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While we are unable to meet we continue to look back at the start of the club. This is the write up from the Ninth meeting of the club on the 10th June 1998.
“Our June meeting opened with Chick Stephens and his magic accordion, Chick started with After All These Years, Old Flames and Bunch of Thyme before ending with Dark Isle. Next up was Frank Scholes who provided us with renditions of Peggy O'Neil, Have You Ever Been Lonely, Little Old Wine Drinking Me and Pretty Woman. Frank gives
up his time to play for the Amounderness Ladies Morris Dancing Team but is looking for an accordionist to help out, see the other side of this newsletter if you are interested. Tom Bennett was next to entertain us with A Whiter Shade of Pale which he said was being played from a very faded piece of music, I haven't tried that excuse yet - I must remember it. He followed this with 59th St Bridge Song and ended with Ballad Pour Adeline. Tom has been practicing his left hand technique and it is
showing, I used to wind him up whenever he came to my house, by playing tunes on the left hand as well as the right hand, this was because whenever Tom played right hand he always seemed to leave fingers behind while continuing with the tune and the only way I could keep up with him was on the left hand. Now he is practicing and getting better with his left hand I had better start learning to sing. Let nobody say that accordion clubs don't encourage improvement! I just hope he doesn't start
dancing while he is playing otherwise I give up. Ian Carter followed Tom, he giving us Barren Rocks of Aden followed by Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, this was the piece at the top of my playlist, I had decided that nobody would play it so I practiced it for a whole week. I don't think it matters if the same tune is played by two or more people on the same night because we all have our own personality in our music, this is what makes music human and interesting. I believe that if dots were meant to
be read and played strictly one way and without any personal interpretation or embelishments then we might as well put a computer at the front of the club and listen to that. Ian continued with Teribus, Tinkers Waltz, Isle of Capri and finally finishing with Jacqueline Waltz. Jean Southern followed with Belle Fiore, Oslo Waltz, Soiree Parisienne and finishing with Tyroleon Accordion. Our resident accordion and keyboard duo Jay and Jeff Ward were on next, Jay has just bought a new keyboard, (not
that she needs one, she sounds good now), this keyboard has, amongst its millions of instruments, an accordion. This is not just one accordion sound, but a whole bag-full, you can even see a picture of the accordion on the colour screen while you are playing and what's more you can choose which couplers you are using by selecting the couplers on screen, I tried to sneak it out of her house but she was on to me. Once she has mastered it I am sure Jay will bring it to the club and let you hear how
much it sounds like an accordion, oh nearly forgot, Jeffs' a good player too. He told us he did not play keyboard, then proceeded to put a pianist to shame. Jay and Jeff gave us Barcarolle, Pennies from Heaven, All of Me and Speak Softly Love. Andrew Figg made his debut appearance at Leyland Accordion Club playing Amour Amour, Dance of the Puppets, Somewhere My Love and Luci E Ombre. Another new player was Bill Agnew who plays a lively accordion, Bill played La Paloma, Cuckoo Waltz, You Can't Be
True Dear, Mocking Bird Hill, If Your Irish and many many more, many of the tunes Bill said he did not know the title but he certainly knew how to play them, I felt tired watching him. Robert Hood who has just joined the Internet society was next with Inspiring Hope, Nichola, Memory and Band Boys which was a tune he heard on his Will Starr cassette, the music of which is out of print. Robert spoke to that well known accordionist Gary Blair who gave him a contact in Scotland who could get it for
him, the end result we heard at the club. Basil Berry followed Robert with Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses, Charade, A Nightingale Sang in Berkley Square, A Man and a Woman before ending with the Panorama Theme. I was next with A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, followed by two others which escape me. It was now 10.45 and just time for another first time player Ken Hartley to give us March of the Accordion De Lyon, Beethovens Sonata in G, All The Things You Are and the Happy Mountaineers. Jay and
Jeff Ward took us to 11pm and hometime. I look forward to meeting you on Wednesday 8th July when Johnny Coleclough promises to make us think about the kind of tunes we play on the accordion. Keep Practicing. “
David Batty
Hopefully that was an interesting blast from the past, now to move up to date with some items to keep you entertained during the lockdown.
