I've just been on an accordion course down in the Auvergne. Great fun; the first francophone music course I've been on. Saw my first street sign written in Occitan. I'm told that there are no remaining people who use it as their mother tongue, but it is sometimes taught and studied. The sign means "The residents of Picherande (miengué) are pleased to welcome you". You can just about see the similarity with "Les miengués se font plaisir de vous recevoir".
There were 6 students, with abilities running from Pascal who is a demon player who has been playing since his youth, to Laurent who is almost a complete beginner. A good time was had by all, and my team won the pétanque. What's not to like?
What a great sound they make! Have you beenplaying long?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking about posting a musical issue soon, but here is a preview to celebrate the Uilleann Pipes...
https://youtu.be/H0_TrR6pO0c
Hi Scrobs, been playing a couple of years now. Still very much a novice, but getting some simple tunes out.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a lot of fun :-)
ReplyDeleteFascinating, esp. about the dialect. How did the accordion go?
ReplyDeleteHi James,
ReplyDeleteThe course was good thanks. Everyone was, of course, enthusiastic about the instrument, so the experts set about helping the beginners, and no-one got annoyed about mistakes. A seriously good bunch of people. I'll go again next year if I can. One of the things that amused me was that the best player there absolutely loved my accordion. He played it all the time that he could. It was very motivating to hear what it could do.
M