Tag: music

DIY Music Stand Extender

Oh, the cleverness of me!

I am feeling quite smug.

I am not a musician, but I do goof around on the ukulele. I picked it up a few years ago. I prefer fingerstyle to strumming chords as I don’t sing. I have books. I have sheet music. My music stand will easily hold a book opened up or two letter-sized bits of printed paper. However, beyond that, I have to resort to turning pages, and that is not an easy thing to do when your two hands are busy.

So what is a girl to do? Of course! Go shopping and look for an overly large music stand for a small fortune or poorly rated extenders for a smaller price and much less durability.

But, nothing appealed to me, and then my leetle grey cells went to work: make one!

The big question was what to use? And then it dawned on me to use the same material I use to support my watercolor paintings, is lightweight, at hand, and cheap. The material is called Coroplast which is thin, easily cut to size, and good for all sorts of things. All I needed to make my extender was a ruler, a utility knife for cutting, a cutting mat, and a bit of tape.

My music stand measures about 12″ high by 16″ wide with a 2″ lip to hold the book. I took an existing large piece of Coroplast I had lying around and cut it to 14″ x 30″. Along the long edge, on the reverse side of of the Coroplast, I created a cut 2″ up from the long edge, making sure not to cut all the way through. The purpose was to keep the piece intact but with the ability to fold the piece 90 degrees to mimic or recreate the 2″ rest for books or sheet music. This I bent forward, and then used a piece of green masking tape to cover the part I cut.

This is how the Coroplast extender sits on top of my music stand. I have an LED lamp which clamps to the top of the stand, providing light, and I am using this to hold the extender in place. If you look at the bottom of the white extender, you can see my green tape over the “hinge” of the tray.

Above, you can see the fold creating the surface upon which books and sheets can rest, as well as a tray. On the right, you can see the cut edge of the Coroplast.

Altogether, this project cost nothing as all the things I needed were at hand. It just took a bit of thought. It fits easily on the existing stand, is lightweight, and can easily be replaced it it gets disgusting. Total time was about an hour once I figured out what I needed to do. One of the best things about Coroplast is it is inexpensive, so mistakes can be made. The sheets come in at the hardware store measuring 4′ x 8′. Have at it if you need it!

A Documentary Worth Watching

Well, maybe for some.

For me, this was a blast. I picked up the ukulele about a year ago after Josh took a class through our local parks and recreation services. I took the same class myself just awhile ago.

For a lot of people in America, of my age, we watched Tiny Tim play away on the ukulele – and that was, for me, a turn off. I didn’t think he was funny and altogether I sort of cringed when I watched him on the Smothers Brothers. It made me dislike the ukulele altogether because of its connections. Now, remember, this is me – and my own reaction from way back when. I wonder how I would feel about him today as a much older and less narrow minded. Anyway, I guess I will look up some YouTube videos to watch and re-think Tiny Tim.

Since I started playing the ukulele, I’ve gotten a few (GAS is bad in my family) and find that I like having soprano, alto or concert, and tenor with both regular and low G strings. I’ve watch oodles of how-to videos, and find my own preference is for finger picking tabs. I do single notes pretty well and am now moving into playing multiple strings at a time. My first exposure to learning music was piano, and I didn’t like it that much. The same with the flute – I could never get enough air and nearly fainted a few times! Because I am self-taught, I am not in competition with anyone – I make my own plans. At some point, perhaps lessons on an individual basis or joining a strumming group – there are several here in my area, just showing how popular the ukulele is!

In addition to learning to play, I’ve always liked music, all kinds. I never thought I would pick up an instrument. Lately, I picked up some software that let’s me input my own compositions or variations of a song. This is great as I can make up something I can work with at my current level or within my limitations.

Moving far beyond the common ideas of an ukulele, I am amazed by the music that is played by people all over the world on this instrument: Classical, jazz, folk. Finger-style, strumming, singing along with chords, strumming patterns, flamenco, etc. The fact I am enjoying myself and learning music and not taking it too seriously, but seriously enough to map out goals, is not a bad thing for an old bat of my unknown age . . .

I hope you enjoy this video – great history, old and new!

Singing a Song

I have a singing voice that sounds more like a bullfrog with laryngitis. Of all the things I wish I could do, singing is it. Particular to my heart is Irish singing, in Gaelic or Irish no less. Music is a big gap in my learning, and while I can read music, I am very unmusical. When my sister and I took piano, the dog would curl up under the piano bench as she practiced; he would go to the back door and whine to be let out when I practiced.

I tumbled across this video on YouTube a few days ago, and I found it to be both educational and entertaining. I never knew what I like so much about Irish singing, and it turns out this video showed me. The way a song is sung varies throughout areas of Ireland (N and S), and vocal embellishments are added to carry the words along. Add to that, the music is so lovely, and in my mind, heaven on aural earth is found.

Outside of the Old World, America has the largest Celtic population. Migration brought traditions, and singing is one. Time, of course, changes the “old” ways and “new” ones become the new “old”! The mountainous areas created their own cultures and traditions. There is a rich heritage here.

The above video is a bit long, but to me it epitomizes much of a culture long gone. My father’s side of the family were “mountain folk” – also called hillbillies (a derogatory term) – from Tennessee.

Besides the Celtic descendants, we also have a rich heritage of Black music, gospel and folk and spirituals. Rhiannon Giddens is a modern singer with wide ranging talents. Above she sings an original song based on an older one, and old traditions.

Gospel music always brings joy – old and new – Aretha Franklin sings “Amazing Grace”, an old Anglican hymn from the 1700s.

Altogether, vocalists are my favorite form of music to listen to. Strong voices, good stories. Mahalia Jackson, Odetta, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Billie Holiday.

I could go on forever, but folk music and singing always bring more to me than most instrumental music alone. That is not to say instrumental is not to my liking, but that is for another time and place. Maybe.