Mary Macnamara Style Triplets

[Marcus]

Can anyone shed light on the way Mary Macnamara plays triplets. They are not distinct and separated but almost pulse and this gives a great bounce to the tunes. Any ideas?

[Baxter]

I have wondered this too - it is a distinctive sound. My best guesses so far are 1. she has a good hand with the bellows or 2. she uses multiple fingers on the same button, not quite letting it all the way up.

[richard]

Hi Marcus

 

Is there a tune on one of her recordings that has a good example of the triplet you are asking about?Where is it in the tune, the A or B part?

 

I am curious too.

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

Edited January 20, 2007 by richard

[Alan Day]

If you listen carefully to the examples on Anglo International it sounds to me as though she is using the bellows pressure to create the sound I think you are reffering to.The sound is continuous and one note is not seperated from the next. As she plays very gently the bellows option is open to her to use this method.

That is my theory on this question.

Al

[ceemonster]

i have listened close to mary mac's triplets as well.....i believe what i am hearing is something like this (most examples, btw, are in her reels):

 

first, she is not cutting or rolling in added notes. these triplets are what a fidder would call a bowed triplet and i call a "same-note triplet" using one note. however, rather than playing the note three discrete times, note-note-note, it sounds as if she is going, note-[hold first note and give bellows an extra shove on the second one]-note.

 

or, if it's a long dotted quarter note, instead of NOTE-note-note-note, it sounds as if she is going NOTE-note-[holdfirstnoteandpush]-note.

 

that hold-and-push note seems to get the most emphasis.....

 

 

i believe the bias in these days of almost classical-level technical pedagogy in ITM is for a crisper enunciation, but i love how these triplets sound. to my ear, it is a cool slurry effect that is kinda fiddle-y. and as a prior comment remarked, it injects a jaunty, bouncy lift.......you can hear mary's brother andrew macnamara doing something close to this on his solo accordion cds.....

Edited January 28, 2007 by ceemonster

[Alan Day]

i have listened close to mary mac's triplets as well.....i believe what i am hearing is something like this (most examples, btw, are in her reels):

 

first, she is not cutting or rolling in added notes. these triplets are what a fidder would call a bowed triplet and i call a "same-note triplet" using one note. however, rather than playing the note three discrete times, note-note-note, it sounds as if she is going, note-[hold first note and give bellows an extra shove on the second one]-note.

 

or, if it's a long dotted quarter note, instead of NOTE-note-note-note, it sounds as if she is going NOTE-note-[holdfirstnoteandpush]-note.

 

that hold-and-push note seems to get the most emphasis.....

 

 

i believe the bias in these days of almost classical-level technical pedagogy in ITM is for a crisper enunciation, but i love how these triplets sound. to my ear, it is a cool slurry effect that is kinda fiddle-y. and as a prior comment remarked, it injects a jaunty, bouncy lift.......you can hear mary's brother andrew macnamara doing something close to this on his solo accordion cds.....

 

I was listening to Kate McNamara during the week and although she is no relation to Mary she is tutored by her .She does some excellent examples of what you are reffering to, but plays more ornamentation than Mary. A nice subtle difference in styles.

Al

Edited January 28, 2007 by Alan Day

[Michael Reid]

however, rather than playing the note three discrete times, note-note-note, it sounds as if she is going, note-[hold first note and give bellows an extra shove on the second one]-note.

Might she be doing what Frank Edgley called a "slap roll"? See Frank's post in this thread from a few years back: http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1469

 

I was listening to Kate McNamara during the week and although she is no relation to Mary ...

I love Kate's playing on Anglo International, especially on "John Brennan's" (which we know here as "The Ash Plant"). Looking now at Mary's and Kate's photos on pages 26-27 of the Anglo International CD booklet, to learn that they're not related is ... simply ... amazing.

[Alan Day]

Thanks for your comments Michael about Kate's playing.She has had little mention since the release of the collection apart from very favourable comments on Radio Ulster.I think she is a wonderful young player and when Mary told me about her she said that she was full of confidence. She joined Mary in the recording studio when Mary did her recordings.What a bright future for this young lady.

Al

[Baxter]

Just to add a bit to this - I am pretty sure I have heard Mary MacNamara playing the same note on two different buttons (without bellows reversal) to get a very legato sound. Not for triplets that I noticed, but definitely for repeated notes.

[geoffwright]

There are repeated Gs and As that you can use for triplets on alternate rows, but you can often hear the difference in the two reeds as the sound is coming from different parts of the box.

Having just listened, to Marys first track, it sounds to me like two buttons are used for the triplets.

Edited February 2, 2007 by geoffwright

[Daniel Hersh]

I have heard from a reliable source that she uses exactly this technique.

 

There are repeated Gs and As that you can use for triplets on alternate rows, but you can often hear the difference in the two reeds as the sound is coming from different parts of the box.

Having just listened, to Marys first track, it sounds to me like two buttons are used for the triplets.

[ceemonster]

yes, gearoid has mentioned this as one of mary's special ornaments or techniques in a couple workshops i have been at....

 

you can hear this being done all over last year's release of east clare concertina playing by martin o'brien, whose liner notes mention the help he has gotten from mary mac.....the notes have a different timbre because they are separate reeds.....i love the east clare concertina style you can hear in these players.....i'm also a kate fan. she is a lovely player....hope we get more recordings from mary, kate and martin....

Edited February 28, 2007 by ceemonster

[geoffwright]

THe answer!!

Just returned from Swaledale - what you lot (who didn't go) missed!!!!

 

I sat in Kates brilliant workshop and she is a dab hand (ho ho) at "slap rolls", which are nothing to do with sandwiches. I will post separatley on this subject.

She did add that Mary does not normally use this technique for triplets, relying on bellows shake.

[ceemonster]

yes, i agree that what mary as well as i'm pretty sure martin o'brien, are doing, is different from the "slap roll" that kate is doing on the "anglo international" tracks. the "slap roll" gives you four sounds, or the effect of four sounds, like a half-roll does. mary's triplets are three-ish sounds, or the effect of three sounds. i think you could achieve it through shake or mild slap, not sure. i like both of these capers, though i don't always manage to pull them off...