Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Hey I have an old Applause that I got when I was in my teens. My sister's in fact I sold my original one that I got for christmas the same time she got it for a 12 string. Sold that too. Sister never played it so she gave it to me after my divorce to cheer me up! It has the red and orange flame front but has stated to see some cracking by the bridge area.
I also have an old bamboo recorder that needs a bit of work. was my Mom's in Highschool! The mouthpeice is a bit gummed up from me slobberin on it as a kid!

Ringulf wrote:I would love to find one of these Lute guitars again and have been on the lookout on EBay and such.

So, something like this one? It's a bit spendy, but not terribly so.

Yup! that is almost identical to the one I had. mine however did not have as fancy a neck or rossete, though I emagine it did at one time before I got hold of it.
It was bought second hand at Peadelsons in Manhatten around 1980

I guess this is a good place to introduce myself... I'm actually currently majoring in flute performance at the University of North Texas - so naturally that's my preferred instrument, although I also play the tinwhistle and harp.

For rangering, I'd choose a slick little telescoping brass tinwhistle I happen to have, or maybe a bamboo 6-holer (side-blown; that gives you more flexibility in intonation and dynamics). I have a glass flute that is very cool and Elven-feeling, but it's too breakable to take backpacking, and the PVC case I made for it, although it protects it splendidly, is both heavy and blatantly non-period.

Welcome! Glad to have you here! Flute, tinwhistle and harp, all good solid Tolkien instruments.

If you don't want to use PVC for a case, I bet it wouldn't be hard to make one out of bamboo...food for thought.

Brian

I might do that sometime. But I do find the PVC pipe has a certain charm to it, what with the plumber's code and the ratty woven belt tied to it for a shoulder strap. It's just not a Tolkien-like charm Also, it was hard enough to pad the inside of the PVC, I really don't know what I'd do with bamboo. Cut it in half lengthwise and tie it back together, maybe?

Welcome to the group, Southwind! As for your pvc carrying case, couldn't you cover it with leather?

Ken

My Native American flutes and penny whistles travel around in a PVC tube lined with cloth and covered in a heavy cloth. the cap is all fabric and zips closed. Shoulder strap attached. No sign of PVC at all..and the zipper is covered by a strip of fabric that looks decorative.

Eledhwen

That would be easy enough. And it would be cool to be able to tie the whole thing to my quiver. I'll probably end up using cloth, maybe wrap some leather straps around it to hold it in place and look nice... thanks y'all!

Welcome, Southwind! It's always nice to see more minstrelsy in the mix.

I play a little 5- string kantele. Mostly to accompany old Finnish spell-songs

I have a little Washburn "Rover" travel guitar that I carry around... I love it because it sounds pretty good and it's got a very small body. It's easy to play in the front seat of a car on long road trips. I also play flute and sax but I have to say that I really prefer the Boehm system metal flutes with keys... fully chromatic and SO much easier to work with than, say, a recorder, especially when others play in odd keys. I've made a scabbard to carry a fully assembled concert flute over the shoulder. I'm going to try one of the little Yamaha Venova saxes one day... they're plastic and supposedly can get wet without damage. I've goofed with pan-flutes... ocarinas... etc. But they're so limited in key and range that their use in "jamming" is very restricted.

I play clarinet, it's the only instrument I've played with any regularity, and I haven't touched one in years, unfortunately.

Will Whitfoot wrote:I have a little Washburn "Rover" travel guitar that I carry around... I love it because it sounds pretty good and it's got a very small body. It's easy to play in the front seat of a car on long road trips. I also play flute and sax but I have to say that I really prefer the Boehm system metal flutes with keys... fully chromatic and SO much easier to work with than, say, a recorder, especially when others play in odd keys. I've made a scabbard to carry a fully assembled concert flute over the shoulder. I'm going to try one of the little Yamaha Venova saxes one day... they're plastic and supposedly can get wet without damage. I've goofed with pan-flutes... ocarinas... etc. But they're so limited in key and range that their use in "jamming" is very restricted.

That is cool I like the Washburn I ended up getting a Black Martin Backpacker because it looked kind of angular and Dwarven. As a travel guitar, it is very nice, but I have played the Washburn and it has a very nice sound. I have built dulcimers and played them a bit, I built a courting dulcimer for my friend's wedding present. They are the one that you sit opposite of the young lady you are courting with your knees interspaced and put it on your shared laps and your fretboard faces you and tunes to your left while her fretboard is the same in reverse. In the old days as long as there was music playing the couple needed no chaperone. The joke was that they no longer needed the courting Dulcimer but they both play so they still get to make music together.

Here's my little collection. The stick dulcimer's a fun little instrument--I really want to make my own with four strings and mandolin tuning.

The fiddle's materials are inauthentic for any sort of reenactment--even the "Dwarvish technology" excuse doesn't hold up well in the face of glassed nylon and thermoformed acrylic. That said, it's an absolutely fantastic instrument, and the best I've ever seen for traveling. When I imagine Fili and Kili playing their "little fiddles" at the unexpected party, this is very close to what I picture. Despite its small size and odd shape, it sings out as sweet as any violin I've ever played.

The whistles are, of course, the easiest to travel with, and quite nice on the trail. Can't accompany with singing, though--not that I'm good enough with fiddle or dulcimer to sing along.