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Snorre

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Posts posted by Snorre

    Session Snobbery!

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    I find that Peter's approach (observing normal politeness, asking permisson, showing a bit of humility/respect to local customs) the most sensible way because there are soooo many factors in a session (where to sit, what to play,when to play, deviation from versions of tunes etc.etc.). This approach also enables the local musicians to politely correct/sanction unwanted behaviour without acting the ******.

     

    I feel this is the right approach and you shouldn't have any problem joining any sessions, including the 'snobby' ones. Lucky you, april must be a very nice month to visit Ireland (weatherwise), compared to november, my usual month in the past few years.

     

    April is a good month in Northern/Western Europe in general:-) I haven't been to Ennis in 15 years or so, but now I am going to get some concertina lessons. It'll be a nice long weekend: Invited to a session in Cois na hAbhna on Friday, lessons on Sat and Sun during the day, and (hopefully) sessions at night, bus to Dublin on Mon, where I hope to get a few hours in the Irish Trad Music Archives, session at night (Hughes' maybe?) and then home to Oslo and the rest of the Easter week fishing sea-trout and practising the concertina :lol: Happy days!

    Session Snobbery!

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Observing the normal rules of social interaction quite often avoid problems like some of the ones described.

     

    I agree. The normal rules of social interaction is a good place to start, but different sessions "operate" under different subsets of these conventions. Where one session is open, welcoming and including, another can be excluding, closed and "cold". Anthropologists loves this stuff.

     

    As a foreigner (to Ireland, and most other countries) I know that it can be hard to balance the two approaches to a session: I desperately want to play a few tunes with good musicians when I finally have take a few days off to go to Ireland, but I really don't want to be pushy and spoil an otherwise good session.

     

    I find that Peter's approach (observing normal politeness, asking permisson, showing a bit of humility/respect to local customs) the most sensible way because there are soooo many factors in a session (where to sit, what to play,when to play, deviation from versions of tunes etc.etc.). This approach also enables the local musicians to politely correct/sanction unwanted behaviour without acting the ******.

     

    I haven't been to a session in Ireland in 5+ years, but will try my luck (hopefully carrying the above mentioned principles freshly in mind) in Ennis the 3rd to the 6th of April. I already have one invitation to a session, but will have to try and join someone the Sat and Sun nights. If anybody have any tips, I would be very grateful.

     

    Snorre

    Ed Reavey Tunes

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted

    The problem with Fahey tunes and the concertina is that Fahey played his intervals very non equal tempered, the concertina's f naturals etc just don't quite convey his music. Even the Keane sisters lean away from his own sound.

     

    Norwegian music has quite a bit of these "quarter tones" (here we call them crooked). I know at least one good box player here, who has a retuned box to catch these.

     

    I know Mats Eden has a melodeon tuned in quarter tone intervals, but he is from Norway and there is Lillebror Vasaassen who uses a one row tuned in partials of a given scale.

    I thought Mats Edèn was Swedish? There are probably many more than Lillebror an my pal that have retuned boxes:-) No retuned concertinas though in Norway, nearly no concertinas at all:-(

    Ed Reavey Tunes

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted

    The problem with Fahey tunes and the concertina is that Fahey played his intervals very non equal tempered, the concertina's f naturals etc just don't quite convey his music. Even the Keane sisters lean away from his own sound.

     

    Norwegian music has quite a bit of these "quarter tones" (here we call them crooked). I know at least one good box player here, who has a retuned box to catch these.

    Irish Reels

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted

    David, I agree, tempo can be a problem. I am used to being able to play tunes in what I see to be a normal session tempo, and I do get in trouble for that on the concertina. Having said that, I find trying to keep up with the tempo my local session (where this is not frowned upon) is inspiring.

     

    Ornamentation in concertina music, to me, is about style, some players use lots, some a little, some none at all. The players I listen a lot to at this stage, tend to use some ornamentation, and I like it, so I try to get that in as well.

     

    As for the Noel Hill approach, I read your description of it, and tend to try to use that when applicable. I am partly using Niall Vallely's tutor, which would make more use of C and D/E on the R2, with cuts and triplets. At the moment I mix them.....trying to be able to make my way round the instrument in an easy a fashion as I can, given bellows, next note, ornament and all of it.

