Positive
Notes |
Max.
Pts.
|
Song
Characteristics (also see below)
|
Klokkende |
12
pts
|
Water
Drops - sound made by air escaping out of a bottle submerged in a tub
of water, Wuut, Wuut, Wuut. The note is scored based on duration, clarity
and depth. The waterslager that masters slowing the note to give a deep
penetrating beat in water affect will captivate any listener. A score
of 6 or 7 in this tour is very good
|
Bollende |
9
pts
|
Bubbling
Water - the sound made by the bubbling of boiling heavy fluid. A good
waterslager gives this note a deep series of Bluu, Bluu, Bluu. A 5 or
6 score in bollende is very good.
|
Rollende |
6
pts
|
Rolling
Water - cascading sound of rolling water. A waterslager will enlace
either the klokkende or bollende note in a faster shorter pace giving
a wavy affect, wutwutwuutwutwut or blublublublublu. The more common
is the bollende series. This tour without any score on the other two
water tours is considered minimal qualifications to consider a canary
a waterslager.
|
Staaltone |
9
pts
|
Steel
Tones - the metallic beat note. This note is like the two or three beats
of the pipes in an orchestra to spice a musical piece, Choong, Choong,
Choong. The sharper yet still appreciated version is the beat of metal
on metal like a hammer on an anvil, ping, ping, ping. A score of 4 or
5 means this waterslager has good pitch.
|
Fluiten |
9
pts
|
Flutes
-This note is where a waterslager really shows his freedom of interpretation.
The flute note can be as deep and smooth as that of the best roller
or it can be accented with water sounding just short of a Klokkende
note. A score of 5 here means very nice flutes, a 6 means he does a
variety of flute sounds.
|
Fluitenrol |
6
pts
|
Flute
Roll - a series of short rolling flute notes where the difference between
a 2 or 3 score is on the depth and smoothness of the tour. A few waterslagers
have such a beautiful flute roll resembling a rollende and these are
awarded 4 points.
|
Chorr
/ Knorr |
6
pts
|
Chorr/Knorr
-is the note that a waterslager performs as a deep from within force
note to open his throat muscles, choorrrr or the bass knnoorrr. Compared
to a warm up note made by an opera singer. Most waterslagers will go
with a just above average Chorr for 3 points, but the exception is the
Knorr for 4 points.
|
Woeten |
6
pts
|
Nightingale
phrases - a tour that has been lost but is not removed in hopes of someday
rediscovering it through a not impossible genetic imprint brought forward.
|
Bellen |
6
pts
|
Bells
- punctuated bells.. Awaterslager shows his talents by a rendition of
distinct bell sounds from the Lu, Lu roller bell to the hollow bell
having a water echo in the vowel (U) part of the note, to the beautiful
double sound church bell, the te-lon. A score of 3 is average for the
roller bell, while a 4 or even a 5 means he has a nice variety of bell
notes.
|
Belrol |
6
pts
|
Bell
Roll - a series of short rolling bell notes where the difference between
a 2 or 3 score is on the lower sound of the vowel U versus the higher
pitch affect of the vowel I, in other words a lululululu is preferred
over a lilililili
|
Tjokken |
6
pts
|
Choke,
Chong - a note borrowed from the call note of the European Nightingale.
A more similar phonetic version for English is probably tchoke, which
can be made in a series called tjokken rol. The strong th sound lead
to the long O vowel abrupted with the strong K sound will give a 3 for
the tour. A 4 score usually means the bird does both the single note
and rolling tour versions. However, a beautiful deep tjok note series
can earn a 4 in this tour. It is a noticeable impressive note when performed
deep and clear
|
Schokkel |
3
pts
|
Schokkel
in waterslagers is very different from the schockle associated with the
roller song. In waterslagers it is a unique pretty bubble sound (Blub)
that seems to come out of nowhere in a repertoire. It is seldom done more
than 2 times in a row. . |
Onvoorziene
loon -
Unexpected Tours |
|
Improvised
phrases
|
Indruk
- Impression points |
3
pts
|
A
judge is given the freedom to give up to 3 points for song impression..
