ye loves t' 'Folk it up'......An' yer singin's spot on....
gregorach
09-12-2009, 11:55
If you're thinking of learning the whistle, you'd be far better off buying one first - they're cheap, and a properly-made one is much easier to play. I've got a whole bunch, and I'd agree that the Feadóg is one the best of the budget whistles that I've tried. Oak whistles are also pretty good at that price level, as are Clarkes (the proper Original Clarke, not the Meg - although at £1.99, the Meg isn't a bad whistle for the money). One thing to be aware of though is that these mass-produced whistles are a bit variable - to get a really good one, you really need to go through a whole lot of them in the shop, which most places won't let you do. Still, they're perfectly serviceable for a beginner. If you get really in to it, you'll probably want to buy a decent whistle eventually - I recently bought a Tony Dixon Pro D which is far superior, and still reasonably priced at somewhere under £40. Although I'm not sure that I'll be taking it camping...
When my step-brother was learning the harmonica, the big problem he found was that no-one can actually show you what they're doing...
Melonfish
09-12-2009, 13:02
Bending notes on the harmonica is the most difficult thing to show in the world.... imagine your finger stuck in your mouth flapping your tongue around whilst trying to explain how it makes the sound
...ugh-oogh-ghh-uuh!
Andy2112
09-12-2009, 13:17
Bending notes on the harmonica is the most difficult thing to show in the world.... imagine your finger stuck in your mouth flapping your tongue around whilst trying to explain how it makes the sound
...ugh-oogh-ghh-uuh!
Yep, agree mate but i found bending the notes easy, i sorta double suck but in my throat, if you know what i mean ?:confused:
Ogri the trog
09-12-2009, 13:38
Some folks ability to create music around a campfire is, to me, beyond magical.
I have tried and decided that it is far better for me to sit and listen while other folk do their thing; than for me to inflict upon them the tortured screaches and groans of any instrument that prior to being handed to me and afterward, they can make sweet music from.
Ogri the trog
I've tried a few different instruments over the years and the wilderness is the best place for me to practice in because I seriously suck at it. http://www.wayland.me.uk/assets/images/Whistlin.gif
I'm not awful with a bodhran if I do it my own way, but that's about it for me.
The Cumbrian
09-12-2009, 13:57
I was learning to play the bodhran a few years ago with the help of a book and a video.
But then my wife stopped working shifts and my practise time disappeared. I'm afraid that now it's just a nice ornament.
Cheers, Michael.
Keep at it Shewie, i've played one on and off for a few years now, i've got a Hohner Blues harp in A, but the classic one is in C i think.
Here's a nice site for a few harp tabs to have a go with. Suck blow, and breathe through your nose lol.
http://www.harptabs.com/
Pucker up baby. :bigok:
Thanks for that link, has inspired me to dig out my harmonica, and try again :)
Tye Possum
10-12-2009, 07:36
I like to bring an instrument when I go camping, usually I bring my harmonica because it's small but I can't play it very well...
Here's my harmonica with my native american flute which I also attempt to play sometimes:
http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu94/TyePossum/instruments.jpg
The wooden recorder there was just in that picture, it's a little to high pitched and squeeky for the woods. Oh and the harmonica is a Hohner special 20 in C.
Melonfish
10-12-2009, 13:15
Reet you lot, thanks a bunch i'm now dead set on a tin whistle! finally going to get myself sorted, however i need advice from those who own on whether to get a conical or a straight cut and what brands are best for a beginner (£5-£20 range)
i know D is the most common Key to begin with but what else is good?
kinda romantic to picture yourself sat by a fire playing the tin whistle i must say.
I’ve never understood the desire that people have, do destroy the very thing they claim to be seeking, most people claim to wild-camp to get in touch with nature or to search for some deeper more meaningful ‘spiritual’ Zen when out in the woods, but nearly all the time, most are either trying to get smashed out of their heads with booze, or make enough noise to wake the dead.
Is there nothing to be said for sitting round the camp fire and listening to the night?
gregorach
10-12-2009, 13:28
Conical whistles have a slightly more "breathy" tone. Personally, I prefer straight whistles, but it's largely a matter of taste. Brands I would recommend are Feadóg, Clarke, Oak, Acorn, Shaw, Generation...
Have a read of Chiff & Fipple's Guide to Inexpensive Whistles (http://www.chiffandfipple.com/inexp.html)
Definitely start with a D - it's the easiest key to play, and every single tutor book assumes that key. Once you're up to speed, you can perhaps think about getting some other keys - the most useful usually being C and B-flat, but it depends on what you're playing. Then there's the low whistles, which get much more expensive and are quite tricky to play, especially for a beginner.
