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email: matt mcConeghy Rhode Island Music Roots Music in Rhode Island, Eastern Connecticut, and Southeastern Massachusetts, USA
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Many Links, Concerts, Performers, etc. Archives of old notices
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Neighbors... Link to Random finds... fun stuff, whatnot, etc. My $0.02 worth!... Hornpipes or Waltzes or Modal Tunes What are they? Jam Sessions - and more on Jam sessions Irish/ Celtic Sessions - There's a long list of Celtic music sessions in our extended neighborhood, too many for me to cover, so for more info, check the comprehensive links available through the Celtic Music page. Two seisuns that are often excellent are Tuesday at Patrick's Pub in Providence and Wednesday at St James Pub in Fall River. These are friendly, sessions where thanks to skilled leadership and loyal weekly regulars, the central theme is having fun playing Celtic tunes up to speed without excessive ego or posturing. Players with good session etiquette are welcomed. at least four more local jams, which I personally find less comfortable but you might prefer, are wiithin easy driving, not to mention Boston's many jams starting with the BOSS ! Willimantic CT Novice Old Time Fiddler's Jam Tuesdays -- The Quiet Corner Fiddlers, a friendly and supportive informal group of more than a dozen fiddlers from beginner to ex-champions, holds "Not So Quiet Fiddle Sessions for Novice Fiddlers" at members homes tuesdays from 7 - 8:30pm where the group takes turns picking traditional tunes to practice and learn. For more information call Chuck Morgan at 860 423 5403 or email chckmrgn (at) juno.com (with Quiet Corner Fiddlers as the subject line). This group just keeps getting better and better under Chuck's skilled leadership.
Quiet Corner Fiddlers play out in Willmantic... photo by Amanda Manso Nov 2005 Rehoboth Contradances, MA --(Now on Summer Schedule) One of the nicest dances around! ... see schedule and info at Rehoboth Dance Web
Rehoboth Old Time Jam Every Sunday and monthly dance Rehoboth Jam - Friendly Rehoboth, MA Old Time Jam... has taken on a unique character of its own. Mostly they play from written music -- the Portland Collection and the Waltz books I, II III. They play mostly from written music, but rather slowly, with a lot of waltzes, some reels, polkas, hambos, a few Swedish pieces... whatever! about 7 - 9pm For more info, call Bob Elliott 508-669-5656. They have a learn-to-waltz dance about once a month. Random finds - recently unearthed fun stuff.... Woodsongs - this is a website of a radio/concert show from Lexington KY. It has hour long streaming videos of just about everybody you could want to see, on stage, live in Lexington. Free. Mark O'Connor, Gaelic Storm, Laurie Lewis and Tom Rozum, Sparky Rucker, Paul Geremia, Michelle Shocked, Girlyman, Happy Traum and many more... The toll for this service is that you have to watch the MC of the show do "a little thing I wrote myself" on his banjo before the guest comes on stage. OK, everything good has its price! Mark O'Connor doing Devil's Dream at 192bpm is worth a few minutes wait... Natalie McMaster Video on line video of a show with Natalie and her uncle, Grand Master Cape Breton fiddler Buddy McMaster -- Gotta Love this web!!!! Berea College Fiddle Page another amazing net resource! A large collection of original recordings by folklorists of Appalachian fiddle, banjo, ballands, etc. etc. Much ofthe collection can be purchased as CDs for a very modest fee! (Thanks to Sandol for tipping us off to this!) Thow Away that Old Violin! just when I thought I was beginning to get the hang of this thing, they change all the rules! (from Michael P.) Virtual Gramophone - I'be been mining this excellent Canadian music resource. Online access to scores of Canadian 78rpm recordings from the 1910's to the 1940s. The searchable database allows you to zero in on reels, hornpipes, galops, or artists like Don Messer or Joseph Allard. Or try Philip Presner, George Wade, Jose Zaffiro (excellent hornpipe medley from 1918!) or J.B. Roy. Honking Duck is a rough American equivalent. Classics online there include Jimmie Rodgers' 1928 "In the Jailhouse Now", "Rough and Rowdy Ways" from 1929; Uncle Dave Macon doing "Rabbit in the Pea Patch" from 1927; Charlie Poole's "Shooting Creek (Cripple Creek)"; the Skillet Lickers "Slow Buck (Chicken Reel); plus versions of "Forks of Sandy", "I am a Man of Constant Sorrow", "McKinley", "Possum Up a Gum Stump", "Little Birdie" by the Coon Creek Girls, and many other treasures... Irish Fiddle - cultural musical archive and Irish Regional Styles - And how fast for Irish fiddling? -- an article on the great Clare fiddler Bobby Casey "In listening to his published recordings...speed is not a high priority. Reels are played in the 106-112 bpm range, jigs in the 118-124 bpm range and hornpipes around 86 bpm." top ten recorded fiddle tunes, Fiddler Magazine survey 1995 - the Most Popular Fiddle Tunes Top Keys for Irish Music - Maybe this falls under "too much time on their hands"? A count of 14,000 Irish tunes revealed that 3100 were in no sharps (Cmajor or Aminor), while 5000 were 1 sharp (Gmajor, Eminor, Adorian), 3800 were in 2 sharps (Dmaj, Bmin, Edor), 700 in 3 sharps, 770 in 1 flat, 400 in 2 flats, and about 200 miscellaneous. Modal? What? Chuck Morgan got me thinking about this. I had to work it through. Brown's distinguished Professor of Ethnomusicology Jeff Titon, lists the 20 "essential" albums of Fiddling by Authentic Old Timers in the South and his website on the graceful fiddling of Clyde Davenport Fiddling Around the World connections to different styles of fiddling! Interesting! Or, how about Swedish Fiddling? West Gallery Music ... like singing Shape-note , but with melody instruments (voices, bowed strings, flutes, reeds, brass -- a mini orchestra) one listener called it "Folk baroque" -- the music of Thomas Hardy... This group was a big hit at NEFFA last spring -- for more information West Gallery Music in Boston or the International West Gallery Music Association or email Laura at lconrad (at) laymusic.org , or go to http://www.laymusic.org/ or (617) 661-8097 "Old Time or Old Timey" refers to the music played in rural America from about 1800 until about the 1940s, and continuing up to this moment in revival groups and dances around the country. Much of Old Timey is instrumental music played on guitar, fiddle, banjo and mandolin. For over 200 years small bands have played for dances in rural areas from New England to Louisiana and on the furthest reaches of the Western Frontier. Many of the tunes have been passed down for generations, derived from older traditions such as the dance music of Scotland, Ireland, French-Canada or rural England. The music of Scandinavia, Central Europe and African American traditions have also influenced the repertory. This music started to enter the commercial market in the 1930s as radios became common (exactly as shown in the recent movie "Oh Brother Where art Thou?") and eventually got transformed into Country/Western, and into the highly polished virtuoso performance music known as 'Bluegrass." But, thousands of musicians continue to play the original tunes of 50, 100 or 150 years ago, and many thousands of dancers continue to enjoy the contradance and square dance traditions. For many Old Timey musicians, playing music is a historic tradition, and for many others, it is just plain fun! |
RIMUSIC : Rhode Island Old Timey Fiddle, banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, cajun, bluegrass, country dance, contradance, and all traditional music and dance.
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