A visual artist - painting, sculpture and installation art - as well as an aspiring washboard player, I live in the Swiss Jura mountains. My lens currently are about Jazzing up your washboard, Washboard Playing, Musical Washboard Videos. I have also been making designs for washboard players in my cafepress shop: Rattlebrained Designs, and you can hear me play on Messin' Round's MySpace page. Not to mention my Rattlebrained Blog http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Evets Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:41:14 -0600 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.squidoo.com/washboards Do-it yourself bells and whistles for your musical washboard. This lens is for folks who have just picked up their first washboard, and tries to be the webpage I would have wanted to find when I started playing a few years ago. I truly love this very special instrument. Learning how to scratch out some good rhythms has been tremendous fun and what other instrument encourages you to modify it however you want? It also would be cool to hear whatever tips and advice you care to share so don't hesitate; and please add your favorite washboard players and bands to my list (or send me a message so I can). music Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:21:03 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/washboard-rhythms Watching, and of course playing with, other washboard players is really one of the better ways to learn how to play this fine instrument. When I started playing I didn't have a clue and unfortunately, didn't think of searching the web right away. And even when I did, I didn't think of searching for videos so I didn't find much information on how to play one. So when I did, I made a website to list the different washboard websites I had found and share ideas as to how to put stuff on my washboard: Jazz Up Your Washboard. However, many people visiting that site are searching for advice on how to play a washboard, a question that not easily answered although the answer is easy: you tap and scratch! Yet at first your tapping and scratching doesn't sound like the pros. What are you doing wrong? There must be some secret thing that you still need to find out, right? Sorry, no secret. Washboard playing is all about tapping and scratching, the problem is that it seems really easy and it's actually kind of hard. But not that hard, with time and lots of practice you too will thrill a crowd with your rhythmic skills! But I can't help more than that. There are many different washboard playing styles and what is good for me, may not be good for you. Below are a few rubboard playing lessons and and a couple of other links. I've also posted a whole bunch of washboard player videos on my musical washboard videos page. I am still learning a lot by playing with my favorite ones, watching what these great musicians are doing and practicing the patterns I figure out - often with a metronome - on a daily basis. If you do this, little by little your sound is going to change and improve, and it's a great feeling. And don't be shy, find other musician to play with! music Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:21:01 -0600 http://www.squidoo.com/musicalwashboardsvideoshowcase There is a tradition of "being the clown" still used by washboard players which really isn't as bad as it sounds. Clowns, as everyone knows, are often highly skilled in many ways and to be a clown with a washboard, you need to be an extremely fine musician. Another cool thing about musical washboards is the way they have of pretty much always accompanying great music: Blues, Jazz, Bluegrass, Zydeco to name a few. For the last few years I have been learning to play the washboard so I often search the web for videos of washboard musicians, looking for ideas and inspiration. Thanks to Squidoo I can group and share my favorite videos so I hope that you will enjoy them too! music Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:09:59 -0600