Humble.
And, extremely talented.
His name is Alan Ames.
He shared with me that he was pleasantly surprised that he was able to play along with the ‘A’ team of musicians assembled on the stage at Sound Bites Grill. I had enjoyed Alan’s playing before, he’s already on the SBG ‘Wall of Fame’ but I heard lots more. When I asked band leader Eric Miller about the additional sounds I was hearing he told me that Alan had built his own instrument. It’s called a Violyra. (I’ll check with Alan on the spelling of this) Instead of the violin’s traditional four strings Alan added two extra strings in the bass range with a different body design. His creation is so original the Musical Instruments Museum in Phoenix has commissioned him to make another for display in the museum. A true honor indeed.
Here’s a quick sample of some of the sounds Alan creates with his Violyra…
Still frame pulled from 4K video captured by the Lumix GH4.
The sounds Alan can make from this instrument are extremely varied. He said he has fused the old techniques of instrument building with the new technology and this allows him to create an incredible range of sounds from traditional violin to cello and more…
Pretty amazing the new technology available in musical instruments and cameras. It’s a great time to be a creative. What are you experimenting with??
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
