Battle of the Somme

To the anonymous the person who requested Battle of the Somme for a G one row - here it is! I hope it's useful. If you register with blogger you can subscribe to the blog and keep track of updates etc (and it makes my life easier as I can see who is posting!).

Melodeon Ornaments 2 – Replacing Notes

The second area of melodeon ornamentation is the replacement of melody notes with an ornamented phrase or variation. Numbered examples follow directly on from article one, starting with 4 (just in case it looks like there are diagrams missing!).

4. Trills

A trill involves taking any melody note and very quickly switching between the specific melody note and any other. Whilst you can trill between any notes, a certain few will always sound better.

In general: a scale note above, or below and an adjacent button in the same bellows direction will usually sound good and be easy to execute cleanly and smoothly. See example 4a.

 

In 4a button G3 is played with the first finger and alternated quickly with button G4 with the second finger.  This can be written, as in bar 1, by a G note followed by a B grace note, and the notation “tr.” or “trill” written above.

The exact make up of the trill is decided by the player, but bar 2 shows two options for the make up of the trill written in full. The first group shows 6 notes being played in the space of the single G, the second showing 4. Obviously the duration of the notes and perceived speed of the trill change between the two in order to facilitate fitting all the notes in the given space.

A trill like this is best placed on a long melody note which is not the final note of a phrase. Trilling on the late note of a bar or phrase can give an unresolved sound which is not pleasing to listen to.

A better use of the trill where a bar is ending can be seen in example 4b. Bar 1 shows the original melody, bar 2, with the trill. Here, the penultimate note of A is trilled between an A and a B before the final resolution to G. The notes a trilled across the rows on the pull, as indicated above the stave.

It is worth learning this trill if nothing else, as it can be applied to all melody phrases which descend the scale before resolving to a G.

An exception to the adjacent note trill is the octave trill. This is very common in Cajun melodeon playing, but less so in English and French styles. It is very easy to execute as it simply requires playing a melody note and then trilling between it and the same note an octave lower of higher. Example 4c shows four variations on this.

It is worth experimenting with different combinations of notes to trill between, and different trill rhythms, as almost all can be used to good effect in different tunes.

5. Triplets

A melodeon triplet involves taking any single melody note, or group of 2 identical notes, and playing 3 of the same note in their place. See example 5a.

The triplet its self can be slightly difficult to finger and there are 2 main approaches. 

Firstly using 3 fingers to play the three notes. Using a slight rotation of the hand (think of the Jedi mind trick motion from Star Wars…) the button in question (in this case G3 to play the G note) is played firstly by the ring finger, then the middle finger, then the index finger. In quick succession this gives three distinct notes.

The second method uses two fingers, and here button G3 would be pressed firstly with the index finger, then the middle finger, and then the index finger again. The same process can also be repeated with any other finger combinations such as middle/index/middle or middle/ring/middle.

The exact fingering will be dictated by the fingering requirements of the tune – an ascending melody might need an index/middle/index triplet to facilitate the subsequent higher notes played with the middle and ring fingers.

A descending melody might need a middle/ring/middle triplet to allow the first finger to then play a lower note.

A triplet to finish a phrase, perhaps resolved to a G as in example 5a, could be played many ways as there is no immediate following note to consider. A three finger triplet could be idea here.

A good triplet exercise would be to play up and down a major scale, on the row, with a triplet on each note. See example 5b for a representation of the first bar of this exercise. All different finger combinations can be practiced on each ascent/descent of the scale. 

 

6. Specific Phrases

Many different variations on tunes are possible, and the line where an ornament becomes a variant of the melody is very fine. One last note replacing ornament, which is important to mention, is the replacement of a single note with a triplet trill. This can be used on any ascending or descending melody line.  Example 6a shows this in practice.

The descending melody shown in bar 1 is replaced with a triplet between the original note and the scale note above. When used on consecutive scale note phrases it sounds very musical.

Because such phrases are fairly common it is a very useful ornament to know in order to enhance a normally boring phrase of tune. It could also be adapted for fewer or more consecutive notes by simply choosing the use of the triplets on the notes they are required on. 

Melodeon Ornamentation

Melodeon Ornaments

The art of ornamentation is possibly the ‘black art’ of melodeon playing. Too many flourishes added to a tune can destroy the melody, but used the right amount, they can turn even the simplest tune into a masterpiece.
For the sake of examining the possible ornaments, they can be broken down into three families.

