tutors' CD sent out in advance.
Simon Care
Hell’s Bells
John Kirkpatrick
Putting the "Dance" into Dance Music
Amaze Your Friends
Geert oude Weernink
The Tricky Tixa
An Seisiún
Additional Unit:
Pete Grassby
Dancing Around Your Melodeon
Ed Rennie
Playing G/D Melodeon in Other Keys
Basic Dance Playing
Tim van Eyken
Why That’s Where It Is
3/2 Hornpipes
Rees Wesson
Cajun amp; Zydeco Styles
Additional Unit:
Liam Robinson
A Bit of Grit
Ability Levels Terms & Conditions Booking Form
SIMON CARE has managed to get away with playing the melodeon for a living for over 20 years now. Working with many well-known names that include The Albion Band, Edward II, Show of Hands, Tickled Pink and Whapweasel. Simon has a deep-rooted passion for traditional English dance music, both social and morris. He has toured the world extensively with his bands but always enjoys returning to his roots in the morris.
Fifty years ago this year JOHN KIRKPATRICK joined the brand new Hammersmith Morris Men. He began dancing, playing melodeon, then button accordion, then anglo concertina, and joining in the post-dancing sing songs - habits he has been unable to shake off since! He has gone on to become widely recognised as a champion of English Folk Music, a virtuoso on his various squeeze-boxes, and one of the most prolific figures - both live and on record - on the English folk scene, as a soloist and with countless duos, trios, acoustic groups and electric bands.
Way back in the early 1980s ED RENNIE cut his melodeoning teeth playing for Cotswold Morris and later in a variety of dance bands, most recently Housewives’ Choice, and formerly with The Bismarcks. He also plays bass guitar with The Dartmoor Pixie Band. Ed is founder of the Devon Squeezebox Foundation, with whom he runs winter courses at all levels throughout Devon. School and festival workshops include singing, songwriting, song accompaniment, maypole dance and playing in a band. He also sings and twangs stuff occasionally.
GEERT OUDE WEERNINK took up the melodeon during the folk revival of the seventies. Starting off the hard way (no teachers were around then) he began with playing English music; later on he explored Irish, Italian, French and Basque music. Geert has performed with bands Trio Tarducci (Italian) and Orient Express (Balkan and Turkish music), and The Star of the North, the only Irish-style ceili band in the Netherlands. He is also artistic director of Trad.It!, the major Dutch folk festival.
TIM VAN EYKEN Known for his work with Waterson:Carthy, Dr Faustus, and his own project Van Eyken, Tim trained at Wells Cathedral School and was winner of the 1998 BBC Young Folk Award. He served an apprenticeship as teacher and trainer with Folk South West and teaches at Newcastle University. he has recently been treading the boards in the National Theatre’s West End hit War Horse.
REES WESSON learned to play the melodeon on the night shift in a cheese factory in Wales! Although passionate about English Country Music he has spent half a lifetime searching out melodeon music from around the world. These global influences have been assimilated into a unique style. He plays solo, in various ceilidh bands and with his dance-crazy chums Joe le Taxi and the Zydeco Band. After much deliberation, He has finally started building melodeons at his workshop in Welshpool, mid-Wales.
Pete Grassby has been a regular face at Melodeons at Witney and countless other folk events throughout the country, and is best known as a repairer of squeeze-boxes. He is also one of the most experienced and energetic performers in the folk world, leading ceilidh bands, singing, playing a host of instruments as well as melodeon, and leading classes and workshops all over Britain and abroad. His cheerful easy-going style delivers a wealth of musical understanding and technique.
Liam Robinson is a musician, singer, educator and organiser. He is based in Lincolnshire but works across the UK and has performed and taught in the USA, Germany and Estonia in the past 12 months. He primarily plays Melodeon (two row and one row) and Anglo Concertina, often while singing or calling dances. Liam has played music for Morris and social dance since the age of 16 and is well known for his enthusiastic teaching style. Director of the Minimorris Company since its inception in 2003, he provides innovative and highly successful educational and creative activities in schools and communities. To find out more about Liam please visit www.minimorris.co.uk or www.myspace.com/liamrobinsonlincs Liam is currently carrying out an international research project about the organisation of community folk dance events. Read his project blog at folkdance/livejournal.com.
Ability Levels Terms & Conditions Booking Form
SATURDAY COURSE UNITS:
A1 - Rees Wesson - Cajun & Zydeco Styles
Tricks and tips and Zydeco riffs, pentatonic blues patterns and right-hand chords, concentrating on playing in A major and F# minor on D/G melodeon.
[Level - I/H]
* A2 - John Kirkpatrick - Putting the "Dance" into Dance Music
JK looks at all the country dance rhythms and explores ways of bringing them fully to life - how to make the melodeon a rhythm machine by using the left hand as much as the right hand.
[Level – Basic Only]
*To avoid a “log jam” on Units A2 & B2, course members will NOT be allowed to register for BOTH of these units.
A3 - Geert oude Weernink - The Tricky Tixa
The Basques call their version of the melodeon trikitixa. Basque music is proud, lively and energetic. We'll play dance tunes such as fandango and arin arin and discover the characteristic elements of the style. For this course, independent control of left and right hand is important, and it will be essential to master the basic tunes at home.
[Level - I/H]
A4 - Ed Rennie - Playing G/D Melodeon in Other Keys
Getting the most from your instrument often involves making the left and right hand sides work together very independently of each other and this course will certainly stretch those abilities!
[Level - I/H]
A5 - Tim van Eyken - Why That’s Where It Is
Tim will take a look at the method behind the madness of the melodeon keyboard layout, leading to an exploration of right-hand chording.
[Level - B/I/H]
Additional Unit:
A6 - Pete Grassby - Dancing Around Your Melodeon
Tips on finding notes tunes, basses, chords and alternatives, in the context of dance music.
[Level - B/I]
SUNDAY COURSE UNITS:
B1 - Simon Care - Hell’s Bells
This course will feature some of the trickier morris tunes. Looking at playing for different teams, exploring “slows”, and the finer points of playing for the morris.
[Level - B/I/H]
* B2 - John Kirkpatrick - Amaze Your Friends
Tricky tunes to dazzle your friends - how to get the fast runs out fast enough, working on crispness and clarity - and "work" is the operative word!
[Level - I/H]
*To avoid a “log jam” on Units A2 & B2, course members will NOT be allowed to register for BOTH of these units.
B3 - Geert oude Weernink - An Seisiún
The Irish music tradition is a very rich one and it's very much alive. From this wealth of tunes we'll pick a few jigs and polkas and work on interpretation, use of the bellows etc. Requirements: a fairly good control of the right hand and being able to play either by ear or using musical notation.
[Level - I/H]
B4 - Ed Rennie - Basic Dance Playing
We'll have a look at tunes from all over the south and this will be a great way to learn a load of new (or maybe familiar) tunes and see how their rhythms can be applied to the melodeon.
[Level - B/I]
B5 - Tim van Eyken - 3/2 Hornpipes
Tim will teach a few of these gutsy British tunes, looking at melodies and chording. You don’t need to be able to read music but the dots will be provided.
[Level - I/H]
Additional Unit:
B6 - Liam Robinson - A Bit of Grit
How to play driving, hard-edged dance tunes for morris and social dance.
[Level - B/I]