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Will Fly

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Posts posted by Will Fly

    CD Production

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Rod - my solution, if you seriously want to start recording yourself, would be to purchase or borrow a Zoom H2 Handy Recorder or equivalent.

     

    Zoom H2

     

    The machine has two mics - one in the front and one at the back. It comes with a screw-in table foot and a screw-in handle for mic stand use. It can also be screwed on to a standard camera tripod. The front mic records at an angle of 90 deg - and the back one at 120 deg. The back mic is therefore good for picking up both sides of the concertina. The audio is recorded on to an SD card, and the machine can be connected to a PC/Mac with a USB cable. When connected, the SD card appears as an icon on the desktop and can be copied from the Zoom to the computer very quickly.

     

    Once the audio is on the computer, you can use free software such as Audacity to edit it (as a ".wav" file). Once edited, a collection of .wav files can be burnt to a CD.

    March of the Concertina's

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted

    If you want to play it dotted - which is the actual rhythm set by Al - here 'tis:

     

    X:1

    T:March of the Concertinas

    C:Alan Day

    Q:1/4=110

    M:2/4

    L:1/16

    K:G =C =D =E ^F =G =A =B

    z3 B A3B |G4 D4 |E3B A3B |G4 D4 |E4 D3C |

    B,3D G3A |B4 A3G |A4 (3:2:1A2(3:2:1A2(3:2:1A2 |A3B A3B |G4 D4 |

    E3B A3B |G4 B4 |c4 B3A |d4 G4 |B3A G3F |

    G4 (3:2:1G2(3:2:1G2(3:2:1G2 |G4 F3G |A4 A4 |B4 B4 |c4 A4 |

    F4 D4 |A4 (3:2:1A2(3:2:1A2(3:2:1A2 |B4 G4 |(d8 |d3)B A3B |

    G4 D4 |E3B A3B |G4 B4 |c4 B3A |d4 G4 |

    B3A G3F |G8 |]

    March of the Concertina's

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted

    Kautilya - If you email the mp3 files to me, I'll put them together with the mix from the Spindizzy site (mix 6, I think), and add some bass at the same time - then I'll repost here.

     

    Cheers,

     

    Will

     

    will.fly@mjra.net

    Croissants et Cafe`

    in Tunes /Songs

    Posted · Edited by Will Fly

    Very nice tune, Al, though I have to say that as soon as I heard the very first line I was reaching for my pipe and trilby... Do you remember the "Maigret" theme from the old b&w TV series starring Rupert Davies? The first line of that is very similar to yours, though the two tunes are quite different from then on.

     

    Anyway, you can buy me a cognac and a packet of Disque Bleu when we next meet up. ;)

     

    (I'll get me beret...)

    A moan

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Will Fly

    Well, Al - this is what happens when you go to Charlwood without me. You pick up these frivolous young players and then get upset when they do the dirty on you. Stick to the Old Dutch in future, mate...

     

    Seriously, as someone who does a lot of session work and as an accompanist (I'm the guitarist on the "Snowflakes/Marienne" duet), there is an art to picking up a tune that you've never heard before, and your ear has to anticipate and work overtime. With a strange tune, I usually let one chorus play through before I ruin it join in, unless the tune is so simplistic that the chords shout themselves out. I also concentrate on bass lines which add a counterpoint to the main melody - particularly when accompanying concertina.

     

    I think if you're doubtful of the ability of other players to join in musically, then it's entirely appropriate to say that you'd prefer to do a solo on the tune - particularly if it's a singaround and not a session as such.

     

    It was at a singaround not long ago that I was playing an acoustic guitar version of "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square" - and was joined by a local character who did bird calls of various sorts with the kit hanging from his washboard! I could hardly play for laughing... :lol:

    A two-waltz set for anglo and guitar

    in Concertina Videos & Music

    Posted

    The reason for using twin Zoom H2s was - as you say - to be able to mix the two instruments for EQ, pan and volume. So, Al's was set to mid-volume for recording (that Jefferies is a noisy little devil) and mine was set to fairly high as I was playing fingerstyle.

     

    I fed both signals into separate channels in "Garageband" on my Mac Book Pro and separated them to match the video - me on the left and Al on the right. Then adjusted the volume to get a reasonable balance, and then synched the audio with the video (kocking out the crude audio from the camcorder at the same time). :unsure:

    Panic

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Well you'd better get it right on Friday, Al - I shan't be best pleased if you lock up your boxes on our guest night! Typical!

