Kirkwall Bay (Anglo C/G)

[Haraald]

Hi all

I've recently started playing the anglo concertina a few months ago. I'm situated in Orkney, and we have a bit of a funny tradition that goes on on Xmas and NY's day (the Ba). I would quite like to learn to play Kirkwall Bay by then, as it's a tune related to the game. I know there's lots of versions of it for accordion but haven't been able to find any for concertina. If anyone was able to help it would be much appreciated

Thanks

[gcoover]

Hi Haraald, if no one else is going to chime in I might as well take the bait - here's a simple version in C plus a harmonized one in G which needs a 30-button instrument and matches the key that Jim MacLeod plays in.

 

This was made slightly more difficult since the one version of Bonnie Kirkwall Bay that has the dots on the internet has it in the wrong time signature (3/4?!?), plus every measure is off by one quarter note. In the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill, "don't believe everything you see on the internet".

 

I hope one of these versions gets the job done and that you win the game!

Gary

Bonnie-Kirkwall-Bay-G-ANGLO.pdf

[Roger Hare]

3 hours ago, gcoover said:

...here's a simple version in C plus a harmonized one in G which needs a 30-button instrument...

Sorry - slight thread drift...

 

If it's not 'commercial in confidence', how do you get the 'over-bars' to indicate a 'pull'? I think two different

folks tried (a few months ago) to produce scores similar to yours using ABC and MuseScore. If I remember

correctly, both were unable to produce the notes with an 'over-bar'. 

 

Using ABC, it's easy to produce a simple 'one-line-of-tabs' rendition (a little like your 'Key of C, melody only',

but with a single line of tabs), but even then I can't do the 'over-bars' and use a '^' to indicate a 'pull'. As it

happens, I'm perfectly content to use '^' for 'pull' I'm just curious about how to get the 'over-bars'.

 

Thank you.

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by lachenal74693

[gcoover]

Old-school manual input! I use Finale and have to draw each individual line as a SmartShape, then set it to horizontal, then come back later and adjust each one for length and exact vertical placement. Same for the dashed lines I use to show length of bass notes. Yep, a huge pain, but it's the only way I know how to do it!

Gary

[Roger Hare]

34 minutes ago, gcoover said:

Old-school manual input! I use Finale and have to draw each individual line as a SmartShape, then set it to horizontal, then come back later and adjust each one for length and exact vertical placement. Same for the dashed lines I use to show length of bass notes. Yep, a huge pain, but it's the only way I know how to do it!

Thanks very much! That clears it up nicely!

 

I did wonder if that was the sort of approach being used. I thought you might be using lilypond, but I 'guessed'

that you were using some sort of computer-based system. I haven't heard of Finale before.

 

Me, I'm bone-lazy - a huge pain is something I try to avoid...😎

 

Thanks again!

Edited August 22, 2021 by lachenal74693

[gcoover]

FYI, the cheaper software called PrintMusic will do the same, I only upgraded to Finale because they offered a really good deal at one point.

 

Gary

[Haraald]

@gcoover it's the man himself, thank you for your efforts with your books. I have a few of them now and they've been my resource for learning the instrument thus far.

Thanks for that, I'll get started on this today.

Cheers

Edited August 22, 2021 by Haraald

[Steve Schulteis]

8 hours ago, lachenal74693 said:

If it's not 'commercial in confidence', how do you get the 'over-bars' to indicate a 'pull'? I think two different

folks tried (a few months ago) to produce scores similar to yours using ABC and MuseScore. If I remember

correctly, both were unable to produce the notes with an 'over-bar'. 

 

While I don't think it's possible in ABC, MuseScore is quite capable of producing Coover tabs (although it's a bit tedious) using "lines" from the palette. I use line elements for both the pull bars and the button numbers, which helps keep everything aligned correctly. Nearly all of the tablature linked from my YouTube videos is produced with MuseScore.

 

What I wasn't able to do was produce a plugin to make things easier, because MuseScore 3 never included lines in its plugin API. MuseScore 4 is supposed to be coming soon, so maybe the situation will improve after that.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Steve Schulteis
Fixed a typo

[Roger Hare]

30 minutes ago, Steve Schulteis said:

While I don't think it's possible in ABC, MuseScore is quite capable of producing Coover tabs (although it's a bit tedious) using "lines" from the palette. I line elements for both the pull bars and the button numbers, which helps keep everything aligned correctly. Nearly all of the tablature linked from my YouTube videos is produced with MuseScore.

 

What I wasn't able to do was produce a plugin to make things easier, because MuseScore 3 never included lines in its plugin API. MuseScore 4 is supposed to be coming soon, so maybe the situation will improve after that.

Yes, that ties in with what I'm remembering. I think we exchanged a couple of mail messages about this

plug-in in March or April. I'm not a MuseScore user, but I try and keep up to speed with stuff like this.

As you say, maybe in MuseScore 4...

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by lachenal74693

[gcoover]

To slightly reverse the drift... the tab notation I use was initially "pencil only", a quick way to mark up existing music by notating button numbers and simply drawing a line for drawing the bellows. I had probably done several hundred tunes that way before getting the PrintMusic program so I could write the first book.

 

And I could have easily done a pencil version with Bonnie Kirkwall Bay if the music someone posted online had not been all hammajang (Hawaiian word).

 

It's super quick for already printed music, but takes a little longer when using a notation program to tart it up to look purty for publication.

Gary

Edited August 22, 2021 by gcoover

[Roger Hare]

11 hours ago, gcoover said:

To slightly reverse the drift... the tab notation I use was initially "pencil only", a quick way to mark up existing music by notating button numbers and simply drawing a line for drawing the bellows. I had probably done several hundred tunes that way before getting the PrintMusic program so I could write the first book.

