here - Marilyn McNeal

PRESENTER BIO: My name is Marilyn McNeal and I am an African American musician living in the Bay Area of California. I play piano, fiddle, ukulele, wooden flute and spoons. I also make my own folk instruments out of cardboard, cans, plastic bottles, sticks, and wire. For the past four years, I have been researching and learning how to play the diddley bow, a one­stringed musical instrument played in the American rural south during the 19th and early 20th century. I’ve also been exploring the mouthbow, a musical bow still played in the Appalachian Mountains. music | photos | bio | teaching resume CONTACT INFORMATION: Email: info@marilynm.org Skype: mmcneal76 IMPORTANT PLAYERS LONNIE PITCHFORD http://youtu.be/3csruzNdMtE?t=1m12s NAPOLEON STRICKLAND http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l­6JsVx30AU EDDIE “ONE STRING” JONES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UACDi5MuqrM#t=16 ONE STRING SAM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQlAYfUtzh4#t=11 DESCRIPTION: This workshop is a fun way for people of all ages to enjoy making and playing a simple folk instrument from the American rural south. ● The workshops begins with 2 ­3 short video clips of respected diddley bow players, followed some brief information about the history of the instrument and a demonstration by Marilyn. (.5 hours) ● Then we will break into small groups and each participant will make a diddley bow. (1 hour) ● Marilyn will show some techniques for playing and we will explore creating rhythms. (.5 hours) ● Marilyn will teach one or two African American popular folk songs that participants can sing and play along to. (.5 hours) ● We can work in small groups to explore how the instrument can be used to play your traditional folk music. (.5 hours) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 2 ­10 participants SKILL LEVEL REQUIREMENT OF PARTICIPANTS: Anyone is welcome to attend! You do not need to have a musical background or experience making instruments. TIME: 3 hours MATERIALS NEEDED (SUPPLY LIST): ­ flat piece of wood (length 104 cm / 41 inches, see photo below) ­ two (2) 2.54 ­ 3.81 cm wood screws ­ guitar strings (supplied!) ­ a glass jar (to place under the guitar string ­ a wood stick (from a tree, a long thin wood scrap) flat piece of wood (the wood does not have to be this exact size, variation is fine!) wood screws guitar strings clean, used glass food jars sticks from tree branches TOOLS ­ hand saw ­ drill, drill bit ­ screw drivers SPACE: ­ room with access to electrical outlets big enough for a 2 ­ 12 people to spread out and work ­ desk or table for presenter to lay out instrument, tools ­ desks or raised surface area where participants can make their instruments ­ chairs for older participants THE MOUTHBOW The mouthbow (or musical bow) is a simple string musical instrument that consists of a string tied on one end of a flexible stick and then stretched taught and tied to the other end of the stick. The stick is typically 1.5 to 10 feet (.5 to 3 m) long, and is usually made out of wood. In the past, horse tail hair, flax fiber, gut or sinew were used for strings on mouthbows. Now, it is common to use a metal guitar string. The mouthbow is said to be the oldest stringed instrument in the world. HOW IT WORKS The mouthbow depends upon three things at once for its unusual sound. 1. Plucking the string, very close to your mouth, in order to make the string vibrate. 2. Changing the shape of your mouth as you pluck the string, in order to create harmonics. Harmonics are extra sounds you can hear above the sound of the vibrating string itself. 3. Bending the bow slightly so that you can change the entire pitch of the string and the entire set of harmonics. Like the drum, the mouthbow is found in many parts of the world, particularly wherever people use bows and arrows for hunting. SOURCES: Wikipedia, Buffy St. Marie, John Huron http://youtu.be/ynatMK2sYJI?t=3m8s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXkM11kp_tg