Melodeon.net Forums
Discussions => General Discussion => Topic started by: tiny on November 08, 2017, 07:16:17 PM
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I have been thinking for some time about giving up playing the melodeon.
It is fair to say that playing has been an on and off love affair for around 37 years. I have had long periods of time when I have not played, but I have always been interested in listening to English Folk Music. It occurred to me today that I don't really want to play anymore. Its sad but maybe could be liberating.
Has anyone else gone through this?
Lizzy
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Only overnight, after seeing the likes of Squeezy, Andy Cutting, Saul Rose, Ollie King, JK etc. in concert. The usual cycle is first half of gig: wow I'm really inspired, second half of gig: wow, I'm never going to bother playing again, morning after: sod it I want to play :|||:
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Nicely put, Helena.
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Personally, no I haven't; but I have experienced the same feelings with other activities I have been involved in over the years. There's no simple answer; obviously as a committed melodeonista I would say no, whatever you do don't leave us; on the other hand, if it really doesn't give you pleasure any more and the drive to do it has gone then there is only one course of action. I really don't know; only you can truly decide what's best for you. I know this is no real help, but I can empathise with your feelings as I have had to make similar decisions in other fields. Don't rush into a decision; think about it, sleep on it,sleep on it some more and if you still feel the same way in a couple of months or so , then maybe......
Graham
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I think the key to answering your question lies in your reasons for doing so. If it is coming from a place of genuine disinterest, that's one thing, but if it's coming from a place of feeling unworthy, not good enough, frustration, or any space or feeling of lack, then I would strongly suggest you not give up for such reasons. I know the feeling, but giving up from such a space is rarely an empowering decision, and results in a feeling of contraction rather than one of expansion or joy. If it brings you joy, keep doing it. If leaving it behind brings liberation, then you have your answer. Follow what makes you feel bigger, better, and more free : )
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I had a one-to-one tutorial session with a great player last year - a 'significant' birthday present from my wife. I have to say that as we went home afterwards I seriously considered taking up the banjo or stamp collecting instead but sanity returned quite quickly...because I realised that playing traditional music has been the great love of my life and no matter what level or ability we achieve it can be wonderful fun and a fantastic way to switch off from life's pressures.
I also have gone through periods when I didn't play for months - I could easily have decided to give up playing completely - but I'm so glad I simply left the box in it's box. It didn't seem to mind. And I very much echo the comments of GPS and mselic !
J
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If you do finally decide to give up, speaking from my own experience with an English concertina, I would strongly encourage you to keep hold of your favourite box. I sold my concertina after hardly playing it for a number of years, but after another couple of years I had the urge to squeeze again, and it got worse and worse. Not having the funds for another decent concertina, I moved on to a £7.01 melodeon from good old eBay. The rest is history, and now, although suffering from M.A.D., I'm a happy man again.
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I absolutely have felt that way. For me it was too long a period without identifiable progress. I started writing tunes, the first time this happened. The second time I move into DG English stuff for a change. Now I'm trying to learn by ear and memory rather than dots. So if one area of melodeon playing has plateaued then I seek different challenges. Feeling frustrated again at losing the tunes that I have just learnt but this time I have a group to play with every week and that makes a real difference.
I gave up the piano accordion quite happily, though like Edward I wish I hadn't sold the Brandoni. (I would like a quality small accordion again for when odd keys come up, but I can't justify the cost just now).
37 years is a long time. The clarinet gave me up after a similar period and I haven't let myself miss that.
Is there something else you'd like to do with the time instead?
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Thanks you all for your time, helpful comments and suggestions and for sharing your own thoughts.
I think the main reason is having enjoyed playing English tunes up and down the rows for many years, for Morris and in sessions and enjoying it, I now play across the rows more often than not, and complicated tunes which I can't free myself from some form of notation as I can't always remember all the chord structures. The group I play with sight read very well and quite often choose music that does not sit easily on the melodeon, so I struggle with that, and feel the pressure for lots of practise. I can read music but not quickly onto the box..(as discussed in another thread.) Perhaps I have got out of touch with why I originally played. In the past I used to play and not think too much about it, so maybe I now overthink it. Perhaps I should go back to playing more simple tunes that I am able to play well and enjoy and without notation to support. What would I do with my extra time? that is a very good question. I'm considering training to be a listener in the Hospice but I could still play and manage that. I am retired so indulging in my interests.
It has been really helpful to read others experiences thank you, I'll keep thinking.
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.) . Perhaps I should go back to playing more simple tunes that I am able to play well and enjoy and without notation to support. .
I think you have just hit the nail right on the head!
george ;)
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Thanks George (:)
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it is fair to say that playing has been an on and off love affair for around 37 years.
So it’s probably also fair to say you are just going through a 'off' period at the moment. Don’t give it up, even if you did you will still be a melodeon player on account of the fact you having played it for 37 years :-).
