SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 This might be a bit of an oddly specific request, but I’m wondering if anyone here is knowledgeable in German folk music? I’m currently working on something on my Anglo concertina that has me looking into some German songs, more specifically folk songs that were popular during WW1 time period. I have tried finding some sheet music online but since I don’t know much about the music during that time period, I’m having a bit of a hard time finding anything I feel confident in learning on concertina with my current skill level. Any suggestions are appreciated!
David Barnert Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 (edited) How about that good old (and easy) standby, “Ach Du Lieber Augustin”? A piano arrangement (in F) is here, and I link to it only because it has the words as I remember them from 60 years ago. A setting in G (and more easily readable on the anglo) is here on Wikipedia, but they seem to think it is called “O Du Lieber Augustin.” Here’s the music as it appears on Wikipedia: It would fit both my memory and the cadence of the words better if the last measure of the 2nd line were a 3-beat G, like in the last measure. Edited to add: 1) Yes, I know it’s actually Viennese, not German. 2) And, of course, it’s the same tune as “Did You Ever See a Lassie” and “Horsey, Put Your Tail Up." Edited May 30, 2024 by David Barnert 1
Roger Hare Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 (edited) Another possibility may be the (Bavarian?) 'Zwiefacher' dance tradition? I can't comment on it's popularity or otherwise during WWI, but if you are ABC-savvy, you will find a few examples on Seymour Shlien's web site - look at the International Dance file. There are 5-6 examples of the Zweifacher form there. With an ABC reader/editor such as EasyABC you should be able to generate simple printable scores (PDF). Otherwise, you can find examples of this folk (dance) form on YouTube. I can't comment on the appropriateness of this style of music for the 'tina because I haven't tried it (yet...). One of it's 'features' apparently, is that the tunes tend to have changes in rhythm, so that may affect it's 'suitability'... Edited May 30, 2024 by Roger Hare 1
SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Author Posted May 30, 2024 @David Barnert Thank you for the suggestion and sheet music! This seems like a perfect tune to start with, it’s such a good simple song. I actually am familiar with it from childhood from “the More We Get Together”. That song was stuck in my head often haha. And thank you for your notes about the second bar, I will keep that in mind!
SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Author Posted May 30, 2024 @Roger Hare Thanks for your reply! Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with ABC, I will have to do some looking into it for future use though. I will definitely look through YouTube for some examples of Zwiefacher music, it seems like a very lively genre! I am a bit worried that it is out of my skill level currently but I might give any simple songs I come across a go.
Roger Hare Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 (edited) 20 minutes ago, SliverOfSand said: [1] Thanks for your reply! [2] Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with ABC [3] I am a bit worried that it is out of my skill level currently but I might give any simple songs I come across a go. [1] My pleasure! [2] Well worth a look... [3] Yup! That's why I accompanied my post with a heads-up about the possible difficulties of coping with changes in rhythm. I just did a quick-and-dirty extraction of Zwiefacher tunes from my tune book - I came up with 10 tunes - all of them had changes in rhythm, and I know that I would find it awkward coping with this... Edited May 30, 2024 by Roger Hare 1