•Notes which come before or after a melody note – eg., leading notes, slurs, and cuts.

•Notes or phrases which replace a melody note – eg. trills, triplets, and
specific phases.

•Harmonic ornaments eg – right hand chords, bass runs, harmony runs, and replacement of melody line with harmony.

This article focuses on the first of the three families to give an overview of ornaments available before and after the stated melody note. In these examples the grace note/slur/leading note is notated by the use of a small note on the stave. Button numbers are written in where appropriate – G5 would mean playing the 5th button on the G row on the push. A comma after the button number denotes a pull note so D4’ would be the 4th button on the D row on the pull.

1) Leading Notes

This is perhaps the most instant and universal area of ornamentation, which can be applied to melodeon playing. In the simplest form, all a player does is play one note before another to produce a ‘leading note’ emphasising the melody note.

This is achieved by lightly glancing off a button onto the desired melody note, possibly by using one finger and sliding across the rows, or two fingers, one after another. The first note should be one scale note lower eg. F# slides into a G, as Example 1a. Both notes should be in the same bellows direction. Some notes are available in both directions eg. G and A as show in example 1b.

Example 1b shows many of the common leading note combinations on the lower end of the melodeon. All the notes are repeated in the upper register and can be used in the same way, only the buttons are different.

When ever the melody of a tune plays a note which can be lead into, the leading note is played briefly in between the two intended melody notes. Example 1c shows the first two bars of the tune ‘Princess Royal’. The first bar is completely plain, the second bar has a leading F# before the G. Button D4 is depressed very slightly with the 2nd or 3rd finger before finger 1 plays button G3 to finish the phrase.
In classical music these notes are often refered to as ‘grace notes’ and are always written in. In folk, most of the time ornaments such as this are omitted and it is down to the player to add them in from the many possible combinations.

2) Slurs

Firstly, these are not strictly slurs in the full musical sense, as they are harder to play and describe on the melodeon compared to other folk instruments (fiddles!), but the ‘slurring’ technique here is a step in the right direction.

The basis of the slur on the melodeon is to play a scale note between two melody notes. This is most often done (and to best effect) where the two melody notes and the slurred note are three consecutive scale notes. Example 2a shows the first phrase of ‘La Marianne’ .

The melody moves between a G and a B. The note A can be put into the phrase to give three consecutive scale notes G A and B. The A is played quickly between the G and B in order to give the phrase more fluidity and interest.
The slur can also be used with buttons on the row and notes in the same direction. Example 2b shows the first 4 bars of ‘Tralee Gaol’. Bar one uses the E pull on button G5’ and then the A pull on button G3’. In bar 3 the same phrase happens again, but as they are not consecutive scale notes, it is better to slur using the button on the row in between them (G4’).

If a tune plays a note on one button, and then in the same bellows direction and on the same row, plays another button two buttons higher, the button in between can always be used to slur from the first to the second. See example 2c.

3) Cuts

These are notes placed between repeated melody notes or in the middle of long sustained notes (more of that in the next instalment!).

Example 3a shows bars one and two of the melody ‘Schottische a Bethanie’. Bar two resolves to a B note played twice. This can be cut with the addition of an A grace note cut in between the two B’s.
Basically, any pair of identical melody notes can be cut with any other note, but a scale note above or below, or the note on a conveniently placed button will work best. Example 3b shows two possible variations.

Blog Updates/Computer Breakage

Just a quick note to apologise to anyone looking for blog updates - my Macbook has packed up on me leaving everything in the lurch. I have it (sort of) working again and will be posting some more articles whilst I procrastinate over the current Apple range and their exorbitant prices.

Drowsy Maggie

Tralee Gaol

Elizabeth Clare's Waltz

This great tune is hidden at the end of 'Hares on the Mountain' by Chris Wood on the album Lusingac. I'm guessing it is an Andy Cutting tune as it has his hallmark sound to it. There are lots of variations which occur during the tune, and I have tried to capture the framework and the commonly occurring trills/slurs.

The Tune

The album version is in the key of F major, played on a C/F melodeon. I have transposed it into G to be D/G melodeon friendly.