Don’t stress over it, that’s what takes the fun out of it. Musicians that can sight read whilst playing aren't necessarily better than you, you can quite possibly pick up a tune form ear better than they can. Maybe introduce a tune into your groups repertoire that you know well, and can try to encourage them to try without the dots, and restore the balance! ;-)
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( Maybe introduce a tune into your groups repertoire that you know well, and can try to encourage them to try without the dots, and restore the balance!)
Thanks Jonathan.
I have tried to encourage play without dots, but they resist saying it takes up too much time, too much repetition and can't be remembered, and then the discussion of playing by ear and dots starts and thats another thread! :)
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Yes, it sounds like it's moved from being a pleasure to being a chore and an obligation. As above, move away from your practice group for a while. Maybe just find a few pub sessions and re-discover the fun.
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I can't free myself from some form of notation as I can't always remember all the chord structures. The group I play with sight read very well and quite often choose music that does not sit easily on the melodeon, so I struggle with that, and feel the pressure for lots of practise. I can read music but not quickly onto the box..(as discussed in another thread.)
This resonates well with me. I obviously read well on other instruments, but reading on the melodeon - especially DG box (I'm primarily a GC player) is sometimes humiliating. I have to work hard to remember that I am not defined by my weaknesses, but by my strengths. I take pride in the efforts I'm making to improve my memory of tunes, too. And look on the progress rather than the current state of my abilities.
Good luck.
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I can't free myself from some form of notation as I can't always remember all the chord structures. The group I play with sight read very well and quite often choose music that does not sit easily on the melodeon, so I struggle with that, and feel the pressure for lots of practise. I can read music but not quickly onto the box..(as discussed in another thread.)
Sounds to me that there is an issue with the company you are keeping, more than with you (:)
They may be very nice people and skilled musicians, but they don't sound like the company I would choose.
1. From a recent thread, it seemed clear to me that sight reading on the melodeon is genuinely more difficult than playing tunes by sight (on most other instruments). This seems to be nearly everyone's experience, including some fine players . It's certainly mine.
2. Unless I'm reading something into this you didn't say, this group seems to skate over tunes, getting another one under their belt, rather than getting to know them. I prefer to embrace them and experiment over a period of time.
3. There are not really any simple tunes. Just tunes that haven't been fully explored, yet. If you don't believe me dig out something like Squeezy playing No Man's jig with the Eiiza Carthy band. This is probably the simplest melody I know but I bet your group couldn't make a noise this good, without someone arranging it dot by dot for them (if then) and then they would be stuck with one way of playing it .
4. It wouldn't surprise me if they forget how to play it two minutes after they finish playing it.
I could go on, but you get my drift.
Seems to me what you need is to find a group of people who like to enjoy making music rather than a group that idealises demonstrating their superior skills in one small area of it that is not considered important, or even desirable by an awful lot of us.
Even if they are as marvelous as they think they are, it appears they don't make music in the way you enjoy. I would give them up, not the instrument.
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I'd like to echo what the recent posts have said. When I started out I found a number of Irish sessions, while great fun I never felt entirely at ease, then folk festivals showed me there was a whole other world of fine English music out there and I knew then where I was happiest.
Pursue your happy place.
Steve
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I have tried to encourage play without dots, but they resist saying it takes up too much time, too much repetition and can't be remembered, and then the discussion of playing by ear and dots starts and thats another thread! :)
Just out of interest, Tiny (Lizzy?), what sort of music are they playing that they don't think is worth the effort of learning?
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Again thanks for all the thoughts, there is more than an element of truth in what has been said above. I really like the people I play with and consider them to be good friends, however musically maybe we come from a different place. We play some English tunes but always with a harmony line or maybe two and yes they don't get played for long before we move onto another tune. This can work well especially if a group are deciding on whether a tune is to be put into the repertoire, but it can lead to frustration.
"I could go on, but you get my drift" (sorry don't know how to put it into a blue quote)
Yes I do:) and yours and others thoughts have given me something to really think about. Something that perhaps I have been pushing aside.
I'm going to go and play Oscar Woods Jig. :|||: (:)
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"Just out of interest, Tiny (Lizzy?), what sort of music are they playing that they don't think is worth the effort of learning?"
Yes my name is Lizzy :)
I don't think it is the sort of music that is being played but them wanting to play something once or maybe twice and then move on, so the repertoire is huge. I like playing a tune over and over until you can sink into it and its part of you. Also learning by ear (as we know) is a skill that does take time and patience, but once its there it tends to remain. We occasionally play for events which almost always requires new music to fit in with a theme. As I type I can see the problem, or my problem. Ah well I hope this makes some sense. Thanks again.
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At the risk of thread drift I think there are fundamental differences between good dotists and good readers.
