User:Koro Neil

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This user comes from New Zealand.


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[edit] Personal information

Kia ora koutou!

I am the same person as Copey 2, but this new identity is not intended as a sock puppet. My recent attempts to log in as Copey 2 got me the response, no such user. Hence the new username.

My name is Neil Copeland. I live in Dunedin, New Zealand. I first created a Wikipedia account under the name Copey, a name I used for signing contributions before I created the account, but there was a glitch with the password, and requests to email a new one drew a blank. I assume this is partly because I opted not to include my email address when I first created the account, but it is also because the request link doesn't include a routine for getting unknown email addresses. I tried a few deliberate near misses—combinations close to my intended password, but nothing worked. So I became Copey 2. I am using the name Copey for other Wiki projects.

My laptop died, and I was without a computer for a while. Recently I was using my wife's laptop. It was when I tried to log on as Copey 2 that I struck another glitch (see the paragraph before last), and I have now become Koro Neil, which is what I was called by young Māori in the kapa haka group run by Otago University's Department of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies. My grandchildren call me Koro. I now have my own laptop, and the hook-up into Wikipedia has gone smoothly.

[edit] Interests

My interests are:

Languages—Particular interests are comparative linguistics, especially Indo-European languages. I am seeking to become more knowledgable in the area of Polynesian languages. I have a reading knowledge at varying competence levels of Classical and Koinē Greek, Hebrew, Māori, Latin, Russian, Old English, Old Norse, Old Church Slavonic, Gothic, French, German, Biblical Aramaic, and smatterings of things like Italian and Spanish.

Christian faith—I am an evangelical/charismatic Baptist with a deep appreciation of Catholic spirituality. I believe that the Bible is authoritative in our understanding of God and in determining the way Christians live their lives, but I find the doctrine of inerrancy unhelpful—and sometimes meaningless, as it often implies accepting as history writings that the writers themselves plainly did not intend as such. In 2 Timothy 3.16-17 (All scripture is inspired by God...) I find no reference to the Bible as a geological or palaeontological textbook. I am interested in the writings of the Church Fathers and the light they throw on scripture.

Māoritanga—I studied te Reo Māori at University for four years. I also did other Māori papers, cultural and linguistic, and was involved in an extra-curricular kapa haka (Māori performing arts) group, visiting marae and high schools in various parts of New Zealand, performing, and promoting the University of Otago among young Māori. I performed my first haka at the age of 51, which I think is pretty dam' good. I want to make contributions to the Wikipedia in this area.

Music—Folk music in particular. I am a member of the New Edinburgh Folk Club (meets 7.30 pm at St Lee's restaurant, Dundas St), and am active in the wider South Island folk scene, participating in all five annual festivals on the Canterbury/Otago circuit. I am a fairly competent guitarist, and play a number of other instruments, including piano accordion, mandolin, 5-string banjo, blues harp, tin whistle etc, with varying degrees of skill. I enjoy Celtic music, contemporary folk, bluegrass, blues, the folkier sort of country music, trad English and virtually anything well-written and witty. I also enjoy quite a lot of jazz, with Dave Brubeck as a particular favourite.

Mathematics—very much an amateur here, but I did work out the factorial of ½ accurate to 15 decimal places before I learned it was half the square root of π. I also worked out for myself why e to the power of iπ = –1. I have a particular interest in factorials, the Fibonacci and Lucas series and complex numbers.

General reflection on Wikipedia—The usefulness of Wikipedia articles varies inversely with the accessibility of a given topic and the number of non-specialists interested enough in it to contribute. The first writer of an article often sets the tone.

Home page

Blog

[edit] Page in progress

Following up (in adapted form) a suggestion by Redfarmer, I am going to attempt to write a page here on New Zealand folk music. I can't do much more than start it, as I do not have the necessary bent for history. But, once started, hopefully it will attract better editors.

[edit] Folk music in New Zealand

This article is about the styles of music performed in and promoted by folk clubs and folk music festivals in New Zealand. It is also about the clubs and festivals themselves, and the culture they represent.

The Wikipedia article on New Zealand music lists the four following types of music under the heading "Folk music":

  • Māori music
  • Pioneer folk music
  • Brass bands
  • Highland pipe band

It is not the intention of this article to debate or dispute this categorisation. From an ethnomusicological point of view, Māori music, highland pipe band and pioneer folk music would all qualify. The appearance of brass bands on the list would probably surprise devotees of both folk and brass band music. Most of the music treated here does not fit any of the above categories, and pioneer folk music is the only item on the list that comes into the scope of this article.

The topic is not restricted to New Zealand folk music—which can be defined broadly as folk music produced by New Zealanders, or more narrowly as folk music identifiable by its style or content as belonging to New Zealand—but includes all music performed in folk music contexts in New Zealand, especially by musicians resident in the country.

http://www.folklib.net/folkfile/f.shtml

  1. Lack of media attention (given or sought) makes sources a problem—especially for Celtic music.
  2. Introduction: defining terms. Compare New Zealand music page, which lists the following as folk music:

(Distinguish) New Zealand folk music - any folk music originating in New Zealand? - any folk music identifiable as such by style or content? By contrast "Folk music in New Zealand" includes all folk music played in New Zealand as part of the "folk scene".

Prob best defined as music performed in the folk scene (define) - loose network of folk clubs, with their associated festivals, plus the less formal Celtic music scene which is connected with the club scene, but has its own existence

Separate sections on Celtic music.

Other strands-- some country (esp bluegrass); kletzmer, blues,

Festivals and clubs

Celtic vs ceilidh/bush band vs "Irish band"

[edit] List of musicians

[edit] #Other people with important connections to the scene

  • The late Peter Cape
  • Gill Winter

[edit] Talk:Folk music in New Zealand

At the time of creating this article, my knowledge is limited mainly to the folk scene in Canterbury and Otago, although I know some artists from further north who put in an appearance down here from time to time. Accordingly I need good input by northerners to help me produce a page that isn't severely distorted, with all the apparent weight at the bottom. Koro Neil (talk) 14:07, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

en This user is a native speaker of English.
mi-2 Kua taea e tēnei tangata te takawaenga mō te reo Māori.
ru-2 Этот участник неплохо знает русский язык.
got-2 Sa niutands mag rodjan midjai gutiskai.
cu-1 Сь польѕевател҄ь глаголѥтъ словѣньскы зълѣ.
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