Tune of the Month for September

[Jody Kruskal]

Every time I think “I’m catching up” another month goes by. No matter.

 

I’ve put up the latest Tune of the Month offering on my site. Here is the beginning text:

 

 

This summer I heard a great tune called “Mike in the Wilderness.” It was at the Lake Genero Old-Time festival at a late night session around a campfire in the Pennsylvania woods. Nice folks and a bunch of tunes I had never heard before, mostly played on banjo, guitar and fiddle. Later at home, I learned that the single source for “Mike in the Wilderness” is the playing of John Morgan Sayler, recorded 1940-1941 in Magoffin County, Kentucky. Sayler was a farmer and a fiddler with an extensive repertoire of old tunes.

 

The posting goes on with photos, old recordings, new recordings, a score, links, information, and conjecture.

[Brian Peters]

the single source for “Mike in the Wilderness” is the playing of John Morgan Sayler, recorded 1940-1941 in Magoffin County, Kentucky. Sayler was a farmer and a fiddler with an extensive repertoire of old tunes.

 

The posting goes on with photos, old recordings, new recordings, a score, links, information, and conjecture.

 

Jody, shouldn't it read SALYER? But never mind that, I'm a fan of his music as well, and I think you've done a great job here on the kind of tune most anglo players wouldn't think of attempting. It's really quirky with that modal ambiguity, and you've brought out the quirkiness even more with some of those harmonies. The whole page with the different versions and info is great, too - I wish I could get myself organized sufficiently to do this kind of thing!

[michael sam wild]

Thanks Jody That was really nice . It's a bit like when our magazine from the English Folk Dance and Song Socety does a piece on a song and its context Singer Song and Source.

 

It puts a lot of the discussions that are 'raging' on this site in perspecive and shows how we all move things on in the 'River of Sound'

 

I think taking a tune out of storage and reworking it then putting it back keeps the river flowing

[David Levine]

Lovely playing. Truly impressive. Now should we discuss the idea of playing Anglo concertina on old-time American tunes? Or is it only the fiddle and five-string banjo that can be considered pure-drop OT American? Is there even is such a thing? What would Mike (Seeger) say?

 

(I don't really care so long as it sounds good. This sounds good to me.)

[Jody Kruskal]

the single source for “Mike in the Wilderness” is the playing of John Morgan Sayler, recorded 1940-1941 in Magoffin County, Kentucky. Sayler was a farmer and a fiddler with an extensive repertoire of old tunes.

 

The posting goes on with photos, old recordings, new recordings, a score, links, information, and conjecture.

 

Jody, shouldn't it read SALYER? But never mind that, I'm a fan of his music as well, and I think you've done a great job here on the kind of tune most anglo players wouldn't think of attempting. It's really quirky with that modal ambiguity, and you've brought out the quirkiness even more with some of those harmonies. The whole page with the different versions and info is great, too - I wish I could get myself organized sufficiently to do this kind of thing!

 

Thanks Brian Mike and David for your kind comments, feedback and questions. I'll tell you what I think about all that later. As for now... Brian, I've corrected the spelling of Salyer which I actually had spelled three different ways! Thanks so much for pointing out my mistake.

[Jody Kruskal]

the single source for “Mike in the Wilderness” is the playing of John Morgan Sayler, recorded 1940-1941 in Magoffin County, Kentucky. Sayler was a farmer and a fiddler with an extensive repertoire of old tunes.

 

The posting goes on with photos, old recordings, new recordings, a score, links, information, and conjecture.

 

Jody, shouldn't it read SALYER? But never mind that, I'm a fan of his music as well, and I think you've done a great job here on the kind of tune most anglo players wouldn't think of attempting. It's really quirky with that modal ambiguity, and you've brought out the quirkiness even more with some of those harmonies. The whole page with the different versions and info is great, too - I wish I could get myself organized sufficiently to do this kind of thing!

 

The quirky harmonies you mention are one of the things I really like about this tune. They are all present in the guitar accompaniment that you can hear in the Salyer recording. I was not able to find out who was playing with Salyer on that recording but whoever it was, they did some interesting things and kept up quite a variety of chords and bass lines that remind me of the sort of substitutions used by Cape Breton piano accompanists. I omitted the chords in the score because the source was delightfully unclear about them. My playing did not quite get the same effect but I was attempting to.

Edited December 12, 2009 by Jody Kruskal

[Jody Kruskal]

Lovely playing. Truly impressive. Now should we discuss the idea of playing Anglo concertina on old-time American tunes? Or is it only the fiddle and five-string banjo that can be considered pure-drop OT American? Is there even is such a thing? What would Mike (Seeger) say?

 

(I don't really care so long as it sounds good. This sounds good to me.)

Thanks David for your kind words and interesting question. Too bad we can't ask Mike Seeger what he would have thought about concertina in old time music. At the festival where I heard this tune there were no other concertinas being played. Concertina is not typically played today with this genre of music. Dan Worrall thinks it may have been long ago but even if it was, the style is pretty much based on a string band sound. It has taken me years to figure out how to play the Anglo in a way that is compatible with that style. Compatible to my ears anyway.