     

    I started out on a two row with the R2 C tuned up to C#, so for some reason I would be drawn to use the B/C on L1.

    Irish Reels

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted · Edited by Snorre

    I know what you mean. It's been like this since I got my Morse in January. I get to listen to a bit of Irish music when I work (mostly yesterday's show on Clarefm), and when I get home, I get to play for an hour or three. I am getting used to the cross-row playing, but there are a lot of decisions to be made (in what run to play inside/outside B etc.). For instance, I have spent the last hour on practicing crans on A and E.....

     

    I am beginning to realize that I am driven by two things:

     

    1. To be able to play in our session. I've played the fiddle there for years, so I have a lot of tunes, but I need them on the concertina!

     

    2. I just booked a weekend in Ennis, with what might be 6 hours with a private tutor. This will be the first time I play my concertina with another Anglo. Ever. I am very excited by this.

     

    But maybe you're right, spring is here. Only about 2 feet of wet snow left in downtown Oslo :lol:

     

    S

     

    cowardly edited etc..

    Ed Reavey Tunes

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted

    Try looking for an album called "At Reavy's House" with Jim Eagan. Lot of well played Reavy tunes.

    Fer: About the high/low third thing. I have heard that sometimes melodeon players would play minor tunes with high thirds because they only had one row. We do it occasionally in our session: try playing "Congress Reel" with C# all through. It's quite refreshing.

    Goals and targets

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted

    When you upgrade to a better instrument, your inprovement is massive. At least, it's what happened to me when I began to play my Morse after 6 months of fighting with my Stagi... it's night and day.

     

    Cheers,

     

    Fer

     

    I agree with Fer. Although I'v been playing for only 6 months a couple of months ago I invested in a quality instrument. I see it as a worthwhile investment, as it would have taken me much longer to reach the modest standard I have achieved using my cheap and cheerful Scarlatti. Apart from the initial, not inconsiderable, cost my concertina will maintain its' current value for ever therefore it really comes for free (sort of).

     

    Cheers

     

    Wally

     

    I second that. The transition from Stagi to Morse (Jeffries) is huge.

     

    My goal....to participate in sessions playing the concertina the same way I do playing the fiddle today:-)

    Performance anxiety?

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted · Edited by Snorre

    Practice more:-)

    I know what you're going through, as I feel the same way. I try to "practice for the session", meaning keeping the beat no matter what sort of mistakes might turn up. I do this with tunes I know others in my session play, so that they can join in, and I won't "buck up the feet". (I don't practice like this all the time, just with the 5 or 6 tunes I want to play in the session).

    My experience as a fiddle-player (been playing for ca. 17 yrs) doing the same when I started. I sawed away for a few years, with a healthy mix of cockiness and humility, until one day things started to work. My session is a pretty friendly session, so this approach worked for me. Tonight I am going to the session I have been playing in for 19 years, as a beginner, again, with just the concertina:-)

    Good Luck!

     

    S

    Scandinavian players

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Snorre

    Tj:a Gusten

     

    Here in south-east Norway (Oslo - Svinesund) I know of three players other than me. They all play EC, but I (try to) play Irish music on a Morse C/G Jeffries.

     

    If ever around, call in for a few tunes at the Dubliner in Oslo on Tuesday nights and Saturday afternoons.

     

    Snorre

    My new Morse Ceili

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Agreed with everything above.

     

    I find sloppy fingering the largest problem, as I get some badly timed, involuntary slap-rolls (phantom button).

     

    Also some triplets (EF#G) on the inner row, tends to respond differently than on my Stagi, but I have only played my Morse (C/G Jeff) since Saturday morning.

     

    Big thanks to all the lovely people over there in Sunderland, Mass.!

     

    Snorre

    Where To Practice?

    in Teaching and Learning

    Posted

    I live in a block of flats, with pretty thin walls, with my girlfriend and step-daughter. The step daughter is really cool about me practicing, but my better half is a bit fed up. What I did was clear out our storage area in the basement. It took the better part of a day, as it hasn't really been touched by cleaning products since the 40's. There I now have my "den" with a chair, table notestand, deep-freezer, bicycles etc. The room on the other side of one wall is the boiler room for the central heating, so no problem there. I hav asked the neighbors just above, and next to the "den", and they only hear me in the stairwell.

     

    S

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