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