|
Sub
Total |
X
3
|
Total
points from above tours are multiplied by 3.
|
Negative
Notes (Faults)
|
Max
Pts
|
Waterslagers
have inherited a few fault notes that may cause a bird to have points
deducted or even get disqualified. A breeder must weigh the fault
against the overall quality of song before discarding a waterslager
with a fault like riet. It all depends on how often a bird will disrupt
his song pattern by releasing this high pitch riet sound. There is
no hesitation however in eliminating a bird with the horrible annoying
spitting/lisping fault called snetter. The less offensive nasal sounds
are tolerated by judges and are therefore the most commonly heard
faults. The exhalation (wheeze) in particular may be considered an
inevitable evil, because it is more of an acceleration of breathing
rate than a true negative tour.
Editorial note: I've noticed a difference in opinion on the gravity
of the "reit" note. Some authors consider it very offensive,
others not.
|
Ophaal
- Riet |
-3
pts
|
Hoge
Spitse - Shrill Notes |
-3
pts
|
Snetter
- Hissing |
-3
pts
|
Neuzig |
-3
pts
|
Tjip-tjep-tsiet
- Cheep, Chip |
-3
pts
|
Tjap
- Chop |
-3
pts
|
More
detail about the Waterslager song:
Water notes
contain three melodies which bring to mind a fluidity of sound representing
dripping water. The Klokkende, called Klok, Bollende, called Bol,
and the Rollende or Rol. These notes are differentiated by the duration
of the interval from syllable to syllable. The problem is that the
canary’s tendency is to merge the syllables and shortening the
vowels. The Klok must have a deep tone which is extremely dependent
on the vowels used.
|
|
The
best Klokkende (Plopping Water) notes start with the consonants
W, Bl, Kl, or L and are finished with the rich, round, vowel sounds
such as of 'oyt', 'ooeet', or 'oo' resulting in the following sounds:
woyt - woyt – woyt...
wooeet- wooeet - wooeet...
bloyt- bloyt- bloyt...
blooeet- blooeet – blooeet...
loyt- loyt- loyt...
looeet- looeet- looeet...
kloyt- kloyt – kloyt...
klooeet- klooeet- klooeet
These full, round sounds are known as 'soft' water.
Other consonant starts and vowel finishes, such as a long 'a', 'e',
'o' or 'u' lend less value to the water note. Since the sound is somewhat
harsh and flat it is known as 'hard' water. The more slowly, distinctly,
and deeply mellow the soft water notes as they bubble up from the canaries
throat, the more pleasant they are to the human ear and the more points
they earn in competition.
|
|
The
Bollende (Bubbling Water) has a less deep tone and its sound
is simpler with regard to its syllables. The Bol is exemplified by the
sound of large drips falling into a full container of water. It is important
that they lack a resounding quality which instead is the prerogative
of the Klok.
In this
tour, the water notes are delivered in a fast enough repetition that
each is individually indistinguishable. What is heard instead is a continuous
background sound accented with a distinctive pulsatin of a water-like
sound beating out a tempo ranging from a slow to a fast bubbling. The
presence of the consonants W, B and L along with soft, rounded vowels.
The result is a rhythmic repetition like:
woy^woy^woy^woy^woy...
boy^boy^boy^boy^boy
loy^loy^loy^loy^loy
8ubbling water has a similarity to what was previously
called 'soft' water Similar to 'hard' water is what Mr. Peleman referred
to as 'boiling water'. In this tour there is no deep water sound produced,
but instead, harder tones are presented with faster repetition and sounding
similar to water under a full boil. As a result, this type of tour cannot
be as clear or as pleasing to the ear as the softer and deeper tours
of softly plopping or bubbling water notes.
|
|
The
Rollende (Rolling Water) can be defined as a Bollende without
intervals. The effect must be that of water running continuously over
stone in a brook. The tone should be sufficiently deep. The Rollende
tour is composed of such a rapid repetition of water notes that one
can talk about a merging or flowing together of the vowels which are
now only the very soft 'o', 'oo', or 'ohoo'. The flowing impression
is reinforced by the fact that the predominant consonants heard are
only L or W softened even further by a reduction in their loudness relative
to the vowels. The result is heard as a continuously rolling sound rather
than a plopping or rhythmically bubbling sound. Phonetically the best
representation seems:
wowowowowo….
lolololololololo….
woowoowoowoo….
loolooloolooloo….
wohoowohoowohoo….
lohoolohoolohoolohoo….
