Ups and Downs and Sideways...es

Real life has been interfering with my A&S projects for a little while, but seems to be settling a bit. I had to drop uke lessons for the time being, but that doesn't stop me from working through lesson books on my own at home. I have a lovely little sopranissimo that's just begging me to finish learning some early 20th century songs, but also a laminate pineapple that I'm hoping will work well as a portable, not-too-obviously-modern instrument for playing at events. It already has a checkered past-- I will likely never order from the seller again, in spite of a stellar reputation-- but I am hoping to make new, better memories with it. I was fortunate enough to attend Known World Cooks and Bards this year, which I quite enjoyed, and took the class "My Guitar's Persona is a Lute" with Lord Drake Oranwood. While guitar doesn't translate exactly to ukulele (baritone ukes aside), I still found the class useful and look forward to seeking out some of the music discussed.

Latest Efforts

I have a few projects going right now, and one of them is actually exciting! (To me, at any rate.) My best-fitting-- but oldest-- kamis was showing its age. My second and third, made of linen, are holding up pretty well, but the old cotton one had accumulated some marks and frays. But since it fit better than my others, I decided to disassemble it to see how I had deviated so far in my measurements over the three. I've taken what I hope are careful notes and over the next week I'll be cutting the pieces for two new ones. I also have a research paper that I'm hoping to write and polish up as an actual faire entry within the next six months or so. Whoo!

Even better than that, though, this week I started ukulele lessons. While the uke isn't period, there are arrangements available of medieval lute music for the uke. I don't know how long I'll be able to take lessons, but the first one went well and I'm hoping I can stay with them for awhile. There's a particular piece I would really like to be able to play at an event come November.

"I'm not a musician!" but...

I'm not. I'm not a musician. I have no sense of rhythm, I have difficulty sticking to anything, and I hate performing in front of people. But a variety of circumstances have compelled me to pick up my cheap, impulse-buy ukulele and start practicing on it.

Its origins are medieval, though its distinctive sound places it firmly out of period; but the lingering thought remains that with a minor (no pun intended, I swear) string swap, it can pass relatively well within the SCA setting. I have no idea if I will ever be comfortable playing it in front of the real musicians in our local groups, but it is a fun notion. As with so many of my endeavors, I will just have to push forward and see what happens!