Melodeon.net Forums

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Welcome to the new melodeon.net forum

Pages: 1 2 3 [4]   Go Down

Author Topic: What tune are you learning.  (Read 6333 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Maggie

  • Regular debater
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 143
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #60 on: March 31, 2020, 10:04:35 PM »

I am currently learning two Basque dance tunes: one is a Fandango and the other is an Arin Arin, which is danced after the Fandango.  I don’t know the titles of either of them.

I am learning to play repeated notes with two or three alternate fingers - the Fandango has groups of five repeats of the same note and the Arin Arin has groups of six and twelve!  They are both fast and the Arin Arin is quite stacato.

Being a left hander, my right hand is neither strong nor deft.  These tunes are challenging!

Maggie  :|||:

Logged
Saltarelle l'elfique 19+2 in G/C - and a wee Hohner Lilliput in D/G

La Creuse, France - the land of calm and of brillant traditional music 🎶

Bob Ellis

  • Hero?....Where's my medal, then?
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2878
  • Ain't I cute?
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #61 on: March 31, 2020, 11:36:43 PM »

Konvulsionslaten, a lovely Swedish tune composed by Anders Norudde.

Plucking Raspberries, which I am told is of Norwegian origin, but I don't know anything about it other than that a friend of mine learnt it from a Norwegian fiddler who was visiting the Shetland Isles.

The Dales Minstrel, a tune I composed to celebrate the 19th century minstrels of the Yorkshire Dales such as Frank King, Billy Bolton and Willie Wrigley. Just because I composed it doesn't mean that I can remember it! I am having to work hard to commit it to muscle memory.For some reason, I have no difficulty singing it from memory, but find it more challenging to play it from memory. However, I am pleased with the tune, so it is worth the effort to learn it properly.
Logged
Bob in beautiful Wensleydale, Les Panards Dansants, Crook Morris and the Loose Knit Band.
Clément Guais 3-row D/G/acc.; Castagnari 1914 D/G; Karntnerland Steirische 3-row G/C/F; Ellis Pariselle 2.6-row D/G/acc.; Gabbanelli Compact 2-row D/G with lots of bling, pre-war Hohner Bb/F; Acadian one-row in D.

Martin Mickleburgh

  • Member
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #62 on: April 02, 2020, 06:52:52 PM »

Being a B/C noobie, I'm currently working my way through Bobby Gardiner's excellent tutor. This week I'm tackling reels for the first time - The Curragh Races, The Humours of Tulla and Crowley's reel, in Am, C and D respectively. The first two are presenting real challenges in that I just can't get through them without good use of the air button - long passages of C arpeggios with no chance of drawing a quick breath - and this is the real task for the week. I'm making reasonable progress but I can tell it will be a couple more weeks until I clan play them through at moderate speed with no fumbles. After that I will set about applying a few decorations to make the repeats a little different. Much slow, methodical work!
Logged
Saltarelle B/C Irish Bouebe  Sereneliini 233 Deluxe B/C

Stiamh

  • Old grey C#/D pest
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3538
    • Packie Manus Byrne
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #63 on: April 02, 2020, 08:26:11 PM »

Being a B/C noobie, I'm currently working my way through Bobby Gardiner's excellent tutor. This week I'm tackling reels for the first time - The Curragh Races, The Humours of Tulla and Crowley's reel, in Am, C and D respectively. The first two are presenting real challenges in that I just can't get through them without good use of the air button - long passages of C arpeggios with no chance of drawing a quick breath!

Actually there are quite a few places to grab a breath, Martin, you just have to find them. For example, in the B part of the Curragh Races, after the first bar and a half of C arpeggios you have a G arpeggio and you will find you'll be able to take in a good gulp of air during the first two draw notes (assuming Bobby Gardiner's setting is like the one I know).

Part of the problem you are experiencing is probably due to the fact that, as a beginner tackling reels, you are playing them much more slowly than normal, and hence using more air than you would need when playing at a reasonable tempo for a reel. Are you attempting reels too early, I wonder?

I think that beginners tend to use more air than they need to anyway - that's something that will improve naturally as you progress, but try to pay attention to it.

The second part of that tune is actually fairly well balanced in terms of air requirements. I just tried it without using the air button at all and found that I could get through it easily enough, with the bellows slightly more closed at the end than when I started.

The second part of Humours of Tulla also has convenient places to top up the air tank - particularly if you play the d-e-f sequence (possibly f-e-d) using the outer row e, giving you three notes on the draw.