 

And I could have easily done a pencil version with Bonnie Kirkwall Bay if the music someone posted online had not been all hammajang (Hawaiian word).

 

It's super quick for already printed music, but takes a little longer when using a notation program to tart it up to look purty for publication.

Yup! I use a different (terser, more minimal) system (ABT), but:

• Like GC, I started out writing the tabs on to existing printed music 'by hand'. 'Easy', but slow, tedious and error-prone.
• I graduated to editing the tabs into ABC files 'by hand' - similarly slow, tedious and error-prone...
• I got bored, and cheesed off with this and wrote a program to do the job for me - fast and accurate, (but a little wonky when it comes to 'odd' characters like 'over-bar'). My equivalent of the 'PrintMusic'/'Finale' programs, I guess.
• T'other day just for ducks (🦆🦆🦆), I wrote a 'macro' to convert ABT button numbering to GC button numbering and vice versa - know thy editor...

[JoachimDelp]

On 8/22/2021 at 5:24 AM, gcoover said:

Hi Haraald, if no one else is going to chime in I might as well take the bait - here's a simple version in C plus a harmonized one in G which needs a 30-button instrument and matches the key that Jim MacLeod plays in.

 

This was made slightly more difficult since the one version of Bonnie Kirkwall Bay that has the dots on the internet has it in the wrong time signature (3/4?!?), plus every measure is off by one quarter note. In the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill, "don't believe everything you see on the internet".

 

I hope one of these versions gets the job done and that you win the game!

Gary

Bonnie-Kirkwall-Bay-G-ANGLO.pdf 62.53 kB · 21 downloads

Me to I wolöd like tolearn to play the tune.

But I am low sight handicapped and I am learnig to play by ear,notg too badly.

 

Do you know of any sound sampleor cold you play anad record for and send me.

 

I am wellpreapred to do so for others who want to learn different tunes.

 

Thaks for your attention.

[Roger Hare]

12 hours ago, JoachimDelp said:

[1] But I am low sight handicapped and I am learnig to play by ear,notg too badly.

 

[2] Do you know of any sound sampleor cold you play anad record for and send me.

[1] Are you able to read scores at all? For example, a 'large-print' score?

 

[2] Meantime, I've attached simple MIDI renderings of the C and G scores posted as a PDF by GC

way back towards the top of this thread. Some folks hate these MIDI files, and while I agree, they

are a bit spotty, they can be useful. Me - I love 'em...😎

 

Don Taylor (of this parish) has a sampled concertina sound font for MuseScore on his Google Drive 

here, but I can't remember how to install it, so I can't generate those better quality sound files I'm

afraid...☹️

Bonnie Kirkwall Bay - C.mid Bonnie Kirkwall Bay - G.mid

Edited August 29, 2021 by lachenal74693

[JoachimDelp]

3 hours ago, lachenal74693 said:

[1] Are you able to read scores at all? For example, a 'large-print' score?

 

[2] Meantime, I've attached simple MIDI renderings of the C and G scores posted as a PDF by GC

way back towards the top of this thread. Some folks hate these MIDI files, and while I agree, they

are a bit spotty, they can be useful. Me - I love 'em...😎

 

Don Taylor (of this parish) has a sampled concertina sound font for MuseScore on his Google Drive 

here, but I can't remember how to install it, so I can't generate those better quality sound files I'm

afraid...☹️

Bonnie Kirkwall Bay - C.mid 4.58 kB · 1 download Bonnie Kirkwall Bay - G.mid 4.54 kB · 0 downloads

thnak you vwery much.

 

The Midi file is assistance enough, easy to play.

 

Wht do mneab wuith cores ? Do you mean notes.

 

Yes u can see and understand note sheets, uin cnditon I am magnifying them enough.m but when magnifying enoujhg, thanoften I cannot rwead several notes at the same time,I mustread note by noet, not a impossible misson but tedious and time consuming.

 

Anyway yoiu have helpend me Thamnks.

[Roger Hare]

5 hours ago, JoachimDelp said:

[1] thnak you vwery much.

The Midi file is assistance enough, easy to play.

 

[2] Wht do mneab wuith cores ? Do you mean notes.

Yes u can see and understand note sheets, uin cnditon I am magnifying them enough...not a impossible

misson but tedious and time consuming.

[1] My pleasure - all part of the service. Good to know that those MIDI files helped.

 

[2] Yes, notes in a printed score. I have attached an example of what I mean by a 'large-print' score.

You can see that you can do different things. In the second example: (a) the note heads have the

note name superimposed; (b) the accompaniment chords are in a box to make them more prominent.

 

I haven't done so, but I could also add simple tabs, at the cost of reducing the text size so each tune

fits on a single page...

________________________________________

[1] Meine freude - alles teil des dienstes. Gut zu wissen, dass diese MIDI-dateien geholfen haben.

 

[2] Ja, anmerkungen in einer gedruckten partitur. Ich habe ein beispiel dafür beigefügt, was ich mit

einer 'großdruck'-partitur meine. Sie können sehen, dass sie verschiedene dinge tun können. Im zweiten

beispiel: (a) haben die notenköpfe die notizname eingeblendet; (b) die begleitakkorde sind in einer box,

um sie hervorzuheben.

 

Ich habe dies nicht getan, aber ich könnte auch einfache registerkarten hinzufügen, auf kosten der

textgröße, damit jede melodie passt auf eine seite...

 

bkb.pdf

Edited August 29, 2021 by lachenal74693