FolkMADS Calendar and Notes

January - February 2007 Volume 10, Issue 1

P.O. Box 40421, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87196-0421

The FolkMADS Calendar and Notes are published bimonthly by the New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society, a nonprofit organization.

One of the most satisfying aspects of playing old time-music is learning new tunes.  There’re several methods of learning new tunes including: personal instruction from a tunemeister,  sucking up new tunes at jam sessions, use of sheet music, or learning from recordings.  Clearly personal instruction is preferred because you can get special help with tricky parts.  But it’s often tough to find somebody who knows the tune and has the time to help you with it, so most of us have to use one or both of the other methods.  Jamie Gans, a superb fiddler from Indiana, was visiting NM with caller/dancer Tamara Loewenthal (www.fiddlenfeet.com) and we talked about methods of how we learn new tunes.

First, regardless of how you’re learning, you first have to “hear” the tune in your mind.  This means listening to it over and over until you can whistle or hum it, including all of its nuances & complexities.  In the old days, when dinosaurs roamed the face of the earth, I’d use records and would move the needle back to the beginning of the track time and time again.  Needless to say, I’ve got some records with a lot of pops and scratches on them.  Jamie used a variable speed tape recorder.  Learning from CDs is especially convenient because you can use the back arrows to instantly return to the beginning of the track or even to a certain passage in the tune.  I am always a bit surprised when somebody at a jam session starts noodling along with a new tune at full volume the second time through; I’ve got to hear even the simplest tunes several times before it’s incorporated in my feeble synapses.

Even if you’ve got (and can read) music I think you must have the tune fixed in your cerebral cortex before you have really learned it.  I know several folks who will enter ABC files into their computer and learn the tune from the playback rather than the sheet music.  In my experience there’s a big difference in the playing of a tune that you’ve memorized from sheet music compared to one you’ve learned aurally.  Even if you do memorize the music, the tune will lack spontaneity and feeling until you’ve begun to hear it in your head.

Once you’ve got the tune in your head, figure out its basics without the complexities.  I often start by learning the chord progression.  Generally the notes in a phrase will be part of the scale associated with the chord for that phrase, so this knowledge eliminates a lot of possible wrong notes.  And of course knowing the chord progression will make you much more popular with the backup musicians.

After you’ve got the basic tune down, you can start on the intricacies, variations, and ornamentations.  Here’s where things get challenging.  In the old days we would slow the turntable to 16 RPM to hear the hard parts, or play reel-to-reel tape recorder at half speed.  The problem with this method is that it lowers the notes by an octave so it’s like learning to play fiddle tunes played by a cello; helpful but tough.  Now there’s software like Amazing Slow Downer (www.ronimusic.com) that will digitally slow music without affecting pitch.  It’s great but if you’ve got the tune properly fixed in you head, you’ll find that you don’t need it except for the fastest and most intricate passages.

Finally, there’s the problem of remembering the darn things.  I can’t tell you how many tunes I’ve learned perfectly at a jam session only to forget them completely by the time I get home.  Usually I can’t even remember its name, key, or who taught it  (alcohol may be partly responsible)!  If you’ve got a tune sucker (i.e., a recording device), you’re in luck, but I never have one when I need it.  My solution is to copy the first three or four measures of each part of the tune into ABC notation.  It takes just a moment and can be done on a scrap of paper.  This is usually just enough information to align the neurons sufficiently that recovery of the rest of the tune from the darkest depths of my random access memory file can be achieved.

While he was in NM, Jamie played Possum in the Well at a house concert.  The tune was written by Randy Marmouze, a banjo player from Greene County, IN about 30 years ago.

ABC Notation

X:67
T:Possum in the Well
M:C
L:1/8
C:Randy Marmouze
N:Transcribed by Jamie Gans
K:D
z6DE|:"D"F2A2B2d2|edB2d2DE|F2ABA2F2|"A"E3FE2DE|
"D"F2A2B2d2|edB2d2e2|fafa"A"f2e2|"D"d3ed2[f2d2]:||:"D"f3g fed2|
"G"g3ag2fg|"D"a2aba2f2|"A"e3fe2A2|"D"fga2fga2|"G"bafab2a2|
"D"fafa"A"f2e2|"D"d3ed2[f2d2]:||"_J. Gans variation of measures 7&11"fefaf2e2||

FolkMADS thanks The Blue Dragon Coffeehouse, 1517 Girard NE, Albuquerque, for generously hosting the Albuquerque Megaband practices (on the Tuesday before the 3rd Saturday dances).

