Esbjorn’s Band Syndens Kapell

Description

The Scandinavian music course is back! This time it will be a four-week course, which we will tie into another course in the spring. All music instruments are welcome, and as before the focus will be on Swedish and Scandinavian dance music. The course is taught by clarinet and melodeon player Esbjörn Wettermark, who has many years of experience as a dance musician and music educator. Emphasis will be on melody and harmony; chord players are welcome but will be encouraged also to try to play the melody.

Contents

In this slightly shorter course we will primarily work with different kinds of polskas. There will be an emphasis on Swedish tunes but we will also look at one or two tunes from the other Scandinavian countries. The ambition is to learn one or two new tunes and do a bit of an arrangement (for example, with harmony, riff, or bass line) together in the group. We might also do some singing and dancing, to get a better feel for the rhythms of the music. In addition to polskas we will look at other tune types as well as how to make harmonies and arrange the pieces in a “scandistyle”.

Level

You should be able to get around your instrument on your own, but there is no requirement to know any Scandinavian tunes. Generally Scandinavian music uses a wider range of keys than English traditional music, and its good if you can play in a few different keys, however we will primarily be moving in violin and melodeon friendly keys during this course.

http://esbjornwettermark.blogspot.co.uk/

Videos:

Syndens Kapell playing for a dance in Sweden:

Fiddle legend Nils Agenmark playing a polska:

Folkrock band Hoven Droven playing a polska:

Fiddler Lena Jonsson and folk cellist Jonas Bleckman playing a Polska and an American Oldtime tune: