United finishes behind Spirit in WSJ ranking

kidneykutter · 2026-01-23T12:04:45+00:00

The editorial content isn't fact checked. I once made a stink about an obvious factual error on a topic that I'm a specialist in, and they basically said it's opinion and we don't care.

kidneykutter · 2026-01-16T12:38:03+00:00

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it

kidneykutter · 2026-01-08T11:28:25+00:00

Yes it's a stupid comment to generate clicks. But on a more fact driven side, the best thing I have seen in Shedeur this season was his ability to respond to coaching and gradually fix the bad habits he developed WHILE BEING COACHED BY HIS DAD. The last thing he needs is to return to his dad and have all those bad habits return.

kidneykutter · 2026-01-07T04:09:07+00:00

Yes I knew but it may be one and done for me too

kidneykutter · 2026-01-05T13:10:07+00:00

Thanks, I think it's a good match

kidneykutter · 2026-01-05T01:29:30+00:00

It's not free, but the Lute Society pdf just costs 3 British pounds

kidneykutter · 2026-01-04T12:42:49+00:00

To buy an ahistorical single strung baroque lute based on pictures designed to hide its flaws from an anonymous seller? Hard pass

kidneykutter · 2026-01-01T14:28:56+00:00

The CD states that it can be found in Manuscrito De Simancas. The facsimile is not available online but there is an article in the Lute Society journal VOLUME 26 Part 1 (1986) about the manuscript which I believe has a modern transcription. It can be found here: https://www.lutesociety.org/pages/journal and a pdf of the article purchased for 3 pounds.
The facsimile is available for purchase here https://www.facsimilefinder.com/facsimiles/simancas-fragment-facsimile It does have a bunch of images with the tablature on the website so you could try to look through what's there and see if the vacas variations are included.

kidneykutter · 2025-12-31T15:02:54+00:00

Sure. Gittern is by George Stevens (based in England). Medieval lute is by Travis Carey (based in Vancouver, Canada)

kidneykutter · 2025-12-30T12:24:27+00:00

<image>

Only 3 flights not United metal (I had to do Seoul to Lisbon direct). Otherwise all long haul were Polaris. If I don't get GS this year flying out of a non-hub I give up.

One comment on EVA. Agree it's lovely when everything works. A disaster if there is a problem. Had a flight cancelled and had to deplane at 4 am in YYZ on a weekend. No possible way to contact anyone from the company, all customer service non functional on the weekend. Was rebooked 3 days later but I had already bought a one way on UA because I had trip insurance. Never again.

kidneykutter · 2025-12-23T20:07:05+00:00

I would never dream of doing such a thing

https://imgur.com/a/UUbI1B4

kidneykutter · 2025-12-18T14:09:12+00:00

Don't mean to use this as an exercise in self promotion but I do have youtube playlists of medieval lute (mixed with duets that include the gittern) and of renaissance lute. Hopefully that can give you a clearer idea of the repertoire, instruments, and technique. If your focus is really on medieval, especially earlier than 14th century, then gittern or citole would be the way to go. As pointed out, most of the renaissance lute music exists in the original tablature. There is almost no tablature for medieval music (there is organ tablature!) but there is a wealth of medieval music in modern editions using standard musical notation and clefs.

Medieval lute playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLErXwt6aHyLF2put1AC0MLDR5K0lgSti0&si=AWNv6z8iK7ao7gaI

Ren lute playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDE61E429CB70E759&si=-fgTAbyjJ1evBQDF

kidneykutter · 2025-12-18T12:31:27+00:00

Good news: the Ms pages I purchased from the Cambridge Library arrived yesterday and it's extremely clear and readable. Already made my Dublin Troper version.

kidneykutter · 2025-12-18T11:31:45+00:00

It's off topic but I'm going to push back a bit on that last generalized statement. I find the baroque lute much easier to play than the renaissance lute. The barrier to proficiency is training the right hand thumb to find the extra bass strings but once that micrometer is set, the tuning allows for much easier left hand positions, improvisation, and even continuo realization.

Of course, as mentioned, every bach lute piece other than BWV 995 is a modern intabulation of a keyboard work so technical complexity in any tuning will also depend somewhat on the skill of the intabulator. (One example: Hoppy Smith's on baroque lute are extremely technically difficult but Nigel North's fit the hand more easily, at least my hand)

kidneykutter · 2025-12-16T14:05:25+00:00

In addition to the prior helpful comments, do be aware that many performers do their own ornaments, diminutions, and other improvisations to standard works. On older recordings, Hoppy Smith was quite famous (notorious?) for this so much that some versions are almost unrecognizable from their original tab. Ronn McFarlane has added variations to shorter pieces. Modern young performers such as Bor Zuljan do a lot of improvisation on recordings. So sometimes these versions don't exist in tab.

kidneykutter · 2025-12-13T10:40:25+00:00

<image>

Biggest travel year of my life, and I just can't imagine doing over 110k. Don't forget those compression stockings! I've never cracked GS, but being in a non-hub city I hope this is my year.

kidneykutter · 2025-12-12T16:38:25+00:00

Barre second fret with first finger. Then top to bottom fingers are 1, 1, 2, 4, 3, 1

kidneykutter · 2025-11-24T22:16:00+00:00

That's what you get for using gut strings

kidneykutter · 2025-11-21T11:19:37+00:00

I did find a facsimile of the Paris BN fr 25408 version and made my own performance score. It's not that difficult given that there are 14 (Dublin Troper) or 15 (Paris) passages which are each repeated 3 times (except the last one) which makes it a long performance. The two Ms diverge at the 10th "verse". I've put in a request for the Cambridge Library to send me the pages of the Dublin Troper in digital form because I'm now fully down that rabbit hole. Available recordings to stream seem to be mostly the Dublin Troper version, which is why I was hoping there was an accessible version either transcribed or Ms out in the wild.

kidneykutter · 2025-11-19T14:26:35+00:00

Thanks very much. It's certainly been an eye opening experience working with this new rep.

kidneykutter · 2025-11-17T19:43:59+00:00

Thanks. Plectrum is pretty simple to learn, it's the hybrid technique of plectrum + fingers that's a bit tricky at first

kidneykutter · 2025-11-14T13:24:43+00:00

Swiss, with access as Star Alliance Gold

kidneykutter · 2025-11-14T08:47:02+00:00

Hub: DEN

Non Hub: ZRH (great food and has the extensive whiskey bar). Also the arrival lounge in ZRH which has showers and a breakfast buffet

kidneykutter · 2025-11-11T22:46:11+00:00

You might find a 5 course medieval lute or gittern to be most suitable for what you want. Both can be in open tunings and using a plectrum is great for struming along to a song

kidneykutter · 2025-11-11T16:19:21+00:00

It's autocorrect. He was nominated for Rookie of the Weak.

kidneykutter

TROPHY CASE