The Olympia Brass Band is an American jazz brass band from New Orleans .
134-477: The first "Olympia Brass Band" was active from the late 19th century to around World War I. The most famous member was Freddie Keppard . In 1958, saxophonist Harold Dejan , leader of the 2nd unit of the Eureka Brass Band , split off to form the current Olympia, reviving the historic name. The band had a notable part in the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die in which they play a band leading
268-568: A BBC radio broadcast for Queen Elizabeth 's 25th wedding anniversary in 1972 while they were in London, and also played for Pope John Paul II on his visit to New Orleans. The Olympia Brass Band was a training ground for a whole new generation of jazz musicians including clarinetist Joseph Torregano, saxophonist Byron "Flea" Bernard, drummers Tanio Hingle and Kerry Hunter, and trumpeters Kenneth Terry and "Kid" Mervin Campbell. Notable members of
402-407: A chinrest , which may attach directly over, or to the left of, the tailpiece . A distinctive feature of a violin body is its hourglass-like shape and the arching of its top and back. The hourglass shape comprises two upper bouts, two lower bouts, and two concave C-bouts at the waist , providing clearance for the bow . The "voice" or sound of a violin depends on its shape, the wood it is made from,
536-456: A funeral march and one of Bond's associates is assassinated during the march. Trumpeter Alvin Alcorn plays the knife-wielding "baby-faced killer". In addition to playing for parades and parties, the band had a weekly gig at Preservation Hall on Sunday nights for many years. The band also toured Europe on numerous occasions and also toured Africa for the U. S. State Department. The band did
670-406: A shift, and effective shifting maintaining accurate intonation and a smooth legato (connected) sound is a key element of technique at all levels. Often a "guide finger" is used; the last finger to play a note in the old position continuously lightly touches the string during the course of the shift to end up on its correct place in the new position. In elementary shifting exercises the "guide finger"
804-521: A string quartet or a string orchestra , the strings typically "sweeten" their tuning to suit the key they are playing in. When playing with an instrument tuned to equal temperament , such as a piano , skilled violinists adjust their tuning to match the equal temperament of the piano to avoid discordant notes. The fingers are conventionally numbered 1 (index) through 4 (little finger) in music notation , such as sheet music and etude books. Especially in instructional editions of violin music, numbers over
938-407: A "freak player," most referred to him in this way because of his ability to utilize a variety of mutes and playing techniques, such as flutter-tonguing and half-valving. Others, however, insist that Keppard was a "much straighter player" than Joe Oliver. Additionally, while qualified listeners like Jelly Roll Morton were full of praise for Keppard's playing style, others like the younger Louis Armstrong
1072-475: A Guarneri. "The Messiah" or "Le Messie" (also known as the "Salabue") made by Antonio Stradivari in 1716 remains pristine. It is now located in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford . The most famous violin makers ( luthiers ) between the 16th century and the 18th century include: Significant changes occurred in the construction of the violin in the 18th century, particularly a longer neck which
1206-504: A Stradivari violin is £ 9.8 million ( US$ 15.9 million at that time), when the instrument known as the Lady Blunt was sold by Tarisio Auctions in an online auction on June 20, 2011. A violin generally consists of a spruce top (the soundboard , also known as the top plate , table , or belly ), maple ribs and back, two endblocks, a neck , a bridge , a soundpost, four strings, and various fittings, optionally including
1340-423: A blues singer and another artist who had been largely forgotten until she made her comeback in her eighties, also wondered why Freddie Keppard was often overlooked or unmentioned in many accounts of the histories of jazz. "You know," she reportedly said, "he doesn't get the credit he should get." Some of the commentary on Keppard's playing, however, is admittedly quite contradictory. Of those who spoke of Keppard as
1474-517: A caption describing himself as the "star cornetist" of the "Creole Ragtime Band," probably considered himself the star of the Original Creole Orchestra . Although he was the youngest member of the band, he is perhaps the most well-known of all of its members and is more often mentioned in histories of jazz. This is most likely because he was one of the few members to make surviving recordings. Because of his relative fame compared to
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#17327729975501608-452: A colored silk wrapping at both ends, for identification of the string (e.g., G string, D string, A string or E string) and to provide friction against the pegs. The tapered pegs allow friction to be increased or decreased by the player applying appropriate pressure along the axis of the peg while turning it. Strings were first made of sheep gut (commonly known as catgut , which despite the name, did not come from cats), or simply gut, which
1742-453: A fellow New Orleans trumpeter recalled, when Keppard was feeling good, "he'd get devilish sometimes and he'd neigh on the trumpet like a horse" to be humorous. Musicians from Keppard's time who had either worked with him or heard him play praised his technical abilities and creativity. Mutt Carey , while respecting King Oliver, spoke of Keppard as the king of New Orleans jazz, calling him the best cornetist before Louis Armstrong. Freddie had
1876-554: A few years after the band dissolved, Peyton asserted that "when they hit Broadway they were a great sensation and would be on the road today were it not for dissatisfaction among themselves and the loss of several of their members by death." About 1917, Keppard settled in Chicago , which would remain his home (except for briefly going to the East Coast to work with Tim Brymn's band about 1920). Soon after he had settled himself into
2010-443: A fingered A on the D string against the open A string), giving a ringing sort of "fiddling" sound. Playing an open string simultaneously with an identical stopped note can also be called for when more volume is required, especially in orchestral playing. Some classical violin parts have notes for which the composer requests the violinist to play an open string, because of the specific sonority created by an open string. Double stopping
2144-456: A fixed-pitch instrument such as a piano or accordion, the violin tunes to the corresponding note on that instrument rather than to any other tuning reference. The oboe is generally the instrument used to tune orchestras where violins are present since its sound is penetrating and can be heard over the other woodwinds.) The other strings are then tuned against each other in intervals of perfect fifths by bowing them in pairs. A minutely higher tuning
2278-592: A half generation. It follows ragtime by the same margin. Keppard may have appeared on a few other recordings; many more are often dubiously attributed to him. Keppard was widely imitated both in New Orleans and Chicago, including contemporaneous and highly regarded players such as Louis Panico and Frank Guarente . Other recordings Keppard made include songs titled "Salty Dog," "Adam's Apple," "Stomp Time Blues," and "Messing Around." Several musicians with clear memories of Buddy Bolden said that Freddie Keppard sounded
