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Irish Music on Duet Concertinas


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After so many discussions about Irish music being played on English Concertina, I would be interested to know how many people are playing Irish music on their Duet Concertinas?

 

It is well known and commonly accepted that Irish music is impossible to play on a duet! :rolleyes: :) :D :lol: :P ;)

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I've attempted a few tunes, pretty much the bare melody plus a few cuts. I'd like to work up some basic harmony (a la fiddle double stops or regulator chords), add some variations, triplets, and the like. Maybe I'll post something if I do, and invite comment. Or maybe not.

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Although I love Irish music on the Anglo, I can't really see how one can get the "bounce" with a Duet. (Similar problem with playing for Morris).

But, the Duet has other advantages over the English and the Anglo.

It's just a case of Horses for Courses really!

Room for us all!

But....If there is a Duet player out there who knows different, I'd love to meet him/her!!!

Ralphie

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My duet is destined mainly for song accompaniment (if and when I can crack that) because I am primarily a singer, not a musician. In the meantime I've been learning traditional dance tunes, mostly English but with a fair number of Irish. Some are obviously Irish and some have been so well absorbed into the English revival that many English players probably don't think of them as Irish. When playing tunes I play only the melody, but I don't add decorations because I have enough trouble getting all the notes in.

 

I guess that dance tunes, whether Irish or English, would benefit from the bounce of an Anglo. You can fake this a little on a duet by playing more staccato but you can't fake the lack of volume which is a significant issue in sessions.

 

Richard

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But can you really play Irish music on Kyl-Kobyz?

Or Morin Huur?

How about Erhu, Rebab or Lira de Braccio?

Well, you can't... until somebody does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A child will come from the far West and amaze us all, and his /her name shall be wonderful squeezer and all nations will tune in to hear the heavenly music with full chordal accompanimemnt on the left end and from the right will the loud rolls echo!!

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Marion Gill is the only player that I have found that played Irish Traditional music on the Duet hence my request for any recordings of her. I will write again to her and see if I can just get her to record something for us.

Al

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I wish someone would try it and post here there are enough Irish recordings with good accompaniments on guitar, piano, button accordion, bouzouki on which to base a duet interpretation. Some of the younger Anglo players are putting in chords within the scope of the instrument and pipers have the regulators for chords.

Edited by michael sam wild
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...I can't really see how one can get the "bounce" with a Duet. (Similar problem with playing for Morris).

I remember at Kilve a few years ago the duet players were working on reproducing the Anglo "bounce" and seemed to achieve it quite well. Perhaps Dirge or Wolosp can chime in on the technicalities - I think one or both of them may have been there at the time.

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Yep I play Irish on the duet - more tunes than just the one I put on youtube (trip to skye).

 

It´s not impossible to play Irish on a duet and you can play more ornamentations than cuts and rolls. The repeating pushing the same button effect is also available if you can play it and really want to use that. But maybe you don´t have to - all half notes are available on push and pull so you can use other kinds of ornamentations, not available on a tin whistle or anglo tina, and still these ornmamentations can fit ITM.

 

If a guitar or bouzouki is playing along you even do not need to play chords all the time on a duet. It is not forbidden not to play chords on a duet.

 

So - is anyone who is going to take the risk on a topic close down trying to prescribe I should keep playing slow classical stuff just because I play a Duet? Hopefully not.

 

and Michael Sam W. - yep I would like to make more Irish recordings will do when I´ll find some more time.

 

Happy squeezing

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This post is becoming another 'can/can't be played Irish music with english concertina' :rolleyes: .

 

I'm pretty convinced that irish music can be played on ANY instrument with enough range, is more likely depending of the skills and taste of the musician. Play a tune for me in other instrument that is not any of the traditionaly associated to ITM and I'll tell you if sounds awful or great.

 

On the other hand, everybody knew that irish music couldn't be played on guitar, or even bouzouki, both evil foreign instruments; and the great O'Riada pested about the button accordion,... well, time proved them all wrong.

 

And changing subject, all of us know that slow airs and O'Carolan's are irish music, but they're not indeed the main corpus of ITM, but the dance music.

 

Cheers,

 

Fer

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How about Erhu?

