The Jeppsian Cfa Pronounced “kuh-fah”During my adventures over the past few decades, experimenting with various small acoustic instruments from around the world, I often investigated unusual stringed instruments.
That is to say, stringed instruments which differ somewhat from your regular Guitar or Violin. Of course there is nothing wrong with a good old Guitar, but apart from finding six strings a bit of a handful, I have always preferred the sounds of more exotic stringed instruments, like for example the Bouzouki or the Pipa.
Indeed, many stringed instruments passed my way over the years. The single stringed Dan Bau, the multi keyed Bulbul Tarang, the Baritone and even Bass Ukulele… and even the humble Tumbi.
Aye, in fact one experiment of mine revealed, that the somewhat bland Indian Tumbi can actually be played with a Violin Bow. Go ahead… give it a try!
Yet the one instrument that kept calling to my heart would only do so from a cage of incompatible design.
Moldavian Kavals by Winne ClementImagine yourself strolling through a beautiful forest, a canopy of trees and grasses, a myriad of flowers all around and just up ahead, a clearing where a river flows down into a deep pool.
As you approach the water you hear a flute playing. The music is coming from the hillside beyond. You decide to sit a while and listen to the sweet harmonics which echo throughout the landscape.
Then, as a wild Deer wanders into sight across the pond and casts its gaze upon you, a falling rock crashes into the water. The Deer is startled but doesn’t move. For the Deer has heard the music too. And the Deer knows this song.
This is the song of the wilderness.
The Moldavian Kaval is perhaps one of the most powerfully startling flutes in the world. At first its voice, sweet and sonorous, innocent and fragile… yet thence in spirit, becomes the thunder, the rain and the mighty rumbling of the mountains.
For this flute, believed to originate in Transylvania many hundreds of years ago, is a flute with many transcendental voices.
Behold the Vanilla Gershwin Grand, my personal choice of Turbolid combination.All my life I have taught people a blessed miracle of music, that whence the passion of creativity resides within one, an orchestra can be painted from a pallette of only three colours.
This is one reason I prefer the ten hole Blues Harp over the grander twelve hole Chromatic Harmonicas.
At least it certainly has become so ever since I discovered ‘Country Tuning’, a gentle change in pitch of the 5 draw to a sharp note, creating a Major 7th chord in 2nd position. Miraculously, this simple change in the pitch of a single reed actually harbours, unto the dedicated artist, a whole library of jazz chords and phrases.
Yet the reason I am writing today, is to spread the word about a fabulous company in the USA, Turbo Harp, who, amongst their many revolutionary innovations in harmonica evolution, created the Turbo Lid, a specially shaped ergonomic cover lid for your ten hole blues harmonica.
The revolutionary Suzuki Overdrive is a quantum leap in the evolution of biological Blues Harp chromatics.The Suzuki Overdrive is both ingenious and beautiful.
One merely has to take a glance at its facade to appreciate that this is no ordinary Harmonica. Yet the real beauty of this instrument may well come as a surprise to you… for it is, the final frontier of authentic Blues Harp chromatics.
I have blogged regularly about the next evolution of the Blues Harp, or to be more technical, the Diatonic Ten Hole Richter Tuned Harmonica.
Most specifically I have addressed the argumentative concept of chromaticising its tonal range. This is the idea that by altering its tuning, installing valves, magnetic switches, spring loaded slides, or even extra hidden reeds, one might accomplish the seemingly impossible task of making an instrument which was born to weep, dance as if it had never cried.
And yet doing this doesn’t make any sense.
For whence it comes to the aspect of sacreligious change, I have always believed it to be imperative that a Blues Harp retains its original philosophy of design in order to be considered authentic and praiseworthy. Its music is about making the most out of what little you have and finding the fruition of a miracle within one’s own determination.
So, I feel many new designs aimed at “chromaticising” the Blues Harp, whilst revolutionary and ingenious, only find themselves eventually stripping the instrument of its ancestral belonging and in turn its very own appeal to be played.
Instead all that is accomplished, is a precision engineered technological monstrosity which only feels like you are cheating at life when you attempt to play it.
The Amulet Building, Shepton Mallet, an enormous concrete monostrosity which has never attracted investment, was built in the 1970’s directly on top of a Christian courtyard as part of a Dotdonc programming campaign.The Dictatorship Of The Deprivation Of Natural Consciousness is not merely a 21st Century programme involving the digitalisation of society, but in many ways an historic issue also.
Of course governments have always desired to “control” the masses, or part of the masses, in some form or another since the beginning of time. For whilst government is a rational inevitability, so is the understanding that such corruption will also, inevitably, attempt to infiltrate.
The Amulet theatre building in the market town of Shepton Mallet was built in the early 1970’s by Babysham founder Francis Showering. Originally called “The Centre”, its purpose, apparently, was to be a central “hub” for entertainment, culture and the arts, in a backward attempt to ignite outside investment into the town.
