Pirate Songs - Update

[gcoover]

Be ye not confused - there are now two different pirate song books available on Amazon (and Button Box and Red Cow) - Pirate Songs, and Pirate Songs for Concertina. Note the subtle difference, yeah?

 

The first one is brand new and is concertina-neutral and only shows musical notes and lyrics (suitable for all instruments and all singers), and the second one is the Anglo-specific one you know already.

 

Same songs and tunes in both (up to 75 now), and same format which has been updated and expanded so all the music and lyrics for the songs are conveniently on facing pages.

 

Of course, in order to make it all work I had to add some additional songs - "Old Billy Riley", "Padstow Farewell", and "Rolling Down the Bay to Julianna". So, if you have a previous version and would like copies of these three new songs just let me know. Also, if you have the very first version without "Grogg Mayles" from Sea of Thieves (and three other songs), then send me a PM with your email address and I'll be happy to provide.

 

And yes, the new Sailor Songs for Concertina book has 88 completely different songs and tunes for Anglo, and will soon have a more generic version available too.

 

FYI, the tunes in the pirate book tend to be a little simpler and more can be played on a 20-button (maybe 80% with a few adjustments).

 

I've also started posting videos of the tunes on YouTube, just search for the "angloconc" channel or "Pirate Songs" or "Sailor Songs" playlists.

 

I know, it seems like there's an almost endless supply of pirate and sailor songs - and that's a good thing! I can't even begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed working on these books, even if it has taken longer because I keep stopping to just enjoy playing the tunes. Hope you like them too!

Gary

Edited June 16, 2019 by gcoover

[michaelpthompson]

By the way Gary, I learned something the hard way today when trying to prop open your book Easy Anglo 1-2-3 with a cup of coffee on the side. My chair is still a bit wet. Have you ever heard of "Lay Flat" binding? I used to publish paperback books, and this is very handy for that sort of usage. Its a bit more expansive than standard glued binding, but much appreciated for certain types of books. And printing is not the major cost center of most books, so it might be worthwhile. Certainly worth checking out. Ask your printer. Just a hint for the future.

[Don Taylor]

10 hours ago, michaelpthompson said:

Have you ever heard of "Lay Flat" binding? I used to publish paperback books, and this is very handy for that sort of usage.

I usually take my music books to the local Staples store and get them to cut off the spine, punch holes and insert a plastic comb binding to replace the spine.  Cheap and effective, the books stay open on a music stand.

[gcoover]

Hey Michael, I totally sympathize with you, and lament that lost cup o' Joe, but the books are printed by Amazon and they only have the one binding type available.

 

Don's got the best solution, and it's one that I've done many times myself. That, or just get two big books to smash the pages down on either side...

 

Gary

 

 

[Paul_Hardy]

I use Lulu.com for printing my tunebooks, and one reason is that they offer lay flat coil-binding. They can issue ISBNs and feed product into Amazon with perfect binding etc, but unfortunately not for coil-bound books at present. So I get people to buy direct through Lulu.com.

[michaelpthompson]

On 6/19/2019 at 12:32 AM, gcoover said:

Hey Michael, I totally sympathize with you, and lament that lost cup o' Joe, but the books are printed by Amazon and they only have the one binding type available.

 

Don's got the best solution, and it's one that I've done many times myself. 

 

I used to take books to a commercial printer and have them shave off the glue edge and 3-hole punch it. Not many of them owe me favors these days.

Edited June 21, 2019 by michaelpthompson

[InspiredPirate]

@gcoover Not to resurrect an old topic, but is there a way to determine if "Pirate Songs for Concertina" is a newer version that contains the full list of songs, versus an older copy, when ordering from Amazon?

I'm ramping up learning material and "Easy Anglo 1-2-3" should be arriving today, but the "Pirate Songs" book is definitely on the back burner, as I think "Grogg Mayles" has been a large inspiration for wanting to learn the concertina. (which is apparently one of the popular tunes discussed)

[gcoover]

You are in luck! Every new copy of every Rollston Press book from Amazon will be the latest and greatest - one of the beauties of print-on-demand publishing. 

 

Gary

[InspiredPirate]

Great news! I would have not guessed these would be print-on-demand, I bet it stated that somewhere in the product listing. 

Thanks for the quick reply!

[Geoff W.]

I love Sailor Songs, Gary. It is definitely a welcome step up in difficulty from Pirate Songs.  I live on a sailboat named "Delightful" so of course the first tune I needed to learn was "Pleasant and Delightful!"