Some Notes on the Tune

The guitar chords indicated are harmonies implied by the guitar, which to me stands out as the main harmonic instrument on the album recording. The melodeon does play chords the second time through, and these mostly follow the guitar. The chords given will work as a starting point to build your own harmonic structure and arrangements. 

It is also worth noting that the third time through on the album, the melodeon switches in the 3rd voice and octave lower (a good trick on an instrument with the stop options - Andy Cutting tends to play a Castagnari Mory which has the stops on the back of the keyboard, operated by a thumb switch). This leads to the tuning sounding an octave lower, but of course keeps the same fingering pattern. 

The Video

I have indicated on the video the various sections and also played the different ornaments and trills slowly and obviously to make them easier to learn by ear. The same ornaments are also indicated on the sheet music.

Schottische a Bethanie

 

A brilliant French tune - I'm just uploading the music for now, more to follow.

Speed the Plough - Embellishments and Variation

Speed the Plough is probably the most widely known English session tune, but unfortunately gets played in a very basic style. There are lots of really good versions in different manuscripts and on recordings, and this tries to pull together some of them to give some possible variations on the tune.

The Music

The most important point for playing this tune is keeping your 4 right hand fingers in position on buttons G3, G4, G5, & G6. This allows the slightly tricky descending patterns such as bar 7 to be played fairly easily, without your fingers falling over themselves. The E played on D3' should use finger 1, allowing finger 2 to play the two A notes on G3' in bar 4. The lowest notes G2' in the turnaround bars should be played with finger 1.

The Video

The Seven Stars

This lesson is for playing the English tune 'The Seven Stars' also know as 'The Moon & The Seven Stars'. It is played on the D row of a DG melodeon, the push/pull pattern giving it a good rhythmic base.

The Music

 

Here is the score for the piece. As it involves up and down playing on the row it is important to practice the piece slowly so that you have time to move you fingers around.

One possible fingering pattern would be to start with your 3rd finger on D6, and use finger 2 on D5 and finger 1 on D4 for the first two bars.

Where the tune begins its ascent up the D scale in bar 3, switch to finger 1 on button D5 allowing each consecutive finger to play the next button along, finger 4 playing the high D8' note at the end of bar 3.

Stick with this finger position until the start of bar 5 where it reverts to the original position of finger 4 playing button D6.

The same thing happens again with the same finger shift occurring in bar 7 as in bar 3. Keep this finger position until bar 5 of the B part which involves using fingers 1 and 2 on the repeated D 4 and D5 notes. Finish the tune with finger 1 on D5 again, allowing finger 4 to play the D8'.

The Video

La Marianne

This is the video lesson for the French tune 'La Marianne'.

The Music

The first score shows the notes in standard notation with the button numbers above. Pay careful attention to the phrases where you are crossing rows whist keeping the bellows direction constant. There are no mid-bar bellows direction changes which means it is possible to keep the tune sounding very smooth.

 The chords for the tune are shown here, above the stave. Notice that it requires both an Am and Bm chord. These are not available from the 'normal' button combinations and must be formed by playing 'cross chords'

Am is formed from playing the A pull bass note and the C pull chord simultaneously.

Bm is formed from playing the B push bass note and the D push chord simultaneously.

These are both indicated in the video below.

The Sloe

Here is the sheet music and video tutorial for the English Country Dance tune 'The Sloe'.

The Muisc

The tune is in the key of D and most of it is played on the D row. The only exception is the 'B' note which occurs on the first beat of bars 3 and 7. This should be played as a push on the G row. The reason for this is that the tune needs a G chord at this point, and the only way to play the chord on a standard 8 bass DG melodeon is by using the G push chord.

Buttons are notated as 'D5' meaning button 5 on the D row, 'D6'" meaning D row button 6, on the pull, and G4 meaning G row button 4 on the push etc.

The Chords

To start with playing chords along to the tune a simple 'Um-Pah' will do where you are pressing the bass note button followed by the chord button.

Unfortunately I didn't have and 8 bass melodeon to hand when I recorded the video, so it is best to ignore the extra 4 buttons at the top (closest to your chin)!

For playing in the key of D I am using the outside row of buttons, playing on buttons 3&4 (counting away from your little finger, which can hover over button 1). It is just a case of alternating playing the bass button (3) and the chord button (4). The way the melodeon is designed then means that the chord changes with the bellows direction to fit the melody notes.

