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Author Topic: Intro to myself as a beginner player  (Read 1678 times)

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Mark Leue

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Intro to myself as a beginner player
« on: March 14, 2019, 10:25:50 AM »

Hello Squeezers,
Just wanted to thank you all for the wealth of knowledge here about music and melodeons as I venture into the ever expanding contracting world of free reed.
I'm new this month to the melodeon and enjoying it. I live in Massachusetts in the rural western bit.  Ive danced on various Morris sides for 38 years or so and still do on two, and also served as a musician on the fiddle at times, and have a feeling in my bones as to what the timing and dynamics of a good box player should sound like, as Ive known a few. Im starting to make a little progress and am excited to get my DG back soon with all the spiders and beer removed by the expert hands of Bob Snope.
It belonged to a friend and team mate who left this vale of beers almost 20 years ago, but has belonged to someone who never learned to play it in the interim. It turns out it's an early 1920's "pre pokerwork" that had all the reeds replaced with Italian reeds a long time ago.
Anyway, that's about it. My day job is repairing and making double basses (the giant cello) and other stringed instruments including fretted ones, so the desire to learn all the technical stuff about  regulating melodeons comes naturally, but first I need to understand which direction is up on them! As a lot of you are English, I'll just mention I lived in Eynsham on the Thames for a year as a boy when my father had a sabbatical at Oxford in 1968 /69.  thanks, and look forward to meeting some of you in the future.
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Jesse Smith

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2019, 12:56:28 PM »

Welcome Mark! You have some great resources in your neck of the woods, in The Button Box and also in the Northeast Squeeze-In free reed "retreat" in September. Have you ever been to it? I went for the first time last year and found it such a pleasure to meet and play with other people interested in the same kind of music. (Though I did take some mildly irritating ribbing from some players of Irish music - "What attracted you to English tunes? They all sound the same to me.") I hope to attend again; perhaps we will meet up in future.

Since you danced Morris in that region for so long, I have to ask: did you ever know a melodeon player named Phillip Zimmerman from the Boston area?
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Hohner Pokerwork D/G (x2!), Hohner one row four stops in D and C, Hohner Presswood C/F.

baz parkes

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2019, 02:17:15 PM »

a feeling in my bones as to.... the timing and dynamics of a good box player ….I lived in Eynsham on the Thames for a year as a boy...[/quote

Are the two perchance linked? I think we should be told.... >:E :|glug

Welcome to the MADhouse...
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On the edge of Cheshire's Golden Triangle, apparently...

David Colpitts

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2019, 03:04:01 PM »

More welcome to you, Mark.  I made my bi-monthly pilgrimage to ButtonBox day before yesterday, and must agree you couldn’t be better situated than close to those good folk.
And, dittos on Jesse’s comments about Northeast Squeeze-In.  It’s a musical/social highlight of my year.   It seems to me that most of the boxes there are not concentrating on Irish, and same with concertinas.  Lots of English concertinas, and lots of button accordions playing all variety of folk, classical, and world music.  Check out the “NESI Squeeze-In” sites, for nice archives of photos and concert videos.

I’m sure we’ll meet at some point.

David
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Mark Leue

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2019, 01:06:21 PM »

Thanks, all.  I hope to meet some of you, both local and further afield at some point.
Speaking of the latter, I'm going to be in Britain at the end of May, just in time for Brexit it appears...
Staying in Oxford and visiting there New forest and adjacent coast areas plus whatever else occurs.
Unfortunately not a long stay, my family is dragging me off to Spain to visit friends there, but as it's May I hope to catch some traditional English folk music during my stay, which might very well feature the melodeon.
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malcolmbebb

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2019, 01:15:45 PM »

If you post again nearer the time, I can point you to a couple of New Forest teams or events. Most are still finalising their timetables at present.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2019, 02:51:51 PM by malcolmbebb »
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Dino BPII.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire."

Mark Leue

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2019, 02:18:47 PM »

YEs please Malcom, I'll try and remind you!
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ALCO

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2019, 09:10:10 PM »

Hi Mark,

I strongly recommend that you go to Bampton in Oxfordshire on Whit Monday, 27th May to see the Morris dancing. If you can also make it for the Saturday and Sunday there are a few very good sessions in the pubs. Ask where Jamie Wheeler is playing.

Regards, Ian.
« Last Edit: March 24, 2019, 09:15:18 PM by ALCO »
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Mark Leue

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2019, 04:23:40 PM »

I heard Bampton's pub is no more, but it must not be far to another if that's so. 
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ALCO

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Re: Intro to myself as a beginner player
« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2019, 06:15:12 PM »

Mark,

The last time I was there, I think it was two years ago, Jamie was playing in the Romany because the Horseshoe, where we had played for several years, had decided not to have music any more. There is usually some good music in the Morris Clown too. All are very close to each other.

If you manage to get there, look out for me, or ask where I am and I'll buy you a beer. I will probably be playing the mouth organ or fiddle or standing outside the pub, smoking my pipe.

Ian.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2019, 06:26:29 PM by ALCO »
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