The force of air necessary to sing rolling water
is less than for bubbling water which is, in turn, less than for plopping
water. A tour requiring less force to sing means it can be sung for
a longer duration. This is the reason that rolling water can be sustained
longer than the other water tours. This difference of force is also
the reason that any pulsating quality in the Rollende tour is less pronounced
or deep in pitch than in the Bollende tour.
Water
tours sung with a closed beak have a full and mellow tone; opening the
beak results in a less full and more harsh tone. Another quality that
increases the value of a good, soft rendition of any of the three water
tours is an discernible variation of loudness through the tour. Such
a performance is called 'bent' water and can be bent upwards (soft to
loud) or bent downwards (loud to soft). Most valuable is a performance
where the notes are presented in a rocking or undulating manner.
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|
Chorr
/ Knorr notes contain simple sounds of a single vowel and lacking,
therefore, any hint of water sound. These two tours, best sung with closed
beaks, are similar to each other in many respects, including the key they
are sung in. It is mostly their duration that distinguishes them and determines
which specific tour name applies. The Chor is a short tour. It is often
a connecting passage between two songs or tours. In Chor it seems the
bird distinctly sings the English word 'chore' with a clearly audible
'R' at the end. He makes a tour of it by repeating the word quickly three
or four times in a beating manner and sometimes with an almost laughing
quality. If the beak opens as he is singing the tour it deteriorates immediately
becoming clattering and unpleasant to the ear.
In contrast, the Knoorr is performed in a rolling manner and the singer
sustains it for a longer duration than is true of the Chorr tour. As in
other rolls, it can be performed in a bent fashion or in a less valuable
style where the volume does not modulate. The tour begins with the consonants
Kn followed by the vowel groups 'o' or 'oo' and ended by repetitively
trilling R's at the end.
Phonetically the tour sounds like:
Knor-r-r-r-r-r-r
Knoor-r-r-r-r-r-r
Only if the tour is sung with a closed beak does it have the melodious
sound which makes the tour so beautiful. Mr. Peleman said that it is a
true thing of beauty when two birds are singing Knoorr simultaneously
and in harmony but with differing vowel sounds. |
| Staaltone
(Steel notes) Can be defined as the metalic sounds. After the water tours
the most distinctive tours sung by the Waterslager are the "Nightingale"
tours. One of these tours in the Staaltone which literally translates
into 'Steel Tones'. The Steel Tones tour is so named because its sounds
are strong, resonant, and have a distinctly metallic accent. One can reproduce
the sounds by tapping a small, steel hammer against a piece of metal pipe
hanging suspended by a string. The tones produced are pure, clear, full
and metallic sounds which last awhile and then slowly fade until the next
tap repeats the process. The more slowly the notes are repeated the longer
the resonance and the more impressive the sounds and the score in competition.
|
| Fluiten
& Fluitrol (Flute and Flute Roll) Sounds like a short pulse of
air blown through a flute instrument. The possible pitches of the Waterslagers
flute notes range all the way from shrill to low-pitched. Shrill flutes
are, at best, worthless and often are faulty enough to receive negative
scores. High-pitched flute notes which are clear and pleasing to the ear
are called bells because the sound resembles the ringing of a small bell.
