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Author Topic: Confusing Tune: Hillbilly Polka  (Read 1156 times)

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The Happy Wanderer

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Confusing Tune: Hillbilly Polka
« on: May 26, 2015, 01:56:34 PM »

On YouTube, I found a song by Johnny Pecon called Hillbilly Polka. I like how it sounds, but I cannot figure out how it is possible to play some of the notes. Especially the beginning. I cannot seem to find sheet music for it either. Do you think that the beginning part has lots of black notes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h5u7wN0oLU
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Steve_freereeder

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Re: Confusing Tune: Hillbilly Polka
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2015, 02:35:05 PM »

This is not the sort of song tune which is really playable on a one-row melodeon. You simply don't have the required notes available. The tune has a lot of chromatic runs, which means moving by semitone steps (I guess that's what you mean by the 'black notes'). It also changes key part way through to play a section which is a fifth higher, and then goes back again.

A really skilled player might be able adapt the tune to a one-row, but it would be very much an approximation to what you hear on the Youtube recording; it certainly wouldn't contain those chromatic runs which give the tune its character.

If you want to play these sorts of tunes which are related musically to German/Austrian/Swiss style 'Alpine' tunes, you really need an instrument capable of playing in more than one key and which can play a certain range of chromatic notes, i.e. can play the 'black notes'. In melodeon terms this would mean a two-and-a-half row instrument as a minimum, and ideally a 3- or 4-row. Like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co95xEvn67U

...or else a chromatic button accordion (CBA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRb3SIvV6ZY (watch out for the Mona Lisa smile at the end  ;) )

...or a piano accordion.
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Sebastian

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Re: Confusing Tune: Hillbilly Polka
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2015, 08:36:09 PM »

A normal Club would be sufficent. The tune is a nice example of what I wrote in another thread: It twiddles around with the C-note in the melody. It switches colour, because the underlying chords alternate between tonic and dominant. That's what the Gleichton is made for.

The "black notes" are just embellishment, they don't belong to the core melody. You can play them, if your box has them. If not, just leave them out. It is played in F major. Your accordion is in C major, if I remember correctly, so you can't play it at the same pitch, but have to transpose. You could try to start with something like this:

Code: [Select]
X:1
T:Hillbilly Polka
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=100
K:C
"C" G/G/G/A/ G/G/G/A/ | GE C z/G/ |Gc BA |"G" GF F z/G/ |
GG AB | AG F z/G/ | GG AB |"C" cB AG :|

(I would add right hand chords, not just the melody.)

Where the chord switches from "C" to "G", you have a problem, because you have the "G" chord on pull, whereas on the right hand side you have to play a push note (G). (I insertet some F notes, where in the original they should be G notes. But at least F is playable on the pull, so you can play the right basses. Don't know if it sounds good.) You have to experiment a bit. (:)
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The Happy Wanderer

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Re: Confusing Tune: Hillbilly Polka
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2015, 02:05:06 PM »

Thanks for the ABC notation Нэргүй! I guess when I get my Compadre, I can try out the tune!  ;D
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