 

 

I've played in a session with a very good erhu player. We played some Irish tunes, some from western China, some American Old Time, a very eclectic mix. The combination of baritone EC and erhu is quite nice.

 

More on topic. I've tried Julia Delaney on the Crane, but I haven't mastered the instrument well enough to get much more than the melody yet.

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This post is becoming another 'can/can't be played Irish music with english concertina' :rolleyes: .

 

I'm pretty convinced that irish music can be played on ANY instrument with enough range, is more likely depending of the skills and taste of the musician. Play a tune for me in other instrument that is not any of the traditionaly associated to ITM and I'll tell you if sounds awful or great.

 

On the other hand, everybody knew that irish music couldn't be played on guitar, or even bouzouki, both evil foreign instruments; and the great O'Riada pested about the button accordion,... well, time proved them all wrong.

 

And changing subject, all of us know that slow airs and O'Carolan's are irish music, but they're not indeed the main corpus of ITM, but the dance music.

 

Cheers,

 

Fer

 

Fer

You are right that much depends on the player.

 

Sorry, I did not want to make a can can canon out of it. To be honoust I notice that many people are not attracted to concertinas for slow airs. There are many slow airs you don´t hear much in a pub session and many think that it is a waste to try and play them on a squeeky concertina, needing a deeper acoustical sound like the one of a harp, a beautiful sounding violin or a low whistle. But - to my idea - also a solo voice of a concertina can be very nice to hear for a slow air. maybe I'll try one day and then you may tell me whether it's crap or not.

 

Time got faster and faster and so did the sessions, but there is more in life than ITM sessions in pubs. In pub sessions in Ireland you´ll generally not hear real dance music - polkas and reels tend to get played too fast for dancing in pubs. It appears to me that stamping feet and clapping hands have replaced traditional dancing in pubs. When at last a melancholic gealic song comes then it sometimes feels like especially made for tourists. Outide pubs there is still lots of Irish music that is more diverse in pace and athmosphere. To me these slow airs, melancholic songs, marches and other "out of pub" features are a big part of the main corpus of ITM. Don't get me wrong here - this is no complaint. You will find me with instruments in Irish ITM pubs as soon as I am in Ireland...

 

Cheers,

Marien

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Fer

You are right that much depends on the player.

 

Sorry, I did not want to make a can can canon out of it. To be honoust I notice that many people are not attracted to concertinas for slow airs. There are many slow airs you don´t hear much in a pub session and many think that it is a waste to try and play them on a squeeky concertina, needing a deeper acoustical sound like the one of a harp, a beautiful sounding violin or a low whistle. But - to my idea - also a solo voice of a concertina can be very nice to hear for a slow air. maybe I'll try one day and then you may tell me whether it's crap or not.

 

Time got faster and faster and so did the sessions, but there is more in life than ITM sessions in pubs. In pub sessions in Ireland you´ll generally not hear real dance music - polkas and reels tend to get played too fast for dancing in pubs. It appears to me that stamping feet and clapping hands have replaced traditional dancing in pubs. When at last a melancholic gealic song comes then it sometimes feels like especially made for tourists. Outide pubs there is still lots of Irish music that is more diverse in pace and athmosphere. To me these slow airs, melancholic songs, marches and other "out of pub" features are a big part of the main corpus of ITM. Don't get me wrong here - this is no complaint. You will find me with instruments in Irish ITM pubs as soon as I am in Ireland...

 

Cheers,

Marien

 

First of all (although I do not play Duet) I see no reason why you could not play Irish music on it (dance music included), although it can take some time before you find the right way to give it an Irish feel to it.

Although I recently submitted a few pieces that were labelled as having a ''relentless drive'', in fact I play loads of (slow) airs, and I can play without my ''relentless drive''. Nothing wrong with relentless drive (I will stick to this label!) anyway as long as it is not the only thing happening (I will submit at least one slow air next time). One of the main reasons why only fast dancing music is played, is that most people going to sessions do not have the patience to stop playing and to listen to somebody else; they are much to eager. You can not play a slow air with 15 people (well you can, but it will not sound nice ...). If there's a singer people have to stop playing and listen, my god what a waste of time (we could have played another set of reels instead...). I prefer sessions were a bit of everything happens, and from time to time such a session comes along, and some of them were moments of pure bliss to me :)

Edited by chiton1
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