Topic: Bones repertoire

[Emma Lee]

Great to hear from a pro bones player Mike! And good luck with your move, Waxwing. Interesting about the Celtic grip and interesting about the bone bones. Also about the long history of bones. I guess for as long as people have eaten meat, there could have been bones around. (Given what Mike says about his sparerib bones, in retrospect we could have salvaged an embarrassment of bones from the 130lbs of ribs from the BBQ class.)

Re: loudness of the bones playing, there is quite a dynamic range (and tone-quality range) possible even with a given set of bones, it seems. In Mike Baytop's class he underscored the importance of generally playing quietly and tastefully with others (since the bones can of course be obnoxious), but showed that bones, on occasion, can also go crazy and do their own solo quite loudly. The speed of the attack, the muting by the hand position/grip, and the rhythm of the clicks can all vary the loudness of the bones. It was also very interesting in Mike Baytop's class learning the to play the dark click as opposed to the bright clack -- the former being the more desirable sound. The hollow of the cupped hand becomes a resonating chamber I think.

Anyway, I will definitely check out: the raggy/Piedmont stuff, Blind Boy Fuller, David Holt's video Folk Rhythms, and JC Burris' work (Blues Professor is on the Juke as Uncle Bud noted). Thanks all!

Emma Lee

[uncle bud]

I think Steve Cheseborough was talking about making bones out of camel ribs. Or am I nuts.

[Mike Billo]

Emma Lee; Thanks for the welcoming words. Bones Players don't get to hear them too often

John; This years Jugfest will be on Oct.8. at Sutters Creek CA same as last year.
There is more info at http://www.jugfest.org

 I should probably post about the event as it draws closer.

[uncle bud]

Just heard another tune with bones on the Juke: Elizabeth Johnson - Be My Kid Blues.

[Rivers]

I bought some in Seattle after PT 98, complete with instructions and a cassette tape. I love playing guitar so much I never would put in enough time to progress on bones (or mando, or uke for that matter).

I gave them to another aspiring bones player. It's a great sound and I love jammin' with bones players. Spoons can be too clacky and are a health hazard.

[scmi11er]

Hi Emma Lee,

I just stumbled across your post.

In 1996 I saw Richard Thomas play live with Archie Edwards at a cozy Focal Point concert here in Saint Louis. After the concert we talked quite a bit about bones. He really appreciated my observation that it's difficult to play bones at slow tempos. We were soon surrounded by a small entourage listening to us talk shop. So on and on Richard Thomas and I kept yakking about bones.

Archie was a bit chagrined as he kept asking my opinion about particular tunes he played that night, and I had to tell him that I'm sure they were wonderful, but I really didn't know much about Blues, and...well, truthfully, I was here to see the bones player. Eventually Richard Thomas and I made our way outside where we continued chatting in the parking lot.

It's been a few years ago, but for those who are interested, I can pass along to you are that he played four cow rib bones (two in each hand) while seated.

We also checked out each others bones (bone players tend to do that). At the time I was carrying a set of the ubiquitous Lark In The Morning 'bone bones.' They look and feel like ivory but are actually made from cow shins. Richard Thomas wondered how I was able to play them, because compared to his, mine were quite narrow and thin. I would characterize his set as big heavy clunky cow ribs (which, incidentally, are like several sets I now play quite often).

The graceful style played by Mr. Thomas displays its own unique personality. I can come fairly close, but have yet to duplicate the sound to my satisfaction.

Here's a bio of Richard Thomas. Hunt around and you'll hear sound samples and find pictures of him and his bones. http://www.acousticblues.com/bones_bio.htm

The closest playing to Richard Thomas I've seen is the style of my friend 'Spike Bones' (a.k.a. Darryl Muhrer), a regular performer at Lonie Walker's Underground Wonder Bar in Chicago. Interestingly, Spike plays hard maple bones almost exclusively. You can hear Spike on his CD "Bones Meets Jazz," which was recorded in 2002.

