Man playing a hand-made, electrified, one-stringed musical instrument in New York's Central Park
I met this man in New York's Central Park. He was playing an electrified one-stringed instrument he had built himself. He couldn't speak English very well, but I showed him a photo of my 3-stringed dronestick, and he nodded in approval. I want to make one!
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I couldn't even see the string in the video. How does his instrument work?
harmonics?
There's a string attached to the little stick he's bending.
one-stringed electric koto.
It's essentially a solid body electric version of a Vietnamese instrument called a Dan Bao. For those that were interested.
Well, sir, there's nothing on earth like a genuine, bona-fide, electrified, one-string instrument!
What'd I say?
Instrument!
What's it called?
Instrument!
That's right, instrument!
Yeah, but can he play any other "songs" on it?
anyone know the name of the original?
Looks like an electric dan bau, a Vietnamese monochord. In skilled hands, it can sound incredible.
ah so
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37qw5vNyYzE
That'd be an electrified one of these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duxianqin
Being familiar with the acoustic dan bao, which is one of the most beautiful instruments I have heard, to me this electric instrument is not particularly good.
However, it might be the beginning of something.
Anybody remember Willie Joe and his Unitar?
like to hear this rendered with it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCdE8eERuZ8
Hey Man that's cool.
Mark needs to go to New York more often. There's a whole untapped vein of Boingy goodness back there.
Here's a fantastic little clip from Huong Tranh's Dragonfly CD, on the tune, Bakida, where dan bau figures quite a bit.
http://www.filedropper.com/huongtranh-bakida
Freebird!
...
(...I'll get my coat.)
#10, while it doesn't have the polished tone typical of the "normal" instrument, i actually quite like the buzzes and rattles. adds character. besides, in some instruments such sounds would be not a bug, but a feature. (i'm thinking especially of many African instruments)
i'd like to hear one of these with a sitar-style buzzing bridge. hell, i might try to make one myself...
you should totally bring out the "clubhouse strummer" and jam with him! that's really cool.
This guy is a pretty solid subway musician. I have seen him a few times randomly. Quite nice!
Me, I prefer my one-stringed electric instrument to sound like this.
cool Phikus; the "whamola"!
The song is something traditional, but I'm not able to puzzle it out. Anyone?
Ok, when I saw the header for this post I thought of this:
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/bio/0,,854381,00.html
Here is a photo:
http://www.blue-suit.com/html/one_string_sam.html
In some Blues circles this would be called a Yakkety board. In this case an electric Yakkety board. Sometimes a hollow bodied door will do as well.
I guess I am just a bland american.
Awesome! At some points it sounds to me like the rhythms from old blues such as Howling Wolf and Bo Diddley played.
I saw him busking down on one of the pedestrian tunnels of the NY Subway. He had his amp turned up quite loudly and it wasn't pleasant at all. The people I was walking with had to almost shout to be heard over his one stringed wanging.
Outdoors I can see the need for amplification, but he doesn't need the amp in a confined tunnel.
He ain't no Speedy West:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abURph5H1Kg
Anyone have any contact info on the player?
Or where in Central Park was he seen?
thanks