Music and Sailing

[martin schulz]

...belong together and can make a nice summer sailing day even nicer...

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid164/p09f158e65ed480f3e8acc23781f91ab6/f47a9c1c.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid164/p04bc82f14a9445e79023d01ce3c27bcc/f47a9b70.jpg

[Paul Scheuer]

These's a local sailor who frequents the forest preserve pond that has a stereo system built into his Biccaneer. He plays clasical music and seems to draw inspiration from it as he dances around the pond. A joy to watch.

[preston]

My wife remembers visiting a tug in Seattle as a child, perhaps 35-40 years ago, and being entertained by the captain (Buck?), who danced and played the spoons.

I'd have liked to have seen it.

Preston

[ 04-13-2005, 08:34 PM: Message edited by: preston ]

[ssor]

We sailed back into the harbor at Havre de Grace, Md and there was a piper complete with kilt pipeing the sun down.

[martin schulz]

I think its a shame that most of us hardly remember songs and poems.

Reading R.H. Danas account of his "Two years before the mast" 1830 I realised that we have forgotten the common practise of singing (especially when working) and dancing, which was then not considered awkward.

My brother (with a doctor degree in Philosophy and German language) very often laments about our unability to remember and execute poems "to praise nature" (while being able to remember at least 10 car brands easily).

[Ron Williamson]

If you hate accordian music,it would be easy to tip him overboard. tongue.gif
R

[martin schulz]

Err... Ron...

...its me you are talking about!

[yorgie]

I was waiting for this thread Martin!There is no Musical instrument more boaty than the accordion.
I play the diatonic accordion,though not much lately.I don't have any pictures of myself playing on a boat but I'll post some when I do.

Martin,are you playing this song in that photo. ;) :D song lyrics (http://www.der-blonde-hans.de/albers05a.htm)

[paladin]

uh..Martin...you'd still be easy to tip overboard... :D

[martin schulz]

Originally posted by yorgie:
Martin,are you playing this song in that photo. song lyrics (http://www.der-blonde-hans.de/albers05a.htm)How did you know :D :D

[ 04-14-2005, 12:07 PM: Message edited by: martin schulz ]

[John E Hardiman]

Originally posted by yorgie:
There is no Musical instrument more boaty than the accordion.
I think the concertina is more practical and gives a more "nautical" sound.

Besides; it reminds me of the old joke...Welcome to Heaven, here's your harp....Welcome to Hell. here's your accordion.... :D

[WindHawk]

I opted for a CD/FM/Weather stereo in the new boat (I don't think the weather is broacast in stereo... ;) ). She's in my driveway right now, waiting for an April 24th splash date.

I slept on board one night & tried it out. It was an expensive option, and there's no way to turn off the seakers in the cockpit to just play the cabin speakers (gotta' fix that), but it was a delight to hear, and sounds great. I'll listen to most anything, but I can hear in my head Micheal Hedges banging away on his 8 string acoustic as I bring her around and gain speed on a new tack.

[Thad Van Gilder]

I always wanted a concertina

[yorgie]

I have a concertina as well but find playing the left hand a little tricky.If you can adjust the voicing on an accordion to play only one reed bank you get a nice concertina sound.

http://www.hohnerusa.com/Accordionimages/adiatonic_HA114-German.gif

This is the accordion I most often play http://www.hohnerusa.com/Accordionimages/accordion_CoronaIII.gif

[martin schulz]

Well those instruments are far too complicated for me. Years of piano lessons well prepared me for playing the "Schifferklavier" (skipper-piano) as the accordeon witzh the piano keys are commonly called here.

But I tried playing the Bandoneon once and also had a few lessons on the concertina, but the diatonic arrangement and the fact that the instruments produce different tones when pressed or released drove me nuts.

But you are right. Unless one owns a really big boat the concertina is the practical sailor choice.

http://www.gaffelsegler.de/England/image/12.jpg

A friend of mine on his smack with the "bosun" escorting

[yorgie]

Here's the website of the great Polish seashanty group Cztery Refy (http://czteryrefy.szanty.pl/en-fr0.html)

See if you can recognize this tune (http://czteryrefy.szanty.pl/data/dskgrtx/teksty/nuty/pozegnanie.html). It has one word in the title that's a dead giveaway but most of their repertoire has to be heard.

[Jeremy Burnett]

Martin,where did you get that hat?

[rbgarr]

"Shanties from the Seven Seas" by Stan Hugill. Fascinating book with wonderful songs and their histories.

[PatCassidy]

Don't sit on the cap rail!

[martin schulz]

Originally posted by Jeremy Burnett:
Martin,where did you get that hat?Why? Its just a usual 20s style replica straw hat. Its quite common here around whitsun because over here its called fathers day and everybody (male-father or not) wears this hat and walks around in groups with a handcart loaded with "Schnaps" and "Schinken".

Actually I didn't like the cheap replica look and bought myself a real 20s style strawhat (like the one Buster Keaton had).

[Jeremy Burnett]

Havn't seen that pattern over here.It looks like an old Jack Aubrey type seamans hat.Must look around.

[yorgie]

This is the site for The Risor Shantykor (http://www.risorshantykor.net/) .The Risor traditionalboat festival has been featured in Woodenboat a few times. http://www.risorshantykor.net/Bilder/Forside2.jpg

[Jeremy Burnett]

Yorgie,that Hohner Corona of yours,which keys does it have? Which do you find the best for accompanying singing?

