Hi Rob,

Yes, that's a 4-course Renaissance guitar by Daniel O'Keefe. If I'm smiling in the picture it must be because I'd just listened to your great strumming video : )

Jocelyn

Hi Rob! tks for creating this interesting network! hope you are doing good, greetings from south Brazil!

Hi, Rob. Thank you for your comment, Please check my reply on my page.

Gary Digman

That's a beautiful guitar!

Gary

By the way, in the photograph we're aboard the TS "Golden Bear" (TS is an acronym of "training ship", of course) sailing in San Francisco Bay. The ship is used to train Merchant Marine students. Once a year the "Blue Angels" do a show over the Bay and the Merchant Marine invites the parents of the students to come aboard the ship and cruise out into the Bay to watch the air show. They hired us to make their experience complete with some tasteful riffing and mopping.

Gary

I also have an Eastman 810 model -- not nearly as pretty wood as yours, though. My wife is a jazz singer and I get asked to accompany her occasionally. For fingerstyle I prefer my cutaway classical.

Looks like we will have to start a ning archtop network!

We're in the rain forest here. So, in summer we get no rain. In winter we get a "Scottish mist" now and then.

gary

Hence Mark Twain's comment, "I spent the worst winter of my life one summer in San Francisco."

Gary

Hi Rob,
sorry couldn't find out much more about the Manchester Gamba Book except that it's 17th century (which is obvious!). I love the audio files which pop up on your page...especially the portuguese stuff!
Cheers,
Sam

Thanks, Rob. Great to be here.
Alexander

Thank you! It's a great place here!

Thanks Rob, I'm really happy to have found this site!

Thank you for the swift response, Rob.
I have closed my website for the moment as my Guru Son-in-law is rebuilding it! I have several bright sons-in-law, in fact I have ten grandchildren and they are all able to advise me about computer matters!
I love the EG and V site, especially your videos; they put me in mind of my early days. I studied the guitar in Madrid with some great masters. During that time I got to know the top-grade makers, as friends; people like Contreras, Manzanero, Ramirez, Conde brothers and Archangel Fernandez. Those were the days...
I am currently designing and making prototypes for several clients who are mass-producing GOOD QUALITY instruments, not the usual factory rubbish.
I am sure there will be opportunities to swap some stories.
Best wishes,
Zachary

Yes, Rob --we do know each other from minstrel banjo and also from the cittern ning site.

We do have similar interests, don't we?

By the way, I found your post on "Preludes, cadences..." to be very interesting and informative. I'll respond to your post there after I'm done grading final exams and can think clearly again...

Another similarity for us: I find myself more and more interested in improvisation for these styles (19th c. etc.). For many years, I've been improvising preludes to the songs I do with Maggi and the solo pieces as well. Cadenzas -- where appropriate in solo and chamber music as well...

I have given workshops at the Cape Cod Mandolin Festival for the last two years in Improvising an 18th c. Style Prelude (2007) and Improvising in 19th c. Style (2008).

Jim

P.S. Beautiful playing on your recordings!

Hey Rob,

I just registered now on early guitars ning group! Great site and many fascinating music and files! Wonderful and thanks.
Ciao,
Damien

Dear Rob MacKillop,

A few months ago I delivered a paper at Caen University on the lute in Scotland and Ireland, and played a few Scottish pieces to academics - a bit of a missionary job there. More of it in Bordeaux in a few months, this time on the Scottish lute, for the benefit of colleagues working on things Scottish.
The lute is not quite a household name yet but it is comforting to see kids taking up the instrument at an early age and as their main instrument.
Your historical introduction to 'Music for the Lute in Scotland' is very interesting indeed, especially as it shows the cultural and musical extent of the 'Auld Alliance'
Could I pick your brains about some of the Scottish genres such as the 'Port' or the 'Lilt', specially with regard to performance ? There is a superb example of a 'port' in the' Straloch' book which probably calls for a slow tempo, being a sort of meditative piece; do you have any idea where the 'Port' originates from ?
Best regards,
Jacques

Thank you for the information

Regards,

Jacques

In thinking about the member Profile Information, I wonder if it might not be useful/informative to have some more of that made public. The website info, for example, would direct users of the group to websites that have even more sound files, info, and scores. I'm thinking of your site(s) -- and maybe there needs to be a way to enter and display more than one. Monica also has much useful information. The Lute Ning displays what instruments a person plays, for example. I don't see a need for location -- that is already showing below our photo. Maybe there are other interesting sections that might be added.