When you get to bar 3 it is then necessary to change to playing the outside row bass buttons 1&2 as an um-pah to provide the correct chord for the melody.

The Video

John Ryans Polka

Here is a lesson on playing the Irish tune John Ryan's Polka.

The Key of D Major

The tune is played in the key of D major which is given below. Practice going up and down the scale slowly to get a feel of the different spacings for your fingers on each string. The tune never uses any frets outside of this shape so it is worthwhile getting to know it fluently as it will aid playing the piece.

 

The Tune

The tab below shows which frets on which strings to place your fingers.  

In general:

Finger 1 will always play fret 2 of every string

Finger 2 will play fret 3 or 4

Finger 3 will play fret 5 or 6 

Try to keep each finger held down after it has been played where ever possible. The video below should show where this is possible and should also give the rhythm.

John Playford Set - Chords

Here are the chords to the Playford set posted earlier. The chords and the style played are in no way traditional or historically accurate, but I think they go well with the tune!



Chord shapes used:

Dm - 2 0 0 1
F - 5 3 3 5
Gm - 0 0 1 3
G - 0 0 2 3
A - 2 2 4 5
Am - 2 2 3 5
C - 5 2 3 0
Bb - 3 3 5 6

 

 

G Major Scale, D, & G Chords for the Mandolin

This is a very basic mandolin lesson designed to cover the G major scale and two chords.

The G Major Scale

It is very important to have a firm knowledge of the various scale shapes used to play the Mandolin as forms the foundation of almost all the pieces you will play. Try playing up and down the scale slowly and smoothly, insuring all the notes come out sounding nice. Avoid making any buzzing noises by pressing too lightly, or fretting the notes too heavily causing them to go out of tune and making your hand seize up!

The diagram below shows the scale shape in what is called tab. Each line represents a pair of strings from low G, through D, then A up and to the high E. The number on each line indicates the frets to be pressed to give the complete ascending scale. 

For every fret 2 note use finger one

For every fret 3 or 4 note use finger two

For every fret 5 note use finger three

Start by playing the open G with a down stroke with your pick. The second note should be played as an up stroke, and the rest played following this picking pattern of alternating your down and up strokes.

The Chords

The G major chord is played using finger one on the 2nd fret of the A string and finger two on the 3rd fret of the E string. This can be written as 0 0 2 3 (open string, open string, 2nd fret, 3rd fret). Hit all the strings together to produce the chord.

The D major chord is played using finger one on the 2nd fret of the low G and finger two on fret 2 of the high E string. This can be written as 2 0 0 2 (2nd fret, open, open, 2nd). Again, hit all the strings together to form the chord.

Practice strumming the chords by holding the shapes down and moving the pick alternately up and down across all the strings. Insure all the notes are being fretted properly by playing the chords one string at a time.

The Video

Hopefully the video will make the concepts described above clear!

G Major Melodeon Fingering and Eh Cumpari Video

Here is the video to go with the G major scale lesson and tune Eh Cumpari.

Notice the scale is firstly played using only one finger at a time to provide a clear sight of the buttons. The second time through the correct hand position is shown with the fingers hovering over the buttons.

When playing Eh Cumpari I have again tried to move my fingers out the way quickly to show which button/fingers are being pressed.

The tune is then played at full speed with some ornamentation and variation on the melody to indicate how it will eventually sound.

The G Major Scale

 

G major is a very easy key to play on a melodeon which has a G row! All that is required is learning the push/pull pattern which gives the notes in the right order.

The scale will start on button 3 of the G row. 

To play the scale you must play: 

Button 3 on the push (G3)

Button 3 on the pull (G3')

Button 4 on the push (G4)

Button 4 on the pull (G4')

Button 5 the push (G5)

Button 5 on the pull (G5')

Button 6 on the pull (G6')

Button 6 on the push (G6)

Notice that the push/pull pattern reverses for the last two buttons!

Once you can do this pattern ascending, try it in reverse.

Eh' Cumpari

This traditional Italian tune, made famous in 1953 by Julias La Rosa, is a really good beginners tune for the melodeon.

Begin this tune by placing your right hand fingers on the G row in the home position; your first finger on button 3, second on button 4, third on button 5, and fourth on button 6.