 

The key to doing that, I think, has been to listen very closely to the rhythm of the key instruments and emulate them. I have been very lucky to play with a number of excellent fiddle players. I always try to match the feel and flow of the bow.

 

I have felt unwelcome at some OT sessions when I first take out the instrument, but when I start to play, folks don't seem to mind that I'm playing a concertina and some get quite enthusiastic about the sound. Some probably don't like it much but are too polite to say. Others tell me that what I'm doing sounds enough like harmonica (not central to old time style but it's in there) to fit into the sound without clashing.

[david fabre]

Hello Jody (remember me ?)

 

Great tune !

The modal ambiguity of this tune is effectively interesting ; to my hear this sounds typically american.

Posting a version at a slow tempo to let us hear the arrangement is also an excellent idea.

Please do it again !

 

David

Edited December 12, 2009 by david fabre

[Jody Kruskal]

Hello Jody (remember me ?)

 

Great tune !

The modal ambiguity of this tune is effectively interesting ; to my hear this sounds typically american.

Posting a version at a slow tempo to let us hear the arrangement is also an excellent idea.

Please do it again !

 

David

 

Hi David,

 

Yes I do remember you and that nice dinner we had with my friends in Manhattan at the dance.

 

Yes, that's my goal these days, to deepen my exploration of the notion of American music on the Anglo.

 

I also liked that posting format and the next time it seems appropriate I'll surely do it again.

 

Now let's see... what should the next tune be?

[michael sam wild]

Hi Jody

i'm glad you'll do more like that. Any chance of a bit of chordal analysis as I'm keen to understand more of the art. I play mainly Irish music but I'm having some great lessons with Brian P which is making me realise that the instrument ( mine's a C/G Jones)has a reason for the button layout that isn't always apparent when you are tying yourself in knots getting tunes in an ornamented and melodic style in keys like D and A out of a C/G!

 

What is fascinating is that you can do both genres on the one box so I'm really glad I got a C/G as it seems to offer a good key for my voice.

Edited December 14, 2009 by michael sam wild

[david fabre]

Hi Jody,

I just discovered that I missed the july "kung-fu" song. That's excellent !

A great parody of a great song. And a very nice interpretation.

This kind of thing is not that easy on the concertina with all those extended 7th

and 9th chords, even after transposing to a convenient key

(in my realbook it is in Aflat major, certainly not for us...)

David

[Jody Kruskal]

Hi Jody

i'm glad you'll do more like that. Any chance of a bit of chordal analysis as I'm keen to understand more of the art. I play mainly Irish music but I'm having some great lessons with Brian P which is making me realise that the instrument ( mine's a C/G Jones)has a reason for the button layout that isn't always apparent when you are tying yourself in knots getting tunes in an ornamented and melodic style in keys like D and A out of a C/G!

 

What is fascinating is that you can do both genres on the one box so I'm really glad I got a C/G as it seems to offer a good key for my voice.

 

Hi Michael,

 

Sorry to take so long getting back to you. Now the presents are all wrapped and the eggnog is made so I am free to take care of some loose ends.

 

Yes, the note layout on the 20 button Anglo is based on 1, 5 chords in two keys a 5th apart. The accidental row adds a bunch of missing stuff, but not everything. My 38 button instruments with modifications add yet more functionality but again... not everything. I think that what I've got has the capacity of a duet with the drive of the push/pull Anglo system. Those original 20 buttons are still there and I often play as if those are the only ones, to get that squeezy sound. At this point my melodic playing is embedded strongly in the chords (and to some extent visa versa).

 

Most folks have a 30 button instrument, so in my recorded slow example I restricted myself to those buttons to show how that might be done. When I play faster with Paul I'm playing the 38 without restriction and just trying to make music without trying to show anything.

 

As for "chordal analysis" I'm not sure what you mean but I can offer this jpeg with the tune and the chords I'm playing... mostly. That is, these are the chords I'm hearing, though I don't always play them and certainly I leave off the thirds most of the time. I arrived at these chords based on the original recording, what the melody suggests to my ear and what is natural to play on the Anglo.

[michael sam wild]

Thanks Jody

That's very helpful What I meant by 'analysis' was how to get the note and the chord so they coiincide on push or pull but I've got diagrams from Brian that allow me to see how the melody of your tunes can be played with chords on either pull or push. That is also helping when I want to put the oad chord into a faster tune for example I wouldn't normally go looking for a G using the pull in the accidentals but now it makes sense to do so if I want the chord.

 

 

I am finding it helpful to use two highlighter pen for push or pull and can pick out a particular note to prompt myself.

 

 

I still feel a bit like 'Mike in the Wilderness' but now I've got a compass.

 

Happy Christams to you and yours

Mike

Edited December 24, 2009 by michael sam wild