VERANDAH MUSIC GEORGIA (USA) STYLE

These kids are playing the ‘diddley bow’ (various spellings), made by stretching a wire across a board and plucking it rhythmically while running a bottle or piece of metal up and down for the melody. The wire could also be stretched across a wooden wall on a porch (American for verandah). One of the forerunner instruments of blues, diddley bows are said to still be used in African American blues in the South.

These diddley bows were played in 1943 at the Fort Valley Music Festival, Georgia. (Photo from The Peachite, Vol 11, No 2, March 1944, p. 8 at the Library of Congress.

You can hear the diddley bow, and various modern adaptations, on Youtube and the Wikipedia entry has some useful links and references.

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Verandah Music at the 2019 National Folk Festival

We’ll be back in Canberra at the National this year with a couple of shows:

Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavour?

Skiffle and other homemade music, Australian style. 

With a cast of thousands (well, about ten or so), we investigate and play some of the rhythmic classics from various dodgy musical genres. We’ll need a lot of help, so come along and join in. Sunday April 21, Trocadero 3.30-4.30.

Pointed Parodies and Dreadful Ditties 

Parodies, squibs and satires from childhood to politics and everything in between. (How did Wonder Woman lose her bosom? We reveal all).

We’ve collected archives of this stuff from around the country over the years and want to share some of it with you. Bring yours along as well, for an enjoyably subversive session of sharp-toothed humour. Monday April 22, Trocadero 12.30-1.30

Teri Young in concert and conversation with Rob Willis, Friday April 19, Trocadero 11.30-12.30. 

And don’t forget the National Folklore Conference at the National Library just prior to the festival on April 18, also including Rob’s 25th (yes, that’s a quarter of a century) curated concert at the Library. This year it’s Tassie singer-songwriter Teri Young. And it’s all free! But you must register at cknow@iinet.net.au

Cigar-box uke - from Aldi!

Eaerliest image of cigar-box instrument, American Civil War

Couldn’t believe my eyes. A classic cigar-box ukulele on sale at Aldi for $29.99. True. And it has a pickup! All you do is string it up, stick the bridge into the body then wait six months for the strings to stretch (it is a uke), then play away. Everything supplied, including instructions, songs, chords and a CD. Even a bit of verandah music history on cigar-box instruments. Happy strumming on the very cheap.

Verandah music ‘Gypsy’ style

Gitano family outside their cave, Granada, c 1900-1915

The diverse peoples once widely known as ‘Gypsies’ are now known as Roma, Rom, or Sinti, depending on local, regional and international usages. ‘Gypsy’ is, generally, considered to be derogatory, not surprisingly given their history of global persecution under that name. (I use the term here because it will most readily understood by most readers).

From this maelstrom of experiences, the Rom have evolved a great number of distinctive musical genres, drawing on their own traditions and frequently adapting those of the lands and cultures in which they have travelled and settled. They are still doing so, with various ‘gypsy music’ groups having achieved commercial success and artistic recognition, often through the ‘world music’ category of the modern popular music industry. The many styles and forms of Rom traditional music continue to be played throughout Europe and beyond.

The astonishing riches and varieties of Rom and Sinta music, and its connection to the broader dance, literature, art and culture of these peoples can now be enjoyed and studied online at the RomArchive. This ambitious project is described like this:

‘The RomArchive collection contains items from ten archive sections: Visual Art, Dance, Film, Flamenco, Theatre & Drama, Literature, Music, Romani Civil Rights Movement, Politics of Photography and Voices of the Victims. Focusing on self-representation, the objects have been collected from private collections, museums, archives and libraries around the world.’

The growing archive has some amazing visual and audio resources, as well as informative and accessible articles (‘Is there such a thing as Romani music?’ is brief and excellent), film, etc.