Low-pitched flute notes are simply called flutes. A grouping of individual
flutes is known simply as a Fluiten or Flutes tour. When the flute note
is repeated rapidly enough to produce a continuously rolling sound, then
the tour is known as Fluitrol or Flute Roll. |
|
Bellen
and Belrol (Bells and Bell Rolls) Bells
are pleasant, high-pitched flute notes. They are usually sung rapidly
with a small interval discernible between each note. Such a tour is
called Bells and begins with the consonant 'L' which is completed with
either an 'ee', 'ing', 'ung', or 'oo'.
The resulting possible sounds are:
lee.lee.lee.lee.lee. . .
loo.loo.loo.loo.loo
ling.iing.ling.ling
lung.lung.lung.lung….
All Bells have a tinkling quality somewhat like
a bicycle bell. The Waterslager can also sing bells joined and sung
in a rolling fashion in which case the tour is known as Bell Roll. These
tours have a deep or hollow sound because their vowel groups are the
'oy' or 'o'. But with a Bell Roll the sound is more like a telephone
or doorbell ring which conveys qualities of both ringing and rolling.
Melodious Bell Rolls begin with a softly sounded 'r' consonant followed
by the vowel groups “o”, “ee”, or “o”.
The resulting sound is more like an uninterrupted
rororororo...
reereereeree... or
rooroorooroo...
which,
particularly in the latter two, is accompanied by a pleasant metallic
tone. Mr. Peleman felt the Bell Roll to be among the most valuable tours
of the Waterslager and found it often forming an exciting transition
to the deeper hollow roll tones. But, he went on to point out, it was
a 'dangerous' addition to the song repertoire as it so easily became
faulty. Technically this happens if the “R”, becomes dominant;
if the 'ee' or 'oo' becomes too sharp or soft; if the tone becomes coarse,
nasal or hard; or if the 'ree' becomes 'Shree'.
|
Tjokken
(Choke, Chong and Chonken sounds)
As mentioned, two other Waterslager tours besides Steel Tones were said
to be nightingale-like. Mr. Peleman names these Tjokken and a sister tour,
Tjocken. The beginning element of Tjokken is the Flemish Tj for which
our closest English sound is Ch. To this beginning is added the vowel
'o' finished with 'ng' or 'nk'. Thus, the two possible sounds are 'chonk'
or 'chong'. To Mr. Peleman this was the most valuable of the nightingale
sounds. He felt the sound to be refined and an embellishment to the Waterslager
song as it adding dramatic versatility. In 1929 he stated that it was
heard only rarely, but, he said, "All breeders should endeavor to
teach their singers this tour through knowledgeable and purposeful cross
breeding. Almost as beautiful to Mr. Peleman was the Tjocken tour. In
this tour the bird seems to pronounce the English word 'choke' so clearly
that "it can neither be ignored nor confused with any other tour".
As Mr. Peleman said, "Tjok (Choke) are just like steel or tjonk (Chong)
tones: genuine nightingale tones. They clearly increase the value of the
Waterslager song”. As with Steel Tones, the rating of Choke and Chong
depends on a full, clear pronunciation of their respective sound in a
slow repetition. Quickly repeated tours do not achieve high values. If
one hears 'oy' instead of 'o' in a Choke tour, the wonderful sound is
no longer present, and if one hears a long 'a' or an 'ah', the tour is
faulty and can be punished with negative points. |
|
Schokkel
(Chuckle notes) Schokkel is a tour that many people find difficult to
hear but easy to explain. It is a tour that sounds like human laughter.
I have read various explanations for the derivation of the name but
it seems most derived from the Middle Dutch word 'schocken' which literally
means 'jolted' or 'shaken'. This note requires such force of expiration
to sing that the Waterslager is literally shaken all over. He moves
and sounds like Santa Claus laughing. Combining a forced 'h' sound with
an 'o', 'oo', 'a' and sometimes even an 'ee' the birds lets loose with
one of the following repetitions:
ho - ho – ho
hoo - hoo – hoo
ha - ha – ha
hee - hee – hee
The Schokkel and Woeten are two melodies
which have virtually vanished in the Waterslager, and judges normally
indicate they are lacking without actually expecting them to manifest
themselves.
|
Onvoorziene
loon
- (Unexpected Tours or
improvised melodies), are now almost completely diminished to the point
that they are virtually ignored by the judge. And, ultimately, these can
come to be considered negative melodies which in general can be said to
offend the ear of the listener. Even an optimal singer is not always exempt
from such faults. These sounds are those which pollute the song and have
their source in the songs of other races of canaries or from sparrows
and so on. |
|
Indruk
or Impression notes
Every type of tour received a separate rating under its own heading
but also a collective rating under Indruk or the Impression heading.
