Contents
Editorial
Ukuleles............................2
2014 Rally Update.............3
Summer School.................4
Gaio de Lima.....................5
Copyright..........................6
Letters...............................6
Banjo Technique................7
BMG Trophies....................8
History of Federation.........9
Music...............................10
Which Finger?.................11
Reviews...........................14
Alison Stephens...............15
Clara Ross.......................16
Eileen Pakenham.............17
Prize Draw Winners.........18
Diary...............................19
• President
Louis de Bernières
• Vice President
Dorothy Oram
• Editor
Barbara Pommerenke-Steel
01698 457518
[email protected]
• Assistant Editor and
Membership Secretary
Sandra Woodruff 0117 9672286
[email protected]
• Newsletter Design
Nigel Gatherer
• Website
www.banjomandolinguitar.org
2
As many of you get ready for our Rally in
March, the committee is not only involved
in organising this event but also runs
the summer school and helps with other
initiatives.
We are delighted so many people
have signed up for workshops and
contests at the Rally. For the organisers
it’s a major task to make sure the
timetable works and people don’t have
to be in two places at once. This year in
particular it is important that contests
keep to the timetable and contestants
keep within time limits for their contests
to help with smooth running.
The Saturday afternoon concert will
see performances from St Mary Redcliffe
and Temple School Guitar Ensemble,
the Rally Youth Orchestra and world
premiere of a new composition by
Christopher Norton which our Federation
commissioned. We are pleased Bulgarian
Quartet Seasons is able to be at the
Rally to run a workshop and they will
put on a guest performance on Sunday
afternoon after the orchestra contest while
adjudicators are writing up results.
We are grateful to Rob Garcia of
Schott Music for putting us in touch with
the Music Publishers Association and
hope orchestras and teachers, as well as
individual players, find the article useful
in clearing up misunderstandings that
surround the subjects of Copyright and
Performing Rights.
An initiative comes from Ian Segui’s
proposed new venture for a UK National
Orchestra. In Germany there has been
a long established tradition of national
or state orchestras which draw players
from a big area. These give players
opportunities to meet and exchange ideas
with different players, play new music and
perform in venues in different places.
The article by Paul Sparks follows
on from his lecture at the Federation
Symposium last October. Paul Sparks is
an internationally known researcher who
has published the most important books
on the history of mandolin in the last 30
years.
All in all the newsletter promises to be
a good read.
Looking forward to meeting you at the
Rally.
MUSIC ACHIEVEMENTS
industrial expertise that must go into their
manufacturing processes it is amazing
they cannot adjust their machinery to cut
nut slots to correct depth to make the
nut a true ‘zero fret’. One would think this
could be simply achieved by someone
in the factory spending a few minutes
adjusting cutters to make slots that bit
deeper!
Secondly is to find a way to make
budding uke enthusiasts in local groups,
schools etc around the country aware that
the above problem exists and is easily
dealt with so there is no need for players
to give up, disillusioned, before they’ve
got started. I can fix a uke (cut nut slots
down until bottoms are in same plane
as top of frets) comfortably in about an
hour – a job most’ DIY-ers’ should be
able to do with a bit of care.
If I’d charged for all
those ukes I’ve done
to date I could have
been becoming quite
comfortably off!
Congratulations to Barbara PommerenkeSteel’s pupils for Victoria College of Music
Mandolin Examinations:
Iain Lennon.....Grade 7 Distinction
Kate Spalding..........Grade 5 Merit
Eilidh Sword............Grade 5 Merit
Letter from a
Member - Ukuleles
O
ver the last few years I’ve had a
trickle of ukuleles passed me to set
up properly. Having recently become
more involved in some newly organised
local groups, this trickle is in danger
of becoming a flood. Why, oh why, do
manufacturers of the less expensive
models so readily available make them
so they are impossible to play in tune
with themselves. How many hundreds
(thousands?) of ukuleles have been
bought by or given to enthusiastic new
players and now await next refuse
collection (or bonfire) as a result?
The tragedy is these new owners
generally have no idea why the sounds
they make with their perfectly-tuned
strings are so dreadful when they finger
correct chord shapes shown by tutors.
Nor do they know the problem can be
easily corrected and their inexpensive uke
will then sound terrific (they really do).
Two actions are needed and I hope the
BMG Federation may be able to help with
solutions to both.
First is to get manufacturers to
make instruments correctly. With all the
Bryan Bowen
From BMG Federation –
let’s have some replies
to Bryan’s letter
please from players
and manufacturers
so we can pursue
this matter (Sandra
Woodruff 104 Tower
Rd North, Warmley,
Bristol BS30 8XN or
sandra.woodruff@
virgin.net).