Martin Mickleburgh

  • Member
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #64 on: April 03, 2020, 01:08:34 PM »

Being a B/C noobie, I'm currently working my way through Bobby Gardiner's excellent tutor. This week I'm tackling reels for the first time - The Curragh Races, The Humours of Tulla and Crowley's reel, in Am, C and D respectively. The first two are presenting real challenges in that I just can't get through them without good use of the air button - long passages of C arpeggios with no chance of drawing a quick breath!

Actually there are quite a few places to grab a breath, Martin, you just have to find them. For example, in the B part of the Curragh Races, after the first bar and a half of C arpeggios you have a G arpeggio and you will find you'll be able to take in a good gulp of air during the first two draw notes (assuming Bobby Gardiner's setting is like the one I know).

Part of the problem you are experiencing is probably due to the fact that, as a beginner tackling reels, you are playing them much more slowly than normal, and hence using more air than you would need when playing at a reasonable tempo for a reel. Are you attempting reels too early, I wonder?

I think that beginners tend to use more air than they need to anyway - that's something that will improve naturally as you progress, but try to pay attention to it.

The second part of that tune is actually fairly well balanced in terms of air requirements. I just tried it without using the air button at all and found that I could get through it easily enough, with the bellows slightly more closed at the end than when I started.

The second part of Humours of Tulla also has convenient places to top up the air tank - particularly if you play the d-e-f sequence (possibly f-e-d) using the outer row e, giving you three notes on the draw.

Many thanks for those valuable insights. I've applied your suggestions to Curragh and Tulla and, whilst getting the coordination really slick will take some time, I can see how they are going to work. One thing that has changed is that I have (already!!) succumbed to MAD and taken delivery of a lovely Serenellini 233. Quite apart from the smoother tone and the voicing options, one big difference to the Bouebe is that the air button is rather more progressive in its action...it's making a difference already, allowing me to concentrate more on not losing volume when I apply it. So many micro-sills to be acquired! It's just like learning to play the piano all over again (and the first time was sixty years ago).

I can see why so many melodeon players think so highly of MelNet when such useful advice is a mouse click away.
Logged
Saltarelle B/C Irish Bouebe  Sereneliini 233 Deluxe B/C

Tufty

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 798
  • Dino Bincis etc
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #65 on: April 06, 2020, 12:42:53 PM »

Two tunes I have been working on for a while, especially now that I have lots of free time!
La Burette https://soundcloud.com/tuftyabc/la-burettewav
La Marguerite https://soundcloud.com/tuftyabc/la-margurittewav

Both very much work in progress, just the basic tune, variations will come later ... perhaps. I would be interested to hear if anyone else is doing these on D/G.
Logged

Dick Rees

  • Neo-Luddite
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1240
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #66 on: April 06, 2020, 01:15:52 PM »

Still soaking up Estonian music.  I love those 4 row boxes with the Heligonka basses.
And they wear cool hats.
Logged
"You're making the wrong mistakes."
...Thelonius Monk

"I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking."
...Albert Einstein

Cogito ergo bibo.
...Bacchus

Dave Praties

  • Regular debater
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 167
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #67 on: April 06, 2020, 02:34:34 PM »

Dick, I am really glad I read your post if only to discover the word "heligonka" and find that it really exists!!
Logged
Castagnari Mory D/G.  Saltarelle Bouebe D/G. Hohner Club 2 C/F. Bachenbulach Bb/Eb. Matzini C/F. Some of them even work.

Dick Rees

  • Neo-Luddite
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1240
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #68 on: April 06, 2020, 02:54:05 PM »

Dick, I am really glad I read your post if only to discover the word "heligonka" and find that it really exists!!

I think it's short for "hellofagonka".
Logged
"You're making the wrong mistakes."
...Thelonius Monk

"I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking."
...Albert Einstein

Cogito ergo bibo.
...Bacchus

Stephen D

  • Member
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 23
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #69 on: April 06, 2020, 05:26:40 PM »

Alio and The Rights of Man!
Logged

Tufty

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 798
  • Dino Bincis etc
Re: What tune are you learning.
« Reply #70 on: April 16, 2020, 11:42:11 PM »

This set has been on my to learn list for ages but never had the time to devote to it, until now! Well outside my normal comfort zone and right at the edge of what my fingers will do. Three Kerry polkas from Michael Sheehy's CD, he makes a piano accordion sound good  ;D
https://soundcloud.com/tuftyabc/polkas-john-walshs-the-glin-cottage-bridgie-con-mattswav
Logged
Pages: 1 2 3 [4]   Go Up
 


Melodeon.net - (c) Theo Gibb; Clive Williams 2010. The access and use of this website and forum featuring these terms and conditions constitutes your acceptance of these terms and conditions.
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal