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[911377brian]

Can anyone tell me what melodeon Andy Cutting is using when he plays Polka Chinoise on his 'Lisa' CD? My attempts to learn it on a 114G aren't going very well....

[Theo]

I'm pretty sure that is his Castagnari one row Melodeon(aka Max) in D.  It is a tune designed to stretch a one row.  It goes into E in the B part so the chords on the box won't work, you will need someone else if you want to play appropriate chords all the way through.

[Lester]

Here's Clive playing it on a 1 Row

[911377brian]

Thanks to Theo and Lester. I've just found an even more testing version on collectionscanada.gc.ca, quite shrill to my ear but bears out what you say Theo, the player is making no effort to play bass...

[Steve_freereeder]

Can anyone tell me what melodeon Andy Cutting is using when he plays Polka Chinoise on his 'Lisa' CD? My attempts to learn it on a 114G aren't going very well....

I agree with what Theo said and Lester's supporting link to Clive's playing.
Andy and Clive both play in D on a one-row in D, so therefore it's played in the 'home' position. If you want to play it on your 114G, don't try to play it in D, but play it in G instead, in the 'home' position.


Edited to correct quotes balls-up 

[911377brian]

Thanks Steve, I've been 'playing' the A part down the dusty end and tottering to the chin end for the B part...the home key is the chin end isn't it? So play it all there and not go flying about from one end to the other?                   

[Steve_freereeder]

Thanks Steve, I've been 'playing' the A part down the dusty end and tottering to the chin end for the B part...the home key is the chin end isn't it? So play it all there and not go flying about from one end to the other?                   

[Have just tried this myself...]  

You could play the A-music at the chin end but you have to fudge a couple of notes, because the tune needs the note E which you don't have at the chin end of a G-row. Therefore, with a one-row 4-stop in G with all four voices sounding, I'd be tempted to play both the A-music and B-music in the upper octave - it won't sound squeaky with the L-voice sounding. Then you have all the proper notes for the A-music.

What I mean by the 'home' position is basically just playing it along the row, in the same key as the instrument itself, as opposed to the 'cajun' way of playing where the scale starts on button 5 (e.g. playing in the key of G on a 1-row in C, or in the key of A on a 1-row in D)

[911377brian]

Got it Steve! I have  just managed to scramble through both A and B parts in the upper octave and will now practice a lot..possibly forever at the rate I learn nowadays...

[Stiamh]

Québécois players tend to play the whole tune an octave up and in fact not use the low voice. This allows the piccolo voice to dominate, giving what might be thought of as a "Chinese" feel to the piece. I have read that Montmarquette dedicated the tune to his many Chinese friends living in Montreal...

A couple of renditions I have by younger players (Sabin Jacques, Frank Sears) are very dainty and quite slow - a long way from the usual grunt of the LMMH box played in the lower octave.

[Steve_freereeder]

Québécois players tend to play the whole tune an octave up and in fact not use the low voice. This allows the piccolo voice to dominate, giving what might be thought of as a "Chinese" feel to the piece.

Would that be in the key of D or C, Stiamh? I can see how that might sound OK. However, if you played it in G in the upper octave, and without the low voice, I would have thought that would really be too squeaky. (Note to self - must try it and see...)

[911377brian]

Stiamh, could you point me to any of the younger chaps playing Polka Chinoise, a link to their playing perhaps?

[John MacKenzie (Cugiok)]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md9WrPrf-WU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up-I3Adc9WQ

[Stiamh]

A few samples on this page. I've just realized that the last one listed has Frank Sears playing.

http://www.mustrad.udenap.org/tounes/TQ083_polka_chinoise.html

[Stiamh]

Québécois players tend to play the whole tune an octave up and in fact not use the low voice. This allows the piccolo voice to dominate, giving what might be thought of as a "Chinese" feel to the piece.

Would that be in the key of D or C, Stiamh? I can see how that might sound OK. However, if you played it in G in the upper octave, and without the low voice, I would have thought that would really be too squeaky. (Note to self - must try it and see...)

In D, normally. That's about all that anybody plays around here. I might be wrong about the upper octave with piccolo. (I tend to get confused about what octave 4-v boxes are playing in.) But certainly no low voice.

[911377brian]

Thanks Stiamh.I'm beginning to think it sounds best on my 114Bb rather than the 114G...but tomorrow I'll probably think it's better in G......

[baz parkes]

Thanks Stiamh.I'm beginning to think it sounds best on my 114Bb rather than the 114G...but tomorrow I'll probably think it's better in G......

I have a nice 1040 in A that it would sound lovely on....

[911377brian]

It must have got used to the horses by now Baz....