The dotists know that they can look whats on a piece of paper and , often without further ado, play it at an acceptable level. The route is visual i.e visual input to the processor (bit of the brain) which then sends signals down the arm to the fingers etc etc. The processor knows that there is no need to remember the tune as the process of looking at the paper can easily be repeated- the storage is the paper!
The earists work on an audible input to the storage/memory bit of the brain and for most people the storage is not completed until the tune has been listened to and maybe played several times. When the tune us to be played it has to be transferred from the storage module to the processor from where on the process is the same as for the dotist i.e message down the arm etc
This means that often the earist is buggered when playing with the type of dotist who is forever playing 'new' tunes that he has found the sheet of paper for. On the other hand the dotist is equally buggered when the earist starts to play endless tunes, eg in a session, without any visible means of support!
george
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A strong second to Edwards thoughts previous. I had done the same, tho another instrument, thinking, I'll never be interested in this again, etc. etc.
Of course, 3 or 4 years later....
If you can afford to keep it, just store it away for some period, say 5 years? After than, might be safe...
Or you could loan it to a deserving member of the parrish nearby...
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A strong second to Edwards thoughts previous. I had done the same, tho another instrument, thinking, I'll never be interested in this again, etc. etc.
Of course, 3 or 4 years later....
If you can afford to keep it, just store it away for some period, say 5 years? After than, might be safe...
Or you could loan it to a deserving member of the parrish nearby...
Bags I the Erika :D
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It sounds like a tough place to be in and I know others have felt like giving up. I am with Greg on this one...it seems to be more about your outlet for playing than your ability, style or other issues. From your description the gang you are hooked up with don't seem to match what you are looking for.
A bit of research for a session playing opportunity might be a good move - maybe someone on the Forum can advise locations.
And book onto the English Country Music weekend next year in June, where you will leave feeling encouraged and affirmed.
M
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Bags I the Erika :D
[/quote] :D :D :D
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I can understand your dilemma Tiny. For several years I was in a dance band that had a huge repertoire and every month or two the leader would come out with a couple more sets of tubes to learn. The result was we often played music that was not properly bedded in. In took me a while of trying to encourage a different approach but eventually to make the decision to leave. It was awrench but I’ve never regretted it. I found other people to play with and now have a band where we have enjoyed playing the same great tunes for more than ten years, and I think the dancers we play for have a better time too!
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" The result was we often played music that was not properly bedded in."
Yes Theo that is what it feels like. I suppose I can see that now. What a great forum this is, squeezed it out of myself eventually, with a lot of help. Sorry for the pun! :Ph
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. I found other people to play with and now have a band where we have enjoyed playing the same great tunes for more than ten years, and I think the dancers we play for have a better time too!
How true! I have followed a similar route but fortunately have never been expected to learn a TUBE!
george ;D
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Had a 4 year break in the late 90s, did me a world of good!, best wishes, sf.
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I've never thought of giving up the melodeon, but I have given up every other instrument I play in order to focus on the melodeon. I am now returning to low key piano and guitar, but it was completely legitimate for me to set those aside for a while. Even within melodeon, though, I've found myself saying no to things that I "shouldn't have" but then was completely happy that I did. There's a prominent festival here in New England that is considered the pinnacle, but -- for whatever reason -- it was never a good time for me. Very stressful for a lot of the reasons you allude to in your note. Finally, this year, I said, "No," when my band was talking about going. Another thing, my current band, has come about after years of saying no to playing opportunities and possible band mates -- I was waiting for the right folks to come along, and they did! I love my current group.
This may sound selfish, but this is the primary joy of my life (other than kids, etc.) I resist compromising it.
It's completely legitimate to say, "No." Even to melodeon, if that's not the joy of your life.
Gary
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I can certainly relate to what you are feeling. I have played musical instruments since I was 13yrs old but have, periodically, fell out of favour with them. I began playing keyboard/organ then onto Highland Bagpipe then onto Scottish smallpipes, then brief spells on Irish whistle and guitar and now onto melodeon.
My opinion is that you should not feel guilt or regret but just follow your instinct and ensure your hobby is something that you enjoy.
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Yes Theo that is what it feels like. I suppose I can see that now. What a great forum this is, squeezed it out of myself eventually, with a lot of help. Sorry for the pun! :Ph
So do you now realise that the problem isn't yours and that your angst is largely unfounded? Don't give up, play on and have pride in your skills, don't be browbeaten by others with hangups!
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If you stop playing, I'll come round there and smack your legs [and you know I mean it] >:E
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If you stop playing, I'll come round there and smack your legs [and you know I mean it] >:E
Seconded...
