Toastygawa
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Timing is Everything.
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Post by Toastygawa on Aug 16, 2005 5:13:56 GMT -5
Do SCA combat shields have to be flat? A large enough drinking gourd might make an effective shield (though it might be only usable for a single round!
Just throwing out ideas. Watch out for me... I've been thinking up ways to make a conch out of plastic...
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Yvarg
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Formerly greeneel22
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Post by Yvarg on Aug 19, 2005 19:38:05 GMT -5
i just remember taht i have a couple conch shells made for blowing through. i picked them up in the caribean and i bet you could make it look period by wrapping some cord around it and maybe taking the mouth piece from a brass instrument and somehow attaching it to the opening of the conch... would this be at all doable or am still crazy?
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Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Aug 19, 2005 22:11:32 GMT -5
Sorry, sweetie, but you're crazy. ;D (Like most of us. Including Mr. I Wanna Make A Plastic Conch Shell.) What could be LESS period than sticking a trumpet mouthpiece in the end of a seashell. Evidently, all one has to do is carefully saw off the point - and figure out the correct embouchure. That's a technical term for the combination of physical contact with the instrument and breath pressure needed to produce sound. Different winds/brasses need different embouchures. www.trombone.org/articles/library/steveturre-mc.aspHere's a video clip of someone playing a conch with a jazz band. Limited range, but it is possible to get more than one pitch with one. www.vimeo.com/clip=3913M.
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Yvarg
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Formerly greeneel22
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Post by Yvarg on Aug 19, 2005 22:18:41 GMT -5
yes i know that you dont have to use a mouth piece to create sound, but all the japanese signal conchs ive seen have what appears to be a metal mouth piece and i though it looke almost like one take from a brass instrument. i also know that brass instruments can create several different pitches with one fingering (aka lip-slurs) ive been in concert band for 5 years and a small orchestra for two. but i thought my idea wouldnt work, i always knew i was insane, i figured most of my ideas would be too....=p
PS: that conch shell in a jazz band was a genius idea.... now if only i could get up early enough to be at school in time for jazz band practice i could play my bassoon there...
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Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Aug 19, 2005 22:54:12 GMT -5
Ten points to Slytherin. You just taught ME something. ;D The only thing I could remember having seen was one of Date-dono's designs of an samurai blowing a conch. Being as he's very good about labeling things, I went to his website, found the Japanese name for the thing (horagai) and googled it for images and - you're right. I have no idea how far back the addition of a mouthpiece goes, but perhaps someone else might. samourais.free.fr/Horagai_01.jpgBassoon, huh? I'm ok on pennywhistle and recorder, but the few times I attempted something with a reed, it was not a happy sound that came out! M.
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Yvarg
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Formerly greeneel22
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Post by Yvarg on Aug 19, 2005 23:07:31 GMT -5
actually im not too good on bassoon, but thats becuase i can never remember to practice. i started out on oboe and still play that. i also play some bass guitar (more than bassoon =p) anyways, i thought japanese conch had mouthpieces. good to know that im not just seeing things.
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Toastygawa
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Timing is Everything.
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Post by Toastygawa on Aug 19, 2005 23:21:51 GMT -5
I play no instruments other than my voice - I was the uber-bass for my college glee club for 4.5 years. This means that when I work at my club, people can FEEL my voice in their rib cages, but I have to enunciate like crazy or else they won't be able to understand what I'm saying.
So, for the sake of ridiculousity...
Imagine making a very shallow tub or tray of soft clay. Then take a real conch (powdered so it doesn't peel off the top layer of clay) and roll it end for end in the clay, leaving the indentations of its texture. Now, at the deepest of the dents, punch holes through to the bottom of the tray. Attach a vaccume to the bottom of said tray (sealing any leaks as best as one can). Now, cut some very thin plastic (I'm thinking 1/16" or 3/32" thick parchment-colored ABS or HDPE) to fit the shape of the mold, leaving extra for the internal curvature, heat it up, and lay the material onto the conch mold (the hot plastic acts very much like a big wet noodle). On with the vaccume. The plastic should conform to the shape of the mold, yes? Then it's just a process of curling it in on itself, and painting.
Of course, there's no telling what the thing would sound like if blown into. I've got armor to complete first, but this is how ridiculously I think. Let me know what you think of my ludicrous idea...
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Saionji Shonagon
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One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Aug 20, 2005 0:26:20 GMT -5
Jehanne says to tell you she thinks she's in love. ;->
I was the "stunt tenor" for the Tropes of Rusted Woodlands and I used to have to vocally claw my way over our two basses, but I MISS the way the sound felt like it was coming up through the floor. I'm an alto with a really good reach in either direction.
I guess you COULD try molding a conch in plastic, but would it play? There are interior spirally bits that are involved....
Dunno. Might be a fun experiment to try.
M.
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Post by solveig on Oct 1, 2005 18:41:51 GMT -5
Noble Cousins!
Greetings from Solveig! A while back, someone found and posted an illustration of, if I recall correctly, and event from Heike Monogatari where one individual was holding what might have been a rectangular shield. However, the most typical use of shields in Japan after the kofun period were the large rectangular tate which were set up as portable walls.
Your Humble Servant Solveig Throndardottir Amateur Scholar
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qworg
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Post by qworg on Oct 5, 2005 15:14:25 GMT -5
If you go extremely early period, you find shields - giant door shields made of wood bound with copper plates.
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madyaas
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Post by madyaas on Oct 5, 2005 16:28:27 GMT -5
The only thing I could remember having seen was one of Date-dono's designs of an samurai blowing a conch. Being as he's very good about labeling things, I went to his website, found the Japanese name for the thing (horagai) and googled it for images and - you're right. I have no idea how far back the addition of a mouthpiece goes, but perhaps someone else might. samourais.free.fr/Horagai_01.jpgI actually saw one of these being sold on Ebay. It was through an estate sale and the couple which had bought it bought it back before 1940 I think. I tried searching for it, but it seems to have been taken off or it was sold.
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