Button-Accordion Project

(Dual-row G-C or A-D, with Accidentals)
Based on  tunes2play4fun.com  &  Facilitated by ZOOM

MINI-COURSE BA1
Intro to the Button Accordion, its Music & Notation

UNIT THREE (of TEN)
​Fine-Tuning Melodic Timing 
​(Half-beat Notes in Somewhat-Familiar Song-Melodies)

Return to BA1 - Unit 3
​                                                                                                     
                                                                                   SLIDES   &   COMMENTS

SLIDES 1 - 3  

In Unit 1 we played melodies that were so familiar that only button numbers (push & pull) were given, and hardly needed.

Unit 2 introduced musical time, and included a simple rhythmic notation for notes that were held for an integral number of beats.

Welcome to Unit 3 and the first stage of fine-tuining.
  
SLIDE 4
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In addition to this instructional session please note the dates for individual "25-30 minute" Zoom sessions as scheduled with you for Wednesday & Thursday evenings.

These are intended to provide an opportunity for you to perform on Zoom (for an audience of one), and for tutoring & feedback.
SLIDE 5
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The topics for Unit 3 are given at left.
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Here, we will fine-tune our melodic timing to play button-notes that are held for half a beat interval.

There will be three featured song-melodies, plus an additional five for home (including Web) practice.
SLIDES 6 to 8 - Topic 1

We will use Frère Jacques to help make the case for fine-tuning our notation.

If you are already quite familiar with this melody, then you really don't need much additional info.

However, we'll proceed on the assumption that you are only "somewhat" familiar with this melody.
In this verse we have 32 button notes, of which 24 are each held for one or for two beat intervals.

However, this verse  contains eight notes that are each held for half a beat interval (shown as white question marks above).

We will need a symbol that can indicate half a beat interval, and can be easily adapted to other fractions.
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SLIDE 9 - Topic 2

​For the melodies in BA1 (and for a host of other melodies) three fractions are sufficient, at least for now.

In this Unit we will focus on the fractional note that is held for 1/2 of a beat interval.

Later, in Unit 5 we will make use of fractional notes held for 1/4 and 3/4 of a beat interval.
SLIDE 10

The double-quote mark is
suggested as a symbol for notes held for 1/2 of a beat interval.
Slide 11

This is illustrated in the examples at left, for both bellow's pushes and bellow's pulls.

​I've included the other two fractions (1/4 and 3/4) in white.  We'll come back to them in
Unit 5.
Slide 12

Next we return to Frère Jacques our first featured melody, inserting the half-beat symbol (shown in yellow).
At first glance this fractional notation may make the melody look much more complicated and difficult.

However, in the majority of cases, these notes are grouped in pairs with each pair covering a single beat interval.

Example:  The pair  "5  "5*  at beginning of line 3 is held for a total of one beat interval.

And, of course, if it is a melody you know really well, you will probably play these fractional pairs in a single beat without even thinking about it.
SLIDE 13 - Topic 3

Our three featured melodies:

Just a Suggestion for beginners, new to the accordion:  Practice each pattern on a line, until comfortable, before moving on to the next line..
SLIDES 14 & 15

Note that the sets of repeated patterns are shown in yellow (line 1), red (lines 2 and 5) and green (lines 3 & 4).

The fractional notes, in pairs, are highlighted in white on the 3rd & 4th lines.
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SLIDES 16 & 17

Our second featured melody, On Top of Old Smokey, is a traditional American folk song that may be somewhat familiar to you.

Note that there is only one pair of half-interval notes, at beginning of line 4.
Review the rhythmic patterns above.

Note the identical pattern in lines 1 & 3.  Then, compare the melodic rhythms in lines 2 and 4, where the patterns are nearly identical.
The composer could have simplified the final line as "For court-ing too slow" and held the first note for one beat interval.  Then the rhythmic patterns on the 2nd & 4th lines would have been identical.  However, I sense that the way it is written above, with the half-beat notes, makes the melody rhythmically more interesting.
SLIDES 18 & 19

A third featured song-melody is the somewhat familiar Irish composition Galway Bay.

This is the first verse.

There are 18 pairs of half-interval notes here (in white).
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An Aside:  Recognizing "pairs" will be useful when, in a future BA mini-course, we add bass-end beats to the melodies that contain fractional notes.
SLIDE 20 - Topic 4

These five (optional) extra practice numbers all include some notes that are held for half a beat interval.

In these, each half-beat note can be paired with an adjacent half-beat note.

In Unit 4 we will explore other possibilities.
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SLIDE 21

​Black Velvet Band is a traditional Irish song that was popularized in the 1960s by Harry Hibbs, and has since been covered by a large number of performers.

Notice the identical lyrical and rhythmic patterns in lines 2 and 4, and both the similarities and the differences between lines 1 and 3.
SLIDE 22

This is the third verse of John Denver's  Annie's Song.

To check the rhythmic patterns, this is best viewed as an 8-line verse.  At left, due to lack of space, the first four lines of the song are printed on two lines.

For the first verse, return to the BA1-Unit 3 main page, and choose Annie's Song.
THREE FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON LONG NOTES AT END OF LINES (Annie's Song):
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​1. The tilde symbol ( ~ ) at the end of the lines means that the button note may be held even longer.  

2. Singers frequently "rest" their voices for at least the last part of long musical notes at the end of lines, instead of holding the singing note the whole time.

3. If playing in a group, many accordion players will simply hold such notes, as suggested above; others may actually also "rest".  Many players will choose to substitute embellishments or ornamentations to relieve the boredom of playing a long note beyond the singing (especially if performing "solo") - more about this later. 
SLIDE 23

This song-melody, Rose in Her Hair, has both American and Canadian authorship.

The melody and the first verse lyrics were written by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, respectively, in 1935.

In the 1980s Bud Davidge and Sim Savory (of Simani) added two verses and an ending.
​THE TILDE ( ~ ) SYMBOL (Rose in Her Hair):
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A reminder that the tilde symbol ( ~ ) at the end of some lines above means that the button note should be held longer, which, for this song, is usually three extra beat intervals.

SLIDE 24

The lyrics and music for the gospel song  In the Sweet By and By were written by S. F. Bennet and J. P. Webser, respectively, in 1868.

Note that there are 12 pairs of half-beat button notes (shown in white).
SLIDE 25

​If You're Happy And You Know It is a fun action song, with many notes that are each held for half a beat interval, and some notes that are held for a full beat.

This is the first "melody" that asks you to play a bass-end button ... not enough to really make it a "tune," but fun, anyway.
SLIDE 26 - Topic 5
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​A "reminder" slide.
SLIDE 27 - Topic 6

Another "reminder" slide.
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​November 3 (Wednesday)
​& November 4 (Thursday)
SLIDE 28 - Topic 7

And ... a reminder for Unit 4 on November 11.

​Our expanded notation will introduce notes that are held for 1.5 beat intervals.

These notes are frequently paired with half-beat notes.
SLIDE 29

The route to the tunes2play4fun.com 
Unit 3 support materials
"for beginners".