User talk:Chris Waltham

Hi tamurica writer, cool project. I feel like I know everything about it now except for what it sounds like. I’ve gone through your writing and bracketed words that I think are unnecessary and square-bracketed some words, punctuation and structural stuff that I’ve added or changed to help with sentence flow. I’ve put brackets around some simple typos too just to give evidence to the doctor that I’ve done my job… so sorry for that, I would have just fixed them. It’s dry and subjectivity-free, good job! I mostly took out a lot of adverbs and adverbial clauses. There are also a some information that laypeople might not get, which I made note of in the text. One example is, why are the thinner and tighter strings lower in volume?

Anyways, very cool, and thanks for your comments on my article as well. Best -->


The tamburica (also called tambura) is a string instrument that is commonly found in art, folklore, and folk music in Southern and Central Europe, specifically in Croatian and Serbian music and culture. (Specifically) the tamburica itself is an adaptation of the long-necked lute, which was adapted in the Balkans as various versions [and] became the pandora in Bulgaria, the bandura in Ukraine, and the balalaika and the domra in Russia. [1] The tamburica was originally a solo instrument; [sentence break] however, it has been adapted for playing in an orchestral and group setting, and various tamburica orchestras exist all over the world. [2]

Types of Tamburicas There are various types of tamburicas that are played in orchestral settings, (all) with different string arrangements and tunings. Each instrument serves a different [specific] function. The prim, or bisernica, is the smallest and most high-pitched instrument. It is used typically as a lead instrument or melody instrument. (Typically), this instrument has two single strings and two double strings, and is tuned in fourths (E, A, D, G), with E as the lowest string. This instrument (typically) has multiple small holes as opposed to one large one [with some exceptions]. The brać, or basprim is larger than the bisernica [and it] also serves as a melody or lead instrument. Its strings are the same as the bisernica[‘]s, and it is tuned the same way. This instrument is structured similarly to the guitar [— it] has a similar-looking body and one large hole [— but like the bisernica, it] has two double strings and two single strings. The čelo and čelović are larger than the brac, and (tend to) serve different functions - they fill out the harmonies and tend to play lower parts. These instruments (typically) have four single strings each. The tuning is the same as the bisernica and brać. The bugarija or kontra serves (the function of) [as] a rhythm instrument and tends to play (on) the off-beat. This instrument is not tuned the same as the others; rather, it is tuned in thirds, (typically[often]) G-B-D. The number of strings depends on the construction; either it has three sets of double strings, or two sets of double string[s] and a single string. The bas, or berda, is the largest instrument (,) and works in conjunction with the bugarija to provide rhythm for the band. It is played upright, much like a Western upright bass. It has a similar shape to the upright bass as well with f-holes much like a violin. It has four strings, and is tuned E-A-D-G, with E as the lowest string. The instruments, with the occasional exception of the berda, are played using picks. These picks can made from plastic, animal horns, or leather; [sentence break] however, instruments with heavier and thicker strings (such as the čelo and the berda) are typically played with animal horn picks [,] as the picks are more durable. ((Additionally)), other instruments are also included in orchestral playing. [Because regions of Croatia and Serbia were greatly influenced by neighbouring regions and travellers from across Europe,] the violin (( (as used in Western music) )) is used as well as the glockenspiel and other European instruments. 

 Construction The tamburica is made up of three primary parts. ▪ The body is typically hollow, and retains a similar structure to its predecessor, the lute. It is covered with a sound board made of [a] softwood (,) such as fir or spruce, and its hull is (typically[usually, often]) made of maple or cherry. [3]The upper part of the body usually contains a darker piece (that is usually a) piece of hardwood. This is due to the fact that the softwood soundboard could be hit by the picks during playing, which could lead to discolouration of the instrument or damage of the soundboard (itself).[4]Depending on the instrument, either several small holes (bisernica) or one large hole (brač/čelović/čelo/bugarija) are drilled onto the soundboard. ((These holes serve the same purpose as holes in Western instruments)); they are used to project the amplified sound in the body of the instrument. A bridge, for the strings [to do what for the strings?], is located on the soundboard. The bridge has notches specialized for the specific number of strings of the instrument. The strings, past [beyond] the bridge, are wrapped around nails at the end of the instrument, and these nails (also called buttons or buckles) are covered by either a metal part or a piece of leather, not only for aesthetic purposes, but to ensure that nothing disrupts the nails (as this could potentially affect tuning). ▪ The neck is connected to the body, and is (typically) made of hardwoods such as ebony. One side is curved without edges, and one side is flat. The flat side has raised notches for frets, and pressing on these frets results in different pitches. The frets provide chromatic steps. Several frets contain white circles (sometimes made of pearl), and the function of these circles is to aid in playing and to serve as guides. At the very end of the neck, connecting the neck to the head, there is a small piece or either wood or bone, and similarly to the bridge, it has notches for the strings as well. ▪ The head is at the very end of the neck. Although the head has taken various shapes over time, typically it either is flat at the top or curved in a semi-spiral shape. It is typically made from the same wood as the neck. The head contains pins that vary in number - each string receives a pin, and the number of strings on each tamburica is variable in number. The pins are turned by keys to tune the tamburica - the tighter the string [is wrapped around the pin], the higher the pitch of the string. After construction, the tamburica is typically varnished (as well). The varnish may change the colour of the wood, to the customer/musician's liking. Some tamburicas are darker in colour, while some try to retain the natural colour of the wood, but either way, the instrument typically has a sheen to it due to varnish.

