Iain Churches said:
"Richard Robinson" wrote in message
o.uk...

I've heard of Hungarian players using a flat-bridge instrument for
accompaniment, I don't believe I've ever heard of it closer to home,
except
in vague 'reconstruction' terms of what people might have done a long time
ago[1]. And most of the people I've heard from seem to expect to pay a few
times that for a (ahem) fiddlestick.

I think our contacts with 'folk' music must be very different, but I'll be
sure to notice the other sort if I see one.

A flat bridge doesn't sound practical at all for a bowed instrument:-)

No ... I think Hungarian traditions tend to use it for a kind of chordal
accompaniment.

Flat is the only sort of different bridge I've ever heard mention of. But,
it's not my instrument, or specialist subject. Just, this is the first time
i've ever heard mention of any differences in the instruments, so I'm a bit
curious.

Back in the days when folk music sold records in good numbers,
I made a quite a lot of folk albums for the Argo label
(a Decca subsiduary) whose artist roster included Ewan McColl,
Peggy Seager,The Druids,Peter Bellamy, The Songwainers etc etc.

They were interesting times. I was interested particularly in playing
techniques, and it was Dave Swarbrick, over a pint or two at the
Railway, who brought the the peculiarities of the "fiddle" to my
attention.

So, since we seem to have focussed on bridges, are you saying Swarbrick used
a different bridge to orchestral players ? (Come to that, do orchestral
players differ on the issue ?)

I have always tried to be as accurate as I can in music.
Why say trumpet if you really mean flugel horn :-)

What I want to know is why everybody who isn't sure asks me if that thing's
an oboe ? Way, way more common than "is it a clarinet ?".


--
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem

My email address is at http://www.qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html