Summarizing all the qualities one evaluates in the birds song. If the
tour in its tone pattern, speed, duration and undulation in intensity
is so pleasant that one cannot wish for a better one, it receives the
maximum of points.
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|
NEGATIVE
TOURS
In the preceding description of the tours it was pointed out that each
tour could be sung with varying expressions. As the sound increasingly
deviates from the best tour expression there appear negative aspects
or faults which sooner or later result in the tour being considered
a detriment. Faults are categorized as minor, moderate and severe. One
point is deducted for minor faults which do not "overly agonize
the ear." Two points are deducted for moderate faults. For shrill
faults which are most bothersome, three points are deducted.
How many points are deducted also depends on how frequently the faults
occur. If faults are brought briefly and rarely one can forgive them
since it is not too annoying. However, if the singer brings an entire
tour in faulty notes and/or repeats them constantly, it becomes disturbing,
even intolerable. These faults will then be taught to other birds and
become rampant. Some of the severe faults are so aggravating that the
culprit will be ejected from a competition since the other contestants
could easily pick up the severely faulty tour.
During his discussion of faults, Mr. Peleman shared a little about the
development of the Waterslager song. 'The development of song knowledge
among our breeders came about through association with trained admirers
and experts so that now one can more easily recognize faults and remove
the offending bird from the strain in order to strive for a pure, aesthetic,
well sounding song. This is how tjappen (Chop-ping), tjippen (Cheeping)
and tjeppen (Chip-ping) and the screeching flutes disappeared as did
schnetter and schnitter in the ensuing years. If selection in regards
to song quality would cease, these faults would suddenly reappear and
spread as they did before'.
Ophaal
- (Riet / Inspiration Noices)
These are noises similar to the previously described aufholer or "breath
catcher" noise which is a loud inhalation often heard after the
bird finishes a water tour. Often produced with the beak open, these
are peculiar, hard sounds usually combining the consonant "R"
with a very hard 'ee' and sung at a very high pitch.
Hogespitse
- (Shrill noices)
The fact that shrill noises can be faulty has been discussed before.
Snetter- (Hissing sound)
Schnitters, schnetters and schnatters is a German colloquial expression
for the chatter that geese make. These hissing noises are one of the
problems of the Waterslager and are based on a very sharp Flute note
which has 'Sr or Ts' as the beginning consonant. Such flutes can be
repeated rapidly as tours sounding like sri-sri-sri-sri or tsi-tsi-tsi-tsi.
Such sounds always decrease the value of the performance. Mr. Tielens
shared that these very dangerous faults are rarely heard nowadays in
purebred Waterslagers, but can often be heard in the offspring where
a Waterslager has been bred to a color canary.
Neuzig
- (Nasally sounds)
This fault is where any tour is sung as if the bird had a very bad cold.
Tjip
- tjep - tsiet- (Cheep, Chip, and Cheet)
Mr. Lode Tielens of Belgium provided the above as phonetic transcriptions
for the Flemish names. He stated that pronouncing the names very accurately
reproduces the sound of the faulty tour. These were specifically mentioned
by Mr. Peleman as faults which breeders must be ever vigilant against.
Tjap
- (Chop or Chopping notes)
Another fault that sounds like the name, Chop is mentioned in a couple
of sources as the worst possible fault and the one that will cause a
singer to be thrown out of a contest immediately. The song of most type
and color-bred canaries has a lot of Chop tours in it and is the reason
why song canary fanciers often call them "Choppers". This
is the reason it is so dangerous to raise song and non-song canaries
together if you plan to exhibit your birds.
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