It is a great Sunday morning to start the weekend with Australia’s own Trouble in the Kitchen. Their recordings simply bring the beauty of the Emerald Isle right to the Down Under. Fast or slow, the band exudes great atmosphere and beauty. There is this warmth vibe within each track, as exemplified by The Pleasure Palace and Road to Port Fairy. There are good vocals in songs like Four Pence a Day and Mill Towns. Great sound engineering washed all tracks. Gossamer sheen and lush production technique predominate the amazing mastering. These are sound characteristic of bands like Grada and Cara.
If you are a fan of Nicklecreek, The Punch Brothers and Liadan then you will definitely warm up to Trouble in the Kitchen.
Fiddle – Adrian (Ado) Barker
Flute – Ben Stephenson
Guitar – Kate Burke
Bouzouki – Joe Ferguson
Ray Pool is a world renowned harpist from Tulsa Oklahoma. He has interesting tips in how to deal with harp blisters. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Here I am with an imitation blister on the tip of the fourth finger of my left hand. This is a very upsetting situation to a harpist. This is a method for fashioning an adhesive tape bandage that will (1) cover the blister for protection and (2) bend while playing. I learned this from Lucile Lawrence who learned it from Carlos Salzedo. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to all who have to resort to this measure.
You need 1/2″ adhesive tape and a small pair of scissors. This tape happens to be waterproof. That is not necessary. It was what I found at the drug store today.
Cut off a piece of tape about six inches long.
Split the tape in half about four inches up the length.
Place the two-inch piece (which is full width) over the pad of the finger with the split in the tape positioned to meet the beginning of the finger nail once it is wrapped
Pull the left half of the tape diagonally up and over the finger nail, heading for the opposite side of the finger.
Secure that diagonal piece of tape over the base of the wider, solid piece of tape to anchor it.
Perform a similar up and over diagonal positioning of the second half of the tape.
You now have a secure piece of adhesive tape that covers the blistered area and is held down by its two “tails” as they cross over the top of the fingernail, across the finger and back around to the under side.
You may have to adjust the length of the original piece and the lengths of the two strips to fit the proportion of your hand. (I’ve got a pretty big mit!)
My essay about why we listen to music and the importance of the people behind the artist.
Gary Paczosa was Altan’s sound engineer for the album The Blue Idol(2002)
Dear readers. I have just finished my second cup of tea for the day. Would you care to join me for a little reflection? I have questions in mind. And I have conclusions of my own. How about yours? What’s your take on this article?
What makes listening to music fulfilling? Is it the speed of how the tune is being played? Is it accuracy? Technique? Style? We can go on and on rambling about what makes music interesting. I am sure we have our own sets of prejudices when it comes to other forms of music. Elitism after all exists in all forms of persuasions be it aesthetic, intellect or economic. We are snobs!
Jeff Wolpert: engineer, mixing, assistant producer for Loreena McKennitt albums and live recordings at work on her Mediterranean tour.
I think there are those who chose a particular form of genre based on the fact that very few listen to it so that makes it cool. Yes, it is the foundation of cool that keeps the business going round and round. Sometimes it is not so much on the beauty of the music than the fact that it is simply COOL to own such albums or listen to bands which your COOL friends approve of. Peer pressure?
I know I am not innocent. I have given up my biases years ago to put balance in this site. It is after all one half me, and the rest belongs to the people who contribute to the traffic of this site. Sometimes I feel my preferences are just one fourth of what this site is all about. Honestly, I also listen to other types of music. That is why I have a secondary blog which caters to indie musicians where genres like Rock, Electro and Jazz apply. But Celtic music was responsible in turning my world around which in turn gave birth to this site. Writing has been a source of joy for me.
Enya and Nicky Ryan inside old Aigle studio(picture from enyabookofdays.com)
Sometimes, miss the old days when I used to let people listen to my records to cite an example. I even went as far as making my own mix tapes so I can inject those recordings on buses and bars where people are found. And I can talk for hours how a particular note can gain different colors based on the effects that you put on a sound, making you travel inside the music and marvel at the wonders of the recording technology. I can write an essay how clarinets sound so good when played sonorously, gaining a haunting quality.
There are also times when I just listen to make me feel good at the end of the day. We all listen to music for different reasons. But I think the best music is that one where you always get satisfied in all aspects. Something that makes you think of how the arrangements of the instruments were done, the album artwork, the people who worked in the photography, the liner notes, the sound engineers, mixers and finally those who do the mastering process.
Richard Dodd: engineer and producer of The Magical Ring, the legendary album by the band Clannad
Have you ever wondered how the musicians and people involved in the album making worked hard in the studio to give you the finished product? Somehow these are things that got ignored in the world of fast mp3 downloads and not having too much time to REALLY listen. Do you really listen?
I believe that any discussion is worth an article. Got this posted by Rachel Hair about issues with blisters among musicians who play the harp. This is understandable. Unlike guitarists who usually use the guitar pick harpists have to rely solely on their fingers in conquering those great bunch of strings.