The whole tune can be played using these fingers to operate its specific button.

Pay attention to letting fingers fly away once they have played their note; they should stay on the button or hover just about it.

To read the notation: each number corresponds to a button on the melodeon's G row. G5 would mean play the 5th button of the G row on the push (closing the bellows together). G6' would mean play button 6 of the G row on the pull (opening the bellows up) etc.

If you find you are running out of air make sure you use the air button to refill or empty the bellows.

John Playford Mandolin Set - Drive The Cold Winter Away/Kettledrum/Maiden Lane

This is a great set of tunes taken from John Playford's collection of English dance tunes. Most recently printed in Pete Coopers 'English Fiddle Tunes' adapted here for the mandolin.

Written for one of my students, the tutorial is aimed at players who have grasped the basics of the instrument and is intended to clarify the slightly technical parts, look at some basic double stopping ideas, and indicate a style and tempo which suits the tunes.

Drive The Cold Winter Away

Playing a tune like this in the key of D minor allows for some good double stopping (playing 2 or more strings at once). Because all of the open string notes appear in the key it is possible to play any open string along with the melody line, but using the open A or D string works best.

A good example of this is bar 1 of the B section where the open D string can be played against the descending melody line played on the A string. This can then be repeated at any point where notes are played on the A string.

This can be heard in the video where all three tunes are played back to back.

The original tune is written in 6/4 which explains the dotted rhythm which occurs when moved to the easier to read 6/8. The trick to playing this lumpy pattern is to keep the middle note of each group of three as short as possible.

Kettledrum

Again, playing in Dm allows for the same double stopping ideas. In Kettledrum, since the melody is often being played on the E string, it allows the open A to be played.

The best opportunity for this occurs in the first 4 bars of the B section. These bars create tension around the high A note (3rd finger, 5th fret, E string, shown as the note on the first ledger line).

The melody runs up and down from this high A. By playing the open A string (which is an octave lower than the melody A) along with the changing melody notes it provides a good accompaniment.

In the final bar of the B section, playing the open D string along with the high D note is a good way to add interest and help to resolve the piece back to the root note of D.

It is important to practice the fast runs between the E and A string using alternate picking (strictly down/up/down/up) to allow the flurry of note to sound.

Maiden Lane 

First, a nice snippet of background from the wonderful Fiddlers Companion
 

"The Maiden Lane section of London, near Covent Garden and the River Thames, has been alternately a diminished, dissolute area, and one of high fashion—sometimes at the same time!  In Playford’s day it was the site of “mean houses,” but by Georgian times, elegant properties were built whose garden walls outlined the lane, and forming the southern boundary of architect Inigo Jones’s proposed Italiante Piazza. Gradually, however, the area drew theatres (it was near Covent Garden), taverns and coffee houses, and disrepute began to again set in. Round Court, at the western end of the narrow alley, was described as “…one of the Rookeries, full of town-Pyrates and a hotbed of Robbers.”"

We have a key change here from Dm to G, giving the set a bright, major, lift at the end.

The double stopping here changes slightly. At the start of bar 2 it is possible to 'rake' the strings of an open G major chord (frets 0 0 2 3 played low to high). This emphasises both the key change to G major and the high G note. 

In a similar fashion to Kettledrum where an open low string was played with a fretted note one octave higher to end the tune, the same can be applied here. The A and C sections both end with a G note (5th fret D string). This can be played along with the open low G string to provide a good end to each section.

The Video

The video contains the three tunes played at a reasonable tempo. Each tune is played separately followed by the transition between the tune and the next. At the end all three tunes are played not necessarily dance speed, but one which fits the tune when played in isolation.

The transitions tend to be the areas where it is possible to loose the rhythm (or the melody entirely!) so it is important to pay attention to the changes in time signature, tempo and key. Practice these changes separately by playing the B section of one tune into the A of another, and then with the whole of both tunes played back to back.

Michael Turners Waltz - Mozart K536

Here is the waltz in one of Mozart's set of German dances.

The melody come in around 40 seconds in. Notice how the basic melody is slightly different from that in Turner's manuscript, but it is never the less the same. The classical ornamentation around the melody also helps to give it a different feel.