2412-399: A lot of ideas and a big tone too. When he hit a note you knew it was a hit. I mean he had a beautiful tone and he played with so much feeling too. Yes, he had everything: he was ready in every respect. Keppard could play any kind of song good. Technique, attack, tone, and ideas were all there. He didn't have very much formal musical education but he sure was a natural musician. All you had to do
2546-414: A metal screw that moves a lever attached to the string end. They permit very small pitch adjustments much more easily than the pegs. Turning a fine tuner clockwise causes the pitch to become sharper (as the string is under more tension), and turning it counterclockwise, the pitch becomes flatter (as the string is under less tension). Fine tuners on all four of the strings are very helpful when using those with
2680-456: A non-reader who, instead of reading arrangements, most likely learned all of his parts by ear and used his powerful and imaginative abilities to improvise parts that were even better. Freddie played violin , mandolin , and accordion before switching to cornet . By the time he was ten years old, Freddie had already learned to play mandolin and was performing in a duo with Louis around their neighborhood. He did not begin playing cornet until he
2814-464: A number of reasons. Hide glue is capable of making a thinner joint than most other glues. It is reversible (brittle enough to crack with carefully applied force and removable with hot water) when disassembly is needed. Since fresh hide glue sticks to old hide glue, more original wood can be preserved when repairing a joint. (More modern glues must be cleaned off entirely for the new joint to be sound, which generally involves scraping off some wood along with
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#17327729975502948-438: A particular technical challenge, for two reasons. Firstly, the difference in location of different notes becomes much narrower in high positions, making the notes more challenging to locate and in some cases to distinguish by ear. Secondly, the much shorter sounding length of the string in very high positions is a challenge for the right arm and bow in sounding the instrument effectively. The finer (and more expensive) an instrument,
3082-475: A screw adjuster tightens or loosens the hair. Just forward of the frog, a leather thumb cushion (called the grip) and a winding protect the stick and provide a secure hold for the player's hand. Traditional windings are of wire (often silver or plated silver), silk, or baleen ("whalebone", now substituted by alternating strips of tan and black plastic.) Some fiberglass student bows employ a plastic sleeve as both grip and winding. Bow hair traditionally comes from
3216-616: A semitone higher, and the Mystery Sonatas by Biber , in which each movement has different scordatura tuning. In Indian classical music and Indian light music, the violin is likely to be tuned to D ♯ –A ♯ –D ♯ –A ♯ in the South Indian style. As there is no concept of absolute pitch in Indian classical music, musicians can use any convenient tuning to maintain these relative pitch intervals between
3350-415: A sign of an inferior instrument. The back and ribs are typically made of maple , most often with a matching striped figure , referred to as flame , fiddleback , or tiger stripe . The neck is usually maple with a flamed figure compatible with that of the ribs and back. It carries the fingerboard , typically made of ebony, but often some other wood stained or painted black on cheaper instruments. Ebony
3484-417: A small frame may use a so-called 7 ⁄ 8 size violin instead of a full-size instrument. Sometimes called a lady's violin , these instruments are slightly shorter than a full size violin, but tend to be high-quality instruments capable of producing a sound comparable to that of fine full size violins. The sizes of 5-string violins may differ from the normal 4-string. The instrument which corresponds to
3618-571: A soloist and with the bands of Jimmie Noone , Johnny Dodds , Erskine Tate , Doc Cook (for several years), Don Pasqual, Lil Hardin Armstrong , Ollie Powers, and John Wycliffe , all of which were highly respected local bands. Keppard was one of the first to bring jazz to the West Coast. Don Pasqual, who played reed instruments for Doc Cook for some time, had much to say about Keppard's contributions to Doc Cook's band: Keppard really gave
3752-574: A song called "Tack 'em Down" made by the "Creole Jass Band" on December 2, 1918 nearly two years after Keppard's first performance in New York. This recording may have been Keppard and the Original Creole Band. The first recordings of New Orleans/Dixieland jazz came out in the 1920s, nearly two decades after the "hot" New Orleans sound and style had first been developed. By the time musicians of color like Freddie Keppard were recording,
3886-413: A specific sound especially in historically informed performance of Baroque music . Strings have a limited lifetime. Eventually, when oil, dirt, corrosion, and rosin accumulate, the mass of the string can become uneven along its length. Apart from obvious things, such as the winding of a string coming undone from wear, players generally change a string when it no longer plays "true" (with good intonation on
4020-404: A sponge and an elastic band for younger players who struggle with shoulder rests). The jaw and the shoulder must hold the violin firmly enough to allow it to remain stable when the left hand goes from a high position (a high pitched note far up on the fingerboard) to a low one (nearer to the pegbox). In the Indian posture, the stability of the violin is guaranteed by its scroll resting on the side of
4154-464: A steel core, and some players use them with synthetic strings. Since modern E strings are steel, a fine tuner is nearly always fitted for that string. Fine tuners are not used with gut strings, which are more elastic than steel or synthetic-core strings and do not respond adequately to the very small movements of fine tuners. To tune a violin, the A string is first tuned to a standard pitch (usually A=440 Hz ). (When accompanying or playing with
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4288-441: A string is bowed or plucked without any finger stopping it, it is said to be an open string . This gives a different sound from a stopped string, since the string vibrates more freely at the nut than under a finger. Further, it is impossible to use vibrato fully on an open string (though a partial effect can be achieved by stopping a note an octave up on an adjacent string and vibrating that, which introduces an element of vibrato into
4422-462: A tour bus, Armstrong instructed the bus driver to stop in front of Keppard's apartment. The band went up the stairs to offer their greetings to the "old-timer." Violin The violin , sometimes referred as a fiddle , is a wooden chordophone , and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano ) in regular use in the violin family . Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including
4556-507: A violin are usually made from different types of wood . Violins can be strung with gut , Perlon or other synthetic, or steel strings. A person who makes or repairs violins is called a luthier or violinmaker. One who makes or repairs bows is called an archetier or bowmaker . The word "violin" was first used in English in the 1570s. The word "violin" comes from "Italian violino , [a] diminutive of viola . The term "viola" comes from
