Chu

I was reading Grove's Dictionary of music and musicians when I came upon a picture of a very interesting stringed instrument called Tromba Marina, or Marine Trumpet. It's not a trumpet, but the article says it sounds something like one. It looks something like a long oar or boat paddle with one string stretched along the length of it. It appears to have a scroll like a member of the violin or viol family. Also, it is played primarily in natural harmonics which are typically written on the body thus giving anyone a reasonable facility of the instrument. I am curious: how rare are these things and how easy would it be for me to get one or a couple for some friends and myself? Chu

I will make all three of these valuable steps a part of my daily practicing. Thanks so much! -Chu

I am working on a Sevcik shifting exercise. It is written in C major, but it says that I have to repeat it in 11 different keys. It doesn't mean to transpose, it means that F (for instance) in G major wouldn't become a note of an entirely different name, it would just become F#. I'm fine in G major and the obviously easier ones, but when it gets into all those sharps and flats, I get totally lost and don't even know how to approach it! I thought practicing scales in these keys would help me, but it doesn't. I can play a scale as perfectly as any teacher could ask because with a scale I know how it's supposed to sound. I know the sound of major, minor, melodic etc, as long as I start the scale on the note of the name of the scale. When it comes to this exercise starting on either A, Ab, or A# no matter what strange sounding key it's in, I just get a headache. Please help, I don't even know how to approach this. Thanks, if anyone can help me I'll be so grateful! -Chu