Heather S. Ingemar's Blog, page 46
March 12, 2011
The button collection grows!
In celebration of landing five five gigs in the span of one afternoon, I splurged and bought myself this "Dynamic Celt" button I'd been eyeing on CafePress. 
It took longer than I anticipated to arrive, but it was well worth it. The quality is very nice and the colors are beautiful! I am particularly fond of the connotation of being a "dynamic" Celt… (obscure musician humor! 
)
And then last night at the Jam Night, my good friend (the same one who gave me the Prozac button!), gifted me with this happy little shamrock smilie, so I'd have a bit of my Irish on for St. Paddy's.
March 11, 2011
Under the trees: another poem
(I was a dork and stoked the furnace too much, and now I get to stay up to make sure things cool off alright. In the meantime, I finished a poem I had the idea for last week… And yes. I know it's kind of hokey… )
Under the trees I wait for you
When the flowers are in bloom
And the birds are singing in the wood
Under the pine trees' needly broom.
Under the trees I wait for you
When the sunshine touches the sky
Spreading warmth and heat with liberal hands
And when shade is hard to find.
Under the trees I wait for you
In the rains that come with Fall
And when frost licks the ruddy leaves
And branches are barren and tall.
Under the trees I'll wait for you
As true love is wont to do
Because no matter the divide
Together one day we'll bide…
But until then, I'll wait for you.
March 9, 2011
The Quest for Ukulele Amplification part II: Twistie Ties are your friend!
I'm ready to test the Holy Grail of Amplified Lutenists everywhere…
…on my ukulele.
With my lovely Ook in hand, I sit down and begin loosening the strings. First, I try clipping the mic on the soundhole, but the clip itself gets hung up on the strings. No dice. Hubby comes over and gallantly offers his help. We fight the instrument a little, and he manages to get the mic clipped on one of the inside braces — which gives great sound reception — but the cord is in the way and the only method of switching the mic out for acoustic-only playing means repeated loosening/tightening of the strings, which makes me worry they might wear prematurely. I'm still not satisfied.
Now, I am ready to try the matchstick method described by the lute player. At first blush, it sounds like success. I re-tune and begin playing a song…
Bzzzzz! ZzzzzzzzZzzZzzz!
The Diabolical, Demonic, EEEEEEvil clip!!!
Shit. The clip is rattling on Ook's face. I have a piece of velvet lying around, so I snip a piece of it to place under the clip. Better. I reposition the mice a little and decide it could work with a longer matchstick. A quick run to the basement with the axe, and I have a piece of wood to whittle. Hubby has gone to bed, so I borrow his knife and start carving. The first stick is a bust — I carved it too small. The second is better, and I try again.
Twang! Twangy-twangtwang!
WTH??? I strum some more and I shake my head. Somehow, the stick is fooling with the natural harmonics of the instrument. Not only does it NOT sound in tune, it does not have the same pleasant timbre! [Heather inserts creative expletives here] The matchstick method is an ukulele fail. I am tired, and it is late, so I go to bed to sleep on it.
* * *
This morning, I rise early to get farm stuff done so I have some time to fiddle with my problem. Overnight, I have come to the conclusion that the clip is evil. I take a long, hard look at my setup. Ook (duh), mic (of course), soundhole neck strap (wait a minute…)…
The Successful setup!
I snag one of the little black twistie ties that come with the mic. I grab my neck strap and examine the soundhole hook. Let's try integrating the mic and my existing Ook-holding method! I tweak the hook a tad to give a resting spot for the mic, and I hog-tie the mic to the hook with the twistie. I loop the cord around my strap to keep things from getting jerked wrong, then strap on my Ook…
SUCCESS!!!
I still need to experiment a little with the particulars of mic placement and my amp settings, but I do believe I have a viable solution I can work with, which is ten times up from having no one hear you and having no way to change it.
I can deal with this.
Well, don't I sound professional?
From the website of one of the winery gigs I've got this summer:
Join singer/Celtic musician Heather the Bard for an amazing night of entertainment with Celtic and Scots/Irish influences. Traditional, Bluegrass, Pop and Original compositions.
In addition to vocals, Heather showcases her talents on the Concert Ukulele, The Tinwhistle and Irish Flute.
Featured performer at a wide variety of events in the Pacific Northwest including the Lewis and Clark Discovery Faire, the Irish Celebration of Dance and the Weippe Camas Festival.
Sweet!
March 8, 2011
Taxes: a poem
Taxes are evil.
Taxes aren't nice.
Instead of adding numbers,
I'd rather eat MICE!!
The Quest for Ukulele Amplification, part I: it's a lot like the Holy Grail
Most of you know I played the theatre's Casino Night Fundraiser on Saturday. And that — to put it nicely — the acoustics could have been better… which is musician-speak for when people come up to you and tell you they can't hear you…
*face-palm, head-desk*
There is nothing more discouraging to a stage veteran than to hear those words. So, like the people-pleaser that I am, I dialed up my internet and began my quest for some method of amplifying my Ook at a price point friendly to my starving-creative-guru status.
After heap long time spent researching, I came up with nothing – except the knowledge that ukers are a DIY lot (which I'm totally down with), and have no compunctions about drilling a hole in their instrument to install their own internal pickups (which I'm not down with). As I found nothing else by Sunday afternoon, I had (reticently) decided to do it.