Hi folks,
Do any of you ever get blisters when you play? I’m just wondering how you deal with them when you get them, or how you yourselves prevent them?
I myself rarely, rarely get blisters as I’ve such hard callouses on my fingers. Last week though I had a very intense playing schedule… I had 4 gigs in 2 days, which was over 7 hours of hard, full on playing (mixture of background music and professional performing gigs).
I ended up with a massive blister on my right hand thumb, but under my callous, so it had like a 1mm skin on it! I’ve ended up taking a needle to it and bursting it and I’ve cleared the skin away (it was such thick skin it was never going to regrow in).
Now I’ve fresh skin though without callouses on my thumb that I’m going to have to “train” up again.
Was just wondering what you guys do if you end up blisters, small, or big?
Rachel Hair
Things that usually happen:
1. Small cuts on fingers on wrong places. This happens when a wrong part of the finger slides or gets into too much contact with the wired strings.
2. Blisters. According to harpist Amy Kortuem: blisters can occur on the 4th finger of left hand, the finger that anchors all those big chords on those huge gut and metal strings in the bass.
Temporary Remedies (if there is an ongoing gig):
1. Duct tape. Here’s what Amy Kortuem said:
Once I resigned myself to the fact that it wasn’t going to look pretty, I gave in. Duct taped finger it would be. I packed up the harp, got it into the warm truck and went to my tool box — No. Duct. Tape. And I didn’t have time to stop at the hardware store before I needed to be at the Wine Café. So I steeled myself to just play through the pain.
I shouldn’t have worried, though. There were plenty of great musicians at the Wine Café, and the likes of Paul Durenberger and Minnesota Music Hall of Famer Billy Steiner rushed to my rescue with a roll of duct tape and a Swiss Army knife to trim the edges.
It made for some interesting adjustments in my playing. While I didn’t feel any blister pain, I also didn’t feel the strings at all. I spent more time looking at my fingers while playing than I have since I was first learning to play the harp. But I adjusted, and people enjoyed the show tunes and romantic songs I played.
I’m sold on the duct tape cure. So much so that I went to the drugstore last night to buy a roll for myself. The cashier looked at me a little strangely when I put the duct tape and a Valentine’s Day card on the counter (the card was for my 90-year-old neighbor, Ethel), but I didn’t explain. I just tripped off into the winter’s night with my purchases, ready to give myself a manicure with some silvery nail polish to match my newest performance accessory.
2. Plasters. Plasters are quite good for allowing one to keep on playing, as they shape themselves to the shape of your fingers, and don’t completely block off sensation.
Long term remedies:
1.Aloe vera. It has soothing, moisturizing, and healing properties. Cut a small piece, squeeze it and put the gel on your finger. Don’t be afraid to moisturize your skin, as keeping it dry will exacerbate the problem in the long run.
2. Rock tips. It builds callouses for sensitive fingertips. More info through this link: http://rock-tips.com/
Big thanks to all harpists who contributed their ideas:
Scott Hoye, Amy Kortuem, Màiri Macleod, Leo Phillips, Corrina Hewat, Renia Kayiava, Karla Sullivan, Susan M Berry, Ray Pool, Alice Freeman, Julia Somerville and Eliseo Mauas Pinto.
His singing moved me to tears that I just lost it.
It is a somber day. I just finished breakfast and I listened to one of my CD collections. This song by Christy Moore came on. I had to drop everything . I can’t stop bawling like a baby. Something about the sentiment of the song hit me. It is a very sad song of Scottish origin. It took me sometime to recover and I thought I should write about it.
Writing is a good therapy. So is listening to music. There are emotions we refused to acknowledge so they stayed hidden. Not until one song unlocks them and everything is a catharsis. Sometimes the only friend we have until the end is music. Songs help unravel our experiences within the chronology of our lives. They help us revisit the past and we experience that old feeling. Music is precious. And musicians are also therapists that help us in the healing process.
I went through high school and college relying on the sustenance of my record collections. They kept me balanced and prevented me from doing drugs or getting into vices. In college, I had to set aside my allowance for clothes and shoes to buy albums. We do what we can to help each other. Friends are there but sometimes…just sometimes, people we care about can do damage even if they don’t mean to. It is just human nature I guess.
I remember the song Molly Ban which I also listened to a while ago. It has these lines:
Going home from her uncle in a shower of rain,
She crept under a green bush the rain for to shun.
Her white apron being around her he took her for a swan,
For he never intended to shoot his own Molly Ban.
O when he came to her and saw what he had done,
The tears from his eyes in great fountains did run.
Straight home to his father with a gun in his hand,
Saying “Father, dear father, I’ve shot Molly Ban.
“Her white apron being around her I took her for a swan,
In modern context, we can apply this story to words we say to one another. We might not have a gun like Molly Ban’s lover…but we have words. And words can wound..even kill.
I like this quote that my friend Christi once attached to her email signature:
Say little, and the little you say, say well.- Old Irish Saying
Celtic Music Fan 