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It's safe to say people have been making musical instruments for millennia, though no one knows exactly how long. These days, mass-produced instruments are plentiful and you'll have to pay a bit more to pick up an instrument that's been hand-crafted. With the sounds of summer still ringing in our ears, we'll take a listen to a variety of different handmade instruments and talk to the artists who created them.
Are you a musician who plays on handmade instruments? Does your instrument have a distinctive sound? Whether you're listening or playing, do handmade instruments affect the way you experience the music?
Have you made your own instrument? What is it?
GUESTS:
- Dennis Hatch, Native American flute maker
- Les Stansell, Guitar maker
- James Cook, Instrument maker and member of the band Trashcan Joe
Tagged as: arts · culture · music
Photo credit: Outlier Workshop / Creative Commons
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Trashcan Joe- I saw you at the Oregon Country Fair when Jim Page said, Ya' gotta see what these guys can do with trash! Been a fan ever since. Thanks!
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I play trumpet as well as build them with my family in Canby. I find a great joy in playing on the instrument I built myself. It adds another dimension to "making music." It lets me feel I do more than simply provide air to the instrument, I craft it from start to finish. The beauty is there is no finish... as long as I keep making music on the horn it is never finished!
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James Cook i thought of you this morning when i heard the topic of discussion & so pleased to see that you are part of the discussion form today...as a multiple washboard kit builder...trashcan style!
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Jay Dickinson --- I am a local luthier and have been doing this full time for several years now. Out of the ratrace and doing something worthwhile. I call myself Portland Guitar and you can visit me and see how I go about building at www.portlandguitar.com. Portland is a wonderful place to work from. When asked I tell people that 80% is the design of the instrument, 10% is the material, 5% is the exellence of execution, and 5% is magic. There is nothing else in the world like hearing a hand made instrument for the fisrt time. I am particpating in an art project this October called Portland Open Studio. I would like to invite you to learn more at www.portlandopenstudios.com
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I don't know where Think Outloud's home base is. I"m in Portland, and if that program originates from the building on Macadam, I would have appreciated hearing from a local flutemaker (we have several) on this segment, instead of someone from Washington. Try going online to read about Vance Pennington, for starters. (waking-spirit@waking-spirit.com.) He lives in Warren, OR, just down the road on Hy 30, and is truly a master at what he does. There are others to choose from, locally...let's give them their due.
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Many months ago I was relaxing at the downtown farmer’s market and out of the clamor and confusion of that Saturday, I heard the most captivating and eerie sound. Now, I’m a sucker for any kind of cello music, especially with a middle eastern or slavic sound but this was even more unusual. I was sitting behind the musician and when I finally got a look at what he was playing, it was no ordinary cello. Turns out that Adam Hurst made his one-of-a-kind “gypsy cello”. He’s a local Portland artist who plays original, poignant and beautiful music on a 6 string kind of mini cello. I believe he has a website. Check him out if you get a chance.
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I have a handmade Koa guitar -- exactly the opposite of a Flamenco -- the entire guitar, including soundboard, is made of Koa, a Hawaiian hardwood with irridescent qualities. It has a beautiful, rich tone, lilting voice, and excellent volume for stage work. But... I've played many examples of Koa guitars, even old Martin Koa guitars, that didn't have the same sound quality. So I have to wonder if the difference is in the luthier or the variability of the wood.
-- Brian
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One of the great builders and indeed inventors of musical instruments is Ken Butler, now of NYC but with strong PDX connections. www.mindspring.com/~kbhybrid/.
And just recently at PDX Pop Now a 20 year builder of experimental instruments Daniel Menche played an intriguing set. Always worth checking out.
Oh, and per first comment, in the 90's UK there was a huge home-made digerido (sp?) fad which led to youths ripping down drainpipes from houses!
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Guitars, and other instruments, have audible flavors, like ice cream. It depends on your taste as to what will call to you. The difference between a hand-built guitar and a factory-built one is that in a factory many people are invoved in the building of one instrument, whereas a hand-built is usually seen through from start to finish by one person. Because of this, that person has complete control over getting the best possible sound out of the choice of woods involved.
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I have built a handful of mandolins a couple banjos and several bodhrans (Irish frame drum). I build primarily for myself although sold most of the drums to local players. I started working wood in high school and picked it up again after college, primarily making furniture. I've played music since I was a kid. I finally joined these tow interests when I couldn't find a mandolin I wanted to buy and someone suggested I build one. The first one took a lot of time and study, but I learned a lot. Each instrument adds to the knowledge. One of the most fulfilling projects I have worked on was a banjo that was started in the 1960s. A relative of a neighbor started it but ultimately set it aside. By the time they gave me a box full of wooden parts, he had died and his plans were long gone. I had to work backwards from the parts to a plan, then move the project forward. Along the way I spoke the the original makers son and grandson and learned some things about the man. Like me, he built as an avocation and for his own use. His son said his dad helped him build a guitar. I could see his toolmarks, and read some of his notes left on the pieces and learned something of him from that too. It was a great project. I used what I learned to work on a second banjo, that I built with my son to try to pass the skill and passion along.
I'm no Stradivari or Gibson, but there isn't an instrument on the planet that means more to me than one I make myself.
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Hey I make Celtic Wind Instruments from Carbon Fiber. Its great stuff, keeps its shape in all weather condition and super durable .
Flutes, Whistles, Bagpipes and slide tuneable Didgeridoos.
Check out the website www.pipemakersunion.com
Thanks for the segment!
Rob
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Digiridoos are very unique intruments out of Australia. You can check out interesting hand made evolution of them at: http://www.didgim.com/didgim_eng.html