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Midnight On The Water

05 Jul 16 - 12:24 PM (#3799103)
Subject: Midnight On The Water
From: Will Fly

I first heard this lovely old waltz by Luke Thomasson from the playing of my good mates The Twagger Band. I got some lovely new strings on my tenor guitar this morning, so christened them with this tune for YouTube.

Midnight On The Water - Will Fly - tenor guitar


05 Jul 16 - 01:04 PM (#3799109)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: gillymor

Good stuff, Will.


05 Jul 16 - 01:44 PM (#3799111)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Megan L

what a lovely waltz


05 Jul 16 - 01:53 PM (#3799112)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Will Fly

Thanks. There are some wonderful versions out there - Benny Thomasson, Luke's son plays a real Texas fiddle version in "Deadman" (DDAD) tuning - and Mark O'Connor does a slow, sinuous, droning version. All good stuff!


05 Jul 16 - 02:16 PM (#3799115)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Ernest

Beautiful!


05 Jul 16 - 02:29 PM (#3799119)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: GUEST,Roger Knowles

First heard it fro Dave Bromberg ar Cambridge festival in the 70s. Great tune!


05 Jul 16 - 03:29 PM (#3799125)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: maeve

Thank you, Will. It's beautiful.


05 Jul 16 - 03:48 PM (#3799127)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Helen

Hi Will,

That was beautiful, and check out that lovely smile at the end!!

This tune has been on our session list for 30 years and it is still a favourite of everyone in the group.

Helen


05 Jul 16 - 05:13 PM (#3799135)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Will Fly

Thanks folks. There are a few versions of the music out there. I chose the one that seemed most familiar to me from hearing the Twaggers' version. Hope it's the right one! :-)


05 Jul 16 - 07:03 PM (#3799151)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: foggers

Yes it's a favourite session tune for us too. Just teaching it to my 13 yo stepson at the moment. He covets his father's mandola but can't have it until he has proved he has the chops to work on a repertoire for it...... That is a lovely lilting rendition of it Will.


05 Jul 16 - 07:05 PM (#3799153)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Tattie Bogle

Yes we play it up here in Scotland in all the sessions: some slight differences in the second part, but who's to say which version is best!?
Usually combine it with Ashokan farewell (which I prefer much slower first), then Margaret's Waltz, finishing up with Midnight on the Water.
It also goes very well as an instrumental to a song of the same name, written by Ron Kavana, and also sung by Waterson Carthy: unfortunately videos of both RK and WC are no longer available on YouTube.


05 Jul 16 - 08:04 PM (#3799163)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Steve Shaw

Midnight On The Water was composed by Luke Thomasson, around a hundred years ago, or a bit more, and the copyright was held by Benny Thomasson who died about thirty years ago. I suppose it may not be in copyright any more, but who knows. We loved Ron Kavana and he sang his song (far more languorously than on his "Think Like A Hero" album) especially for the Shaws at the best gig I've ever been to in my life, at the Tree Inn Folk Club on 1 October 1993. The song uses the waltz tune alternating with the verses, which have a different melody. I still have a recording of him singing the song that night.


06 Jul 16 - 04:03 AM (#3799193)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: GUEST,HiLo

Just a grand rendition of this lovely song ,Will. thanks for sharing it.


06 Jul 16 - 04:25 AM (#3799194)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: bubblyrat

Beautiful rendition, Mike ; you had Nicola in tears ( she thinks we look alike !)


06 Jul 16 - 04:36 AM (#3799199)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: Will Fly

Hi Rog - must be the Eke ancestral blood running in our veins! (Mind you, my playing has had many people in tears...)
----

Technical data on the recording for those who might be interested:

• Tenor track recorded first with the Zoom H2 – keeping as steady a tempo as possible – simultaneously video'd with my Canon EOS 70D+18mm-135mm lens.

• Tenor track topped and tailed with Audacity, and placed as Track 1 in Garageband on my Mac Book Pro.

• Guitar backing track recorded second with the Zoom H2, with quiet playback in earbuds so I could sync correctly.

• Also processed with Audacity and placed as Track 2 in Garageband.

• I placed the tenor Pan at about 11 o'clock and the backing guitar (my model O) Pan at about 1 o'clock.

• I added a little reverb to the tenor – just to help the separation from the backing guitar.

• Then all was mixed down to an m4a file.

• Video edited in iMovie.

• Mp4 audio file synched with video, and camera audio detached and erased.

• Mixed down to HD in iMovie and uploaded to YouTube.

All good clean fun!


06 Jul 16 - 05:49 AM (#3799211)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: banjoman

Great stuff. We play this using banjo & recorder as part of our repertoire. Not as good this tho,


06 Jul 16 - 11:43 AM (#3799272)
Subject: RE: Midnight On The Water
From: leeneia

I was practicing 'Midnight on the Water' on my old piano one day, and I happened to try a deep, powerful octave in the bass. My husband was walking by and he exclaimed, ""That's it! It's about a boat!"

We both remembered our New Orleans cruise on the steamboat Natchez, with the jazz, the dinner, and the college students loving the Dixieland.

I liked the idea, and I decided to make 'Midnight on the Water into a musical picture about a steamboat. Now it's got a sentimental section, where someone hears the steamboat whistle at midnight and longs to get away, and it's got an engine section.

In this video, you can see such an engine at work, albeit lazily.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnzjkCYCS-8

I wonder what they did with the Natchez during Hurricane Katrina.