4690-465: Is Camille Saint-Saëns ' Danse Macabre , where the solo violin's E string is tuned down to E ♭ to impart an eerie dissonance to the composition. Other examples are the third movement of Contrasts , by Béla Bartók , where the E string is tuned down to E ♭ and the G tuned to a G ♯ , Niccolò Paganini 's First Violin Concerto , where all four strings are designated to be tuned
4824-495: Is 356 mm (14.0 in), smaller in some 17th-century models. A 3 ⁄ 4 violin's body length is 335 mm (13.2 in), and a 1 ⁄ 2 size is 310 mm (12.2 in). With the violin's closest family member, the viola, size is specified as body length in inches or centimeters rather than fractional sizes. A full-size viola averages 40 cm (16 in). However, each individual adult will determine which size of viola to use. Occasionally, an adult with
4958-410: Is angled more toward the back of the instrument than in earlier examples, heavier strings, and a heavier bass bar. The majority of old instruments have undergone these modifications, and hence are in a significantly different state than when they left the hands of their makers, doubtless with differences in sound and response. But it is in their present (modified) condition that these instruments have set
5092-464: Is generally thought to be the maximum number of strings practical on a bowed string instrument; with more than seven strings, it would be impossible to play any particular inner string individually with the bow. Violins with seven strings are very rare. The extra strings on such violins typically are lower in pitch than the G-string; these strings are usually tuned (going from the highest added string to
5226-424: Is largely determined by the skill of the player, who may easily play more than two octaves on a single string, and four octaves on the instrument as a whole. Position names are mostly used for the lower positions and in method books and etudes; for this reason, it is uncommon to hear references to anything higher than seventh position. The highest position, practically speaking, is 13th position. Very high positions are
5360-448: Is less well defined: E 7 , the E two octaves above the open string (which is tuned to E 5 ) may be considered a practical limit for orchestral violin parts, but it is often possible to play higher, depending on the length of the fingerboard and the skill of the violinist. Yet higher notes (up to C 8 ) can be sounded by stopping the string, reaching the limit of the fingerboard, and/or by using artificial harmonics . The arched shape,
5494-609: Is likely to be tuned (E–A–E–A) in Dastgah-h Esfahan or in Dastgāh-e Šur is (E–A–D–E) and (E–A–E–E), in Dastgāh-e Māhur is (E–A–D–A). In Arabic classical music, the A and E strings are lowered by a whole step , i.e. G–D–G–D. This is to ease playing Arabic maqams , especially those containing quarter tones . While most violins have four strings, there are violins with additional strings, some with as many as seven. Seven
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5628-425: Is often indicated in the music by the marking, for example, sul G or IV (a Roman numeral indicating to play on the fourth string; by convention, the strings are numbered from thinnest, highest pitch (I) to the lowest pitch (IV)). Even without an explicit instructions in the score, an advanced violinist will use her/his discretion and artistic sensibility to select which string to play specific notes or passages. If
5762-419: Is often voiced while gliding up or down the string, so the player can establish correct placement by ear. Outside of these exercises it should rarely be audible (unless the performer is consciously applying a portamento effect for expressive reasons). In the course of a shift in low positions, the thumb of the left hand moves up or down the neck of the instrument so as to remain in the same position relative to
5896-456: Is played with the fourth finger on the E-string, sounding a B5. Moving the hand up the neck, the first finger takes the place of the second finger, bringing the player into second position . Letting the first finger take the first-position place of the third finger brings the player to third position , and so on. A change of positions, with its associated movement of the hand, is referred to as
6030-400: Is related to Old Norse fiðla , Middle Dutch vedele , Dutch vedel , Old High German fidula , German Fiedel , ' a fiddle ' ; all of uncertain origin." As to the origin of the word "fiddle", the "...usual suggestion, based on resemblance in sound and sense, is that it is from Medieval Latin vitula ." The earliest stringed instruments were mostly plucked (for example,
6164-470: Is said to have described Keppard's playing as "fancy" (in an unflattering sense of the word). Keppard made all his known recordings in Chicago from 1923 to 1927. The only recordings he is certainly on are three sides under his own name ("Freddie Keppard's Jazz Cardinals"), two with Erskine Tate's Vendome Orchestra, and a dozen with Doc Cook 's Orchestra. These feature Keppard on second cornet. Second cornet
6298-460: Is seen in classical music which is imitating the drone of an organ (J. S. Bach, in his Partita in E for solo violin, achieved this), fiddling (e.g., Hoedown ) or where taking steps to avoid the open string is musically inappropriate (for instance in Baroque music where shifting position was less common). In quick passages of scales or arpeggios an open E string may simply be used for convenience if
6432-448: Is sometimes employed for solo playing to give the instrument a brighter sound; conversely, Baroque music is sometimes played using lower tunings to make the violin's sound more gentle. After tuning, the instrument's bridge may be examined to ensure that it is standing straight and centered between the inner nicks of the f-holes ; a crooked bridge may significantly affect the sound of an otherwise well-made violin. After extensive playing,
6566-406: Is the preferred material because of its hardness, beauty, and superior resistance to wear. Fingerboards are dressed to a particular transverse curve, and have a small lengthwise "scoop," or concavity, slightly more pronounced on the lower strings, especially when meant for gut or synthetic strings. Some old violins (and some made to appear old) have a grafted scroll , evidenced by a glue joint between
6700-413: Is used sometimes in lieu of adequate ear-training, guiding the placement of fingers by eye and not by ear. Especially in the early stages of learning to play, the so-called "ringing tones" are useful. There are nine such notes in first position, where a stopped note sounds a unison or octave with another (open) string, causing it to resonate sympathetically . Students often use these ringing tones to check
6834-487: Is usually played seated. In the 2000s and 2010s, some orchestras performing Baroque music (such as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra ) have had all of their violins and violas, solo and ensemble, perform standing up. The standard way of holding the violin is with the left side of the jaw resting on the chinrest of the violin, and supported by the left shoulder, often assisted by a shoulder rest (or