Just seen this Lizz... you taught me to play I think almost from primary school age... you taught me lots and now my little brother is also taking lessons with you and he loves telling me on the rare occasions that I see him that he’s “learnt a really cool tune” or “Kieran... Lizz says you learnt this tune and it took you much longer than it took me” 😂😂😂 , you inspired me and I’m now possibly in a position to make a career out of it... It was and still is the most wonderful feeling when I played the Bear Dance with my little brother together in Leominster priory after I’d just sung choral evensong, he needs you to help him thrive and flourish and I love him to have the same chance and teacher that his big brother had all those years ago!
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Well what can I say. (:)
Kieran thank you for your very kind words. Its nice to hear how you are and your possible plans.
I seem to have got over my mini meltdown on giving up, and I'm having a second lease of life on the melodeon. Having thought it through and adjusted some of my commitments, I find I am now enjoying playing again. After the next school event I am going to return to my English music and European tunes. I'm finding I like playing my favourite tunes over and over until we become one.
Everyone here has been so helpful, a big thank you. :|||:
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Hooray! Pleased to hear this, Lizzy! (:)
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Thanks Steve (:)
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1) Lizzy - how did you get that emo to flash and substitute for a letter?
2) I was stupid enough to dispose of my three voice, el cheapo Klingenthaler in G (I still don't remember where it went!) in the early 90's. Of course, only a few years later, I was bitten by the bug again and was properly infected this time. I have others, but I still wish I had my original ... :(
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See the threat of violence always works. I still have nightmares about a long drive with a first melodeon. all I could hear was a little voice saying push-pull, push-pull, push-pull, push-pull, pull-push, pull-push. pull-push. all the way home. :-[
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I suppose this means you're not going to give me your Erica. Great to know you've recovered your melodeon mojo.
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i'm not going to sugar coat it :P how much for your melodeon? perhaps another question for the Buy/Sale threads.
will you still keep your collection? ;)
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Ebor, I have no idea if I have done something different, I just clicked on the squeezy emoji .
Teehee re Erica......and I wouldn't say I have a collection compared to others here, more like a small shopping list!
Melodeon Mojo sounds good eh! I like it.
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still pushing and pulling.
push pull push pull push pull pull push
g a b c d e f# g
with the arm movements it becomes air melodeon ;D
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I've joined this topic late but I would like to say, I have had the same experience and I did give up for a few years then came back to it. My problem was I reached a sort of plateau, it seemed to me no matter how much I practiced I did not seem to improve so the box was packed away. At the time I was going to sessions regularly and listening to Andy Cutting and Squeezy John and the like and continued to listen but not play, so I still had a liking for the music. So now fast forward to a couple of years ago when I got the box out again practiced up a little and went back to my local-ish session. What fun I didn't realised what I had been missing out on all that time. So my advice would be.
Take a little time out if you need to
Remember, You are you so get comfortable with yourself and play in your style. Don't worry about trying to be as good as the pro's
Play the tunes the way you want to and don't bother with learning tunes you don't like. Just because it's a session standard doesn't mean it's a good tune.
Try to practice a little every day. I think half an hour to an hour a day is better than masses at the weekend and nothing during the week.
Be critical of yourself but remember, strive for excellence not perfection. There is no such thing as perfection.
Above all HAVE FUN.
Sorry if I'm off topic a bit as I have not read the whole thread here, but I do know feeling of "I don't seem to be making any progress"
:-\
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I've just joined a flute choir. I was a bit taken aback when the leader said "oh, well if you've played that before you won't want to do it again". Well, yes I will actually because I like it and enjoy playing it. I don't want to "conquer and move on". It sort of (sorry) struck a chord with this thread and does seem to be an approach to music some have. And that's fine - it's just not mine.
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High Tiny. I've got a bit of a puzzle here, perhaps you can help. I have tried most of the approx. 35 melodeons in this house and friends boxes. And I find that the majority don't have a g on the push 3rd button, I have found, Eb. F. D. C. and A. Do you think I've got this tuning thing wrong, Or is there some other reason other than the Sauvignon Blank again. (:) Dion
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You obviously live in an area where boxes tuned in Bb/Eb, C/F, A/D are common. In England D/G is the most popular tuning and in France G/C is the most popular, either of these would have a push G on the third button of a two row 19 or 21 button box.
Edited to add: There are also a lot of boxes around that are fourth button start . . .
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Oh dear, sorry about this, it was only supposed to be a gentle leg pull for Tiny. But I do know that D/G is the only keys being played in England, all because one man decided to order those keys from Hohner, which he thought would suit fiddle players best. Completely ignoring the old players who usually played in C. So now we are stuck with the awful high squeaky G row. Some places it is true use G/C in France, in fact I've just changed a Erica for a friend for French stuff. We sometimes do have just C/F sessions over here in the Welsh Borders, always fun when you catch out the guitar, banjo and other instrument players who have only learned G/D because they thought that they only need to learn to play in those keys. Tiny. I might pull your leg but I would not really have smacked them [well not very hard anyway, Dion :-[ :|glug
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(Heresy Section) Which is why I enjoy playing Bear Dance (Am) followed by Horse's Brawl (G/Gm). It soon sorts out the melodeon players - apart from the two who come regularly and sit by me. I am just learning the combo on the box myself and it's a b*gger deciding which one to use. Mind, George would have no problem!
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We sometimes do have just C/F sessions over here in the Welsh Borders,
I would be very interested in those....where are they and when? such a lovely mellow sound.
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followed by Horse's Brawl (G/Gm)
Yes a lovely change of key ....
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But I do know that D/G is the only keys being played in England,.
Absolutely NOT true; there are lots of players of C/F, G/C and Bb/Eb boxes in England, and A/D is not unknown. Not to mention the B/C brigade, the C one-rowers. OK, D/G, for whatever historical reasons,may be the most common, but it's certainly not by any means the ONLY combination.
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But I do know that D/G is the only keys being played in England,.
Absolutely NOT true; there are lots of players of C/F, G/C and Bb/Eb boxes in England, and A/D is not unknown. Not to mention the B/C brigade, the C one-rowers. OK, D/G, for whatever historical reasons,may be the most common, but it's certainly not by any means the ONLY combination.
;D the singer/ guitarist in our band prefers the Bb/Eb and C/F boxes to sing to, they suit the pitch of his voice and have a resonance that can make people weep ( or that could just be the awful standard of my playing :o ..... driving people to tears... :|||: ;D)
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Liliputs rule!
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So now slowly coming out of lockdown I have been re reading this thread. I have had all the time I needed but still not been practising and playing like I should . Why is it so difficult I wonder. I have met twice with some friends to play outside in a garden but now its personal motivation that is low, which is different from the original post. However I am still playing and when I pick up my box, after a 20 minute play, I feel such good emotion and good energy. (:) plod on then :||:
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That sounds good!
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So now slowly coming out of lockdown I have been re reading this thread. I have had all the time I needed but still not been practising and playing like I should . Why is it so difficult I wonder. I have met twice with some friends to play outside in a garden but now its personal motivation that is low, which is different from the original post. However I am still playing and when I pick up my box, after a 20 minute play, I feel such good emotion and good energy. (:) plod on then :||:
I've been much the same for a lot of lockdown. Lots of projects I could have made huge progress on, that went zooming past while tinkering the days away. I did make myself sit down and start bashing away again at the piano a while back, and I've found routine is thing that makes most of my practice happen.
For a lot of us though, once we've gotten over the "wow I can make this cool sound" phase, we play music for and with other people, and if they're not around, there's little motivation to do so.
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Much the same, lockdown made playing quite depressing for me - no audience reaction, no dancers, no other band members... I've just got back from a private session at the pub, outdoors in an open marquee wit the storm whipping through. It was magic to sit around and play with friends, all of us a bit rusty but relaxed and happy to have a few beers and play some favourite tunes and a few to trip ourselves up. It's certainly now putting the spell checker to the test!
I guess the moral is that absinthe makes the heart... Even our squire, who would under normal circumstances have been playing the festival circuit with his ceilidh band, got the same kick out of a session after months of solitude. His comment about "folk hits of the nineties" struck a chord - we just wanted to play what we knew well. Maybe next time we'll have a few solos as people showcase their more recent pieces.
Rob.
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Have to say that the lockdown has been great for my box playing, but I'm pretty sure it's because I use the accordion to procrastinate from work. I've got myself figured out! :o
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So now slowly coming out of lockdown I have been re reading this thread. I have had all the time I needed but still not been practising and playing like I should . Why is it so difficult I wonder. I have met twice with some friends to play outside in a garden but now its personal motivation that is low, which is different from the original post. However I am still playing and when I pick up my box, after a 20 minute play, I feel such good emotion and good energy. (:) plod on then :||:
Glad you are still playing Lizzy, even if it is just short periods of time. The fact that you are doing it at all is the really important thing, and you have already identified the 'good emotion and good energy'.
The lack of motivation seems to be very common during lockdown and other restrictions. You are not the only one feeling this way, so take comfort in that many of us are feeling similarly in one way or another. I believe things will get better, though there is still some way to go yet. Keep plodding on :||: :|||:
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I'm just beginning to look at the melodeon again, just when I start back to school and probably will have less time. I still don't know how to make it interesting again - I tend to play so much of the same type of tunes, but those are the ones I like most.
Still thinking of playing recorder music, but am waiting for a box to be sorted for that. The only encouraging thing is that I don't seem to have got any worse during the lay off.
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most 'sessions' seem to have fairly limited repertoire which is repeated more or less at each session.
at a local session I go to (closed for the duration of the lockdown) some of the tunes I know and like, some I know but are less than keen on an some I don't have any urge to learn.
