Description

Description

The aim of this book is to get students off to the best possible start on the D/G melodeon, by presenting information that might otherwise take years to accumulate.

There are many styles of traditional music where the melodeon and its siblings play a major role. Irish, English, French, Tex-Mex, French Canadian, Cajun, Morris and Zydeco are all typical examples. This is not intended to be a specialist book but it endeavours to give students a good grounding, helping them to easily move on to whatever music genre takes their fancy. However, the lessons within are completely based on traditional playing styles and tunes from Britain and Ireland.
In all walks of life, whether it be mathematics, designing aeroplanes or playing the violin, mankind progresses by first being taught what previous generations have learned, before moving on. Unfortunately, in the case of the melodeon, this doesn‰۪t seem to happen; melodeon students all seem to have to start at rock bottom and work things out for themselves. Although things are improving considerably there is still a long way to go; hopefully, this book will make a useful and effective contribution to rectifying this situation.åÊ
If you want to become proficient on any musical instrument, you must practise. There is no way round this. You can have the best tuition in the world, but without practice it is useless. Unfortunately, without guidance, it is very easy for students to find themselves practising unsound techniques and falling into bad habits and sloppy playing. It is the intention of this book to steer players into acquiring efficient techniques and to help them develop good habits, from day one. It isåÊassumed that readers of this tutor have no previous knowledge of the melodeon or music: all topics start with absolute basics.
There are many different ways of playing the melodeon. Even sticking rigidly to the methods advocated in this book gives plenty of scope for choice. It is not the intention of this book to lay down hard and fast rules, but to provide information for you to make up your own mind: there are always several ways of playing a tune correctly.

Contents

Foreword by Andy Cutting

Introduction

The Squeezebox Family

Music Basics for Squeezers

Introducing the D/G Melodeon

Holding the Melodeon

The Air Button

The High Octave

The Treble Buttons

Counting Time

Major Keys

Minor Keys

Shifting Hand Position

Introducing the Bass Buttons

Playing the Bass in Time

Various Rhythms

Crossing the Rows

The Basses

Playing the Other Bass Buttons

Um Cha Through Some Easy Tunes

Smoothing the Bellows Action

The Other Chord in the key of D

Fundamentals and Chords

Playing the Bass in Harmony

Percussive Bass : No Bass

Drones and Snappy Off-Beats

Accidentals

A minor and B minor

Slides and Slip Jigs

The Key of A

The Variable Buttons

TransposingåÊ

åÊ

Tunes

åÊ

Hot Cross Buns!

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Jingle Bells

Little Brown Jug

Mulberry Bush

Oranges and Lemons

Bobby Shaftoe

Three Blind Mice

Whip Jamboree

Drunken Sailor

Silent Night

The Best of Society

Fr̬re Jacques

Egan‰۪s Polka

What Can the Matter Be?

Cock of the North

Katie Bairdie

The Keel Row

Polly Put the Kettle On

Skip to My Lou

Shepherds‰۪ Hey

Tralee Gaol

I Have a Bonnet

Donkey Riding

Buffalo Girls

Uncle Bernard‰۪s Polka

Rakes of Mallow

Davy Davy Knick Knack

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Bonny Green Garters

Rodney

Liza Jane

Constant Billy

The Twenty-Ninth of May

Sweet Jenny Jones

My Darling Asleep

The Steamboat

Sonny‰۪s Mazurka

Speed the Plough

Soldiers‰۪ Joy

Staten Island

A Trip to the Cottage

The Tenpenny Bit

Tripping Upstairs

The Scattery Island Slide

Drops of Brandy

Bill Sullivan’s Polka

Sweeney‰۪s Polka