I'd also recommend L. E. McCullough's Complete Irish Tin Whistle Tutor (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Irish-Tin-Whistle-Tutor/dp/0825603110/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260447899&sr=8-1).
gregorach
10-12-2009, 13:30
Is there nothing to be said for sitting round the camp fire and listening to the night?
Plenty, but that doesn't mean you can't ever do anything else. Nobody's trying to tell you how to enjoy yourself, please extend the same respect to those of us who occasionally like to play music outdoors.
MartinK9
10-12-2009, 13:32
Plenty, but that doesn't mean you can't ever do anything else. Nobody's trying to tell you how to enjoy yourself, please extend the same respect to those of us who occasionally like to play music outdoors.
And to those that want to get smashed:lmao:
gregorach
10-12-2009, 13:33
Indeed. :D
Plenty, but that doesn't mean you can't ever do anything else. Nobody's trying to tell you how to enjoy yourself, please extend the same respect to those of us who occasionally like to play music outdoors.
Unfortunately if’n I am sitting by yon fire listening to the sound of nature all around me, and half a mile away there is a camp full of people half smashed out of their tree singing just the chorus to the song “total eclipse of the heart” till 0220hrs, they are basically telling me how their style of camping is more valid than mine. Where is the respect then? :soapbox:
gregorach
10-12-2009, 13:51
So everyone in the entire country has to maintain silence just in case you're around?
So everyone in the entire country has to maintain silence just in case you're around?No more than everyone in the country should be forced to listen to the drunken howling of other people. It's as you said all about Respect
Melonfish
10-12-2009, 14:07
Lol, wasted is fun but i'm a fella who breathes music, i'm constantly singing to myself, when i get home i'm always fiddling with my guitars etc, really music is just me. although i love the outdoors for its peace and serenity i don't mind interupting that a little every so often with some nice music ;)
Unfortunately if’n I am sitting by yon fire listening to the sound of nature all around me, and half a mile away there is a camp full of people half smashed out of their tree singing just the chorus to the song “total eclipse of the heart” till 0220hrs, they are basically telling me how their style of camping is more valid than mine. Where is the respect then? :soapbox:
You wouldn't hear a tin whistle half a mile away. I don't think you'd hear it 100 metres away. They aren't particularly loud instruments.
But I would agree that before picking the whistle up it's important to consider if anyone else is within earshot, and what their views might be. Same goes for singing, and doubly so for electronic music.
Andy2112
10-12-2009, 14:33
You wouldn't hear a tin whistle half a mile away. I don't think you'd hear it 100 metres away. They aren't particularly loud instruments.
But I would agree that before picking the whistle up it's important to consider if anyone else is within earshot, and what their views might be. Same goes for singing, and doubly so for electronic music.
Lol, you would if Mr Galway had it and was amped up, lol All valid points.:rolleyes:
I've never been to a bushcraft meet where there's been drunken singing late at night, must be just the commercial campsites, and i won't name the one i went to and experienced it first hand.:(
scrogger
10-12-2009, 15:31
Well I enjoy some music I think the right sort of music around the camp fire adds to the experience and for me it gives a little more value and meaning. I am not talking IPODs linked up to speakers or Ghetto blasters. At a meet up at Loch Achray Gregorach played a whistle (correct me if I got that wrong Duncan) there was no loud singing just banter around the fire with the music as a background noise to be honest that combined with the company and yes a few nice malts made it a very enjoyable and memorable night.
That said I also like to sit in solitude I think both have their place around the fire. JMHO
Andy
Andy2112
10-12-2009, 15:50
Well I enjoy some music I think the right sort of music around the camp fire adds to the experience and for me it gives a little more value and meaning. I am not talking IPODs linked up to speakers or Ghetto blasters. At a meet up at Loch Achray Gregorach played a whistle (correct me if I got that wrong Duncan) there was no loud singing just banter around the fire with the music as a background noise to be honest that combined with the company and yes a few nice malts made it a very enjoyable and memorable night.
That said I also like to sit in solitude I think both have their place around the fire. JMHO
Andy
Spot on mate. :bigok:
gowersponger
10-12-2009, 16:15
iam visiting family down in kent christmas time i always visit a shop in canterbury that sells aboriginal instruments ive just gave 2 bongos away that i bought a couple of years ago, and this year iam going for a aboriginal flute .
