Comment

Comment by Yuri Landman on March 6, 2012 at 8:41am

No, there's no need for you to feel embarassed. You should read the funny bashing comments on seven string guitar forums, hehehe:) I'm very happy you post this one here. It's good to spread the info and I understand my work is not everybody's taste. Which is good. Diversity makes art interesting, like you say.

Most of my instruments are focused on what's called 'extended techniques'. So when an extended technique occurs, such as the screwdriver technique of SY, I start to think about improving it, by adapting the instrument to allow the technique better. 

For any traditional or vocal focused music my work is mostly not very relevant, since I only take 1 little corner and try to explore that with an instrument. Some instrument just can do a weird 'ploinggbrrr!!' and nothing else than that, but better than a piano or guitar can do it. But that's my adventure and luckily there's a lot of interest for my work. And the building workshops is great to help people take their first steps in building something instead of dreaming for years, not knowing where or how to start.

Best,

Y.

Comment by Vinylhed on March 6, 2012 at 6:28am

Hey Yuri,

I love your instruments, and the music you make is phenomenal. I find the world of experimental music fascinating and perplexing in equal measures. I hope to come to the workshop, if finances allow.

I hope you don't mind me posting information about you, your instruments and your workshops here? I'm slightly embarrassed that you've been drawn to my post here, it's like I've been talking behind your back. Sorry about that. 

Thank you for the information you've added, all very interesting. I suppose most instruments have the ability to be played in many different ways, and it's that diversity that music's all about. 

Right, back to arranging some Edgard Varese for a 3 string tin guitar.

Comment by Yuri Landman on March 6, 2012 at 5:40am

The green and red spot on the right and the grey are the ones you use on the Diddley Bow. So there is an overlap with the harmonic series and the diatonic scales at a few spots.

Comment by Yuri Landman on March 6, 2012 at 5:38am

Ah, great you're posting about the Liverpool/Bradford workshop, thanks Vinylhed. Most of my instruments are indeed focused on SY/Partch, but this one in particular is not so atonal as you might be afriad of. Although I play it as harsch as possible. You can tune it into a EBG for instance and slide  blues tunes on it like any other Diddley Bow. Or just use 1 strings, like the original Diddley Bows, if 3 is too much.

@ Oily, the colors are not a diatonic scale, it's a harmonic scale based on the Chinese scales and Partch' musical theory. You can play great 'ethereal' Partch/SY like tones if you play the string on the other side of the slide. But that's not suitable for blues folk focused musicians. 

Best wishes,

Yuri

Comment by Vinylhed on March 3, 2012 at 2:19am

I've been listening to some of Yuri's work and it's all a little too avant garde for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I like a bit of John Cage and Stockhausen, but I have little to no interest in producing music like they did. So, I want an instrument that can be played musically, his seem to be designed to produce discordant noise. I might give it a miss this time.

Comment by Ron "Oily" Sprague on March 3, 2012 at 12:04am

Vinyl,

 

Basically, it looks like he has an unfretted but marked chromatic fretboard, which also has diatonic markings on it, 3 tuners, a cheap single coil, and 3 strings, which look like it should be played with a slide instead of fretted. No resonating chamber, as he's playing electrically. Neat.

Go ahead, build one. You know you want to. You could do it just from this pic. Take the 35 quid, and use some of it for parts.