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Here are some photographs from the early days of the club. Those of you who have been at the club for a long time might recognise some faces.
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
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We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, it’s been quite a strange year. Hopefully it won’t be long before we can meet again but it’s likely it will be at least some months after the New Year before we can look at getting back to the priory club. Let’s keep our fingers crossed! Those of you who normally attend the club in
person will get a second email with a link in it, if you haven’t had this by Monday please check your spam/junk folder and let us know if it doesn’t arrive.
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If you can play by ear (or are learning to(or want to learn(or… just try it for personal development!))) then visit Chordu.com where you can choose a tune/song to play while the website shows you the chords you should be playing at the time.
If the tune is being played in a key you don’t like then there is the option to see what the chords would be when transposed in to any key you like.
You can play along while the music is playing and optionally just play the left hand to get experience of pressing the correct chords while someone else plays the tune.
If the piece is too fast for you at full speed then you can click a button to play it slower so you can get the hang of doing the chord changes, before going to full speed.
To give you an example I searched for Jimmy Shand playing The Northern Lights of Old Abderdeen (a tune that is simple for anyone to follow along with) and have provided the link to it below…
https://chordu.com/chords-tabs-jimmy-shand-the-northern-lights-of-old-aberdeen-id_4Sp8Lyjk49w
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Graeme Mackay’s runs the Ceilidh Cabin from a shed in his garden in Scotland. He puts multiple live concerts on a week on facebook and Youtube. Graeme plays a wide variety of tunes so there should be something for everyone in his concerts. He recently did a week of shows with no repeats, you could fill in a form on his website to
put a request in for a tune and he planned the programme so no tune was repeated in the five shows. Have a look at his facebook page to find out when his next live shows are. You can watch for free, He has a tip jar with paypal if you wish to tip Graeme.
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ceilidhcabin
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/accordionguru
If you want to watch his previous concerts you can watch them all right from the beginning on this link, I would HIGHLY recommend you watch all or many of the videos, there are loads of great tunes in there and all played expertly. https://www.facebook.com/ceilidhcabin/videos/
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What Can You Do With Your Library Card?
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Lancashire County Council’s Library Service has quite an offering to those with a Library Card and it’s all free.
Of course you can borrow a book from your local library with your card, you can also do a lot more with it too. From the comfort of your home you can borrow Ebooks, Audiobooks. Read newspapers, magazines and more, you just need to have an active library Card. If you don’t you can sign up for a new card online here https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/libraries/library-services/?page=2 and a Card will drop through you letter box, you’ll also have your membership number and PIN number emailed to you and of course you can still sign up in your local library which are still open in Tier
3.
To borrow EBooks and Audiobooks the Lancashire Libraries use two different service Borrow Box and RB Digital. To use either service see the information on the libraries website which tells you everything you need to gain access to the services. https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/libraries/digital-library/?page=3
To read Magazines and Newspapers the Library uses the RB Digital service, again all the information you need to access these are on the libraries website here https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/libraries/digital-library/?page=4
Historic Newspapers the library has access to a number of online history newspaper achives, you’ll need you library card number to login https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/libraries/digital-library/?page=6 The Red Rose Collection on the above link also has a collection of Historical local images, which you could easily spend all night browsing.
You can also access Medici TV a music themed video website (You’ll need your library card number) to have access to 3,500 Musicial Works filmed from the 1940’s to now and 2,000 films including live concerts, documentaries, operas, ballets and master classes. Follow the link from the Libraries website as that will get you to the
right place to login (put your card number in) https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/libraries/digital-library/?page=11
All the above services can be access via a computer/Laptop and some have Applications that you can download on a Smartphone or Tablet.
If you don’t live in Lancashire, its likely your library service has something similar so it’s worth checking their website or getting in touch with them to find out.
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The Sound Of TV with Neil Brand BBC Four
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This three part Documentary explores the history and use of music in television. The first episode was shown on the 4th December you can watch it on Catch up. The rest of the series will be aired on BBC Four on Friday at 9pm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000pz1d
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Hopefully the above links in this newsletter keep you entertained this month while you can’t get to the club.
David Batty
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