gcoover Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 (edited) There are quite a few here that might be of interest: Swiss & German Folksongs for Anglo Concertina, by Barbara Steinger from the Akkordeonschule in Aarau, available on Amazon and elsewhere. All are arranged for harmonic style Anglo with the same button numbers and tablature that are in all the other Rollston Press books, plus QR codes of members of the school playing the tunes. Here's the complete list: Volkslieder aus der Schweiz Songs from Switzerland 01 Anneli wo bisch geschter gsi Annie – where were you yesterday 02 A Moléson Moléson (a place) 03 Aveva gli occhi neri she/he had dark eyes 04 Aprite le porte open the doors 05 Baselbieterlied song from Baselbiet (area around Basle) 06 Bionda Bella Bionda Blonde – beautiful blonde 07 Chumm mier wei go Chrieseli gwünne come along – let’s go pick cherries 08 Dei obe uf em Bärgli up there – on the mountain/hill 09 Det äne am Bärgli up there – on the mountain/hill 10 Donna donna ve a chà! Please please come home! 11 Es Buurebüebli farmer laddie/boy 12 Es wott es Fraueli z`Märit gah a woman (the wife) was off to the market 13 Fontaunas clar resunan fountains clearly resonate 14 Gang rüef de Bruune go get the brown one (name for cows) 15 Gemsjäger the chamois hunter 16 Im Aargau sind zwoi Liebi two love-birds at Aargau 17 Il cucù the cuckoo 18 Is Mueters Stübeli in mama’s/granny’s nook 19 Le vieux chalet the old house 20 Luegid vo Bärg und Tal look there – from the mountain and the valley 21 Meiteli wend go witt go tanze sweetie/girl – if you want to go dancing 22 Mier Senne hei`s luschtig we – the mountain folks have a lots of fun 23 Mier verchaufed a der Tante ihres Hüüsli we’re selling Auntie’s little house 24 Morge früeh wenn d`Sunne lacht in the morning when the sun is shining bright 25 Mues allewil `s ploogete Hansli si my destiny: forever troubled Hansli 26 O du liebs Ängeli oh my dear angel 27 S`Brienzerbürli the country-lad from Brienz 28 Schuemächerli shoemaker 29 Simelibärg «Simelibärg» - the name of a mountain 30 S`Blüemli the little flower 31 S`isch mer alles eis Ding what do I care . . . 32 S`Ramseyers wie go grase Ramseyer’s are wanting to go cut the grass 33 S`Schwyzerländli isch no chli the swiss country is small indeed 34 s`trommt em Babeli Babeli (girl’s name) is dreaming 35 Täär i nöd es bitzeli May I? – just a little bit 36 Vieni sulla barchetta come – join me on my boat 37 Vo Luzärn gäge Weggis zue / Version 1 enroute/on the way from Lucerne to Weggis 38 Vo Luzärn gäge Weggis zue / Version 2 enroute/on the way from Lucerne to Weggis 39 Wenn i nume wüsst if only I knew 40 Wie mached`s denn die Zimmerlüüt just how are they managing these carpenters 41 Z`Basel a mim Rhi Basle on «my Rhine» 42 Zoogä-n-am Booge get out your fiddle Volkslieder aus Deutschland Songs from Germany 01 Alles neu macht der Mai a fresh start – come May 02 An der Saale hellem Strande at the bright shore of the «Saale» 03 Ännchen von Tharau little Annie from «Tharau» 04 Alle Vögel sind schon da all the birds are back again 05 Als wir jüngst in Regensburg waren newly/recently when we were in “Regensburg” 06 Auf de schwäb`sche Eisebahne on board the «Schwäbsche Eisebahn» 07 Bald gras`ich am Nekar shortly I’ll be grazing at the «Nekar» 08 Beim Kronenwirt at the «Kronenwirt» 09 Bier her, Bier her keep the beer coming 10 Bunt sind schon die Wälder the forests are in colour yet 11 Das Lieben bringt grosse Freud loving/to love brings happiness/joy 12 Das Wandern ist des Müller`s Lust roaming is the miller’s joy 13 Dat du min Leevsten büst that you are my true love 14 Der treue Husar the faithful hussar 15 Dreimal oms Städele three times around town 16 Du, du liegst mir im Herzen you, you capture my heart 17 Eine Seefahrt die ist lustig cruising is fun 18 Ein Jäger längs dem Weiher ging along the pound the hunter went 19 Ein Männlein steht im Walde little man in the forest/wood) 20 Ein Vogel wollte Hochzeit machen a bird wanting to celebrate his wedding 21 Freut euch des Lebens enjoy life 22 Hab oft im Kreise der Lieben many a time in the bosom of my family 23 Hoch soll er leben may he stay high up – let’s give him a cheer 24 Horch was kommt von Draussen rein listen – what’s this – coming from out there 25 Im Frühtau zu Berge wir gehen off to the mountains early in spring 26 Im Märzen der Bauer in the month of March: the farmer 27 In einem kühlen Grunde at a nice fresh spot 28 Jetzt fängt das schöne Frühjahr an now – the beautiful springtime is coming 29 Jetzt gang i ans Brünnele now I’m heading for the fountain 30 Jetzt kommen die lustigen Tage happy days are here again 31 Kein schöner Land there’s no country more beautiful 32 Kommt ein Vogel geflogen a bird comes flying 33 Kuckuck, Kuckuck ruft`s aus dem Wald cuckoo, cuckoo coming from the wood 34 Lustig ist das Zigeunerleben so merry is