[yorgie]

Jeremy,the Corona is an A/D/G,I also have a couple of old G/C/F Hohners.There is only a one tone difference between them so I don't think it makes much difference for singing(not that I do much,though I'd like to).The F/Bb/Eb,played by Swiss musicians,is even lower but I've never seen any used ones

Much British folkmusic that I see is usually in A,D or G.However,looking at Stan Hugills "Shanties From the Seven Seas I notice that he uses Eb and Bb quite often. I once read that the reason many Irish accordion player played in Eb was that it was the most difficult key too play in on their B/C or C#/D boxes.This kept less proficient musicians from joining in.In another article an English folk musician decried this tactic and said we should play in the keys that are most accesible to most people such as the "fiddle and guitar" keys of G and D.

I see that you're from Falmouth,I'd love to visit Cornwall someday.My wife's last name is Searle.Her grandfather was told that it's a Cornish name.I'm interested in knowing what music you enjoy singing and playing.
Chris

[ 04-20-2005, 12:16 AM: Message edited by: yorgie ]

[Jeremy Burnett]

Yorgie,mine are all two rows.I have a DG Salterelle,and Hohner GC and CF.As you say DG is the most commonly used here for Morris music and country dance.Personally I prefer the CF,I've had the basses changed on mine to make it the equivalent of two one rows.The C is OK for songs and the F is bright for tunes.I like country dance music and sea songs. Falmouth is a good sea going town,I know some Searles,If you ever think of coming let me know.

[yorgie]

A Salterelle!Very nice.I saw some when I was in France,they're not much more than a new Hohner but much better.

Cajun and Tex-Mex music got me interested in the Accordion but I couldn't find any music for it at the time.I started learning tunes from "Kerr's Scottish Country Dance"and have been partial to Scottish,scandinavian and Canadian fiddle tunes ever since.

I like the shanties also.Which takes me to my link of the day Stan Hugill (http://www.stanhugill.com/)
His books are great,especially "Songs of the Sea" which has songs from all the European seafaring nations and is beautifully illustrated.Listening to his singing though...I know that he is authentic and not a polished professional like Ewan MacColl but...well I'll stop there.

[Gavin Atkin]

You fellas playing push-pull melodiboxes have it easy - just look at this thing that's been my curse for two and half decades!

http://www.maccann-duet.com/jeffries/

and more generally

http://tinyurl.com/cskx4

Gavin

[Jeremy Burnett]

I have seen people almost in a state of mental collapse trying to play these. Anglos and Melodeons go together well.

[Gavin Atkin]

Yes... but I can. The secret is that, perhaps unusually, I'd learned to type as a teenager. The trick of typing is to always return your fingers to the same keys when you begin - somehow without being told I realised the trick to working with any other half-rational was the same.

So the old ambition to be a writer or a journalist led finally to a specialist magazine editor's job, but also to being a Jeffries Duet player. I'm not sure how much use the world has for either!

In a way it's no joke - it's a great instrument for old Music Hall, Vaudeville or Tin Pan Alley tunes but these days I find there's little or audience. The folks who remembered and loved Moonlight Serenade, It's a Sin to Tell a Lie, Blue Moon and the rest seem largely to have moved on.

It's a shame. I miss them.

Gavin

[Gavin Atkin]

'Keyboard'. I forgot the word 'keyboard'. Sorry.

G

[yorgie]

Gavin,I looked at the Jeffries' keyboard layout on the link you provided.It looked as rational as a typewriter keyboard but I do like listening to concertinas.

[Gavin Atkin]

It's not quite as mad as the typewriter keboard - that was designed deliberately to slow the keyboardist down. In this case the systematic part of the keyboard places a scale in a kind of zig-zag, so that if you think of an anglo you have the suck notes on the next row, with the sharps and flats on a row at the front. Where it falls apart completely is where it goes off the top of the systematic part of the scale and off the bottom.

What I try to do is to play jolly crunching jazz-tinged chords on the left, and to play the melody in parallel octaves on the right - if the melody's strong I can be a little more generous with the chording without drowning it out.

What gets me is (i) why those Bb buttons appear where they do, and (ii) how come Fsharp manages to turn up just where you'd expect a left-hand air button to be? If they'd put a D, G or C there it would at least have been a useful drone for pipe tunes. Ah well... those Victorian concertina makers probably had some completely different purpose in mind.

Maybe one day I'll wake up from a dream and suddenly have the whole thing clear in my mind.

Gav

[George.]

There is no Musical instrument more boaty than the accordion...

I think the concertina is more practical and gives a more "nautical" sound...

Violin and 'cello. ;)

[martin schulz]

Originally posted by George.:
[QUOTE]Violin and 'cello. ;) We are talking about instruments that enlighten the soul of those before the mast here, George.

[George.]

OK, then, fiddle.

[TomF]

As a cellist, I've always winced when Aubrey and Maturin started up their playing. Sounds great in theory, but a cello's pretty fragile. I can't but imagine how many cracks, dings, unglued seams, and various other injuries that cello must have taken once the drums started to beat to quarters!

t.

[yorgie]

Yeah!What would the barometer and changes in humidity do to those wide boards that make up a cello?The music did sound very nice though,especially when were beating to quarters at the end.