Dear Rob,
Please send me your new address because I want to envoy you my book of Machete (from Madeira) with original music.
Best regards,
Manuel

Thanks Rob. I want to upload more music, but apparently the program only take mp3s, as long as most of my itunes library is in mp4 format, the program says it's not acceptable. I'll try again, anyway...
congrat for your new recording!

best


eloy

Hello Rob. I found the answers of my questions concerning vihuela on your site (reporting at Sasha Batov's workshop, which I found very useful and precise). A deeper reflexion on a Dias vihuela convinced me. So I've to convince my own government now!!

Dear Rob, Many thanks for your kind words...Where have I been? Not quite sure!!! Anyway, better late than never...Best wishes, Graham Wade

Thank you Rob. I've had this guitar for nearly 20 years. Recently I had the frets leveled and crowned. Now it is a pure joy to play. Have a great day! Bryan Prud'Homme

Hello Rob. Finally purchasing a guitar, and discussing of it with dear Sasha
( new vihuela probably next year). Where could we find the nice guitar pieces from a portuguese manuscript you play on your Vimeos? . I haven't talked recently with Jonathan, but is music you played with him "in the box"?
All the best

Thank you for your wise advices, Rob. And I'm going to explore "selvas amazonas" as far as I could.
All the best

Hello Rob! I'm really glad you've enjoyed them! Thanks! Elena

Hello mate,
Think I slipped down it a long time ago....
Cheers!

Thanks for pointing me to your mandore recordings... It's very nice. The french music I've been playing uses three different tunings, and I think one is the same as that for the Skene works. The Chancy tabelature has a wonderfully wide range, and while the pieces and instrument are miniature, I believe the music is just plain huge.

How about an "instruments for sale" page?

Thank you. Glad to be here.

Hello, Rob,
sorry, I did not understand very well the purpose of the photos.
I'm glad to be part of this community.
I will try to gather photos of Brazilian instruments before Torres.

One question: I have played on an ensemble wich played medieval european music. Is it possible post some recordings? The same ensemble have registered some compositions of mine, with lute, recorder, portatif organ, cornamusa, etc. Do you think i't is possible post some recordingis of it?

By the way, I like your site Song of the Rose very much.
Thank you.
Fernando.

Hi Rob,
thank you for the information!
Fernando.

Hi Rob, nice to meet you. I've seen you videos I like them! This is a 18th. century Mexican picture by José de Páez, a "mestizo" artist.
This picture is part of the "Pintura de Castas" collection. This kind of paintings were made to show the existing social groups in colonial America. Always this is exampled with a man and a woman of different social groups like a Spaniard and a black woman; and their son, the "new product" in this case is named "cambujo". There are a lot of examples like this in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia.
Greetings:)

Good Rob :), in many cases this paintings are not signed but you can find more searching "Pintura de Castas".

Cheers :)

I am glad to be here. I am technologically challenged. I have some music to contribute, but it is in Django format. I am not sure how to handle that. One piece is my arrangement for baroque guitar of Bach's 2nd cello suite. The other is a handful of pieces arranged for baroque guitar in a "suite format" of various pieces by Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello; I simply collected movements I liked the best in closely related keys and made my own suite.

I see. I'm sorry, Rob. Thanks!

Thank You Rob. What a great idea for a web page!

Thanks Rob! Very cool site! I saw the link to the lute page and intend to sign up for that one, too. Thanks again, Tom

Hi Rob,
Could you upload a version in italian tablature of the portuguese guitar music?
Thanks!

Cheers Rob!

Once again thank You Rob

Hi Rob
Fancy meeting you here. Hope all is well with you.
Eamon Sweeney

All good here thank God. Muddling through our national financial meltdown!

Hello Rob, I read all comments for my Carcassi etude. Thank you very much for your support!

Cheers

Gabriel

Hi Rob,

Thank you for inviting me to be your friend !!  I enjoy your Early Guitars and Vihuela very much !!

 

Paul

Hi Rob.  I was quite inspired by Gordon's guitar playing on Saturday.  I'd always thought of the 4-course guitar as not much more than an instrument for providing chordal accompaniments - but apprently not!

 

Yes - making one would be a nice way of knocking the rust off my instrument making skills.  Must see if I can get a set of dimensions.

Hi Rob, guitar playing is going well thank you.  I've been asked to learn some French dances to accompany a historical dance class so that's keeping me nice and busy.  Hope all's well with you.