The Grantena
Have you seen anything like this before?
I have a friend from Nova Scotia and his name is Layne Greene. He comes from a long line of musicians and musical instrument makers. For anyone with Celtic blood in his or her veins, music and instrument making are all part of the tradition. This Grantena is hand made in 1918 by his grandmother’s grandfather. This is the only one in the world.
For those who are not yet aware, there is a tutorial for Irish music via YouTube. Karl Nesbitt has uploaded videos for people who want to enhance their talents in playing Celtic music instruments. Please visit Karl Nesbitt’s YouTube page to check these wonderful videos out.
Karl I really like the new video about playing the Bodhran. Please tell us what’s new with you.
Hi, and Happy Christmas to you.
Glad you liked the new clip. My album Vista Point is now on iTunes which is great, people can easily access it. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/vista-point/id345443691
What advice can you give newbies in terms of playing the bodhran?
Advice on playing the bodhran.. tough one, but maybe that it’s 50% playing..and 50% listening!
Where do you shop for instruments?
It’s a bit harder to shop for instruments of quality now unless online..But usually locally here in Cork for me.
You will join your sister Mairead and the Berne Symphony Orchestra for a performance in Berne, Switzerland, on January 2nd. What will fans expect to hear from this event?
The Berne gig is the music Mairead did for Disney, and Celtic Woman. Glad to join the event.
Have a peaceful Christmas full of content, and look forward to a good year.
Like you guys I have just stumbled upon this. My fetish for unique musical instruments led me to this one. It’s called the Crwth (pronounced like “krooth”) It’s actually a now archaic Welsh medieval instrument. In my previous post I opened a topic about the Celtic music of Wales. Most of the folk music of Wales was suppressed due to the Act of Union which promoted the English language and also the rise of Methodist church. .More detailed information can be found here.
Anyway my interest was piqued so I search for videos available in You Tube and found this video by violinist Rachel Barton Pine. She talks to this crwth-maker Hank Taylor. Check out the video to learn more. Here’s another one. This is a challenge to other Celtic musicians out there. Would you be including the Crwth in your recordings soon?
Celtic Music Fan 