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[tim54]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pEe8q7HAKM

[tim54]

AC & La Machine. "La Sansonnette" & "Schottisch a Virmoux".

Thanks to who posted this beauty  :-)

[Ollie]

That'd be my friend Ruthie, taken at the Blowzabella weekend in April. 

Oh, and it's not Andy Cutting, it's Andi Cuttink! 

[Chris Ryall]

Probably my favourite schottiche ever to dance to, sansonnette (aka sansonnet) seems neverto have come up here before!  It's by Dominique Forges* who's part of the Chavanée constellation. He's not in that band but we had him up in Birkenhead playing with the Paris brothers once.  

Dominique wrote the tune about 15 years ago and was driving home (I think he farms) down those little D roads with it playing 'unnamed' in his head. He came across a songbird dying on the road - so it's "the Starling".   It plays in either Bm on a D/G with the odd 'blues' F_nat, or in Em with equivalent Bb's.   Andy's cleverly playing in the original gurdy key of Dm.

They've swung Virmoux to keep the rhythm the same. IME you medley a 'swirly' schottiche with a 'chug chug' - it feels quite weird dancing at the changeover!

  *http://www.myspace.com/dominiqueforges/music



[edit] ... La Machine live at http://www.lamachine.info/?cat=12

[sverba]

Any CDs of La Machine available?  I could not find any in my fumbling style of searching.

[Bobtheboat]

As above, I've found one on amazon but it's £45 !!! A reasonably priced source would be very much appreciated :-) . What an awesome video! Is the 'blowzabella weekend' an annual event? Cheers, Bob.

[Alan Morley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pEe8q7HAKM

Great tunes - but I have now found something worse that a bad bodhran, a congra drummer....

Just found this in YouTube - drumkit ina box... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvThXBBa8Ds&feature=related

[GbH]

Just found this in YouTube - drumkit ina box... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvThXBBa8Ds&feature=related

Yep, those are really clever.  The guy that makes them also makes some simpler instruments, too.  I already own two of his foot pedals and a narrow bass drum too.  The foot pedals have been used on a one or two of my past videos (like this one).  I use the bass drum as the basis of my one-man-band rig.  All are very well made. 

Also, the pedals contain their own little secret.  When I showed one to Mr Ryall, it was fun watching him try to figure out how it worked.   

[tim54]

Looks like the next Blowzabella weekend is 2012. Thoresby was a great weekend.

Chris, thanks for the notes on "la sansonette". I play it in Em on the DG but can't get the swirly rhythm right on the left hand. Any tips would be apprecated.

Regards,

Tim

PS Big thumbs up to Ruth for the post on youtube.

[Chris Ryall]

"Think bossanova" - as I say its not the same rhythm as trad Berrichon schottiche.  The A music flows reasonably well (depending on which way your Bb lies).

'B' music is challenging on a 2 row - its bass run wants to go Em⁽⁷⁾ D^(maj7) C^(maj7) B^{maj OR min work!} which is a long run of notes pulling. You can push the D, but then the right hand isn't happy.  The problem is that the tune keeps wanting a C - available only on pull.

Hence I tried B minor.  The left hand riff then goes theoretically Bm, A, G, F# - which I personally modify to

   | B  Em |  A   (gap)   |  G  (gap)  |  B  -  |    ('Phrygian' progression,  VI V IV III)

Don't worry about the gaps - the strong repetitive melody carries it along!  Found this set of chords 'tapped in' worked, but of course no one ever joined in!

French accordionists tend to play it in Am (equivalent to our Em) but you'll find on B the group splits with one half laying out a rich chord grille on right end (3,3,2 rhythm)  and the others carrying the tune.  It's quite moving

Here's a beautifully played youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhAD2hbQIWI - in G minor!

[Clive Williams]

Andy's cleverly playing in the original gurdy key of Dm.

Yep, but on a C/F box  , so Dm is the same as playing in Em on a D/G. He switches box half way through, to his D/G and out comes Virmoux in D major.

When playing Sansonnet I tend to play it in Em (if on a D/G) - the Em/D/C/Bm chord sequence in the B music comes out fairly naturally as Chris says, and it's a good exercise in playing across the rows - forget trying to play up and down the same row. I do tend to play the D chord part (which lasts 4 bars) D push/D pull/D push/D pull which is an interesting discipline, and requires your D chord to be the same on push and pull, which they aren't on many melodeons (notably Hohners) - other than that, I think the treble/bass fit fine. Which probably means I'm playing it wrong.

Cheers,

Clive

[sverba]

Any idea on what the tuning of the Castagnari posted on Mr. Ryall's YouTube clip would be?
Thanks-

[tim54]

Chris / Clive. Thanks for the tips fellas. 

[Bob Ellis]

Many thanks to Ruthie for posting the video and Tim for drawing it to our attention. I had not come across La Sansonnette before but fell in love with it as soon as I heard it and have now added it to my repertoire. It sounds lovely in D minor and is not that difficult to play in that key on my box (yet another benefit of having a row of accidentals). The transition into D major for Scottische a Virmoux is also pleasing to the ear.

[AndyShear]

Been playing around these tune for a while now , loved the first one since coming across it being played at a french session in Bristol.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni_ve5xZRgo

Andy

[Gary P Chapin]

Great tunes - but I have now found something worse that a bad bodhran, a congra drummer....

I like it.  I've found occasionally playing with a drummer can really help my playing.  I had a fella join me on a street gig -- he just showed up -- with a conga and a snare drum.  He'd play one or the other, and I tell you we were whipping the crowd into a frenzy in a way that I find hard to do alone, or even with a rhythm guitarist.

Anyway, I notice that Patrick Bouffard is using world drums, as is Eric Montebel, and Jacques Lavergne -- it sounds to my narrow, Americanized ears as if they're really interested in incorporating Mediterranean rhythms (i.e., North African) into their work.  If this sounds ignorant, please do tell me so I don't say it again.

Anyway, love the track, thanks!