However most pub sessions are also very much social gatherings with , hopefully, gaps in the music giving time to natter, go to the bar or whatever so are well worth being part of.
I great deal of the music I enjoy playing is not considered to be 'English' session music by the purists so I save that for other occasions and go with the flow of a session whilst not taking it too seriarsly !
so if you are getting a bit fed up with a particular session etc give it a break but don't give the box a break
george
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I have given up in a sense, in that I’ll probably never play another session. The pedantic repetition of the same tunes in the same order, and auto medley to 2nd, 3rd tune even after twice though eventually crushed all the fun out of it for me.
My soul is with Lizzy’s in that I need a tune to become part of me, and to develop organically in play. In-session the pleasure is in feeling what others do with a melody, learning from them organically, adapting my own melodic or harmonic line to suit. Music should always be a conversation to some extent? Traveling around, it even has dialects with the same melody treated quite differently in other regions. Morris’s village variations a nice example?
To me “dots” have their place as a source of record, but are in essence not music. That lies in its expression, nuance, and … emotionality. Does any classical soloist play from dots? No, and nor would they give up their freedom of expression of the piece of music. It’s not all that different for we amateurs 🤔
I now mainly sing with box, with rare chances to accompany others. Here in socially distanced Whitby I’m getting the pleasure of teaching a good guitarist to play my old Lilly (it needs a low F/Eb plate please, Theo!) to play it in chords, to discover how there might be 3 bass chords that work against that right end note, the joy of sus effects for English song, and the importance of periods of silence. It’s really bucking me up!
My protegé? Well, he’ll marry a daughter next month, so we are “in bubble”. But he’s also amazed to discover modes, and just how much can be done with a few buttons!
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I have always had a love-hate relationship with sessions - certainly partly because of the reasons Chris mentions. So I haven't really missed them too much - and whilst I spend a lot of time playing on my own I rarely play the usual session tunes. I do miss playing for dancing, and playing with the band, however.
I am sure lots of us are having problems keeping motivated - particularly when the situation is so uncertain. Outdoor sessions are problematic even when the weather is good. So having new challenges is important and I joined an online workshop series with Jo Freya - it was great having tunes to learn (ir relearn half forgotten tunes in a couple of cases) and the discipline of recording ones own version for Jo to mix with those of the other participants was excellent. Jo is continuing to run these by the way. And of course there are the tune and theme of the month to focus on...and fingers crossed for the Leveret week at Halsway in November (lots of interesting events in the Halsway programme) That should recharge my batteries !
But now I have to hone a tune I dreamt up yesterday, for a young relatives birthday - 'Mayurka'
Julian
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the old time music old timers say " you don't stop playing because you get old , you get old when you stop playing " so think on !
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I guess the moral is that absinthe makes the heart ...
Great to remember absinthe, forgot about it, but as I got a look to the special closet I see there are still two bottles ... so one's out now and ... thanks Rob!
About the lockdown, and since we have two grandchildren here with us since March 8th, practice is being reduced, estimate 5 hours a week or so, and thanks I have a little midi CBA (Hohner Lucia from the 1930's, now reedless midi) ...
"you don't stop playing because you get old , you get old when you stop playing"
True, so better not to stop playing ... thanks Frank!
Now time for a little absinthe ;)
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My problem with lock down hasn't been playing the box, but working so hard in the garden!
I've found that ~ 3 days of digging out Leylandii means my arms don't work for a week, so playing becomes a pain. Literally!
Having dug out most, I then progressed onto digging holes to re-post a fence, then the pergola, all rotted off.
Writing this as the last fence post sets, thank goodness for postcrete which sets in minutes.
Let my arms return to normal, then ..... tunes (:)
I too get bored with sessions, we often go more than twice through, often really giving the tune a sound thrashing, but there is repetition in tune repertoire. As said it is as much as much a social thing. Annoyingly I just discovered a new and exciting session close by then lockdown hit so no chance of a second go :-\
I think we all plateau with playing, then find new tunes and get off on the learning process again.
I think the secret is to just keep going......
Q
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It brings a great lift to my heart to hear all your thoughts and comments and that I am not on my own in this thinking. Quite a relief really. I thank you for sharing and giving me strength to continue.
I remember my first Sidmouth in 1973, (I think!) young and impressionable and loving the English trad music. I have continued to love this music all my life, and this year 2020 I should have been there for the whole week, (first time for the whole week since 1973) , and of course that did not happen. I suppose we all share these moments.... going off topic.. but just sharing.
Thanks for all the kind and encouraging words, I hope to play with some of you at some time in the future. Wouldn't that be fab.
Lizzy
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Lizzy, yes it would be fab!
Keep squeezing :|||:
Q
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Thanks for all the kind and encouraging words, I hope to play with some of you at some time in the future. Wouldn't that be fab.
Lizzy, yes it would be fab!
Hear hear!