Some “newspapers” will tell you The Amulet was built as part of an extensive modelling of the whole town. Yet in truth, this “extensive modelling” is merely thus… one pile of redundant concrete sitting directly on top of a sacred Christian dwelling.
Oh make no mistake, in terms of the extensive modelling and I quote, “of the whole town”, this three story megalithic lump of concrete is literally… IT.
The Rainbluew Keytoy By JeppsLadies and gentlemen, this little beauty you see right here is my most recent and beloved creation.
Readers of my blog will know I have dabbled in custom styling of melodicas before. Yet even whence dancing with the radioactive moon in the grace of the night, I still felt my one true love to be amiss.
I have discovered gradually over many years that my “problem” with the melodica is nothing to do with its performance, or that it is a “one handed” instrument.
Nay, for even a trumpet is a one handed instrument and besides, the performance of a melodica is purely a question of decent reed quality and adjustment.
Indeed, the base model featured here is a Hohner Superforce 37. Give the reeds a personal tweak and she will be your spouse for life.
No, my “problem” in the end all crunched down to aesthetics. How does it look and feel to hold?
Thus after experimenting a few times, I decided it was high time I actually put in some serious effort to design my own “Jepps” style.
Simon Jepps’ Xiao FluteA good piece of bamboo and eight good holes are all thou needs to transcend nirvana.
Aye, even the existence of God can be found within the endless caverns of the Chinese Xiao.
Time has called me herewith to write about this ancient Chinese instrument.
Of course, the reasons why I write about any instrument are only of the utmost profundity. The Chinese Xiao is of no exception. In fact, whilst there will be many more flutes and musical curiosities to come from this good blog, I can proclaim to you now, that, the Xiao, is beyond all of these, both in time and in space.
There are flutes. There are flutes that command the falling of rain and the roaring of thunder. There are more flutes to behold in Heaven than there are Stars to worship in the sky.
Hohner CX12 Jazz Tenor HarpHere is an interesting story of how about I came to play the Tenor Harp.
Those familiar with my blog will know that I am originally a lounge pianist, who has performed in many locations such as the Royal Palace, Turin.
Yet since returning to England shortly after the turn of the millennium, it began to become ever moreso apparent to me that the Piano was only a burden on my freedom.
Whilst passionately in love with the instrument since only a child, it would become both the heartbreak and the revelation of my musical destiny.
Theatre grade glow in the dark tape applied to sharps and flats, whilst black electrician tape softened surrounding case appearance.I simply adore my Hohner Superforce 37. In fact I adore it so much I decided it was time to give it a manicure and custom artistic makeover.
The result? A finely tuned and responsive, totally radioactive Keytoy.
It had been begging me to do it. In fact the day it arrived the first thing it said was, “Please don’t call me a Superforce 37…”
Damn right. Whilst my favourite Keytoy, or Melodica, or whatever you want to call it, the name SUPERFORCE 37 has never settled with me on any particularly personal level, at all.
Hence, in addition to the reed adjustments I spent a good couple of hours undertaking, the abominable logo has now gone from its now most graciously decorated face.
After somewhat of a round the world trip, I have finally began to gather a collection of Pocket Sax Masters. I will no doubt be updating this playlist as time goes by.
Click this on screen icon for video list.
Herewith, a ‘pocket saxophonist’ is the term given to a most talented Xaphoonist who’s sound is almost en par with that of a larger Sax.
Whence reading my blog you will know, I have spoken many times about how true virtuoso Xaphoonists are very hard to find.
They are more precious than star dust.
Therefore, it was only inevitable that I would eventually begin searching the endless vaults of recordings, in the hope to start compiling a playlist of Pocket Sax Masters, those of whom have truly began to take hold of the heavens and channel this truly special instrument’s secret divine heart.
There are of course, many talented Xaphoonists out there, yet my excuse for not including them is purely a consequence of musical arrangement or presentation, rather than any absence of talent.
Also, whilst a Xaphoonist of good calibre may impress in one aspect, for example fluidity of scales, he or she may be weaker in another aspect, for example maturity of voice.
Of course, the Xaphoon as I have written often, harbours a rich diversity of voices, such as like Trumpet, Clarinet, Oboe, Sax and even Armenian Duduk. Yet the instrument itself requires a translator of its soul. Its disposition is of a linguistic unorthodoxy, as opposed to any social illegitimacy.
Thus, when addressing one as a Pocket Sax Master, I am saying the performer has acquired a substantial understanding of how the Xaphoon itself wishes to be interpreted and translated to the listener.
It cries, “My body may be finite, but my soul is eternal.”
Indeed thence, as time goes by and existing novices become more adept at their craft, I expect not only to find more and more quality performances, but much, much more well practised individuals who have truly taken The Art Of Pocket Sax unto another musical dimension.
Click this on screen icon for video list.