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Author Topic: Tunes for Witney 2016  (Read 2545 times)

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Jules0654

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Tunes for Witney 2016
« on: November 01, 2016, 10:48:58 PM »

I've not been to Witney before.......and it's only 2 weeks away, and I've been sent 8 tunes. I have two free evenings and one day between now and then. Do I need to learn them??  How well??  I'll be lucky if I can even listen to them before hand!!!!  Any advice from anyone who has been before appreciated !!  (I've played safe and gone for B/I units)
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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2016, 01:07:18 AM »

I've not been to Witney before.......and it's only 2 weeks away, and I've been sent 8 tunes. I have two free evenings and one day between now and then. Do I need to learn them??  How well??  I'll be lucky if I can even listen to them before hand!!!!  Any advice from anyone who has been before appreciated !!  (I've played safe and gone for B/I units)
Don't worry too much - you don't need to be note-perfect; no-one is going to test you. Just do what you can in your available time to become at least a little bit familiar with the tunes.
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nigelr

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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2016, 09:23:23 AM »

I find workshops quite frustrating at the time - always never enough time to prep, having to play catch up with people on the day because I don't learn by ear very well and constantly feeling that I'm struggling.  However, what I have learned is to see workshops as the START of learning the tunes and techniques - I think Steve has made this comment before - the main learning comes after the event when you practice the things you've picked up on the day.  So, my advice is make plenty of notes, take recordings of the sessions (if no-one else objects) and then make sure you keep up with the tunes for at least a few weeks afterwards so the ideas get a chance to bed down.  Good luck and see you there!  (:) N
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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2016, 09:30:11 AM »

Absolutely!  They're sent out because some people don't feel comfortable doing a workshop if the tunes are absolutely new but I do an awful lot of workshops where the music is not sent out in advance and it rarely makes a huge amount of difference to what can be achieved.

I sent Dave 3 tunes for each of my workshops just in case we race through the material on the day, but to be honest I very rarely get on to the third one!  For my workshops the tunes are just a medium that can be used to work on different aspects of melodeon technique in a group setting.  And I always say to everyone that the actual workshop time is not sufficient to actually come away from the weekend with a fully-formed new skill ... only practice can do that unfortunatley ... but the workshops are designed to give you ideas that will inform your practice sessions for months to come.  People should treat mine like a lecture with some practical demonstrations thrown in!

There is absolutely no pressure to perform on the day.

If you have any time when you could put the tunes on as background music for some other kind of activity (washing up is a good one!) then you will begin to become familiar with the shape of them.
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Andy Next Tune

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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2016, 09:52:30 AM »

I learnt many years ago that it is easy to spend too much time working on the tunes before a workshop.
The result is you 'learn' to play a tune one way which you then need to un-learn in the workshop when the tutor takes a different route.

For example,  having to re-learn to play a tune completely cross-row when you've learnt it all on the row can burn your brain  - thank you Rees for that Tarantella at Mendlesham many years ago  >:( !!!!

As a minimum, listen to the tunes as much as possible to try to get the melody into your head. I find familiarity with the tunes really does make the workshops easier.

If you have time to pick up a melodeon and try to start exploring the tunes, consider it a bonus.

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Theo

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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2016, 09:59:02 AM »

And as Squeezy John says, the real learning take place after the workshop.
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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2016, 10:24:38 AM »

Good to hear, as I'm also wondering where I'll find the time.
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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #7 on: November 02, 2016, 11:44:41 AM »

Exactly - the real learning is afterwards, as one begins to apply the technique or approach learnt from these tunes to others. I'm already hooked on some of the tunes I'm trying out for Witney but even the ones I like less are a good learning experience.
 Sometimes there are lightbulb moments such as 'I never thought of doing that, maybe using that chord or fingering in that tune'...but equally it can be a gradual recognition of what one needs to do to improve, or change in playing.
And most important - we learn from all the other enthusiasts we encounter in our shared addiction...and we enjoy it !
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Jules0654

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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #8 on: November 02, 2016, 07:05:28 PM »

Thank you everyone!!   You have stopped me from panicking!   Squeezy - I will indeed listen to them whenever I can, but washing up/housework???!!!    Never!!!
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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2016, 10:30:29 PM »

Although I agree entirely with those who say that much of the learning takes place after the workshops, I have a definite preference for workshops where the tunes are provided in advance. This enables people to get a rough idea of how to play the tunes on their boxes before the workshop, which means that the tutor can focus primarily on technique without having to spend the majority of the workshop teaching the tunes from scratch only to find that there is little time left to work on technique and interpretation.
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Choonz

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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #10 on: November 03, 2016, 09:52:03 AM »

I wish I had booked this year for Whitney after reading these posts!   I prefer the chance to have a go at tunes in advance.  I am not a fast sight reader and have been to too many workshops where the dots have been dished out and I have struggled to keep up with the pace.

Will be there next year if this is the usual way of doing things (:)



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Katie Howson

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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #11 on: November 03, 2016, 10:33:57 AM »

You could try Melodeons and More in Suffolk on March 25th if you don't want to wait a year before the next Hands On weekend! We send out recordings and dots in advance. Details will be announced soon, on our website www.eatmt.org.uk/m&m.htm

All good advice above about the workshops being the start of the process, not the end point.
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Choonz

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Re: Tunes for Witney 2016
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2016, 02:39:18 PM »

I will probably go green with envy when I see the posts, sadly for me it is almost impossible to go down to Suffolk in March :(

Not to detract from Melodeons at Whitney or Melodeons and More, if anyone is planning to organise any workshops in the north west within striking distance of Rochdale, please let me know or maybe a few of us could get together and sort something out?
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