Complete Bach 1st Cello Suite with Ukulele in 5ths Tuning - Rob MacKillop

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RobMacKillop

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Hi Folks,

During Lockdown I got a dose of Covid-19, but thankfully not the chest infection. I won't go into details, but I've been laid low for a month. Every day I would have an hour or so of lucidity, and cheered myself up by playing Bach.

Mel Bay published my Bach for the tenor banjo book a few years ago, with treble clef and tab. The tenor banjo is in 5ths tuning, so I put my ukulele in 5ths tuning with some odd bits of lute and guitar strings I had lying around. It sounded great, and I thought I had invented a new thing, but no! Aquila have two sets in 5ths-tuning for the uke.

So, I managed to record the whole suite by Bach from my tenor-banjo book, reading the tab, and then crashed for a couple of days! My wife got annoyed at me for doing too much, but I'm glad I did it. I spend much of my day alternating two hours of wakefulness with two hours of sleeping!

So, I hope you like it! :)

The tenor uke is by Fidra Ukuleles near Edinburgh.


 
I missed you on YouTube after you posted your 'last' video, so I was very happy to see that you posted something new after all. I think that's what Bach does to us: inspire us, comfort us, frustrate us (mostly the Sarabandes for me). I currently study the Cello Suites on alto flute, and the Partita for flute on baroque flute.

My uke playing is not good enough yet to tackle this level. I am hopeful that your 20 Spanish Baroque Pieces by Gaspar Sanz will be a suitable project next year.

I hope you make a full recovery and that you then may be spared of other infections.
 
Thanks, Ms Bean. I did intend to not record more videos, but then lockdown happened.

I love the alto flute - my favourite pitch of flute - and can imagine the cello suites sounding really good on it, once you know where to breathe in all those semiquaver runs!

My Sanz book is my best seller, with a mixture of relatively easy to relatively hard pieces.

Best wishes, and stay healthy!
 
This is fantastic! Just fantastic!
I bought your tenor banjo book and have been working on the Prelude during the last couple of months. I am a cellist and the tenor benjo 5th tuning just make the transition much easier. I have a tenor uke dedicated to CGDA tuning.
Thank you for your wonderful book.
 
Thank you this is very inspiring. I have a concert uke in fifths with the Aquila set and I don't like it at all think it needs at least a tenor for decent tension. Are you using a plectrum or pick with fingers?
 
Lapyang said:
This is fantastic! Just fantastic!
I bought your tenor banjo book and have been working on the Prelude during the last couple of months. I am a cellist and the tenor benjo 5th tuning just make the transition much easier. I have a tenor uke dedicated to CGDA tuning.
Thank you for your wonderful book.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Lapyang. I played the cello for about three months, but just found the bow WAY too confusing! Good luck with the Prelude.
 
merlin666 said:
Thank you this is very inspiring. I have a concert uke in fifths with the Aquila set and I don't like it at all think it needs at least a tenor for decent tension. Are you using a plectrum or pick with fingers?
Click to expand...


Thanks. Normally I play fingerstyle, and all but one of my Mel Bay books are for fingerstyle. But somehow it just felt right to play this music with a plectrum, it just sounded better when I compared the two. And I do prefer the depth of the tenor for most things, but not all. My big hands prefer it too!
 
Your smiles add to the performance, and they are generally in sync with mine when I listen. Beautiful. Now I need the tabs and the strings. Pretty sure there’s a uke around here I can use ��
 
RobMacKillop said:
Hi Folks,

During Lockdown I got a dose of Covid-19, but thankfully not the chest infection. I won't go into details, but I've been laid low for a month. Every day I would have an hour or so of lucidity, and cheered myself up by playing Bach.

Mel Bay published my Bach for the tenor banjo book a few years ago, with treble clef and tab. The tenor banjo is in 5ths tuning, so I put my ukulele in 5ths tuning with some odd bits of lute and guitar strings I had lying around. It sounded great, and I thought I had invented a new thing, but no! Aquila have two sets in 5ths-tuning for the uke.

So, I managed to record the whole suite by Bach from my tenor-banjo book, reading the tab, and then crashed for a couple of days! My wife got annoyed at me for doing too much, but I'm glad I did it. I spend much of my day alternating two hours of wakefulness with two hours of sleeping!

So, I hope you like it! :)

The tenor uke is by Fidra Ukuleles near Edinburgh.


Click to expand...

Have you had 4-5-6 published? Thanks
 
Always a pleasure to hear you play! From hearing Bach on reentrant and linear tunings, I think this may be my favorite?
 
The Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello are absolutely my favorite music ever! And, you play it so beautifully. I love your interpretation. I studied French Horn with Wendell Hoss in LA for two years, and we spent the entire time on the Suites. They are so musical, and so challenging for any performer. In retirement I have been playing the British Tenor Horn, and I have always intended to record and post one of the Suites. I believe you have inspired me to redouble my efforts in that regard. Thank you SO much for this delicious treat!
 
Ribbit said:
Always a pleasure to hear you play! From hearing Bach on reentrant and linear tunings, I think this may be my favorite?
Click to expand...

Thanks, Ribbit. I love this tuning for the cello suites - it feels so natural. Thanks for your comment.
 
VegasGeorge said:
The Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello are absolutely my favorite music ever! And, you play it so beautifully. I love your interpretation. I studied French Horn with Wendell Hoss in LA for two years, and we spent the entire time on the Suites. They are so musical, and so challenging for any performer. In retirement I have been playing the British Tenor Horn, and I have always intended to record and post one of the Suites. I believe you have inspired me to redouble my efforts in that regard. Thank you SO much for this delicious treat!
Click to expand...

Hi George. I do like the French and British tenor horns, and imagine it would be very difficult to play the cello suites on them. It's interesting that now scholars believe Bach wrote them for another instrument, as sort of viola on steroids, the violoncello da spalla, played on the shoulder like a viola/violin, but much bigger. I like how we are still learning about these amazing pieces.
 
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