"A Clay on Words" for December 18th"

Well, since there was a serious "clackdown" on cellphones and cameras tonight in Detroit it took a little longer for someone to send me today's musical term. I'm happy to report that it is a REAL word and one that I was immediately familiar with. The musical word du jour is:

Scordatura
The practice of tuning the strings of a stringed instrument differently than the standard tuning. Scordatura is generally used to extend an instrument's range, or to make certain passages easier or more possible to perform; it is also used to achieve certain special effects. Scordatura was popular between 1600 and 1750, and is used rarely now.

You could say that this was music's first use of special effects and Mozart was known to use it in some of his orchestrations. Ahead of his time, that Wolfgang... ;-)

Now, since it's getting really close to Christmas and I'm heavy into instrument and choral rehearsals, I would like to test my readers' knowledge of traditional carols. So, instead of my countering Mr. Aiken with another musical term, I will give y'all 3 sentences that discribe the title of a popular Christmas carol. If you know the answer, then use the comment section to give me your guess and I'll have the correct answers for you tomorrow night. It's one way to get a little more interaction here on my blog.

Tonight's offerings are:

1) The lad is a diminutive percussionist.

2) The red-suited pa is due in this burg.

3) Vehicular homicide was committed on Dad's mom by a precipitous darling.

Good luck and carry on!

J