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#17327729975506968-531: Is when two separate strings are stopped by the fingers and bowed simultaneously, producing two continuous tones (typical intervals include 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, and octaves). Double-stops can be indicated in any position, though the widest interval that can be double-stopped naturally in one position is an octave (with the index finger on the lower string and the pinky finger on the higher string). Nonetheless, intervals of tenths or even more are sometimes required to be double-stopped in advanced repertoire, resulting in
7102-533: The Original Dixieland Jazz Band , an all-white band, had already made the first jazz recordings and had dominated the market for jazz recordings with their million-dollar hit "Livery Stable Blues." The ODJB's rendition of "Livery Stable Blues" came from a song Freddie Keppard performed. According to Keppard's contemporaries, the barnyard effects in the ODJB's version were jokes. As Mutt Carey ,
7236-419: The violino piccolo and the pochette , but these are virtually unused. Most violins have a hollow wooden body, and commonly have four strings (sometimes five ), usually tuned in perfect fifths with notes G3, D4, A4, E5, and are most commonly played by drawing a bow across the strings. The violin can also be played by plucking the strings with the fingers ( pizzicato ) and, in specialized cases, by striking
7370-590: The "Original Creole Band") landed jobs at Loew's Orpheum, Lexington Opera House, and the Columbia Theater, as well as a return performance to the Winter Garden. Newspaper reviewers in New York commented on the "rather ragged selection" of the band's repertoire as well as the "comedy effect of the clarinet," a testament to the American public's unfamiliarity with the "hot" style of New Orleans. During
7504-409: The A string, and the fourth finger is in a downward extension from its regular position, e.g. D ♮ on the A string, with the other two fingers placed in between as required. As the position of the thumb is typically the same in "half position" as in first position, it is better thought of as a backwards extension of the whole hand than as a genuine position. The upper limit of the violin's range
7638-407: The Chicago jazz scene, however, King Oliver became Chicago's "cornet king" and was said to have attracted crowds by "thrusting his horn out of a window and blowing Keppard down." Nevertheless, Keppard did well in finding continuous employment with a wide range of bandleaders, at one point leading his own group with Jimmie Noone on clarinet and Paul Barbarin on drums. Keppard worked in Chicago both as
7772-608: The French fashion, with relatively even accentuation and a silent d ) was born in the Creole of Color community of downtown New Orleans , Louisiana . Born in 1890, Keppard was Buddy Bolden 's junior by thirteen years and Louis Armstrong 's senior by eleven years. Keppard's father, Louis Keppard Sr., had been a New Orleans man and had worked as a cook in the Vieux Carré until his early death. His mother, Emily (Peterson) Keppard,
7906-667: The French king Charles IX ordered Andrea Amati to construct 24 violins for him in 1560. One of these "noble" instruments, the Charles IX , is the oldest surviving violin. The finest Renaissance carved and decorated violin in the world is the Gasparo da Salò ( c. 1574) owned by Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria and later, from 1841, by the Norwegian virtuoso Ole Bull , who used it for forty years and thousands of concerts, for its very powerful and beautiful tone, similar to that of
8040-726: The Greek lyre ). Two-stringed, bowed instruments, played upright and strung and bowed with horsehair, may have originated in the nomadic equestrian cultures of Central Asia, in forms closely resembling the modern-day Mongolian Morin huur and the Kazakh Kobyz . Similar and variant types were probably disseminated along east–west trading routes from Asia into the Middle East, and the Byzantine Empire . Rebec , fiddle and lira da braccio are generally considered
8174-625: The Magnolia Orchestra, which became the regular band at Huntz's and Nagel's cabaret on Iberville in the District. The Magnolia Orchestra included Joe Oliver on cornet, who would later succeed Keppard's title as "King" by winning a "cutting contest" against him. After playing with the Olympia Orchestra , Freddie Keppard joined Frankie Dusen 's Eagle Band, taking the place recently vacated by Buddy Bolden . Soon after Bolden
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#17327729975508308-586: The Original Creole Orchestra. In other words, he simply didn't want to make the recordings because the Victor Company represented big business and commercialization. Thus, if Keppard had agreed to make recordings for them with the Original Creole Band, the music would no longer have been for pure enjoyment but would have been turned into a commodity. In the Victor Company files, there is a listing for an unnumbered test recording for
8442-485: The Orpheum Theatre circuit out of San Francisco in 1913 as the "Original Creole Orchestra". In the following years, the band would tour Chicago and New York. In their 1915 performance at the Winter Garden, for a show entitled Town Topics , the group was billed as "That Creole Band." Thus, Freddie Keppard was among the first musicians as well as the first cornetist to take the New Orleans ensemble style outside of
8576-515: The Victor Company's highest paid and best-selling artist of the time, Enrico Caruso . The band continued touring successfully until the group finally broke up in 1918. According to Dave Peyton, who had been the leader of the Grand Theater Orchestra in 1915, the Original Creole Band had been so popular when the group hit Chicago that they "were bidded for by every theatrical agency in the city." They were so popular, in fact, that,
8710-469: The Victor representative had asked them to make a "test recording" without pay. The band balked, fearing it was a ploy to have them make records without being paid. Another popular rumor which traveled through some of the New York jazz circles for some time also suggested that Keppard had refused to record because he had been afraid of being cheated by the record company and had demanded the same fees as that of
8844-585: The ancestors of the violin, Several sources suggest alternative possibilities for the violin's origins, such as northern or western Europe. The first makers of violins probably borrowed from various developments of the Byzantine lyra. These included the vielle (also known as the fidel or viuola ) and the lira da braccio . The violin in its present form emerged in early 16th-century northern Italy . The earliest pictures of violins, albeit with three strings, are seen in northern Italy around 1530, at around
8978-404: The band a lift and then we really went to town. Later, Andrew Hilaire and Johnny St. Cyr joined the band. Doc Cook seldom wrote out any special parts for Freddie Keppard but would just give him his head and while we were playing the arrangements Keppard would do anything he wanted. After he found steady employment in Chicago, Keppard's style helped create a demand for more New Orleans groups, paving
