Morris Musicians

I have scoured all my Facebook archives (since 2009) and it appears I've never posted anything on 10 April.  This is because we normally go away for a week during the Easter Holidays (remember them) so friends are spared my writterings.

Before this blog I used to blog in our local newspaper about being a lady morris dancer and Bagman of Tyne Bridge Morris (the Bagman is a team's treasurer/secretary).  

As you probably guessed all these bloggings have been archived too.

This was the ninth blog and dates back to 2007

Morris Musicians

After Tyne Bridge practice we almost always go to the pub.  Some of us might prefer to go the CumberlandArms, Byker, which is the spiritual home of traditional dance in Newcastle.  However as there is another pub within walking distance of the banjo-player’s home we usually go there.

Last night we walk in and standing at the bar was a musician mate of Banjoman.   

Matey flung his arms around me saying “Ooh, my favourite person.”

Now I’m not used to this sort of reception (and he wasn’t even drunk) so I looked a little quizzical.

“Well” he explained “You p*ssed off Ginger the melodeon player.  He used to be a mate of mine, once.”(I won’t explain further – it might be libellous)

This leads us nicely into the problem of finding musicians to play for dancing.

There are very many competent, even excellent, folk musicians who are brilliant on stage or simply playing in a pub session.  But not many of them can or want to play for dancing, especially for practices.  This takes a special skill and attitude.

 

Not being a musician I’m not qualified to talk about the skill.  It’s to do with knowing what tempo to play for dancing.  Keeping a steady beat.  Being aware of the dancers and knowing when and how to speed up or slow down depending on whether they’re lagging or flagging.  Musicians who are also dancers know what they should be doing.   

Other musicians are willing to learn, and get very good at it. 

 

Attitude on the other hand …

Firstly:  the music is there to serve the dance so we don’t need any virtuoso performances.  Sadly Ginger’s playing was so flash and showy sometimes you couldn’t hear the tune, let alone the beat, for all the decoration and grace notes.

Secondly:  a dance practice is not the same as a performance or pub session.   

It’s a practice for dancing.  For musicians it’s to practice playing with the dancers.   

It’s not an opportunity to play without disturbing the neighbours.

At practice we sometimes need to talk and walk through the dance so we need silence to be heard, listen and think.  There’s also team business to be got through, because not everyone can get to the pub.  There are potential bookings to discuss.  Questions like “Who can make such and such a date?” “Do we have enough dancers and one extra just in case?” and “Who’s got the garlands and sticks?”  With up to a dozen women blethering any extraneous noise is really most unwelcome.

Ginger’s big sin was that he would simply not stop twiddling on his melodeon and seemed utterly unaware that it might be inappropriate or irritating.  Sometimes he would be playing our tunes, but mostly not.  He was asked nicely to desist.  There was more than one exasperated “This is a dance practice not a session”.  But he wurbled blithely on.  And the melodeon is not the most quiet and discreet of instruments.

The end came when we were trying to discuss whether we might do a spot at a memorial concert for a friend who had recently been killed in a hit-and-run incident.   

There were questions being fired at me about when, where, who was arranging it, with everyone trying to make themselves heard over Ginger’s twiddling.

Finally I could stand it no longer.

“SHUURRRUP!”

Bellowed across the gym.

Followed by “Please.”

He packed his melodeon away, flounced off in a high dudgeon and was never seen again.  (Although he did send an email instructing us to remove him from Tyne Bridge’s emailing list “forthwith”.)

The next week I went to practice with some trepidation wondering what the Squireen would say.

“Thank the Lord he’s gone – he was cr*p.”

“Then why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t need to … you did it well enough.”

(Most names have been changed to protect the guilty)

 

 

 

 

Due to the present unpleasantness Morpeth Gathering, which would normally take place this weekend, was cancelled last year and has gone on-line this year.

Here is Tyne Bridge's good and faithful Mr Melodeon (definitely not Ginger) playing in the procession some years ago.