private
Herb Patten : How to play the gumleaf (AUS,200?)***''
A burned copy of this CD was send to me as a return gift for help from Australia, and was a pleasant surprise. In Australia, aboriginal Herb Patten had entertained people more than once on national television. He mastered a most peculiar musical instrument, presumably one of the oldest instruments in the world : a leaf, which for its purpose has been called a gumleaf. He refers to the ancient aboriginal art of playing the gumleaf. The CD includes a small book which shows how to learn to play tunes and produce special effects. For entertainment measures he plays first a whole range of short, popular tunes mostly recognisable from around the post-World War period (“Waltzing Mathilda”, “Danny Boy”, but also “Jingle Bell” & “Wish you a Merry Christmas”). This is followed by Australian bird calls, where Herb Patten explains from which bird is which, and some technical tips with demonstrations. The sound of the leaf is quiet funny, like a toy trumpet. With ease and at choice Herb Patten adds some vibrato here and there. Recommended listen.
After some online search I finally found my own copy. It contains an interesting 32 pages book with some great to read historical facts on Aboriginal leaf playing, a biographical introduction on Herb Patten and his family and about his career, and a section of nine lessons how to play the gumleaf (there is no real determination on which leaf to take, so you can take this course anywhere near a tree).