     

    The other nice posters on this thread and on Concertina.net in general don't know how much I have to put with from Al - the zimmer frame at gigs, the incontinence trousers, the mumbling, the incoherence. And that's just me! :D

    youtube frustration

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    You could try doing a test upload to Vimeo (you'll have to register, but it's free) - and see what the result is like. If it screws up on Vimeo then there's a problem with the video compression/export on your computer. If it's OK on Vimeo, then it's a YouTube glitch.

     

    I've had some problems with YouTube from time to time. Make sure that all previous failed/problematial uploads of this video have been deleted from your video list, by the way, before re-uploading again.

    When to keep your mouth shut ?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Oi - Day! You keeps your bloomin' dance steps to yourself - especially when you're duetting with me. It's bad enough 'avin' to watch your bloomin' left 'and weavin' in and aht wivout dodging your bloomin' feet at the same time!

     

    Stone the crows...

     

    Cucaracha-ing with the concertina? ;)

     

    That Day likes to tango with an Anglo and bop with the bellows and buttons... :rolleyes:

    When to keep your mouth shut ?

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    I've taught guitar, on and off, for nearly 40 years, and it's certainly true that there can be a big difference in attitude between someone wanting help and someone beingoffered help.

     

    Sometimes the best of intentions can go wrong because the person being helped is, without you knowing it, having their personal technique/interpretation/knowledge bubble pricked. I think there are many ways of approaching this. Here are two contrasting ones:

     

    1. Go to the person and say, "I know a better way of fingering that tune, which is... (add your technical comment here)

     

    2. Go to the person and say, "Nice tune. I was very interested in the fingering you used here (play the relevant bit of the tune here). I've always done it this way (demonstrate your version)...

     

    I think (2) is slightly less bubble-pricking than (1) - but there's still no guarantee the bubble won't be pricked. Anyway, Al, if she didn't listen to your advice, she was very foolish!

    Extra Frittenden session this Sunday evening from 8pm

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Gavin - many thanks for an excellent Sunday session at the Bell & Jorrocks. Well worth the journey over from Sussex/Surrey for the evening. Lovely people, lovely music, lovely beer, lovely setting. Alan and I loved it - and thanks to Julie for providing a cake to celebrate Alan's 70th - I'm sure the Old Devil didn't deserve it but it was a great idea!

     

    Looking forward to the October session... :D

    Warwick Folk Festival

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    We have now confirmation of the Warwick Session

    It is on Sat 24th July 12 Midday to 3PM The Millwrights Arms

    It would be great to see any of you there

    Mainly Non Folk but just about anything else

    No admission charges

    Al

     

    Just dusting my spats and trilby off. I recall, as an 18-year old in 1962, popping in to pubs in Morecambe in Lancashire - tempted in by the sound of some old boy playing the piano with everyone singing along. Some years later I was playing piano in pubs myself - pints bought for me by the punters lined up on the top of the piano!

     

    When did you last see a piano in a pub? Or last have a sing-song in a pub? Let's hope we can re-create some of that atmosphere at Warwick...

    Alan Day/ Will Fly CD

    in General Concertina Discussion

    Posted

    Got my copy 'today,' which is now actually 'yesterday' since it's after midnight now as I post this. (It's not really 'yesterday,' in my book, until the sun comes up again.)

     

    So... I look forward to listening!

     

    Edit added 'tomorrow' which is still 'today,' on this side of the pond:

     

    I really love the CD, Alan (and Will)! the first thing that comes to mind is all the cheerfulness it emanates. Really lifts the spirits.

     

    I like that it's a mix of traditional and modern, and the transitions to each are smooth. (Maybe it's not as much about old/new as it is about a blend of styles. I am no pro music analyst...)

     

    I'll be playing this one many times over.

     

    It's no overstatement to take this opportunity to repeat myself: I really love the CD, Alan and Will!

     

    (I'd added an edit to my previous post, but that would have slipped by unnoticed by most.)

     

    Wendy - glad you liked it. We have tremendous fun playing together and it's good if some of that rubs off!

     

    Regards,

     

    Will

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