For more information about Megaband, contact Bruce Thomson: 277-4729, or Jane Phillips: 898-2565.
Email Jane to be added to the Megaband listserv (automatic e-mail reminders).

The Albuquerque Megaband plays for free each month at the 3rd Saturday dances in ABQ, helping to keep FolkMADS going.

A big thank you to all the Megaband musicians!!

Other Events

Silver City

Annual Twelfth Night Dance with Bayou Seco and Friends
Saturday, January 6, 2007, 7:30-10:30

KLEZMERQUERQUE 2007

New Mexico's annual Klezmer music and dance festival celebrates its 5th year over Presidents' Day weekend.

Known as "The Southwest's Celebration of Klezmer Music and Dance," KLEZMERQUERQUE 2007 will present a weekend of concerts, dance parties, classes, and a lunch w/stories featuring world-renowned klezmer artists as well as many local artists. The annual event will take place from February 16-18 (Friday evening through Sunday afternoon) at Albuquerque's Congregation Nahalat Shalom which is located on 3606 Rio Grande Blvd. NW (between Candelaria & Comanche). Nahalat Shalom is a non-profit, tax-exempt oragnization.

Returning this year by popular demand is Adrianne Greenbaum, scholar and recording artist of the klezmer flute and associate professor of flute and klezmer ensemble teacher at Mount Holyoke College. KLEZMERQUERQUE 2007 also welcomes back the klezmer dance master Steve Weintraub, who teaches and performs klezmer and East European Jewish dance at workshops around the world. Both Adrianne and Steve will perform on Friday and Saturday evenings in addition to teaching two workshops on Saturday and one on Sunday. The Rebbe's Orkestra, the popular Albuquerque-based klezmer ensemble will also give brief performances on Friday and Saturday evenings and will accompany Ms. Greenbaum on her musical pieces.

On Saturday, February 18th from 12:30-1:45 pm come have lunch at KLEZMERQUERQUE and listen to A Classic Yiddish Tale and A Feminist Hasidic Story about SHTRAYMLS-yes, the tall fur hats that religious people wear. Join renowned storyteller Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb for a dynamic reading of I.L. Peretz's story: "Shtraymil" written in 1894, and Pearl Gluck's "Shtreimel Envy" written in 2005. The art of storytelling is alive and well in these two tales connected by Yiddishkeit wit --and a big hat! Admission is a $5.00-$10.00 donation.

Featured at the concert on Saturday night, Feb. 17th at 7:30 pm will be Toronto's critically-acclaimed and award-winning 5-piece klezmer ensemble BEYOND THE PALE (www.beyondthepale.net ). Tickets for this concert may be purchased in advance for $15 (for ALL seats/ages) at Bookworks, 4022 Rio Grande Blvd. NW (505)344-8139 and at Natural Sound, 3422 Central Ave. SE (505)255-8295 - both in Albuquerque. Tickets will also be available at the door for $18-general and $15-fixed income/under 18.

The festival will open on Friday, February 16th at 6:30 pm with a danced Freylekhe Shabbes "service" to the music of Alavados, Nahalat Shalom's 5-piece in-house band with dancing led by Rikud -Nahalat Shalom's Yiddish dance troupe. At 7 pm there will be a vegetarian potluck dinner and at 8 pm there will be performances by Steve Weintraub, Adrianne Greenbaum and The Rebbe's Orkestra. The music and dance will continue with Nahalat Shalom's 20-piece Community Klezmer band and open dancing led by Steve Weintraub and Rikud. Admission for Friday evening's event is a $10 suggested donation (under 18-free/donation). Admission for the entire weekend of events (2 concerts/dance parties, 4 classes and a lunch w/stories) is $80.00-general, $60-seniors/fixed income/under 18.

For more event details please contact:

Beth Cohen (505)243-6276 cohenedmunds@netzero.net and/or

Congregation Nahalat Shalom www.nahalatshalom.org (505)343-8227