I did a canoe trip in the Colorado desert this summer (a river runs through it) and one of the guides was a great lady called Erin who had brought a guitar in a waterproof case. We had some fantastic warm musical evenings round the campfire looking up at the starry night. Boy was she talented.
NS
At a meet up at Loch Achray Gregorach played a whistle (correct me if I got that wrong Duncan) there was no loud singing just banter around the fire with the music as a background noise to be honest that combined with the company and yes a few nice malts made it a very enjoyable and memorable night.
That said I also like to sit in solitude I think both have their place around the fire. JMHO
Andy
Couldn't agree more
Dave
Problem with camp fire instruments is that many of the players think they can play but reality is often different:lmao:
I'll stick to radio 4 or music from my MP3 player, via headphones.
Grooveski
17-12-2009, 20:02
Read this thread last night and then was just in there booking some tickets for the celtic connections when I spotted a 'whistle for beginners' class.
Five minutes later I was on amazon ordering Robin Williamson's Penny Whistle Book.
You guys have a lot to answer for. :)
P.S. there's an intermediate class as well - just in case anyone round here's interested.
Melonfish
17-12-2009, 23:30
i popped into my local music shop yesterday and got two whistles, ones a Guinness one! (must be irish!)
not sounding too good atm but it'll improve if i do an hour a day....
...
for the next 20 years!
Grooveski
25-12-2009, 01:04
I'm glad folk suggested trying a few makes out.
I'd dug out an old Generation(an impulse buy when I was picking up strings years ago) and was having a hard time playing a scale without fluffing notes. A Clarke(original) just dropped through the letter box and it's a joy to play in comparison.
Robin's penny whistle book arrived too. It's mostly a selection of tunes rather than excercises so I'll probably stick it aside for a while but I'm betting they're nice tunes and the patter's good(as you'd expect:)).
[edit - Sorry, there are a few pages of exercises and the songs themselves are also.
Shouldn't have commented on a book from a quick flick through. I'll let you know how it turns out.
...
in twenty years. :)]
Omegarod
25-12-2009, 02:54
My main instrument is the guitar, (I've been playing for 50 years), but this is my toy for the camp.... a ukulele that I made myself. Its also light enough to carry without even noticing it.
http://www.rod-neep.com/rod/instruments/rn002-uke/002-29b.jpg
I have an iPod..... but I have never taken it with me on walks or camping.
a) In company it is unsociable
b) When alone it doesn't let me hear nature and the surroundings
But of course, your view may vary from mine.
Rod
I wouldn't mind these two turning up to a meet :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvQBWTvMrwY&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0H_0CAhyiM&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CsLefLisE&feature=related
Melonfish
03-01-2010, 12:26
Ooh me and CalibanZwei have seen them live! AMAZING gig, her hand moves so fast its just a blur and thats in real life nevermind on video.
if you read up on em they're so damn good because they spent years and years just hardcore practicing then one day just upped and travelled to ireland to busk, never looked back.
my tin whistle is coming along, its starting to sound more like a flute now rather then a 4 year old with a bad recorder...
Ooh me and CalibanZwei have seen them live! AMAZING gig, her hand moves so fast its just a blur and thats in real life nevermind on video.
if you read up on em they're so damn good because they spent years and years just hardcore practicing then one day just upped and travelled to ireland to busk, never looked back.
I've only caught them on Jools Hollands show a couple of times, swmbo was going to look for some gig tickets I think.
Generations in C and D are the lightest i carry.
I allso go with a "cavaquinho" (portuguese instrument that became the ukelele, youtube it).
There's no decent campfire without music, any primitive tribe can atest to that.
It's not an impediment to listening to nature and it doesn't have to be a loud mess, to everything it's time and mesaure.
I've yet to figure out how to take all my electronic music production kit camping. Eventually I think I'll get myself an acoustic bass and a Bhodran instead.
w00dsmoke
03-01-2010, 18:17
I occasionally play the didgeridoo but haven't mastered the circular breathing although I can do it. It's hard making one up in the woods too! pmsl I'm not going to carry a guitar in either just to badly play "stairway to heaven" and some P Floyd!
~~I also dabble with the ocarina... A lovely wee whistle thingy that has a haunting sound...:) But alas I'm one of those folk who wouldn't thank you for wilderness music unless it was very special and in the right place.
WS
Bogman10
04-01-2010, 07:48
Read this thread last night and then was just in there booking some tickets for the celtic connections when I spotted a 'whistle for beginners' class.
Five minutes later I was on amazon ordering Robin Williamson's Penny Whistle Book.
You guys have a lot to answer for. :)
P.S. there's an intermediate class as well - just in case anyone round here's interested.
