Mallinson's Cotswold Morris Book And Cd

[Rhomylly]

My parents sent me the Dave Mallinson Cotswold Morris book and CD for a Christmas present *and* the William Kimber CD with interactive photos and film footage. I don't know which has me more thrilled.

 

Much as I am loving the Irish music, I still also aspire to be a decent morris musician someday, especially since I suspect between age, ankles and weight, that my morris dancing days are behind me.

 

And Kimber played the anglo! I can tell by the photos in the CD booklet!

 

I was going to start working on the Mallinson last night, then remembered that today is my day to get up super-early to take an animal on local TV for the rescue group I volunteer with, and I had to go to bed

[d.elliott]

Wrap them back up, its not Christmas yet, even allowing for time zones.

 

D

[Rhomylly]

Yeah, but my household tends to celebrate the solstice...which was yesterday

[Helen]

So what. Listen to Dave. Oh golly, I think the D is for Dave. Wrap them back up.

[Rhomylly]

too late! already listening to the Kimber CD!

[Helen]

And in elementary school, your grade for *listens well to others* was...?

 

Helen

[d.elliott]

So, fair Ladies, I relent! A good old English compromise:

 

'If music be he food of Love , play on........' but wrap 'em up, .... just for tonight.

 

After all we are allowed to sing and play the the South Yorkshire Carols in the pubs from the first Sunday after Armistice day.

 

D. (ave)

[Sharron]

I am with you Rhomylly, get those pressies unwrapped early.

 

Sharron

[Rhomylly]

Helen, my grade for listening well to others was generally not very good, lol.

 

Thanks, Sharron!

 

But seriously, has anyone else used the Mallinson morris book/CD to get them started as morris musicians?

[Jim Besser]

>ut seriously, has anyone else used the Mallinson

> morris book/CD to get them started as morris musicians?

 

I'd been playing for a Morris side for a couple of years before I bought the books, but find them a very useful resource.

 

I learned all the tunes my group regularly uses from former musicians, but I've been learning many of the standards used at mass stands from the books, and from a Morris tune ABC site -- http://www.ucolick.org/~sla/morris/music/abclib.html

 

THe problem with all books and sites: so many tunes come in different versions. My group uses one version of Maid of the Mill; there are others that are entirely different tunes. I learned Highland Mary from a CD; the first time I played it in a massed stand, I was playing a slightly different version than the rest of the musicians.

 

The Kimber CD is a great resource, too. one thing to remember: he plays most tunes much faster than most Morris music is played. I learend that the HARD way!

 

In the books, almost everything is in G and D. I've learned most tunes in one of those keys, so I can play with others -- but since I play solo for my group, and since I have a C/G Anglo, I've transposed most to C and can also play them in that key, to maximize chording possibilities. Trunkles sounds like a completely different tune in C than in G.

[Helen]

Oh all right Rhomylly,

 

You can play with your presents early. Especially since D(ave) caved. Oo a mini-poem.

 

Helen

[Rhomylly]

Yay! I get to play with my prezzies (like I wasn't already!)

 

Jim,

 

I'm going to have to try Trunkles in C now...you've piqued my curiosity.

 

I, too, noticed that Kimber seemed to play awfully fast (as a former morris dancer, I know I never danced that fast in my life!), but I'm assuming it's easier to learn it a little fast and slow down for dance accompaniment than to learn it slow and have to speed up.

[Jim Besser]

>I'm going to have to try Trunkles in C now...you've piqued my

> curiosity.

 

Works very nicely with a walking bass line and chords. Much more interesting than in G on a C/G. I assume I play it in C, on the middle row, the way a G/D player would play it on the G row.

 

>I, too, noticed that Kimber seemed to play awfully fast (as a former

> morris dancer, I know I never danced that fast in my life!)

 

I can't remember the tradition he played for --Headington? -- but I do know it is faster than any other.

 

> I'm assuming it's easier to learn it a little fast and slow

> down for dance accompaniment than to learn it slow

 

For me, that doesn't work. I have a persistent tendency to play too fast -- when I'm not playing Morris, I'm playing contra dance music, which is WAY faster than the fastest Morris tunes. I did that for years, before playing Morris, and the speed adjustment has been difficult.

 

Jim Morrison, the superb fiddler with the Albermarle Morris Men, has handed down some wisdom that was passed on to me: always practice at the speed you expect to play for the dancers. Practice too fast, and you'll play too fast.

[Lester Bailey]

The problem with all books and sites: so many (Morris) tunes come in different versions. 

 

I hope I am not "Teaching my Granny to suck eggs" but the reason there are so many variants of Morris tunes is that there are some many variants of Morris dances. Just because the tune and the dance have the same name doesn't mean they will work.

 

A good for instance is Trunkles compare the tunes frrom Wheatley and Bledington (found here thanks Jim) . Different keys different length and different number of musics. The reason they are different is the dances have different basic steps and different figures.

 

If we reduce all dances of a particular name to using one tune we will lose all the subtle nuances of Morris (now there's a concept you don't hear about often Morris and subtle ).

 

The Kimber CD is a great resource, too. one thing to remember: he plays most tunes much faster than most Morris music is played.

He plays the tunes much faster than Morris is danced now but at the speed it was played when it was collected, Morris was danced by young fit country workers then whereas now it is mostly danced by older, less fit computer progammers. I learned to danec Headington form the Art of William Kimber LP but that was 25 years ago .

[Rhomylly]

I've known Jim Morrison for many years, I'll remember that advice.

 

Nope, subtle and morris don't usually go together

 

Thanks for the input. Sounds like I got some useful presents!

 

Now, more to practice...

[Jim Besser]

>A good for instance is Trunkles compare the tunes frrom

> Wheatley and Bledington (found here thanks Jim)

> Different keys different length and different number

> of musics. The reason they are different is the dances

> have different basic steps and different figures

 

The first time I played for Bluemont, they asked if I could play Haste to the Wedding. Of COURSE; everybody plays haste to the wedding. But what they wanted was a totally different tune by that name.

 

Or: I'll Go and Enlist. Bluemont uses a B part that doesn't appear in any notation I've ever seen. I learned it by having a dancer hum it into my tape recorder.

[Rhomylly]

Jim, when were (are) you with Bluemont? My Baltimore teams attended the ales pretty regularly in the early-mid 1980's, and an old friend of mine from Berea was on the team for years....

[Jim Besser]

>Jim, when were (are) you with Bluemont? My Baltimore teams

> attended the ales pretty regularly in the early-mid 1980's,

> and an old friend of mine from Berea was on the team for

> years....

 

Who's your old friend?

I've been with Bluemont for 4 seasons now. A real newcomer; most members have been on for all or most of the group's 26 years. I got into it because my wife started dancing with them 6 years ago.

 

A really nice group of people, and our ales a lot of fun.

 

Who are/were you with?