This week's winner is Nancy's Waltz. This tune has already appeared within this forum, as an "other tune"! Here is a link to abc from John Chambers. Here's a link to standard notation. Here is the link to this tune here in the social group, when it was an "other tune" and, the great video that accompanies that discussion!
This is a lovely tune, and Hendrik's recording is great. I've found a slightly different transcription, based on Natalie MacMaster's recording on Rounder: http://www.mne.psu.edu/lamancusa/tunes/nancy%27s.pdf I'm not sure where the composer (who seems to be spelled variously "Chris Romain" or "Romaine") is from, but the tune seems to be associated with Cape Breton. I've recorded it as a duet of mandolin and tenor guitar. Mid-Missouri M-0W mandolin Ozark tenor guitar Martin
What a lovely version Martin.. Good work!
Great version Martin- well played. I took the opportunity to practice some tremolo.
Fine versions, all three. Interesting to compare them to hear what you each bring to your versions.
Hendrik's first posting of this tune got me interested in it so I posted a version of it back then too. The video below is essentially the same except that I added fiddle to the mix. I'm feeling a bit more confident in my fiddle intonation although confidence and proficiency don't necessarily correlate in a positive manner... Martin - a nice version as always. You are also super at sleuthing out various scores on the internet! Maudlin - you are getting your tremolo down!
woody. Your video is marked private. Gary
That's one lovely tune, some nice playing all too!
Hi Gary, Thanks for the heads-up. I fixed it. Bob
You guys all play these melodies with such ease and fluidity. I am jealous! I really like this waltz #. I gave it a shot.
Wow... playing with all those double-stops. That's how a mandolin is supposed to be played. That was excellent Timothy!
Great versions of a lovely waltz! I played my version from the sheet music linked to by Martin, but I played swing eights.
You played it mighty fine.. I love your tremolo en overal sound...can you still not get enough of the slow waltzes Crisscross? I almost forgot I played this tune, my old The Loar lm220 mandolin sounded so nice in this recording. Why did I sell it?
Nice one, CC. As Hendrik says, you have certainly got a real enthusiasm for the waltzes at the moment.
So many waltzes, so little time! Another great effort, thanks...
Thanks Hendrik, John and Michael. The reason I play a lot of waltzes at the moment, is that I'm working on my tremolo. Nothing beats a waltz's melody to apply a tremolo...
This is the second of three waltzes I've recorded today on bouzouki. Different source from the one I used back in 2015 (which is no longer online) -- this one is based on the transcription from the Southern Maryland Open Band tunebook at: https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...ookJan2021.pdf Troubadour Lionheart bouzouki Vintage Viaten tenor guitar https://youtu.be/eLRI3h_VlIs Martin
You have been busy, Martin. This is a new waltz for me and you play it well here. The bouzouki makes a fine solo instrument outside its usual role of accompaniment, the sustain suiting those slower tunes.
I find it very hard to play melody on bouzouki because of its scale length. But Martin is taller than me and perhaps has bigger hands. Really well played!
I change to guitar fingering (one finger per fret) when playing the bouzouki, Dennis, but I am lucky in having fairly big hands and was a guitar player long before I took up mandolin. You are right, though, about the extra stretch. I watched Martin and he rarely if at all used his pinkie for fingering. I use mine a lot when playing those longer scaled instruments. We all have our own ways of tackling the challenges!
Thanks, John and Dennis. I'm enjoying getting the bouzouki out. I've never been terribly happy with playing chords on it, but tunes are fun if sometimes daunting because of the stretch. I'm using GDAE unison stringing, but I think GDAD or ADAD octave stringing are more common for strummed accompaniment, probably for a reason. On fingering, I'm doing the same as on mandolin. Pinkie for seventh fret, and sixth fret in flat keys. Nancy's Waltz goes up to the C# on the top string ninth fret so it's easier to shift up to third position for that phrase, meaning no pinkie notes at all in this tune. Martin
And yet more lovely bouzouki playing... I've mentioned that I have tried a zouk just once, a few months ago, in a shop. It was strung GDAE but in octaves on the lower strings, which did give some strange results playing melody.