You think these guys have wronged you? I ebayed up a Harmonica AND a penny whistle!!! I used to play guitar a fair bit, but haven't had the time to play. needed something to do besides Ice fish and snow shoe this winter....or so I told myself when ordering! : )
Grooveski
04-01-2010, 15:18
The Feadog whistle showed up and I can see why folk recommend them. Very rich sound and the high octave seems easier to play than the others. I still prefer the Clarke though, it's softer and more neighbour friendly.
The eye opener is that sheet actually makes sense:). I've tried in the past to learn to read music but with the guitar and mandolin it just didn't click.
gregorach
04-01-2010, 16:14
Looks like we're going to need a fiddler for the next Scottish meet. ;) Mind you, I recently picked up the octave mandola you can see hanging behind me in my new avatar, it's a similar kind of thing... But I never much like taking stringed instruments camping - the fluctuations of temperature and humidity play merry havoc with 'em.
It's hard making one up in the woods too!
legend has it that an old dried out giant hogweed stem and some wax around the mouth end works well....
gregorach
04-01-2010, 18:13
That's no legend - I've played a giant hogweed didj! Not the sort of thing you can knock up in the woods though - you've got to harvest the stem at the right time and then dry it completely. Once properly dried, it's perfectly harmless. It's a strange thing to play though - its a didj, but it's got no mass to speak of, so the resonance isn't anything like what you get from a decent bit of bloodwood or ironwood (which are very dense woods).
The true Australian didj is quite easy to knock up in the woods though - provided your woods have termites. ;) "Just" find a suitably sized hollow sapling, cut it down, clean out the termites, cut it to length, slap a bit of beeswax on the mouthpiece, and the job's done. It's about the only non-percussion musical instrument you can make with nothing but an axe.
I watched Rodrigo Y Gabriela on this years Hootenanny and was gobsmacked, first time i've seen them, even though i always watch Jool's Hootenanny :o must be the beer :o or just my age :rolleyes:
They were amazing
Dave
Grooveski
04-01-2010, 19:34
...But I never much like taking stringed instruments camping - the fluctuations of temperature and humidity play merry havoc with 'em.
First time my dad took his guitar away with him when he was contracting abroad he didn't think to loosen off the strings. Opened the case at the other end of the flight to find the neck snapped from the strings contracting in the cold of the cargo hold.
Not a happy bunny. Stuck in a Iranian desert for three months with the remains of his beloved G45. All got fixed in the end but the idea was to practice to relieve boredom and it happened on the way out. :rolleyes:
gregorach
05-01-2010, 11:04
Nightmare! This is why you should never check your guitar in as hold luggage. Well, that and the baggage handlers...
Melonfish
05-01-2010, 12:24
guitar as hold luggage? i'd rather lop off a limb!
blimey i get sick feelings every time i take a taxi home from somewhere that the guy is going to drive off with it in the boot...
the nightmares i have on that...
Omegarod
05-01-2010, 13:15
First time my dad took his guitar away with him when he was contracting abroad he didn't think to loosen off the strings. Opened the case at the other end of the flight to find the neck snapped from the strings contracting in the cold of the cargo hold.
Not a happy bunny. Stuck in a Iranian desert for three months with the remains of his beloved G45. All got fixed in the end but the idea was to practice to relieve boredom and it happened on the way out. :rolleyes:
It wasn't the strings. Too much tension on the strings will lift the bridge before anything else happens.
Don't do this:
Neck breaks are caused by dropping. Stand the case upright on its end, and let it fall flat onto the ground. That's the way a neck is broken. It happens because of the whiplash effect on the mass of the headstock.
It can be avoided by packing socks and underpants tightly under and over the headstock in the top end of the case.
Baggage handlers. We'll..... there's no antidote for those.:(
Rod
Grooveski
05-01-2010, 13:59
Certainly sounds the part. Doesn't sound like it'd damage the case either which was the baffling thing at the time.
Anyhow, was thirty years ago and the guitar made dozens of flights afterwards with no further problems. :)
Bogman10
08-01-2010, 22:29
Well I have received the Horner Golden melody harmonica ( it doesn't sound so golden when I blow into it lol ). I think this will definitely take a lot of practice. So does every new skill so I am looking forward to it.
Labrador
09-01-2010, 20:26
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu128/munchjones/Bach36.jpg
Does one of these count?:)
Omegarod
09-01-2010, 20:42
I have only two words to say in response to that...... and the second word ends in "off"
:)
Labrador
11-01-2010, 20:53
I'll get me coat!:tapedshut