9112-757: The band over the years were: Harold "Duke" Dejan, leader and alto saxophone; Emanuel "Pappy" Paul & Ernest Watson tenor saxophone; clarinetists Willie Humphrey, Joseph Torregano and David Grillier; trumpeters Milton Batiste (assistant leader), Edmond Foucher, George "Kid Sheik" Colar, Reginald Koeller, Kenneth Terry, and Mervin Campbell; trombonists Paul Crawford, Frank Naundorf, Wendell Eugene , Eddie King, Gerald Joseph, and Lester Caliste; sousaphonists Allan Jaffe , William "Coby" Brown, Anthony Lacen aka "Tuba Fats," Edgar Smith, and Jeffrey Hills; snare drummers Andrew Jefferson, Leroy "Boogie" Breaux, Kerry "Fatman" Hunter; bass drummers Henry "Booker T." Glass, Nowell "Papa" Glass, and Cayetano "Tanio" Hingle. Grand marshals for
9246-544: The band was offered a chance to record for the Victor Talking Machine Company . This would probably have been the first jazz recording. An often repeated story says that Keppard didn't want to record because then everyone else could "steal his stuff." This fear, however, was not too far-fetched if we think forward to the Alligators in Chicago taking King Olivers' material, such as in the case of
9380-430: The band were Matthew "Fats" Houston (1911–81), Anderson Minor, Anderson Stewart, and Richard "King" Matthews, whose death in 2010 is considered to have ended the band's history. Although the band left numerous recordings, none is more prevalent than their recording of "The Westlawn Funeral Dirge" which featured Emanuel Paul on the tenor saxophone. The Olympia Brass Band is profiled in the book, The Great Olympia Band by
9514-583: The band's time on the east coast, other personnel who came to play in the Original Creole Orchestra included Bab Frank on piccolo and Big Eye Louis Nelson (De Lisle) on clarinet. The Original Creole Orchestra, after touring the Vaudeville circuit, gave other parts of the USA a first taste of the music that was not yet known as "jazz" . While playing a successful engagement in New York City in 1915,
9648-425: The beat or [anticipating] it," making his "phrasing excitable, even tense." Whereas "Armstrong seems to favor extended four or eight-measure structure, Keppard [built] his units out of shorter modules" underscored by vibrato. Gushee also argues that Keppard used a much more "rapid vibrato, more like an ornament, that could be used anyplace in a phrase." Armstrong and Keppard met, but unfortunately, their first encounter
9782-415: The better able it is to sustain good tone right to the top of the fingerboard, at the highest pitches on the E string. All notes (except those below the open D) can be played on more than one string. This is a standard design feature of stringed instruments; however, it differs from the piano, which has only one location for each of its 88 notes. For instance, the note of open A on the violin can be played as
9916-420: The body off balance and makes the shoulders rise. Another sign that comes from unhealthy tension is pain in the left hand, which indicates too much pressure when holding the violin. The left hand determines the sounding length of the string, and thus the pitch of the string, by "stopping" it (pressing it) against the fingerboard with the fingertips, producing different pitches. As the violin has no frets to stop
10050-652: The city. In 1914, Keppard's band performed in Canada , at the Pantages Playhouse Theatres in Winnipeg , the first ever jazz performance outside the United States. This was the beginning of jazz as an international art form, although the name jazz was still a couple years in the future, the band performing as a ragtime band at the time. Keppard, who signed one photograph of himself with
10184-491: The competitive New Orleans jazz scene. Freddie Keppard organized the Olympia Orchestra around 1905. This band featured Alphonse Picou on clarinet. As a Creole band, the Olympia Orchestra would have been expected to play a wide repertoire for a variety of gigs, and therefore could play "legitimate" enough to get society jobs, yet "hot" enough to get jobs at the uptown jazz halls a few years later. Louis Keppard led
10318-400: The correct positions on full-sized instruments. While related in some sense to the dimensions of the instruments, the fractional sizes are not intended to be literal descriptions of relative proportions. For example, a 3 ⁄ 4 -sized instrument is not three-quarters the length of a full size instrument. The body length (not including the neck) of a full-size, or 4 ⁄ 4 , violin
10452-429: The expression for "tenor violin" in 1797, from Italian and Old Provençal viola , [which came from] Medieval Latin vitula as a term which means ' stringed instrument ' , perhaps [coming] from Vitula , Roman goddess of joy..., or from related Latin verb vitulari , "to cry out in joy or exaltation." The related term Viola da gamba meaning ' bass viol ' (1724) is from Italian, literally "a viola for
10586-400: The fingers (though the movement of the thumb may occur slightly before, or slightly after, the movement of the fingers). In such positions, the thumb is often thought of as an 'anchor' whose location defines what position the player is in. In very high positions, the thumb is unable to move with the fingers as the body of the instrument gets in the way. Instead, the thumb works around the neck of
10720-447: The first finger back down to a C ♯ , or the fourth finger up to an A ♮ , forms an extension. Extensions are commonly used where one or two notes are slightly out of an otherwise solid position, and give the benefit of being less intrusive than a shift or string crossing. The lowest position on the violin is referred to as "half position". In this position the first finger is on a "low first position" note, e.g. B ♭ on
10854-410: The foot. While teachers point out the vital importance of good posture both for the sake of the quality of the playing and to reduce the chance of repetitive strain injury , advice as to what good posture is and how to achieve it differs in details. However, all insist on the importance of a natural relaxed position without tension or rigidity. Things which are almost universally recommended are keeping
10988-432: The graduation (the thickness profile) of both the top and back, the varnish that coats its outside surface and the skill of the luthier in doing all of these steps. The varnish and especially the wood continue to improve with age, making the fixed supply of old well-made violins built by famous luthiers much sought-after. The majority of glued joints in the instrument use animal hide glue rather than common white glue for
11122-413: The harmonics), losing the desired tone, brilliance and intonation. String longevity depends on string quality and playing intensity. A violin is tuned in fifths, in the notes G 3 , D 4 , A 4 , E 5 . The lowest note of a violin, tuned normally, is G 3 , or G below middle C (C4) . (On rare occasions, the lowest string may be tuned down by as much as a fourth, to D 3 .) The highest note playable
11256-475: The initiative to organize an "Original Creole Ragtime Band" to play the New Orleans style across the country. He invited players from his hometown of New Orleans, including Freddie Keppard, to join him in this enterprise. After Keppard accepted his invitation to play cornet for this band, Johnson managed to get Eddie Vinson on trombone, George Baquet on clarinet, Norwood Williams on guitar, Jimmy Palao on violin, and later Dink Johnson on drums. This group went on
11390-701: The instrument a more powerful sound and projection. In Europe, it served as the basis for the development of other stringed instruments used in Western classical music, such as the viola . Violinists and collectors particularly prize the fine historical instruments made by the Stradivari , Guarneri , Guadagnini and Amati families from the 16th to the 18th century in Brescia and Cremona (Italy) and by Jacob Stainer in Austria. According to their reputation,