Michael Turners Waltz

As promised, a tune from scratch. Michael Turners Waltz is a very nice Sussex tune from Michael Turners own manuscript. I got my version from the local sessions, which play it the same way as written in the Lewes Favorites and the Sussex Tunebook. The same tune also occurs in Mozart KV 536 (Six German Dances). I'm guessing that these six dances were German country dance tunes adapted for the orchestra, so it's probable that the waltz is a traditional German one. I'll post a link to the tune when I find a version online.

 The Tune

The tune sits very nicely on the G row of a DG melodeon. The finger notation is written assuming this button layout - low notes with the G scale starting on button 3.

IF you do not have these low notes just replace the G1' with another G2, it works just the same but is not quite as economical with the bellows direction changes.

The given fingering also works for all standard one-row layouts, but the tune will end up in a different key if you are not playing a G box.

The fingering chart above shows which button to press and the bellows direction. For example, G3 would mean press the third button on the G whilst pushing the bellows together. G6' would mean press button 6 on the G row whilst pulling the bellows apart. The use of an apostrophe ' indicates a note played on the pull.

In contrast to the previous tune, this does not cross rows at all.

The trickiest part of the tune comes in bars 1 and 5 where the low D note (G2/G1') should be played on different buttons to keep the bellows direction constant from the previous notes. This allows the tune to flow more lyrically and for some interesting chord/bass accompaniments I will look at in a future lesson.

The Chords

The framework for the chords is a standard waltz where the bass note is played on the first beat of every bar and the chords are played on beats two and three.

Hopefully the video will explain this more visually/aurally, but for those who would like it explained in writing:

The first two notes are a lead in and do not require accompaniment.

The tune starts with a B note (G4 using your first finger). At the same time of playing this note, briefly press the G bass button on the left hand side of the melodeon using your little finger.

The next melody note is the same, but this time it is joined onto a low D (G2). As you press the B with your right hand first finger briefly tap the G chord with the left hand third finger.

This is then followed by your right hand first finger playing the low D (G2). This does not have any accompaniment so the left hand can have a moments rest (but don't allow your fingers to fly away - they will be needed in just a second!).

The 4th note in bar one is a C. This is played by pressing G4 and playing the note on the pull (G4'). At the same time as this you press the G chord button again with the left hand third finger. Being a clever instrument, the melodeon changes the chord depending on the bellows direction, this time giving you a D chord.

The final note in bar one is another low D, but this time played on the first button of the G row, on the pull (G1'). Again, this doesn't need accompaniment so you can let your fingers rest. If you do not have this low D on the pull, just replace it with a low D played on G2.

This is a basic chord progression, a more advanced version will be coming shortly.

The Video

A quick apology here - my melodeon has extra buttons! The sharp eyed will notice that on my box, the fingering I have given is all moved up one button (G3 would be G4). This facilitates some extra low notes, but since we don't need them just ignore the lowest note on the G row (indicated in the video).

Valse Olive

So, here is the first lesson! Valse Olive by Oliver Gautier. The video shows the parts broken down into the A and B sections and the respective bass parts for each one. I have prepared this for a specific pupil and as such it is not a 'from scratch' tutorial (but some of those to come!)

This is a French tune, and because of this, it is played across the rows of the Melodeon. This leads to smoother basses and a more interesting harmony.

Now, I'm not a 'French' player, but I do like the French style tunes. I have played this on a DG Melodeon in the key of G, but the original is played in C on a GC, as many French tunes are.

Playing on a DG compared to a GC means that it is better to play in the lower octave as opposed to the higher octave on a  GC where Mr Gautier plays it. Here is the original.

Why am I here?

First, a little about myself. I am a musician and I do a lot of teaching. I am often asked if I can provide recordings of which ever piece we are working on to provide them with some material to use at home.

The aim of this blog is to collect up all these little sound clips, annotated score and videos and put them all together under one roof.

There is no overall theme to these lessons. Some are for beginners, some for more advanced players. I think that mostly Melodeon lessons will end up here, and possibly some Mandolin or Bouzouki ones too, due to the fact there are plenty of really good Guitar and Fiddle demonstrations out there in the wide expanses of the internet and these don't really need to be repeated.

I am quite happy for requests if there is something specific I have done or not done which you would like to look at.

Almost all the work here will be my own original teaching content. Please feel free to redistribute with acknowledgment!