Steve Wilson

I'm having trouble trying to copy and paste a quote from Matthew so just type it in. "Are there any non/less-folky singers who back up more modern singing, for contrast?" And later, "Almost all of these are old folk or more recent folk in a relatively conservative style." That seems to be the way it is. Searching the net there's only Juliette Daum that I've come across who performs some more modern songs. I must confess I have had virtually no contact with other concer players or exposure to concertina recordings until very recently so there must be some performers who cover modern material, apart from their own compositions I mean. I certainly would like to hear some. I have enjoyed hearing some of the singers mentioned in this post, in particular Steve Turner whose accompaniment style I found very interesting although a little busy at times which overpowered the vocal somewhat I felt. It is nice to hear other singers accompaniment styles, you can pick up techniques, but not being too exposed allows one to develop an individual style. Recently I posted a few Youtube vids in the video section of this forum, some "modern" songs (Honey Pie,Rainbow Connection,Lighthouse), partly in the hope that it would coax out some singers doing non-traditional material with concertina accompaniment. So where are you all?,come on. In its heyday the concertina was often used to play the music of the day. Now it seems it's mostly used to play the music of yesterday.

A fairly sparse accompaniment but lots of vamping on the off beat on this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nFj5Mi5dc4 Cheers Steve.

Lukasz, Unfortunately my Polish is none existent but I did enjoy your piece without understanding a word. You say it's a cover so not a traditional song? Not many people play and sing songs on concertina that aren't traditional. I sing some trad songs, mostly Aussie ones but I find modern songs more interesting to play on the concer. When I find time ( difficult but perhaps before Christmas) I'll have to record and post my versions of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" and "Chim Chim Cheree". They have lots of interesting chords, would go well on Duet. You fellas may not know the Waifs but here's my version of their song "Lighthouse" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nFj5Mi5dc4 It's fairly sparse but has a lot of that vamping on the off beat that I spoke of in the post above. Cheers Steve.

Hello John (and Don), Excellent post John, what I was trying to say above but you've said it more eloquently. I've visited your website, very impressive, and listened to Sally Gardens. Lovely playing but I was disappointed you didn't sing. More coming I hope. Along with an interest in song accompaniment and concertinas we share a birthday, although you have a few years on me. There must be more singing concertinists out there, I'm hoping you all might add to this thread and post a few videos or audio clips as well. Cheers, Steve

Hi Don, Ah, song accompaniment, how many ways? I guess it depends on the song and the singer. I'm no expert by any means but I'll try to tell you a bit of what I do. I believe you're probably playing an english. First, a song is a song, so the words are the most important part, you're telling a story, the accompaniment should compliment the story. From sheet music I start from scratch. If there are recordings I usually listen a few different versions. Often I'll record into a program called "Cool Edit" with which I can create a waveform. Then I can loop the whole song or parts of and play along. I can change the key too, sometimes it sounds like chipmonks. You can do heaps with these sorts of programs. I'll decide what key is suited to my voice then I'll usually learn the melody. Then I'll learn the chord progression using a different inversions and with this process I'll start to get a feel for the song. This can take a few days or a couple of weeks. I'll play chords along to a recording over and over and over. I found a great way to learn chords ( 3 to 5 notes usually) was to play along with 12 bar blues practice tracks, there's heaps on the net in all keys. I do like a simple accompaniment but sometimes a fuller sound is required. Mostly I sing along to chords or parts of chords and the voice provides the melody. Sometimes I just sing to the melody. With instrumental breaks I'll usually try put the melody over chords or parts of chords but I don't think the chords have to be continuous. Sometimes the low note chords will swamp the higher phrased melody(solution,fewer low notes) but sometimes the melody can go underneath the chords. This happens a bit in Honey Pie. To get a rhythm during singing I'll often vamp on the off beat, like in bluegrass. Sometimes I'll hold one or more notes of the chord and vamp the other notes. This happens a little bit in Rainbow just before the chorus. Other songs I'll use heaps more vamping and vamping sometimes causes the bellows to add to the rhythm. Some songs come together quickly, others take a while. Listening to different recordings I often pick up little bits to use. With Cool Edit I can slow them down to figure them out. Songs like Honey Pie with lots of chord changes I find more interesting, they work out their own accompaniment. Thanks for starting this post , it's made me think a little about what I do. And still learning. Yes the site is pretty much tune orientated. I've started scouring the videos hoping to encounter others accompaniment styles but haven't found too much yet, nothing that's not traditional. Yet in it's heyday the concer was often used for contemporary and popular song. Cheers Steve.

G'day Ransom, tried a twist...mmm,interesting. Not the way Kermit does it! Takes it to the D chord, eh? My wife likes it, thinks it's lighter. I don't mind it but probably won't change to it.

Thanks Kermit! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zArPbBNeHU Cheers, Steve.

Hi All, I'm a new member and interested in concertina accompaniment of songs, all sorts. Not sure if this is proper etiquette but thought I'd share this video I made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC-2R_3fIwM Enjoy. Cheers Steve.

Fantastic, thanks. Logical really when one thinks about it. Cheers Steve.

Hi All, I have transcribed the lyrics of the song "The Man with the Concertina" from a recording by Dave de Hugard but I've had trouble deciphering a couple of lines. I can't find the lyrics anywhere on the net. The words were written by Robert Stewart but I'm not sure if it was written as a poem or if he composed the tune as well. The lyrics I'm having trouble with are about half way through the song and seem to me to be:- Old Erin's hat they swing a bee Scottish pipes blow feena Can anyone set me straight as to what the correct lyrics are? Cheers Steve