11524-446: The instrument to sit at the point at which the neck meets the right bout of the body, and remains there while the fingers move between the high positions. A note played outside of the normal compass of a position, without any shift, is referred to as an extension . For instance, in third position on the A string, the hand naturally sits with the first finger on D ♮ and the fourth on either G ♮ or G ♯ . Stretching
11658-401: The intonation of the stopped note by seeing if it is harmonious with the open string. For example, when playing the stopped pitch "A" on the G string, the violinist could play the open D string at the same time, to check the intonation of the stopped "A". If the "A" is in tune, the "A" and the open D string should produce a harmonious perfect fourth. Violins are tuned in perfect fifths, like all
11792-624: The late English writer Mick Burns, and Keeping the Beat on the Street: The New Orleans Brass Band Renaissance also by Mick Burns. Freddie Keppard Freddie Keppard (sometimes rendered as Freddy Keppard ; February 27, 1890 – July 15, 1933) was an American jazz cornetist who once held the title of "King" in the New Orleans jazz scene. This title was previously held by Buddy Bolden and succeeded by Joe Oliver . Keppard (pronounced in
11926-404: The left hand on the fingerboard is characterized by "positions". First position, where most beginners start (although some methods start in third position), is the most commonly used position in string music. Music composed for beginning youth orchestras is often mostly in first position. The lowest note available in this position in standard tuning is an open G3; the highest note in first position
12060-410: The left wrist straight (or very nearly so) to allow the fingers of the left hand to move freely and to reduce the chance of injury and keeping either shoulder in a natural relaxed position and avoiding raising either of them in an exaggerated manner. This, like any other unwarranted tension, would limit freedom of motion, and increase the risk of injury. Hunching can hamper good playing because it throws
12194-506: The leg" (i.e. to hold between the legs)." A violin is the "modern form of the smaller, medieval viola da braccio ." ("arm viola") The violin is often called a fiddle. "Fiddle" can be used as the instrument's customary name in folk music, or as an informal name for the instrument in other styles of music. The word "fiddle" was first used in English in the late 14th century. The word "fiddle" comes from "fedele, fydyll, fidel, earlier fithele, from Old English fiðele ' fiddle ' , which
12328-510: The lowest) to C, F, and B ♭ . If the instrument's playing length, or string length from nut to bridge, is equal to that of an ordinary full-scale violin; i.e., a bit less than 13 inches (33 cm), then it may be properly termed a violin. Some such instruments are somewhat longer and should be regarded as violas. Violins with five strings or more are typically used in jazz or folk music. Some custom-made instruments have extra strings which are not bowed, but which sound sympathetically, due to
12462-508: The most like Bolden of anyone who recorded. This is how many jazz historians propose that Keppard got his fame but also how he lost it. Keppard did not have a sound of his own and he came up in between Buddy, Oliver, and Armstrong. Keppard was extremely talented but was not unique. Others, like Lawrence Gushee, insist that Keppard did have a unique approach to playing the cornet, which simply became overshadowed by Louis Armstrong's powerful influence. Gushee describes Keppard as "frequently on top of
12596-413: The note does not have time to ring and develop a harsh timbre. In folk music, fiddling and other traditional music genres, open strings are commonly used for their resonant timbre. Playing an open string simultaneously with a stopped note on an adjacent string produces a bagpipe -like drone, often used by composers in imitation of folk music . Sometimes the two notes are identical (for instance, playing
12730-462: The notes may indicate which finger to use, with 0 or O indicating an open string. The chart to the right shows the arrangement of notes reachable in first position. Not shown on this chart is the way the spacing between note positions becomes closer as the fingers move up (in pitch) from the nut. The bars at the sides of the chart represent the usual possibilities for beginners' tape placements, at 1st, high 2nd, 3rd, and 4th fingers. The placement of
12864-408: The old glue.) Weaker, diluted glue is usually used to fasten the top to the ribs, and the nut to the fingerboard, since common repairs involve removing these parts. The purfling running around the edge of the spruce top provides some protection against cracks originating at the edge. It also allows the top to flex more independently of the rib structure. Painted-on faux purfling on the top is usually
12998-441: The onset of such wear while allowing the pegs to turn smoothly. The tuning G–D–A–E is used for most violin music, including Classical music, jazz, and folk music . Other tunings are occasionally employed; the G string, for example, can be tuned up to A. The use of nonstandard tunings in classical music is known as scordatura ; in some folk styles, it is called cross tuning . One famous example of scordatura in classical music
13132-434: The open A, or on the D string (in first to fourth positions) or even on the G string (very high up in sixth to ninth positions). Each string has a different tone quality , because of the different weights (thicknesses) of the strings and because of the resonances of other open strings. For instance, the G string is often regarded as having a very full, sonorous sound which is particularly appropriate to late Romantic music. This
13266-462: The orchestral strings (violin, viola, cello) except the double bass, which is tuned in perfect fourths. Each subsequent note is stopped at a pitch the player perceives as the most harmonious, "when unaccompanied, [a violinist] does not play consistently in either the tempered or the natural [just] scale, but tends on the whole to conform with the Pythagorean scale ." When violinists are playing in
13400-466: The other band members, many assume that the Creole Band was led by Keppard. There is, however, no evidence that Keppard played any major role in the organization of the band (planning tours and events, choosing songs for the repertoire, signing contracts, etc.). As such, Bill Johnson was most likely the leader of the group. From 1915 to 1917, the Original Creole Orchestra (sometimes also rendered as
13534-492: The other strings, especially on a student instrument, and are sometimes built into the tailpiece. The fine tuners enable the performer to make small changes in the pitch of a string. At the scroll end, the strings wind around the wooden tuning pegs in the pegbox. The tuning pegs are tapered and fit into holes in the peg box. The tuning pegs are held in place by the friction of wood on wood. Strings may be made of metal or less commonly gut or gut wrapped in metal. Strings usually have
13668-415: The overtones). In the classical tradition, violinists will often use a string crossing or shift of position to allow them to avoid the change of timbre introduced by an open string, unless indicated by the composer. This is particularly true for the open E which is often regarded as having a harsh sound. However, there are also situations where an open string may be specifically chosen for artistic effect. This