"Wait!!! NOOOO!!" was the cry from my musician friends. "Try a clip mic!!!"
A what? I wondered, and so off I went with my Mad Librarian Skillz™ to read all I could gather about this new and strange beast. Along the way, I stumbled across the lute community's raves about clip-on miking methods — apparently it is completely taboo to consider electrifying your renaissance lute, so bad, in fact, that it's almost like swearing in church(!). This guy even tells how to do it without modifying any part of the instrument (since lutes notoriously have specially carved/filigree soundholes that are fragile and tiny).
I'm game. One trip to the local electronics and audio recording shop and one matchstick later, I'm ready to test the Holy Grail of Amplified Lutenists everywhere…
…on my ukulele.
Stay tuned for part II!!!
March 6, 2011
"Middle of Nowhere" up at Amazon! And B&N!
I couldn't remember if I mentioned it, but…
"MIDDLE OF NOWHERE" IS UP AT AMAZON!
http://www.amazon.com/Middle-of-Nowhere-ebook/dp/B004NSV1VM/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2
AND BARNES & NOBLE!!
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Middle-of-Nowhere/Heather-S-Ingemar/e/2940012222534/?itm=1
Cool beans.
Casino Night: Different than I expected, but a fun time all around
I survived the Casino Night Fundraiser for the local theatre.
As I'm sure happens with most events, you are always expecting one thing — only to find out that things are not *quite* what you had in mind… although they turn out just fine anyway. (At least, that's what always seems to happen to me, probably my delusions of grandeur kicking in again, haha!)
This was my first time playing my lovely ukulele at a public performance (instead of a jam night, which is an entirely different can of beans), and it also was my first actual performance after an extended hiatus. I felt comfortable with Enna (the OOK!), and even though we were combating poor acoustics, ultimately, I'm very glad I stuck with her instead of switching to guitar like I had been previously considering. Quite simply, I'm a much better ukulele-ist than I am a guitarist, and my comfort level shows when I'm on stage.
All in all, it was a good experience — felt good to be back on stage! — and I hope that the theatre was able to raise lots of money.
March 4, 2011
Stylish Blogger Award
Rawrr!!
Earlier this week, the wonderful and incomparable Mckenzie over at The Unabridged Girl awarded me with the 2011 Stylish Blogger Award. Now it's my turn to pass it on.
But first! Apparently, I have to tell you some things about myself that you may not know…
I never had anything to do with cows until I met my husband, and now I love them just as much as he does.
A very nice Native American couple tried to get my mom to give me up for their adoption when I was around 6 years old, because I looked extremely Native. I thought it would be fun… until I realized it would be permanent!
When I was 13, I turned down the opportunity to go to Disneyland with my cousins, because I wanted to go with the whole family, not just part of it.
Even though I am a pisces and love water, I can't stand to go swimming in anything I can't see the bottom of.
I have harbored this crazy, secret, impulsive desire to dye my hair blue or electric purple, but I'm too much of a traditionalist to go through with it.
I know the words to, and can actually play, Jayne's song from the Firefly episode "Jaynestown." Can we spell "geek?" DEFINITELY.
My husband and I received mail addressed to us as "Mr. and Mrs." well over six months before I had a ring on my finger. Even odder, we had only been dating for a grand total of three weeks!
I have a Darwin's Tubericle on my left ear. It is the family birthmark, and I am extremely proud of it now, even though when I was in kindergarten, it was the bane of my existence.
I conduct electricity like nobody's business, and have been scientifically proven to bug compasses by 5 to 10 degrees.
What's cooler? If I am standing under a power line, I can even produce voltage.
And now…. *drumroll*
I hereby award the 2011 Stylish Blogger Award to:
Kit at Goggles and Lace — because what's cooler than Steampunk?
Kira at Kiraness — the ukulele totally rocks!
Anna at Anna the Piper — making unabashed geekdom stylish!
March 3, 2011
Button collection
My friend and fellow uke-player, Kira, asked me a few days ago about the rest of my ukulele-case button collection. Here's what I've got so far:
The "Express Yourself" button is from the library's summer reading program three years ago. The theme was 'the arts and humanities,' and since I'm a young adult librarian, I got this nifty pin to help advertise our programs.
The American flags button was given to me at the local county fair two years ago by the wonderful gentlemen Veteran's booth. I am a 2nd generation American, and I am both humbled and honored that there are fighting men and women who are willing to give up their lives so I can write the stories I want to write and sing the music I want to sing, and so I am free to protect myself and my family should I need to do so… I am proud to have the honor of calling myself American, and therefore, I put this pin at the very top of my case.
The second button, "Speak," actually reads "Speak your mind," and is another librarian button from ALA's Banned Book Week, which encourages everyone to make up their own minds about literary materials (instead of forcing their views on others through censorship). I completely and fully believe that everyone — regardless of age, race, creed, etc — has the right to free access of information.
I've got another couple buttons on the way from CafePress — since I had such a landmark week last week (was it really only last week?) of landing five paying gigs, I decided to celebrate with some more bling for my uke case. And yes, I plan to blog about them when they arrive!