the gipsy life 35 Mein Hut der hat drei Ecken my hat has got three corners/edges 36 Mein Mädel hat einen Rosenmund my girl with her rosy lips 37 Muss i denn, muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus I need to leave my small town 38 Nun will der Lenz uns grüssen now Lenz wants to greet us 39 Sah ein Knab`ein Röslein stehn a boy saw a little rose 40 Trario, der Sommer, der ist do Trario, summer is here 41 Wenn alle Brünnlein fliessen when all the fountains flow 42 Weisst du wieviel Sternlein stehen? do you know how many little stars there are 43 Wie schön blüht uns der Maien May is blooming beautifully for us 44 Wo e kleins Hüttle steht where a small hut stands Edited May 30, 2024 by gcoover 1
David Barnert Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 (edited) 8 hours ago, SliverOfSand said: Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with ABC... You can make use of abc even before learning how it works, thanks to concertina.net member, @Michael Eskin. When you find an example of abc notation, select everything from the initial X: to the end (or just before the first blank line). Copy it and paste it into the window here: https://michaeleskin.com/abctools/abctools.html (after hitting [OK] in the Welcome window). Then hit the arrows in the upper right to see the standard notation or the play button in the lower right to hear it. Here, for instance, is the abc for a Zweifacher: X:1 T:Unser Alte Kath R:Zweifacher M:3/4 K:D |: "D"A3 G FG |"D"A4 d2 |[M:2/4] "A"c2 e2|"D"d2 f2| [M:3/4] "D"A3 G FG |"D"A4 d2 |[M:2/4] "A"c2 e2|"D"d4 :| |:[M:3/4] "G"B2 gf g2|"D"A2 fe f2|[M:2/4] "A"c2 e2|"D"d2 f2| [M:3/4] "G"B2 gf g2|"D"A2 fe f2|[M:2/4] "A"c2 e2|"D"d4 :| Go nuts! Edited May 30, 2024 by David Barnert cleaned up the abc, added chords 1
RAc Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 10 hours ago, SliverOfSand said: has me looking into some German songs, more specifically folk songs that were popular during WW1 time period That seems like an odd description. Do you have examples of what you refer to here? I happen to play concertina for (among others) Swabian traditional dance groups. The tunes we play there are frequently dance tunes roughly compatible with dance tunes from other regions, such as Polkas or Rheinlanders. There are also a few songs with rather local color. In Germany, there are many different regional traditions (as in France, England...). I am not aware of any tradition having produced "Germany wide popular folk songs during a specific time." Thus, if you have one or two examples, that would help to narrow down what you are looking for.
SIMON GABRIELOW Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 Here's a secret in plain sight I have found really valuable for sheet music reference recently.. and it is FREE! An online library of music of every kind and country type and variety you could ever want.. Imslp.org (seems to be part of a library of free music reference. Part of Wikimedia foundation apparently. I looked and there is some German folk music already on it. It really is free to use. You can opt to pay for membership. ( Voluntarily) but you do NOT have to. You can download great quality sheet music that has been scanned into the library Look for Imslp.org ( and you will be amazed how much is on that site paying not a penny ( or dime!)..for the access.🌝🌝 1
SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Author Posted May 30, 2024 13 hours ago, Roger Hare said: [1] My pleasure! [2] Well worth a look... [3] Yup! That's why I accompanied my post with a heads-up about the possible difficulties of coping with changes in rhythm. I just did a quick-and-dirty extraction of Zwiefacher tunes from my tune book - I came up with 10 tunes - all of them had changes in rhythm, and I know that I would find it awkward coping with this... Well I really appreciate the suggestion! I will probably be looking through quite a few zwiefacher tunes just with how abundant they seem to be and maybe even attempt a few 😅
SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Author Posted May 30, 2024 @gcoover Oh wow, thank you so much for that list! I am really considering the purchase, since I love learning from books. The links to videos are always appreciated. And the books I already own use the same notation system so this book would be really useful to me.
SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Author Posted May 30, 2024 8 hours ago, David Barnert said: You can make use of abc even before learning how it works, thanks to concertina.net member, @Michael Eskin. When you find an example of abc notation, select everything from the initial X: to the end (or just before the first blank line). Copy it and paste it into the window here: https://michaeleskin.com/abctools/abctools.html (after hitting [OK] in the Welcome window). Then hit the arrows in the upper right to see the standard notation or the play button in the lower right to hear it. Wow, that website is amazing! Thank you so much for that link! It makes it so simple to use, I will definitely make use of this in the future. 😁
SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Author Posted May 30, 2024 6 hours ago, RAc said: That seems like an odd description. Do you have examples of what you refer to here? I happen to play concertina for (among others) Swabian traditional dance groups. The tunes we play there are frequently dance tunes roughly compatible with dance tunes from other regions, such as Polkas or Rheinlanders. There are also a few songs with rather local color. In Germany, there are many different regional traditions (as in France, England...). I am not aware of any tradition having produced "Germany wide popular folk songs during a specific time." Thus, if you have one or two examples, that would help to narrow down what you are looking for. Yes sorry it is quite an odd request. The reason I phrased it like that is in case anyone has a knowledge of what tunes might have been a popular choice to play among soldiers during WW1. The project I would be working on is for a historical experience that takes place during that time period so I asked about it just in case anyone was knowledgeable about specific tunes that may have been played then. I wish I could give specific examples of what I’m looking for but I am not knowledgeable enough on war history or German music to come up with anything. 😅 But I am not picky at all if there are no specifics, I am open to any suggestions.
SliverOfSand Posted May 30, 2024 Author Posted May 30, 2024 3 hours ago, SIMON GABRIELOW said: Here's a secret in plain sight I have found really valuable for sheet music reference recently.. and it is FREE! An online library of music of every kind and country type and variety you could ever want.. Imslp.org (seems to be part of a library of free music reference. Part of Wikimedia foundation apparently. I looked and there is some German folk music already on it. It really is free to use. You can opt to pay for membership. ( Voluntarily) but you do NOT have to. You can download great quality sheet music that has been scanned into the library Look for Imslp.org ( and you will be amazed how much is on that site paying not a penny ( or dime!)..for the access.🌝🌝 This is great! Thank you for the suggestion! I will definitely be spending some time looking through this site, there is so much to choose from! 😁
David Barnert Posted May 30, 2024 Posted May 30, 2024 1 hour ago, SliverOfSand said: Wow, that website is amazing! Thank you so much for that link! It makes it so simple to use, I will definitely make use of this in the future. 😁 Don’t thank me, thank Michael. And hopefully by using the site you will find your way to becoming more familiar with how to use abc. See https://abcnotation.com for the whole scoop when you feel you’re ready. 1
SliverOfSand Posted May 31, 2024 Author Posted May 31, 2024 7 hours ago, David Barnert said: Don’t thank me, thank Michael. And hopefully by using the site you will find your way to becoming more familiar with how to use abc. See https://abcnotation.com for the whole scoop when you feel you’re ready. Very interesting system, thank you for the link!
Roger Hare Posted May 31, 2024 Posted May 31, 2024 (edited) 20 hours ago, David Barnert said: Here, for instance, is the abc for a Zweifacher: I got a little more 'interested' in this style, so I did a little cleaning up of the tunes in my Tune Book. Here are 5 more tunes (in 'friendly' keys) in ABC format and as a score (PDF). I can't speak for the 'authenticity' of the tunes, but apart from a little cosmetic editing, the ABC code is 'as found' (the original sources are cited in the code). They all sound quite jolly - I think I may give one or two of them a try... ____________________________ Edit a few minutes later: I just cut-and-pasted the ABC code for the whole batch into ME's program and they all worked fine - you can play around with this, even if you are not familiar with ABC. Try changing the tempi (which may be a little slow)... Zweifacher.abc Zweifacher.pdf Edited May 31, 2024 by Roger Hare 1
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