Although I have a large collection of stringed instruments, most of
which I play and all of which I love, playing bass has always been the
instrument which comes most naturally to me, possibly because the first
stringed musical instrument I ever touched was a 1963 Fender Precision
bass, an instrument I later came to own. The majority of professional
music-making I've done has been on the bass. I now play a Cort 5 string
fret less and an Earthwood acoustic. I have built up a collection of
stringed musical instruments through the ages and from around the
world, many of which I have had to make as they are not available
commercially. These include the Anglo Saxon Lyre (Sutton Hoo) - 17c;
Bardic (Minstrels) Harp - 8c; Bowed Lyre (crwth, crot, rotta, viedel) -
8c; Bowed Psaltery, poss 15c; Citole (Spanish, Portugeuse) - 13c;
European Lute - 15 - 17c; Plucked Psaltery - 14c; Psalter or Long Lyre
(Greek) - 500BC; Oud (Arabic) as mentioned in Bible; Roman Lyre - up to
500AD and Saz (Turkish) similar age to Oud. I have taught myself to
play them all to a level of proficiency and provide demonstrations to
schools, living history and re-enactment events, plus providing
entertainment at medieval banquets and weddings, parties and corporate
events.
I have also recorded a CD of many of the instruments.
I am very new to myspace and will update as I explore the many
wonderful musicians from around the world and hopefully make good
friends along the way.