The most notable blues musician I've played with is 'Diamond' Jim Greene, a steamin' Chicago Delta style player who learned from Archie Edwards years ago at Archie's Washington D.C. barber shop. I played big heavy clunky cow ribs with Jim on the tune "Skin Game," which got a standing ovation. (Of course Jim's stellar performance may have had something to do with it.) The performance was captured on broadcast-quality video in 2004, but I've yet to get a copy of it.

For what it's worth, here's a "hi-tech" answer to your question: I would characterize good tunes for bone-playing as well phrased toe-tapping music at tempos running in and around 120 beats-per-minute (i.e. dance/march speed).

If you or any member of this list are ever in Saint Louis, just give me a holler and I'd be delighted to jam with you or give a live bones demo.


All the best,

Scott Miller
http://rhythm-bones.com

World's oldest musical instrument

[Richard]

An interesting thread    but don't confuse me the bone virtuoso RT 'cause it's not me !

[Slack]

Welcome to WeenieCambpell Scott!

Nice website -- you really ought to have that tooth fixed though. 

Some say the hambone is the world's oldest musical instrument - debatable I'm sure.

Cheers,
slack

[scmi11er]

Thank you for the nice welcome.

Other contenders I've seen for first musical instrument include voice, drum, and bone flute.

Between you and me I beleive it's the voice. But for professional reasons, I think the world's oldest musical instrument is... well, you know.

All the best,

Scott Miller
http://rhythm-bones.com

World's oldest musical instrument

[Chezztone]

OK, I have nothing at all against the bones. I dabble in the instrument myself. And I've played quite a bit with bonesists Michael Baytop and Taizz Medalia. But this "bones as oldest musical instrument" theory, which I've heard before, makes no sense to me. Yes, the voice was probably the first means of making music. And striking hands against body (maybe an enemy's head?) probably  the second. But let's not count those as instruments. So, going forward in time..wouldn't picking up a stick and striking something with it come before using bones? And even when prehistoric musicians began using bones for musicmaking, wouldn't they have just struck them against each other or another object, not held them and clacked them in the way that defines "bones" as the musical instrument we know and love? Perhaps bones, played as they are now, still predate any modern instruments (if you don't count beating a stick against another stick or another solid surface)? I'd still give the nod to shaker (gourd dried with seeds inside, e.g.), rattle (various lo-tech ways of making these), cane fife, drum (hollow log struck with stick, e.g.), and possibly even some type of plucked string instrument as all likely to have predated modern-played bones. Other thoughts?
Steve Cheseborough
www.stevecheseborough.com

[Slack]

Between you and me I believe it's the voice. But for professional reasons, I think the world's oldest musical instrument is... well, you know.

Fair enough and a true professional. 

Other thoughts?

I think drums have to be the oldest instruments because everyone knows that all drummers are Neanderthals.  (running and ducking before Richard shows up)

Cheers,

[Pan]

I thought I might revive this old thread with this very nice video, I came across on another forum:



Blind Boy Paxton with Don Flemons on bones.

Whew, what a sporty performance, it makes me feel exhausted just watching it! 

Cheers

Pan

[Slack]

Fabulous.  It's hard to believe that Blind Boy Paxton is just 20 years old - what a fine musician to carry on the tradition.

[Parlor Picker]

Fabulous.  It's hard to believe that Blind Boy Paxton is just 20 years old - what a fine musician to carry on the tradition.

I agree - a very entertaining and enjoyable performance. However, are they really "... carrying on the tradition" or just replicating somethng from an earlier age?  Surely to carry on the tradition, they need to add more of themselves, make it a bit more 21st century, move things forward whilst maintaining the spirit of the earlier age?

I'm not sure I know the answer to the above myself, as I really enjoy such performances. Whichever way, this will doubtless stir up some interesting comments from my fellow Weenies (which is of course one of the motives for posting, I admit ).

[frankie]

Surely to carry on the tradition, they need to add more of themselves, make it a bit more 21st century, move things forward whilst maintaining the spirit of the earlier age?

The conscious rejection of modern elements is just as much a "21st Century" idea as any other decision they could make regarding the content of their music.