John Langford CD - Color Me Blue

As I said in my last post, last night I went to the New Crystal Folk Club and I won the raffle by picking out my own ticket!

There were a choice of prizes and I chose this CD - Color Me Blue by John Langford.

I played it this morning and I thought it was great! Review soon!

https://www.facebook.com/John-Langford-278944315479064/

SONG OF THE WEEK! Billy Bragg - A New England (1983)

I like this song because I like Billy's percussive strumming style.

Hear are two versions, about two decades apart, and you can learn a lot from them.

He's playing two different chord shape styles - barre chords on the electric and open chords on the acoustic.

He knows where the chords are by learning where the main notes are on the fretboard.

He's also detuned his guitar one tone on the acoustic, which yuo can use to make your finger positions easier.

Electric:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgwU4zCEJtY
Acoustic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTZfZQCtuew

Chord CSC35 3/4-sized acoustic guitar

Short review of my Chord CSC35 3/4-sized acoustic guitar.
I bought it from RockStar Guitars (https://www.facebook.com/RockStar-Guitars-134547713278833).

https://youtu.be/Oo9tF9yOs4g

Review coming soon...

No updates recently but I'm working on a review of my acoustic guitar - coming soon.

Wanted Man (Live)

This is my version of the Johnny Cash song 'Wanted Man', recorded live in Halesowen at Ubiquitous Open Mic.
It is a good song to play at open mics because people can sing along and it's easy to play because it's the same pattern of chords.

https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/wanted-man-live

Johnny Cash - Wanted Man

This week's quiz question for my favourite sweet shop lady was, what were the names of the three women who wanted Johnny Cash in his great song, 'Wanted Man'?
If you don't know, have a listen to Johnny singing live at San Quentin, key Eb major.
Be careful; there are more than 3 women mentioned in the song!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kHiuxn0FhI

Synthesizer, SamSynth V3 Demo

This is a short demo of Version 3 of the Samsynth synthesizer.

There is a percussive backing of the blowhole and strings sounds from my Drumulele.

I'm using the Keyboard Machine to play a E & D dominant 7 power chord on the final beat that echoes in to the next bar with the delay & feedback.

The *NEW* Melody Machine plays a riff based on 'The Munsters' theme tune.

Finally I am playing the Mouse Machine freeform which gives a contrast to the fixed beats of the other machines.

What to you think of it?

https://youtu.be/lcNcrFBdXWw

Ma Rainey

This week's quiz question for my favourite sweet shop lady was, "Who was the inspiration for generations of female blues and jazz singers?"

She got the answer right - Ma Rainey - 'the Mother of the Blues'.

Here she is with the Jelly Bean Blues. Shame the recording quality wasn't very good back then but you can still hear her great voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLsaaaDg2Ns

Synthesizer, SamSynth V2 Keyboard Machine

Version 2 of my synthesizer has 3 machines and a colour-coded interface.
This is the Keyboard Machine.
I created the synthesizer myself using Javascript, HTML, and web API.
It uses a mix of real and oscillator sounds.

https://youtu.be/Tj26PkQuYP4

Synthesizer, Samsynth V2 Mouse

Version 2 of my synthesizer has 3 machines and a colour-coded interface.
This is the Mouse Machine.
I created the synthesizer myself using Javascript, HTML, and web API.
It uses a mix of real and oscillator sounds.

https://youtu.be/fkqfS5RDjvE

Synthesizer, Samsynth v2 Drum Demo

Version 2 of my synthesizer has 3 machines and a colour-coded interface.
This is the Drum Machine.

https://youtu.be/Hd0R9sauJu8

Tempo

Here are two versions of The Skatalites 'Guns of Navarone'.
The first is the original 1965 recording.
The second is a 2003 live recording.
Which one do you prefer?

I like them both but I prefer the 1965 one because it's a slower tempo.
There's only a small difference in tempos (c.120 bpm / c.132 bpm) which is quite surprising because it makes a big difference to the feel.

I can learn something from that because I usually play too fast!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqFf0q3ED4E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPv_BAKIhlo

Synthesizer, Samsynth V1

I recently did an online course about coding your own synthesizer using javascript.

This is what I created. Samsynth Version 1.

It has an oscillator controlled by the mouse moving, up/down changes the frequency and left/right controls a modulation.

It has a drum machine. I used the samples I recorded from my home-madeDrumulele instrument for the drum sounds.

It's really good but a bit limited. I'm working on version 2 now.

https://youtu.be/uUtNuGvBKqg

Drumulele

I made my very own instrument for a homework project one time.
It's called a Drumulele - a percussion and string instrument made out of a cereal box and a few other bits and bobs.
The stripy hi-hat is a sweet bag from Fruitdrops sweet shop.
I held a mic in various places and recorded samples.
With a bit of reverb and other effects it's a great sound.

https://soundcloud.com/samsswingnskank/drumulele

Sam's Swing 'n' Skank

The blog is now known as... Sam's Swing 'n' Skank.

Welcome to Sam's Swing 'n' Skank.
It's all about music.
And some performance arts as well.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got Sam's Swing!

Find me also on... youtube ... facebook ... and soundcloud.

Casserole

Hello again, thrash fans,

Here is a video with a very tenuous connection to ukuleles, or even no connection at all. But it does include a melodica so that's alright in my book.

It's 'Casserole Efeilliaid' by the sensational ensemble Datblygu, which I need not tell you means 'develop' in English.

I find it interesting and informative listening to a song in a language in which one is not fluent. Once the vocals are stripped of linguistic meaning, they become a sound - another instrument in effect. One can hear how the voice is working and layering with the accompanying instruments. How exciting is that?

It makes me think of how I can use my voice musically, rather than merely as a mouthpiece for a song's message. As with other greats such as Noddy Holder, Tom Waits, et al, David Evans could hardly be described as the next Tom Jones, yet his voice is at once honest and possessed of a mellifluous quality reminiscent of great bards. It is a liberating sound in that it empowers one to have confidence in their own voice, even if it is lacking in classical ability.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI7PvBdi0mk

 Have a good thrash, 'till next thrash.