A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?

Subject: A Blinding Revelation
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 02:37 PM

Over 20 years ago,I was listening to a Nick Jones album when a track called " Master Kilby" made me sit up with a jerk. What was it that had such an impact. A fancy guitar lick by Nick? A particular pleasing turn in the melody? NO, it was the realisation that the piano acompaniment by Helen Watson was a lot more interesting - and beautiful - than anything emerging from Nick's guitar. Previously - in British/USA folk music -any contribution from a piano sound so uninspired.But from that moment, my love affair with the guitar was on shaky ground.

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation
From: Amos
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 03:18 PM

But TS -- why did you wait 20 years to tell us about this?


A

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: Wesley S
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 03:39 PM

Now can he see the keyboard of his computer.

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: Lanfranc
Date: 26 Nov 03 - 07:03 PM

Listening to Mike Harding's show tonight (albeit with one ear whilst playing Scrabble), June Tabor's new album of Border Ballads has a lot of piano accompaniment. Listen to it here

Lots of folk albums have used piano accompaniments, and they are not all as arranged by Benjamin Britten!

Alan

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 01:42 AM

Check out the Vermont based band "Assembly". They have a brilliant pianist!

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: greg stephens
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:03 AM

The piano had a huge influencee in American folk music, look at the host of well known(and totallty unknown) blues and boogie players. Also(at a lesser level of technique, but highly important) the piano accompaniment for dance music in Britain and Ireland was very common...seems to have lasted better in Scotland, but faded elsewhere. It doesnt seem to have translated well to the old Yamaha keyboards: a lot of people accompany ceilidh bands with them, or sing while playing them, but it doesnt do a lot for me, what I've heard.

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 04:49 AM

Reg Hall (of The Rakes etc) often plays piano in sessions - he was playing with "The Posh Band" at "Remembering Fred" at CSH on Saturday. When he started recording traditional musicians (Billy Bennington etc) he reckoned that there was usually someone playing the pub piano - after all piano accordians cost a lot of money - the pub piano came free.

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: GUEST,susanne (skw) abroad
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 08:31 AM

Cilla Fisher & Artie Trezise used the (electric) piano to impressive effect on several tracks of their 'Cilla & Artie' lp (1978), particularly on 'Fisher Lassies'.

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: Willie-O
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 08:37 AM

Interesting, Greg's remarks about piano having faded from Scottish accompaniment style. It's been said that the most unique feature of Cape Breton fiddling is the piano accompaniment. It is much flashier than the common thunka-thunka offbeat Ontario piano accompaniment style. And of course CB style is very heavily Scottish influenced, and often called more Scottish than the Scots play.

CB masters of the style: Tracy Dares, Mary Jessie Gillis, Hilda Chaisson-Cormier, Seamus McNeil.

As accompaniment to guitar-based music, it's not the handiest thing, cause the volume and presence of the piano tends to be much higher
than of acoustic guitar. (I know my buddy who did sound for JP & Hilda Cormier when they played here found it really difficult to get a suitable mix, they both play pretty hard and busy)

One example though that leaps to mind is the sad honky-tonk piano and trumpet part on "Dance Hall Girls" by Fraser & DeBolt.

And a whole lot of Tom Waits.

Willie-O
The Piano Has Been Drinking...not me.

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 10:50 AM

Kate Rusby of course uses the piano, and to great effect; infact, when she moves from the piano to the guitar, on solo gigs, the guitar sounds decidedly uninteresting in comparison to the full, rich sounds of the piano ( albeit an electric keyboard)

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: Alice
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 11:14 AM

My accompanist, Carol Dailey, is a pianist and fiddle player - very good at composing folk piano accompaniments. Here is her composition of piano accompaniment to Tam Glen:
Tam Glen, Alice Flynn & Carol Dailey

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 01:13 PM

Have to say I heard the Tabor track and it reminded me how much I hate (yes, hate) piano for folk music. Fine for blues, fine for jazz. All right for country, if you can tolerate country, and likewise much American contemporary (for example, would be really great on "Miner's Lifeguard"). All right for some other contemporary acoustic. Sounds nothing like folk music. Same goes for Kate Rusby. I admire both Tabor and Rusby, just wish they would not play or use piano. Kath Mundy gets away with it because her (admirable) keyboard work is not folk (and often in voices other than piano).

I quite liked the Martin Simpson guitar pieces with Tabor, but even that sounded a bit meretricious and thin in comparison with (say) Martin Carthy, at least early Carthy. Personally I think current Martin Carthy, although still awesome, is not as fiery as the earlier work.

All credit however to Tabor for interesting traditional material.

Mind you, if I could play even a tenth as well as any of them, would I be sitting here posting about it?

Subject: RE: A Blinding Revelation: piano in folk music?
From: Helen
Date: 27 Nov 03 - 06:05 PM

Lately, in the last few months, I have become even more annoyed by radio DJ's rabbiting on and on, even on the alternative rock station I used to enjoy listening to. So, when I am driving I now tune to the Classic FM station (ABC radio in Oz).

Sometimes they play music I don't like at all, sometimes it's just not my favourite type of classical music, but sometimes the music is outstanding. "Chicken skin musc". I found out recently from a Mudcat thread what that means - always wondered. Music to give you goosebumps.

Anyway - this is actually on topic - when I first started regularly listening to this station I would find myself thinking, unconsciously, "Oh no, here comes some piano music! How boring!"

But now I am beginning to realise how fantastic the piano can be, in the right hands. Some pianists are a bit too focused on the technicalities, to the detriment of the wider, broader conceptual expression of the music. But some pianists and some of the pieces just amaze me. And listening to different pieces, with different "flavours" of music, and different pianists interpreting these pieces....wow!

And the variations in the type of music which can be played, and especially to the way that the music can be played. I am in awe.

I had planned to go and ...[I just made a typo which was a pun in the Oz context ....I typed "goan.." instead of "go and". In Oz a common slang term for a "pi-anner" is "goanna" pronounced Go An'na, which is a large reptile here]...sorry, back to what I was saying: I had planned to go and get piano lessons this year because Hubby's Mum gave us her goanna and I want to learn some proper theory and arranging to help with my Celtic harp playing, but there aren't any folk harp teachers here. But working life has gotten in the way. I think I'll find a teacher and see if I can start lessons now.

There is a local fiddler who is now nationally known, called Chris Duncan, and he used to play at the Newcastle Folk Club with a piano player, called Peter, I think. Always a wonderful experience hearing those two play.

Thanks for this thread, Tunesmith.

Helen