Physics and Acoustics The wood of the instrument is conducive to sound production, much like other string instruments: [sentence break] The softwood of the soundboard, (such as fir or maple (repeated information)), means that sound created by the instrument is not impeded by the wood; rather, the vibrations are passed on to the instrument's body, resulting in a fuller and more radiant sound. Additionally, the strings of the instrument are equally as conducive to sound production. The strings that are tuned higher are often paired, such that the higher strings, while being thinner and tighter, are still loud enough. [why are the thinner and tighter strings lower in volume??] (Despite being different instruments than the guitar or other string instruments), the tamburica behaves similarly to other stringed instruments such as the violin or guitar. The primary air mode of the bisernica sits at 340 Hz, and the primary wood mode is at 740 Hz. The bisernica in particular is a source of interest due to the fact that the instrument does not contain one large hole; [sentence break, Instead] (rather), the instrument has several small holes in its soundboard to mimic the effect of the single large hole in a brać or bugarija. In measurements comparing vibration of the instrument with closed holes as opposed to open holes, a difference is clear (to see): closing the holes does not allow the air to escape from the instrument, preventing (as loud of a volume as [the full volume possible]) when the holes are open and the air is free to move. Peak volumes can be seen at the primary air wood and the primary wood mode when volume is plotted against frequency, and the difference in open and closed holes is also clear.

Hey, I found this to be a very interesting topic, and since I know almost nothing about synthesizers, it was also very informative. I think that for the most part it was written very well, except for a couple of lines where you switch over to persuasive/subjective instead of objective writing. For example the line "The infinite qualities of a modular synthesizer are what make its composition so unique, dynamic, and infinitely possible, depending on the preference of the player", has a lot of extra fat to it that isn't very helpful. All this sentence is telling us is that it creates a unique and customizable sound, so all the descriptors are sort of getting in the way. Other than that I thought the content was great!

The biggest thing for me was the lack of sources and the formatting of the page (which I'm sure you intend to work further on). So make sure you cite your sources, I would say that's pretty important. An awesome thing I learned from looking into the source code from the example page is a way to format your page into different categories and sub categories. For example, you have all of your subcategories labeled as 2a, 2b, 2c (etc.), but if you place '====' on either side of your title you can actually have them automatically create a subcategory! So look into the source code and you can find some other ways to make your page easier to navigate, like adding subcategories, a reference list, and a table of contents.

Hey, thank you for your feedback. I found it very helpful and constructive.

To be honest I found your page to be quite informative and thorough. Your main paragraphs are all essential in order for the reader to understand the harmonium, and they are also cohesive. You do a great job of introducing the harmonium, how it works, as well as how one can operate it in a way that is counter intuitive to its initial model (ie. harmonium bending), as well as discussing the problems with it. There seem to be no grammatical or spelling errors either. Your use of references and implantation of them throughout your wiki page is seamless, consistent, and well tuned. There are two recommendations that I am going to suggest to you that I think will allow your page to be a bit more concise and thorough. If possible, when you go into detail about pitch bending and start discussing the three variant ways of doing so (varying air pressure, partial pallet opening, and decreasing reed chamber volume), I would suggest, if possible, for you to include photos of how these different models work. The reason being that procedures are usually better comprehended when visually shown/demonstrated. Is there a way for you to draw an image of how the air moves through the valves? Again, this isn't crucial, but I think it would add some bulk and clarity to understanding pitch bending. My second suggestion, would be to make your photos a little bit larger, if possible. They seem very detailed, and so their scale is a bit too small for the eye to register the information as thoroughly as one can.

I hope this brings you some clarity and insight. Over all though, great job!

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