Faruk Turunz - An extraordinary luthier! (by E. Powell 2007)
Several
years ago when Ross Daly told me that his "expensive" oud was
built by an extraordinary luthier named Faruk Turunz who actually "tunes"
his soundboards, my interest piqued because of my experience in India
and with Budhaditya and his "system" for tuning a sitar's soundboard
which proved to be an infallible method for producing an balanced sounding
sitar. Could it be also possible to tune an oud's soundboard and braces
and thereby be sure each time, of creating a balanced sounding oud...
...read
on!
The philosophy behind the fretless guitar (by E. Powell 2004)
The
philosophy behind the fretless guitar is very simple. It is an attempt
to go back in time to when music was played "in tune". It may
seem a strange purpose; to play an instrument which is so difficult to
play in tune, with the idea of being able to actually play more in tune.
The reason why the fretless guitar is ideally suited to playing in tune,
and the fretted guitar is not, is that although it may seem very easy
to play the fretted guitar in tune, this is actually an illusion... ...read
on!
A visit with Ross Daly (by E. Powell 2003)
"...on that journey to India, Ross had gone overland via Afganisthan- staying there for extended periods studying Afgan music. After India, back in England, Ross played sitar on the streets and built Celtic harps to earn enough money to travel again. He decided to go to Crete just to travel and have a look around... so off he went. Two days after arriving he purchased a donkey and spent six months walking around the island on foot with his sitar, rabab, and recently purchased lyra on the donkey's back..." ...read on!
what is Indian music? (by E. Powell 2000)
...let's
be more specific, "what is North Indian classical music?"
Indian classical music is divided into two major catagories; North Indian
classical music (Hindustani sangeet), and South Indian classical music
(Carnatic sangeet). The music and culture of North India began to experience
significant West Asian influence from about the 13th century onward. Carnatic
music, on the other hand, currently retains much more of it's original
ancient character, as the invasions of antiquity reached not the southern
half of the subcontinent... ...read
on!
.
How I met Indian music, and my teacher, Budhaditya (by E. Powell)
"...further
health crises resulted but this time around it was not so easy to drop
'the rock life', as the pay from these gigs was quite good..."
"...I remember very well going to my first sitar concert in Varanasi..."
"...'Who is currently the best sitarist?'...and he responded without
hesitation, "Budhaditya Mukherjee".
"...and I must admit that from the very first note until the last,
I was absolutely spellbound..." ...read on!
Memories of music and music makers (by G.E. Powell)
Reading Ed's personal history, I am surprised to learn that my own earliest memories of music resemble his. In my case, the instrument observed was not a sitar but a curved soprano saxophone, battered and long unplayed, that had belonged to my grandfather, who had played it and his other saxophones in marching bands in turn-of-the-century San Diego. The only survivor of those old days was this ancient sax, outlasting both my grandfather and his other instruments. When, as an adult, I tried to track down this old soprano, I found that it too had disappeared... ...read on!
© 2007 EDWARDPOWELL.com