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Author Topic: Bass v Melody  (Read 2324 times)

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ron1

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Bass v Melody
« on: May 01, 2009, 05:44:52 AM »

Hi

I have a one row Ariette with two bass buttons and wondered how important or unimportant it is to develop an independence with the bass. Example would be, not to play the bass, note for note with the melody.

Hope this makes sense.


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HallelujahAl

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Re: Bass v Melody
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2009, 08:30:07 AM »

I'm probably going to get shouted at here by the wise and venerable - but I would say that its quite a dangerous thing to get used to playing the bass note for note alongside the treble. Developing a good bass accompaniment which plays alongside or underneath a melody line often means that the two lines of music are rhythmically and sometimes structurally not 'together' if you know what I mean. Think of a simple Waltz tune like 'The Blue Danube' - the melody is not note for note in terms of length or value the same as the 'oom pah pah' underneath. The bass end is something I've been working on lately and I've been trying to develop a strong rythmic sense of what's going on whilst keeping the treble fluid. It's hard on a diatonic box - but worth the effort I feel. I find it can be a little bit of a 'cop out' to just stop playing the bass end because I struggle to make it fit - so for me developing a strong sense of what's supposed to be going on in the bass is becoming of greater importance. Hope this helps???
AL
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ron1

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Re: Bass v Melody
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2009, 09:56:35 AM »

Thanks Al
Advice sounds good.

I am working on the bass side in an attempt to develop something separate from the treble but its not easy to explain the details. Suppose you might say, making a definite oom pa pa of it, or whatever. Even if it only involves playing one bass button and emphasizing rhythm a little more than usual. Dare say I will get further advice. 

Ron
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Bob Ellis

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Re: Bass v Melody
« Reply #3 on: May 01, 2009, 10:15:11 AM »

Ron,

You should try to get to a workshop with someone like John Spiers, Tim van Eyken or Julian Sutton, all of whom teach some interesting and innovative bass accompaniments to tunes. They can be difficult to master, but it is certainly worth the effort. If you can't find a workshop earlier, Melodeons at Witney in November usually has courses focussing on developing left hand accompaniements.

Hope this helps.
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Theo

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Re: Bass v Melody
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2009, 01:47:30 PM »

Ron,

You should try to get to a workshop with someone like John Spiers, Tim van Eyken or Julian Sutton, all of whom teach some interesting and innovative bass accompaniments to tunes. They can be difficult to master, but it is certainly worth the effort. If you can't find a workshop earlier, Melodeons at Witney in November usually has courses focussing on developing left hand accompaniements.

Hope this helps.

or the Darlington Folk Music Weekend in October where Julian Sutton is the tutor
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Owen Woods

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Re: Bass v Melody
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2009, 01:50:55 PM »

I love Spiers' bass technique. It's worth getting one of their albums to have a listen for ideas.
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Matthew B

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Re: Bass v Melody
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2009, 02:24:36 PM »

Other Bass Masters worth a listen are Chris Parkinson (eg on Mr Isaac's Maggot), Brian Peters (eg on Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy), Andy Cutting (pretty much everything), and of course Tony Hall, for whom there seems to be no distinction between the two ends of the box.  This noted, I think the old oom-pah bass gets dismissed too quickly sometimes.  Bob Cann rattles along very nicely with a no-nonsense alternating technique that sounds great. 

As you're playing a two-bass box much of the technique for an eight bass box is not an option.  There are some fairly significant variations in one-row bass technique also.  Elsewhere on the forum there's a discussion of a Norwegian player Embrik Begerplasse, who uses the basses as a drone.  It sounds great.  At the other extreme there are lot of Cajun, Zydeco and Quebec players who use the basses on one-rows to emphasize certain bits of the tune in various ways.  And then there are all sorts of oom-pah experts out there, from East Anglia to Italy. 

If it sounds good, you're doing it right.
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