13802-423: The pegbox and neck. Many authentic old instruments have had their necks reset to a slightly increased angle, and lengthened by about a centimeter. The neck graft allows the original scroll to be kept with a Baroque violin when bringing its neck into conformance with modern standards. The bridge is a precisely cut piece of maple that forms the lower anchor point of the vibrating length of the strings and transmits
13936-411: The pickups plugged into instrument amplifiers and speakers to produce sound. The violin has come to be incorporated in many non-Western music cultures, including Indian music and Iranian music . The name fiddle is often used regardless of the type of music played on it. The violin was first known in 16th-century Italy, with some further modifications occurring in the 18th and 19th centuries to give
14070-474: The quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, though this belief is disputed. Great numbers of instruments have come from the hands of less famous makers, as well as still greater numbers of mass-produced commercial "trade violins" coming from cottage industries in places such as Saxony , Bohemia , and Mirecourt . Many of these trade instruments were formerly sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co. and other mass merchandisers. The components of
14204-528: The recording company offered him a $ 25 flat fee to make a record (a fairly standard rate for non-star performers at the time), far less than he was earning on the Vaudeville circuit. His retort to this offer, according to Lawrence Gushee , was: "Twenty-Five dollars? I drink that much gin in a day!" The reminiscences of the other members of the Creole Orchestra reveal that another factor was that
14338-526: The recording of Oliver's "Eccentric" by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Another well known story is that he was so worried about being copied that he sometimes played with a handkerchief over his hand to conceal his fingering. Keppard's famous tendency to hide his fingerings during performances, however, was most likely a publicity stunt intended only to amuse the crowd. After all, a real musician would steal by ear and not by eye. In any case,
14472-567: The same time as the words "violino" and "vyollon" are seen in Italian and French documents. One of the earliest explicit descriptions of the instrument, including its tuning, is from the Epitome musical by Jambe de Fer , published in Lyon in 1556. By this time, the violin had already begun to spread throughout Europe . The violin proved very popular, both among street musicians and the nobility;
14606-404: The standard for perfection in violin craftsmanship and sound, and violin makers all over the world try to come as close to this ideal as possible. To this day, instruments from the so-called Golden Age of violin making , especially those made by Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù, and Montagnana, are the most sought-after instruments by both collectors and performers. The current record amount paid for
14740-423: The stick, at all levels of craftsmanship. Inexpensive bows for students are made of less costly timbers, or from fiberglass (Glasser). The violin is played either seated or standing up. Solo players (whether playing alone, with a piano or with an orchestra) play mostly standing up (unless prevented by a physical disability such as in the case of Itzhak Perlman ). In contrast, in the orchestra and in chamber music it
14874-580: The strings with the wooden side of the bow ( col legno ). Violins are important instruments in a wide variety of musical genres. They are most prominent in the Western classical tradition , both in ensembles (from chamber music to orchestras ) and as solo instruments. Violins are also important in many varieties of folk music , including country music , bluegrass music , and in jazz . Electric violins with solid bodies and piezoelectric pickups are used in some forms of rock music and jazz fusion , with
15008-425: The strings, as is usual with the guitar , the player must know exactly where to place the fingers on the strings to play with good intonation (tuning). Beginning violinists play open strings and the lowest position, nearest to the nut. Students often start with relatively easy keys, such as A Major and G major. Students are taught scales and simple melodies. Through practice of scales and arpeggios and ear training ,
15142-524: The strings. Another prevalent tuning with these intervals is B ♭ –F–B ♭ –F, which corresponds to Sa–Pa–Sa–Pa in the Indian carnatic classical music style. In the North Indian Hindustani style, the tuning is usually Pa-Sa-Pa-Sa instead of Sa–Pa–Sa–Pa. This could correspond to F–B ♭ –F–B ♭ , for instance. In Iranian classical music and Iranian light music, the violin has different tunings in each Dastgah ; it
15276-409: The summer of 1919, at a time when half of New Orleans followed Joe Oliver and half the town followed Keppard. Humphrey recalled that Keppard was known as the musician's musician, Jelly Roll Morton's favorite musician, and "everybody's all-star." Freddie had such beautiful tone. Such beautiful tone. Good ideas. Freddie played all over his horn. He had a different style altogether from Joe Oliver. Oliver
15410-470: The tail of a grey male horse (which has predominantly white hair). Some cheaper bows use synthetic fiber. Solid rosin is rubbed onto the hair, to render it slightly sticky; when the bow is drawn across a string, the friction between them makes the string vibrate. Traditional materials for the more costly bow sticks include snakewood , and brazilwood (which is also known as Pernambuco wood). Some recent bow design innovations use carbon fiber (CodaBows) for
15544-716: The thickness of the wood, and its physical qualities govern the sound of a violin. Patterns of the node made by sand or glitter sprinkled on the plates with the plate vibrated at certain frequencies, called Chladni patterns , are occasionally used by luthiers to verify their work before assembling the instrument. Apart from the standard full ( 4 ⁄ 4 ) size, violins are also made in so-called fractional sizes of 7 ⁄ 8 , 3 ⁄ 4 , 1 ⁄ 2 , 1 ⁄ 4 , 1 ⁄ 8 , 1 ⁄ 10 , 1 ⁄ 16 , 1 ⁄ 32 and even 1 ⁄ 64 . These smaller instruments are commonly used by young players whose fingers are not long enough to reach
15678-440: The top and the back of the instrument. The tailpiece anchors the strings to the lower bout of the violin by means of the tailgut, which loops around an ebony button called the tailpin (sometimes confusingly called the endpin , like the cello's spike), which fits into a tapered hole in the bottom block. The E string will often have a fine tuning lever worked by a small screw turned by the fingers. Fine tuners may also be applied to
15812-406: The tuning pegs and their holes can become worn, making the pegs more likely to slip under tension. A slipping peg leads to the pitch of the string dropping somewhat, or if the peg becomes completely loose, to the string completely losing tension. A violin in which the tuning pegs are slipping needs to be repaired by a luthier or violin repairperson. Peg dope or peg compound, used regularly, can delay
