Lathe Turned Clarinet Barrel and Sopranino Recorder in Action: Ray Noble's "Cherokee"

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Bob in SF

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British Band leader, composer, pianist, and BBC arranger Ray Noble composed "Cherokee" in 1938 - still a jazz standard (with a harmonically tricky mid-section/bridge).

After many (many) years of lathe trials and errors - and plenty of ventilation - finally getting the sounds I like out of this grenadilla wood clarinet barrel and sopranino recorder.



Warm regards to all makers (and keep some songs in your hearts) - Bob
 
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TonyL

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Amazing! Make sure you post your walking on water and multiplying the fishes and loaves thing :). You are the true definition of a Renaissance Man. In fact, we have to find a superlative for a "Renaissance Man".

I need to get back to the shop and make my single barrel wood kit pen.....or just throw out all my lathes and guitars :)
 

magpens

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WOW !!! . Harmonically tricky .... harmonically beautiful !!!! .... Inexpressibly so !!!!

Thanks for the performance, Bob .... "Cherokee" - a jazz classic for sure .... much appreciated !!

Congratulations on your successes !!!!

Thank you very (very) much !!!!
 
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Bob, you're more than inspiring. I've seen what you can create on this site and also seen your surgical skills on other sources and all I can say is inspiring. I guess I need to get out now and get that guitar kit put together...then learn how to play it. Thanks for sharing! Unbelievable!
 

mark james

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Bob, that recording was wonderful! I love seeing (and hearing) your projects.

I was curious of the ranges for the clarinet and the Sopranino, as I would have loved to hear a mid-range woodwind included. This led to a wonderful internet rabbit hole search that culminated in several delightful recordings of: Vivaldi Concerto in C for Sopranino Recorder. (I won't get into the other rabbit hole for Garklein Recorders). ;)

Thank you for the continued inspiration - I am better for it!

Happy turning and happy tuning!
 

leehljp

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Renaissance Man in the vernacular: Jack of all trades and Master of All!

I have 0 music skills but LOML has it all. She thoroughly enjoyed listening to your music and loves all forms of Jazz. Her dad played (trombone) with Al Hirt (trumpet) in HS (NO, LA) and they remained friends until my FIL's passing.

Thank you for sharing that!
 

duncsuss

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The closest I've got to making an instrument was a dumbed-down Appalachian dulcimer - just a plywood fret board, really, that I clamped onto a table to get a resonator. It still gave me great satisfaction to be able to get a tune out of something I made.

What you've done has taken it to a completely different level - sweet sound, and you made both instruments swing. Bravo!
 
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Wow Bob! Just wow! I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Is there no end to your talents? If I was the jeolous type I'd be green with envy, fortunately I'm the kind of person that can truly appreciate another's gifts. Thanks for making my day brighter, thanks even more for being an active part of the forum.

edit: Any chance of you posting this to youtube? I'd like to share it on my FB page.
 
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I have 0 music skills but LOML has it all. She thoroughly enjoyed listening to your music and loves all forms of Jazz. Her dad played (trombone) with Al Hirt (trumpet) in HS (NO, LA) and they remained friends until my FIL's passing.

Thank you for sharing that!
I'm with Lee on this one... I can't carry a tune in a bucket -- singing in church once with my 8 year old son... caught an elbow in the ribs and this 8 year old's stage whisper, "Dad, Dad, don't sing - you sound terrible" as for a musical instrument, I don't even play a radio well.

My wife though grew up in the theatre distict of Houston, her step father was musical director, taught music, performed on stage, etc... her mother had a little local fame as actress and singer... she sang as a soloist in church... then got stuck with a non-musical.

Bob, loved the sound you got from the licorice stick... my favorite station on my Dish network is a conventional Jazz station... rather listen to that than watch TV (except when NCIS is on).
 

Bob in SF

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A heart full of thanks to Tony, Mal, Tom, Len, Jim, Gary, Michael, Mark, Hank, Duncan, Jay, TDahl, George, Bryan, Steven, and others who've looked and listened.

I taught myself the recorder, then took some clarinet lessons; then went down my own rabbit holes into double reeds, brass, strings, piano, cello, lap steel, pedal steel, chromatic harmonica, etc. Along the way, I've figured that music is the graceful measure of time, art is the graceful measure of space, and craft ties it all together (no complicated equations necessary for contented relativity).

I've been very lucky to hear and meet (and get enduring inspiration) from many of my musical heroes - Al Hirt, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Arturo Sandoval, Benny Goodman, Buddy Defranco, Urbie Green, Stan Getz, Toots Thielemans, Bobby Hutcherson, Ornette Coleman, Wayne Shorter, Yo Yo Ma, and many other fluent folks.

Mark - glad you went down some rabbit holes. Recorders are underrated instruments - they reigned supreme from about 1100-1750 (end of JS Bach's life). I make my own holes in them and have updated the baroque fingering system to a jazzier configuration (without forsaking the instrument's classical repertoire). The sopranino is pitched in F - so everything is transposed up or down to C (concert pitch) - nice par-course for the brain. I have a little (handmade) garklein - the backyard birds seem to like it. The clarinet gets 4 octaves with a little squeeze on the top end - pitched in Bb, also a transposing instrument so you have to think a musical whole step to C. The recorder gets close to 3 octaves with some squeeze and creative fingerings. My favorite mid range woodwinds are alto clarinet and English horn (Cor Anglais) - nice woody warmth with a touch of mystery.

Hank - I was lucky to hear Al Hirt in New Orleans - wonderful trumpeter, wonderful person! Your Father in law must have been great to play with him. I heard Mr. Hirt with the great trombonist Bob Havens (who took over the trombone position from Al's brother Jerry, and later left the band to join Lawrence Welk) - thrilling music.

Jay - I'll be posting a number of YouTube videos this summer and will keep you in the loop. Meanwhile - here's one for which I multi-tracked the music background in thie following instrumental sequence: brushes on a snare drum, bass clarinet, acoustic D-hole Macaferri style rhythm guitar, Bb clarinets, and pocket trumpet with a lathe-turned maple bubble mute:

Trombonist Steve Turre inspired me to make a Triton's trumpet from a nice (Charonia tritonis) shell off the Florida coast - recalling that Poseidon and Amphitrite begat Triton, who calmed the waters by sounding a shell trumpet - good for 2+ octaves with careful right hand positioning inside the shell (yes - nature can swing):
TritonsTrumpet,markison,2011.jpg


Thanks again, and happy weekend to all! - Bob
 
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