We were rehearsing a few instrumentals the other day, something we have not done for years. We went through a bunch of tunes, exploring various combinations and possibilities. Putting together a decent set of tunes can be challenging for us. Current traditional music ideals emphasize ensemble playing, and that does not really work in an environment where I am really the only instrumentalist. Also, these days, instrumentals have developed their own aesthetic. More often than not, they serve as a means of displaying the player’s skill and dexterity.

There are, however, other approaches.

I was never much a speed demon, anyway, when it comes to tunes. I came to them too late to ever play Irish tunes at the clip favoured right now. And the more stately English approach, which is a big part of Newfoundland music, is closer to my own background anyway. That said, GBS has recorded more instrumentals then people think - even a so-called ‘pop’ effort like Fortune’s Favour has lots of instrumental stuff, if you dig in a bit. Actual stand-alone instrumental sets are another thing. I learned to play unaccompanied, as was the case with most Newfoundland instrumentalists until quite recently. Although I never played much for dancers, I did spend a lot of time with those who did. And lesson one for dancers is the necessity of lift.

I have talked about ‘lift’ before in this blog. Simply put, it is the inclusion of a rhythmic quality in your playing which encourages dancers. With all of its physical pushing and pulling, the button accordion is well made for the task. Unfortunately, while easy to demonstrate, lift is hard to teach and harder to describe. In thinking about it, I went trolling to see if I could find an example which might illuminate just what the *** I am going on about. From the band’s repertoire, there are only a couple of times where I think I really nailed it. The reality is, percussion is bit of a lift killer. As soon as things get crowded instrumentally, one player cannot really change the pulse to suit an imaginary dancer. Nonetheless, check out Dancing With Mrs. White, from Up, or the Buffett Double (the second tune in the Tishialuk Girls set) from the Hard and the Easy. More so than on anything else, those two pieces really sound like there might have been a good step dancer in the room.

If you want some visual evidence of what ‘lift’ looks and sounds like, check out this clip of the late Joe Cooley, playing a set in a pub just weeks before he died. In Irish circles, Cooley is widely considered to have been the greatest accordionist ever. Not so much for his speed and complexity, but for his ability to give the tunes a unique effervescence, a strange and wonderful quality that lifted them onto another plane altogether.  I concur.