15946-424: The vibration of the strings to the body of the instrument. Its top curve holds the strings at the proper height from the fingerboard in an arc, allowing each to be sounded separately by the bow. The sound post , or soul post , fits precisely inside the instrument between the back and top, at a carefully chosen spot near the treble foot of the bridge, which it helps support. It also influences the modes of vibration of
16080-410: The vibrations of the bowed strings. A violin is usually played using a bow consisting of a stick with a ribbon of horsehair strung between the tip and frog (or nut, or heel) at opposite ends. A typical violin bow may be 75 cm (30 in) overall, and weigh about 60 g (2.1 oz). Viola bows may be about 5 mm (0.20 in) shorter and 10 g (0.35 oz) heavier. At the frog end,
16214-479: The violin in the violin octet is the mezzo violin, tuned the same as a violin but with a slightly longer body. The strings of the mezzo violin are the same length as those of the standard violin. This instrument is not in common use. Violins are tuned by turning the pegs in the pegbox under the scroll or by adjusting the fine tuner screws at the tailpiece . All violins have pegs; fine tuners (also called fine adjusters ) are optional. Most fine tuners consist of
16348-546: The violin, while his brother Louis first played guitar. When he was still a young boy, he and Louis, who by then had become an aspiring guitarist, would disguise their age from police by putting on long pants before going to Basin Street to shine shoes for a nickel a shine, hoping to get in on the music scene and get advice or even tutelage from their favorite musicians in the District while shoe-shining. As such, Keppard did not receive any formal musical training and may have been
16482-410: The violinist's left hand eventually "finds" the notes intuitively by muscle memory . Beginners sometimes rely on tapes placed on the fingerboard for proper left hand finger placement, but usually abandon the tapes quickly as they advance. Another commonly used marking technique uses dots of white-out on the fingerboard, which wear off in a few weeks of regular practice. This practice, unfortunately,
16616-414: The way for other New Orleans players seeking to migrate north. Throughout his travels, Keppard sent back clippings to his fellow musicians in New Orleans, encouraging other bands to take their chances on the cross-country circuits. Sidney Bechet believed it was because Keppard was a "good-time guy" that he refused the Victor Company's offer to make the first jazz recordings while he was still playing with
16750-418: Was a letdown; instead of playing with Armstrong on the band stand, Keppard left in order to talk to customers, including an attractive blonde. Many contemporaries said that either Keppard was past his prime when he recorded or that his recordings do not do him justice, as Keppard's health was already declining by the time he recorded in 1926. Even with the constraints, the recordings demonstrate that Keppard
16884-509: Was a very proficient player and an adventurous improviser. Keppard's style is much more raggy and characterized by a "brusque and staccato style" compared to Oliver's blues -tinged style. While Oliver had more admirers, to some extent preference was a matter of taste. Jelly Roll Morton , Lil Hardin Armstrong , and Wellman Braud all thought Keppard superior to Oliver. Keppard suffered from alcoholism and tuberculosis in his final years, although he continued performing despite illnesses. He
17018-465: Was from St. James parish. His older brother, Louis , was his elder by two years and also became a professional musician later in life. The first tune they learned to play together was called "Just Because She Made Dem Goo-Goo Eyes", a tune by Hughie Cannon and popular New Orleans minstrel show star John Queen, published in 1900. Keppard was raised on Villere Street in New Orleans in a home environment filled with music. His mother first started him on
17152-520: Was much rougher, you understand. Freddie was nice and light. Clear. You could be sitting right under him, and it would sound just as nice. But you could hear him two, three blocks away. Jelly Roll Morton said of Freddie Keppard that he "had the best ear, the best tone, and the most marvelous execution I ever heard." Buster Bailey , a clarinetist who played with both Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong, recalled that Keppard "could play as soft and as loud, as sweet and as rough, as you would want." Alberta Hunter ,
17286-765: Was off the music scene, Keppard was proclaimed "King Keppard" as the city's top horn player (see: jazz royalty ). This was mostly because he kept Buddy's style, which was popular but had not been recorded. Indeed, many contemporaries have testified that Keppard's playing style was the closest to Bolden's that can be found in the history of jazz recordings and can be considered a more musical and sophisticated extension of Bolden's style: rugged and forceful, clipped and more staccato, and rhythmically closer to ragtime than later New Orleans jazz. Sometime in either late 1911 or early 1912, bassist Bill Johnson , who had been making his career in Los Angeles, California since 1909, started
17420-420: Was play a number for him once and he had it… he was a natural! When Freddie got to playing… he was no freak man like Joe Oliver. Freddie was a trumpet player anyway you'd grab him. He could play sweet and then he could play hot. He'd play sweet sometimes and then turn around and knock the socks off you with something hot. Willie Humphrey , a New Orleans jazz clarinetist, had also played with Freddie Keppard around
17554-515: Was sixteen. This is most likely because, according to Louis Keppard, one strategy available to aspiring string players in those days was to switch to brass instruments in order to get more job opportunities with brass bands in parades. The Keppards' mother apparently "didn't think much of this music" until she saw them in their band uniforms, at which point Louis recalled that she became very proud. As Freddie and Louis grew older, both brothers became band leaders in their own right and became part of
17688-463: Was still playing loud in the early 1930s in Chicago, although, according to contemporaries, no longer very well. By 1932, Keppard was restricted in his employment most likely due to his continued physical degradation. According to medical records, he was unable to work by December 1932. He died in Chicago in 1933, largely forgotten. However, trumpet player Bob Shoffner recalled that in 1931 when Louis Armstrong's band had been preparing to leave Chicago on
17822-433: Was stretched, dried, and twisted. In the early years of the 20th century, strings were made of either gut or steel. Modern strings may be gut, solid steel , stranded steel, or various synthetic materials such as perlon , wound with various metals, and sometimes plated with silver . Most E strings are unwound, either plain or plated steel. Gut strings are not as common as they once were, but many performers use them to achieve
17956-477: Was the logical and quite demanding seat for the premier cornetist in a two-cornet band, as evidenced by Louis Armstrong's role (one example of many) in similar sized bands and orchestras around the same period. His "Stockyard Strut" is an improvisation on the chords of " Tiger Rag ". Keppard contributed to the Doc Cook recordings, where he plays the 'walking-talking' style of Stomp Cornet that pre-dates jazz by about
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