Gavin Atkin

One to make you smile, I hope! Gavin

Sadly, what I know about building small planes is less than nothing. And of course I realise that we can't all be everywhere. I myself fail to be present at all sorts of desirable events. However I can offer this small crumb of comfort from a jolly night: Julie singing Frank Loesser's wonderful . Gav Dear Gavin, I am not "in the area" but I would like to see and hear you and Julie. However, there are oceans between us and even in your Micromouse it will take about two years to make it..... So, you better announce the event much earlier or start to to publish "how to build your plane" AP

Just a reminder, if you're in the area - Julie and Gavin Atkin are on at Folk at the Royal Oak, Lewes this Thursday evening. If you're in the zone and fancy a little of our mix of trad, old fashioned and silly songs, and Julie's Tin Pan Alley matched with Gav's duet 'tina and melodeon, it would be great to see you there. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic/ Gav

The tunes for this week's class at Horsmonden are on the website! http://frittendenfestival.com/free-traditional-music-classes-at-the-gun-and-spitroast-horsmonden/ We hope to see some of you on Wednesday evening. One of the things we're working towards is playing for the Frittenden Old Fashioned Night Out on the 26th March: http://frittendenfestival.com/2010/11/26th-march-frittenden-2011-an-old-fashioned-night-out The plan is have a programme of dances and tunes for them, and to work through them during the evening. Musicians are invited to join the band whenever they know the tune and would like to play... I've posted a list of the tunes we've covered (with this week's pair at the bottom). Gavin Tunes list 24th November 2010 Cock of the North, My Bonnie, and Winster Gallop 8th December 2010 Donkey Riding and Strike the Bell 13th January 2011 Albert Farmer’s Bonfire Tune and Little Brown Jug 26th January 2011 The Sloe and the Heel and Toe Polka 9th February 2011 Off to California and Shave the Donkey 23rd February 2011 The Rose Tree and The South Wind

Pip Ives is our featured guest at the regular Frittenden session on Sunday - and I've put a note to that effect on the forum calendar. We hope to see some of you there! Gav

Just a reminder! The tunes for this coming week are now on the classes page at http://frittendenfestival.com. Gavin

Traditional music classes - Gun & Spitroast, Horsmonden January classes are on the 12th and the 26th. Learn to play traditional tunes for music sessions and dancing in the company of other beginners. Play slowly and practice whatever's causing difficulty for you. Please tell your friends and especially anyone who's starting to play and needs to know! Join multi-instrumentalist Gavin Atkin at the Gun & Spitroast pub at Horsmonden, Kent (TN12 8HT) on the SECOND and FOURTH Wednesdays of each month from now until the summer, starting at 8pm. We'll have a class for an hour and a half, followed by whatever playing people feel like, or even just chatting. Admission is free. Typical instruments might be melodeon, fiddle, concertina, mandolin, whistle or banjo, but we'll be just as happy if you pitch up with a triangle, a saxophone or a piano. Reading music isn't necessary, though it definitely helps! See http://frittendenfestival.com for info. For information, call Gavin Atkin on 07985 522734

This is just a reminder - the December Frittenden session is tomorrow night - that's Weds 29th December. We're expecting some surprise visitors and a whole lot of people who have had enough of the usual Christmas stuff and want to get out. It might be wise to bring a camp stool, just in case! Gav

Liz Giddings and Roger Digby at Frittenden We're greatly looking forward to fiddle, melodeon and concertina maestros Liz Giddings and Roger Digby's visit to the Bell & Jorrocks session at 8pm on the 29th December! Naturally we're all crossing our fingers, with the weather as it is. As we get closer to the date, can I ask people to give me a call or drop me a line to make sure it's still on? We will of course do our best to be there to run a session with or without our featured guests! I can be reached at gmatkin@gmail.com, gavinatkin@yahoo.com, Facebook and on tel 07985 522734. Liz Giddings is a well known player around Essex, while Roger's first shot to fame with Flowers & Frolics in the 1970s. Expect old fashioned music from Ireland and England, and a few surprises too... The format we follow at Frittenden will ensure plenty of time for playing tunes, dancing and storytelling - or anything else that's entertaining and legal that you might have to give us. The Frittenden sessions take place at the Bell & Jorrocks pub at Frittenden, Kent, and start at 8pm and continue until it's time to sing Nellie Dean and say goodnight. They're informal and free, with lots of old fashioned and traditional songs and tunes, and a big emphasis on variety, humour and entertainment generally. As we like to say, if you liked your pub the way it was before the telly and the computer came, this is the event for you. We look forward to seeing you on the night! Gavin and Julie Atkin For information see http://frittendenfestival.com/sessions/ or ring us on 07985 522734.

Duet concertinist, fiddler, guitarist and singer that I am, I've been living in several dark places for years. But then I took up the melodeon in September last year... The particular kind that spoke to me then and still does so are the Hohner four-bass one-rows. They're cheap (they're rather unfashionable), yet have a great sound. They also offer the subdominant chord, which you don't get on the four-stop models, and they're light to play - as someone said a little earlier in this thread, the fewer the buttons the lighter the instrument can be. I did vow to stick with the Hohner four-bass one-row on the basis that I found it satisfying and very different from my Jeffries duet tina, but more recently I've decided to use two-rows as well, partly for singing and partly for demonstrating at the country dance music classes we're running at Horsmonden. So now I have a Koch in CF, and Ericas in GC and DG. You can't get much darker than that... Gavin

Just a reminder - the next one of these classes is this Wednesday evening! Gavin

Congratulations John! Gavin

Just a quick reminder - we've got another lovely session at the Bell & Jorrocks on Sunday, starting at 8pm. There will be at least two tina players that I know of... For info, see http://frittendenfestival.com/sessions/ Gavin

Just a little reminder that these classes start tomorrow evening at 8pm, and that if you're not a learner we'll be delighted to have experienced players drop in for a bit of a sesh from 9.30pm or so. Check this link for info: http://frittendenfestival.com/free-traditional-music-classes-at-the-gun-and-spitroast-horsmonden/ Gavin

Ah - so you'd like a bit of analysis about how I play them... I'll have a shed-load of Youtubes to make for the session/dance tunes classes, but we'll see what we can do some time! Gavin