I know we've spoken on the phone (though not recently) but it would be great to meet up with you for some tunes, Lizzy! Here's hoping for better and more musical times ahead! :|||: :|glug
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Don't give up! Concentrate more on the 1 row - you won't have to concern yourself over much about 'chord structure' you'll just have a choice of 2, push or pull!
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I have given up in a sense, in that I’ll probably never play another session. The pedantic repetition of the same tunes in the same order, and auto medley to 2nd, 3rd tune even after twice though eventually crushed all the fun out of it for me
A session is only as boring as the people who go to it. If they are at all lively they'll be always bringing new tunes and the repertoire will be constantly turning over.
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Our morris side's band leader has been really active in getting us out and playing. It took a little while to convince people to leave home at all - many of us are old enough to be practically shielding. The first trial was a weekday morning in a local park. Obviously many couldn't come due to working (a thing of the past for me) but we each brought a camping chair and sat in the shade on a blazing hot day and played for two hours. On that basis we had an "eat and play" evening at a pub which is operating in marquees in their car park. As Francis blew through the tent we moved chairs into the centre and had good fun whilst the bar staff rigged extra straps over the marquee.
Considering the range of experience and abilities it was surprising how many tunes not often heard in our sessions came out, but everyone was concentrating on playing ensemble again, not playing showcase solos.
Rob.
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A session is only as boring as the people who go to it. If they are at all lively they'll be always bringing new tunes and the repertoire will be constantly turning over.
Fair comment. I love novel tunes and have introduced a couple myself. My disappontment , I suppose is rather that any 'development', other than our local fiddler forcing the pace ever faster even on tunes led by others, is somehow forbidden.
Yes I've had the other sort, extensively outside England, and even in West Coast Irish excursions. And in a couple of festival sessions notably one at Upton under Servern where everyone listend and responsed. It was a delight. Basically I find the medley approach strultifying. Sorry, but that's how it is, I prefer records.
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other than our local fiddler forcing the pace ever faster even on tunes led by others.
What is it about some fiddle players? My theory is that because the instrument is so close to their ear, they hear themselves louder than anyone else.
I have one fiddle player in the village band who thinks "one two three four" means "ready steady go"!
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A session is only as boring as the people who go to it. If they are at all lively they'll be always bringing new tunes and the repertoire will be constantly turning over.[/quote
Yes I've had the other sort, extensively outside England, and even in West Coast Irish excursions. And in a couple of festival sessions notably one at Upton under Servern where everyone listend and responsed. It was a delight.
I was in a great session once at Upton too, maybe three years ago. In the Swan. There was a traveller piper there called Johnny Purcell which really made it for me. Pipes and box can go really well together. The thing is to go to the lively sessions and drop the dull ones.
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Whilst I agree fiddlers can speed up rapidly ( as can we all! ) I think it's more subtle than that.
I've in mind a friend who's a whistle player who can also get a lick on.
I wonder if it's 'melody only' instruments that feel the need to play faster as they don't have the bass side to accompany the instrument and feel it's a bare sound. Therefore speeding up means less gaps between each note?
I do remember this feeling of a bare melody when playing English Concertina where I played melody only and never tried to put on bass notes.
It was the idea driving me onto melodeon......
Q
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Sometimes one feels like saying 'I really enjoyed that - shall we play it a few more times through but more slowly, with feeling, and without speeding up' !
And sometimes it's after I started the tune - because I can be guilty as well... ::)
Julian
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Whilst I agree fiddlers can speed up rapidly ( as can we all! ) I think it's more subtle than that.
I've in mind a friend who's a whistle player who can also get a lick on.
Q
Guilty! I think it is more subtle and I sympathize with Chris' thoughts about sessions. Not because they were "bad sessions," but because sessions have a structure, expectations, and culture, that don't especially suit my temperament. Not the fault of sessions. Not even the "fault" of me. Just a thing. If sessions were my only opportunity to experience this music, I would not have stuck with it. I would be "giving up" also.
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This has been a fascinating and encouraging thread to catch up on.
I've had a challenging relationship with music all my life. I love it passionately, but have become increasingly hard of hearing. So I gave up the softer cello in exchange for louder things that have automatic intonation, like squeeze boxes.
I have similar issues sight reading on the melodeon. I can sight read easy peasy on so many other instruments even movable clefs, but not melodeon. I make myself sightread- very slowly, about 16 bars every practice session. It's helping, but then I switch boxes to a different key and it flies out the window! And when I talk to a flute player about how hard it is to sightread, they look at me like I'm a nincompoop!
Im in rural Pennsylvania USA, and there is one session that met (pre-pandemic). They played so fricking fast, I never had a chance. Even if it was my turn in the rotation, I'd start the tune and they'd ramp it up to such a tizzy I couldn't make it to part B of a tune I'd labored over for a month! I left that scene...
