Now that I’ve learned how to write out tunes in ABC, I thought I’d put up one of the Taiwanese songs that I like to play. There’s standard music notation, ABC, MIDI, and QuickTime.
The MIDI doesn’t sound right, though. Lots of notes that should be sustained are clipped. The QuickTime sounds good, though. I wonder if there is any cheap MIDI editing software for the Mac. All the files were produced by BarFly. I guess I should tell them about the MIDI problem.
It’s not note-for-note the sung melody, but it’s what I’ve been playing for a few decades, based on an ancient LP of my wife’s. When I play it on the whistle, I tend to slow it down and play it more freely.
KC Jiang, one of the msg board members who attended the C&F gettogether in Nov played Taiwanese music for us, both on whistle and on harmonica. There is at least one recording on Clips. Look to the far left of the newspage for a “photos” link of the gettogether. There are sound files on that page or scroll down to Nov 03. He played Green Island Serenade.
Tony
Tony, did you manage to get ABCs of that? I really enjoyed hearing KC playing that piece. I’m going to have to bring a recorder to the next get-together so I have a chance of actually learning some of the tunes. (But I still would like to have it on paper, too).
ABC’s of Green Island Serenade? No, I didn’t. You probably won’t find it on JC’s Tunefinder, either. You can either hassle JC about doing that or use a slow downer and work it out! ABC’s…sheesh!
Tony
(Dana, you’re killing me.)
And I thought that, that . . . thing on your head was killing you - looks right out of a 50’s Sci-Fi flick.
I guess I’ve got to go the slow-downer route - after I upgrade my home PC so I can get reliable sound. (Been putting off computer upgrades in favor of whistles and telescopes, lately).
But I WILL try to bring a recorder of some kind to the next get-together. June, isn’t it?
I didn’t read message board for a while. Since last Christmas, my mother got sick and I am busy to take care of her. She is over 90 years old. Fortunately, my mother’s condition does not get worse but she still needs full time attention.
Last December, I had my New Year resolutions on music. I was planning to record CDs for Chinese songs playing on harmonica and Irish whistle. Chinese folk and pop songs were written in simplified notes on music sheet that is different from Western music sheet. I was also planning to covert Chinese songs into Western music sheets. I am not sure that I have time to work on my plans now.
About the song “18 Years Old”, actually the title is “Embrace the Spring Wind”. It is one of the most popular and beautiful Taiwanese folk (or pop) songs. It was written in 1933. I learned this song when I was a kid. I played this song on Irish whistle first and then changed to harmonica in all my music shows. Last Sepember, I played this song at my Little Valley Bistro performance. Blackhawk was there and heard this song and he likes this song very much.
Thanks for Darwin putting this melody on music sheet, but the tune is different from the one I learned, however I can still recognize it is “Embrace the Spring Wind”. At the beginning of the lyrics of this song:
She sits alone under the lamp, the spring wind blows on her face.
Seventeen or eighteen and yet unwed, she is longing for a boyfriend.
I play this song using C key on Burke’s Low G whistle and C key Suzuki or Tombo tremolo harmonica.
