what was your first tune?

[Timbecile]

my first tune on the concertina was the irish washerwoman. the first tune i ever learned was "the lion sleeps tonight," which i had heard in the lion king, on the tin whistle. my uncle taught it to me one day while we were upstairs in my grandparents house, when he lived there. i will always remember that it was on a blue tipped, nickel generation whistle. he was going to give it to me, but for whatever reason i never ended up getting it. i probably didnt play music after that day for several years.

 

Super! Irish Washerwoman was my first song too! (If you don't count the songs my band does)...still working on it.

 

I just started learning Ashokan Farewell on the new Rochelle...such a great song!

[Ken_Coles]

I'm not sure what was my first tune, either altogether (at age 10) or on concertina. Mine was also red, and for maybe a year I just played open fifth behind other instruments at the folk music society nearby. A good way to learn all the notes. I do remember "Westfalia Waltz" (subject of a Texas thread here a while back) in G being one of the first I could keep up with others on, including a Quebec melodeon player.

 

Ken

[hjcjones]

My first tune on guitar was "Bobby Shaftoe", because that's the first one in the classic tutor "Play in a Day" - it took me rather longer!

 

My first tune on melodeon was "Tripping Upstairs", which I'd learned off Tony Hall's LP. I was surprised how quickly I picked it up, but I already played anglo so the fingering wasn't too much of a mystery.

 

I can't remember my first concertina tune, it's too long ago!

[tombilly]

Don't know about concertina - but when I was a child, many moons ago, one of my sisters taught me how to finger "Oh can you wash your father's shirt, oh can you wash it clean ...." etc., on the piano. That was my little party piece for a few years but many years later as an adult, my first tune on an accordion was Raglan Road or Fainne Gael an Lae depending on how you play it. Funny how you remember these things..

[LDT]

Before the concertina I'd only ever learn one verse or a chorus of a tune/song on any instrument.

 

'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'

ooh I tried playing that one the other day...found it really tricky loads of accidentals. Any tips on how not to get my fingers in a twist?

[P Carr]

It's been a while so hard to remember... but possibly Rowing from Islay to Uist ...

[AnnC]

Before the concertina I'd only ever learn one verse or a chorus of a tune/song on any instrument.

 

'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'

ooh I tried playing that one the other day...found it really tricky loads of accidentals. Any tips on how not to get my fingers in a twist?

On a C/G Anglo start the tune on the G above middle C on the C row or, on the G row use the D an octave up from middle C ( both buttons are the last ones on the rows on the left hand side before changing up the scale to the right hand side) no accidentals required

[LDT]

Before the concertina I'd only ever learn one verse or a chorus of a tune/song on any instrument.

 

'Oh I do like to be beside the seaside'

ooh I tried playing that one the other day...found it really tricky loads of accidentals. Any tips on how not to get my fingers in a twist?

On a C/G Anglo start the tune on the G above middle C on the C row or, on the G row use the D an octave up from middle C ( both buttons are the last ones on the rows on the left hand side before changing up the scale to the right hand side) no accidentals required

Thanks.

trust me to get the tricky version

http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php...&hl=seaside

[AnnC]

Whoops, my last post should have said ' no tricky fingering' instead of 'no accidentals' as there's the F sharp on the G row

[LHMark]

My first tunes, worked out on the 20-button Hohner I bought from the Musician's Friend catalogue, were the Kesh Jig and the guitar line from The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary." Hey, I was bored.

[Larry Stout]

I originally took up concertina to play Thady You Gander (not where I'd recommend starting). Our dance group was doing it often and I was finding that playing the eighth note quarter note rhythm at high speed was making my bowing arm sore. It's a rhythm that is easier to play on an EC. Soon after I started playing more reasonable things-- often at the slow session (Irish) which was organized by Thom Larson at the Whistle Shop in Bloomington (at the time it was a web based business with a small store we could meet in).