Anyway, even if one gives up an instrument, like sadly, I did the cello, music never leaves ones heart. When I need a break, I figure out the fingerings, or play my English Concertina, listen to related music streams, or make arrangements. Each informs the other, and when I return I feel connected again.
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I have similar issues sight reading on the melodeon. I can sight read easy peasy on so many other instruments even movable clefs, but not melodeon. I make myself sightread- very slowly, about 16 bars every practice session. It's helping, but then I switch boxes to a different key and it flies out the window! And when I talk to a flute player about how hard it is to sightread, they look at me like I'm a nincompoop!
The melodeon is a really strange instrument for sight-reading, mostly I think due to the push-pull nature with different notes on the same button. You are definitely not alone in finding it hard to sight-read on a melodeon, but the skill does come eventually. Like you, I am generally a fluent sight-reader on other instruments (woodwind especially), so when I first started learning the melodeon, I had to pick up tunes by playing them on a whistle first of all and committing them to memory; only then transferring them to melodeon - which just goes to show how the melodeon is very well suited to playing by ear.
As an aside, I found the anglo concertina with its push-pull, double-note action, similarly less suited to sight-reading, but great for playing by ear. In contrast, I find sight-reading on the English concertina (one note per button) relatively straightforward, once I'd got the basic layout fixed in my mind.
Im in rural Pennsylvania USA, and there is one session that met (pre-pandemic). They played so fricking fast, I never had a chance. Even if it was my turn in the rotation, I'd start the tune and they'd ramp it up to such a tizzy I couldn't make it to part B of a tune I'd labored over for a month! I left that scene...
That sort of behaviour at sessions is purely ignorant bad manners, and sadly, not uncommon. You made the right choice to give that particular session a miss. Hope you can find other groups of people to play with (covid-19 permitting), because when a session is good, respectful, and populated by people who listen, it is magic!
Anyway, even if one gives up an instrument, like sadly, I did the cello, music never leaves ones heart. When I need a break, I figure out the fingerings, or play my English Concertina, listen to related music streams, or make arrangements. Each informs the other, and when I return I feel connected again.
Shame you had to give up the cello, but you have clearly found other musical outlets, and as you say, music never leaves the heart. So very true! (:)
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Since the start of the year, I haven't really touched my boxes very much. I have got fed up playing the same tunes over and over plus not being able to get to sessions or morris - so no need to play.
I have also got side tracked by 'other' instruments. I have acquired three instruments which I have always fancied trying and they have taken priority over the box.
I have played guitar since 1964 but never has a bass, so I bought a Hofner 'Beatles' bass, a set of Yamaha electronic drums and an Ibanez acoustic 12 string.
I'm having fun at the moment messing around with new toys, but that wouldn't change the fact that there are no venues to play in. My sixties duo has been mothballed for the forseeable future.
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Since the start of the year, I haven't really touched my boxes very much.
With me it's been just the opposite. Flute and EC, my usual instruments, have been taking a back seat, except for Zoom sessions. In the absence of sessions and gigs, all my practice time has been devoted to melodeon and, without the pressure of feeling I need to learn a lot of tunes in a hurry, I've been practising properly and spending plenty of time on each tune. (I've even been exploring playing in G on the D row, treating my DG as a kind of pseudo-D/C#. Very instructive, though I'm not really past the Christmas carol stage! Interestingly, this doesn't seem to interfere with my more conventional DG playing.)
The melodeon is a really strange instrument for sight-reading, mostly I think due to the push-pull nature with different notes on the same button.
As an aside, I found the anglo concertina with its push-pull, double-note action, similarly less suited to sight-reading, but great for playing by ear. In contrast, I find sight-reading on the English concertina (one note per button) relatively straightforward, once I'd got the basic layout fixed in my mind.
English concertina is the ideal instrument for this because the layout maps so precisely onto a stave. I must have learned a lot of what I know about music by working through Ali Anderson's Concertina Workshop in the 70's.
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Like CAB I've been enjoying the freedom to practice melodeon and I've not had the pressure of trying to get something ready to play out
I've pretty much abandoned the bassoon as it's mid overhaul and I've had it (shock horror) spray painted dove grey as opposed to Chinese scabby cherry-ish almost lacquer (in places).
I'm getting used to the new tuning, the Dutch reversal, and I'm finding a lot of use for the half row.
Just pottering about playing ridiculous tunes makes me realise the capabilities of the instrument. Keys I've always steered clear of are now possible, G minor doesn't seem silly and the trio parts of 3 part tunes with piles of accidentals are only just beyond reach.
What I'm really finding is a complete instrument. I'm never going to make up for my almost 25 year layoff from playing music, but the journey has definitely restarted.
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Isn't it a good feeling when a key you never thought was possible suddenly is. Good luck with your new found enthusiasm and journey.
Lizzy