[Fiddlehead Fern]

My first on the violin (it only became a fiddle after I'd been playing for 3 years and switched teachers a few times) was probably Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Hot Cross Buns--pretty standard. I then progressed through Suzuki violin book 1.

 

On the concertina I played Hot Cross Buns once or twice and decided to learn a REAL song, so I started learning The Lass of Paitie's Mill and getting it perfect (OCD much?) before I realized that it was easier to play A-Roving (Maid of Amsterdam) or Blow the Man down. The first time I actually played the concertina for anyone besides myself and parents I did A-Roving, and a few others but I don't remember what they were.

[David Barnert]

When I first held a concertina in my hands (a Hayden Duet) I had no trouble finding my way around "Ashokan Farewell" with my right hand, so I'd have to say that was my first tune. Now that I own one (a Hayden), the tune that really taught me to play (as I worked out my own fully-realized 2-hand arrangement) was a tune that I've variously heard called "Banks of Inverness," "Seige of Ennis," "Andy Irvine's Polka," and "Salmon Tails Upon the Water" (very similar but not quite the same tune).

[LDT]

Whoops, my last post should have said ' no tricky fingering' instead of 'no accidentals' as there's the F sharp on the G row

I googled around and found a easier version....

http://www.soundlantern.com/UpdatedSoundPage.do?ToId=34905

[ragtimer]

When I first held a concertina in my hands (a Hayden Duet) I had no trouble finding my way around "Ashokan Farewell" with my right hand, so I'd have to say that was my first tune. Now that I own one (a Hayden), the tune that really taught me to play (as I worked out my own fully-realized 2-hand arrangement) was a tune that I've variously heard called "Banks of Inverness," "Seige of Ennis," "Andy Irvine's Polka," and "Salmon Tails Upon the Water" (very similar but not quite the same tune).

First concertina I ever played a scale on was a Hayden Duet, placed into my curious paws by Rich Morse himself. I was sold.

First tune I played on it (with chords -- you're not really playing a Duet till you toss in the chords was "Silhouetttes" from the 1950s. Good G-Em-C-D chord progression over and over.

 

First trad tune was probalby "Star of the County Down." That was the first tune I memorized, anyway. It's also the first tune I've tried to play (VERY sllooooowwwwly) on the Jack English.

 

In Jr. High school someone gave me a guitar. First tune I learned on that was "On Top of Old Smokey," played on the lower-pitched strings with my thumb.

 

First piece I learned on the piano that I remembr is "Indian Dance", a child's learner piece. I can still paly it! --Mike K.

[David Barnert]

When I first held a concertina in my hands (a Hayden Duet) I had no trouble finding my way around "Ashokan Farewell" with my right hand, so I'd have to say that was my first tune. ...

First concertina I ever played a scale on was a Hayden Duet, placed into my curious paws by Rich Morse himself. I was sold. ...

Yes, Rich played that role in my story, as well.

 

I didn't mention it to keep it simple, and if you notice the time stamp, I posted it before we knew the tragic news. I would certainly have mentioned it if I knew.

[ziegfeld_girl]

my first song ever was Chopsticks on the piano. fun stuff. for guitar, it was Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

 

on the concertina, it was In the Good Old Summertime. oddly, I got the concertina for Christmas.

[ragtimer]

When I first held a concertina in my hands (a Hayden Duet) I had no trouble finding my way around "Ashokan Farewell" with my right hand, so I'd have to say that was my first tune. ...

First concertina I ever played a scale on was a Hayden Duet, placed into my curious paws by Rich Morse himself. I was sold. ...

Yes, Rich played that role in my story, as well.

 

I didn't mention it to keep it simple, and if you notice the time stamp, I posted it before we knew the tragic news. I would certainly have mentioned it if I knew.

I know you would have, David. So many of us owe so much to Rich.

 

I think we should learn of few of his tunes for the Workshop next month. I already play "The New Box" and have re-opened my struggles with "Leap of Faith" (which fingers a tad awkwardly on the Hayden -- go figure --Mike K.