A comedy of errors?

[maugein96]

Came across this one while looking at some old tunes by Albert Hennebel, a Belgian accordionist who sadly passed away in 2013.

I think this is meant to be a duo between Marina Vanhee, from Houtkerque, in France, and Yves Leynaert, a French player from Dunkerque. Benny Hennebel (Alberts son) is on drums and Marina is his wife. 

Something seems to be irking Yves, and you certainly cannot hear his accordion. The expressions on his face are priceless, and he succeeds in making Marina lose concentration once or twice.  

Yves is a brilliant player, but always seems to struggle when playing along with other accordionists. Its as though he had given up trying to play along and just made comic faces and gestures. 

 

[Dingo40]

Yves is thinking: should have brought the music! :huh:

 

[maugein96]

Hi Dingo,

GRRRRR! Just lost a comprehensive reply to your last post. This is happening often on this site these days, and I dont know whats going wrong. The screen freezes and when you try to save to draft you end up losing all the text. I think I maybe had too many internet pages on at the same time, but I just dont know.

I think youre right about Yves. Ive seen him struggle to sight read tunes he is unfamiliar with. He used to play along with Albert Hennebel, and Albert, being a Belgian, played a B system. Every now and then Albert would put a B system type chromatic run in that wasnt in the score, and Yves would lose the tack.

Benny Hennebel has a You Tube channel named Accordeonrama, and there is some good stuff on it, mainly from France, and of course Belgium. Link here:-

https://www.youtube.com/user/Accordeonrama

 

[Dingo40]

John,
Thanks for the link!

Heres Albert (Benny) Hennebel:

 

[maugein96]

John,
Thanks for the link!

Heres Albert (Benny) Hennebel:

Hi Dingo,

He had a long career, although few people outside of Belgium or the Flemish part of France these days will have heard of him. Like most Belgian players of popular music in his era, the style tends to be essentially French, but the big chords of The Netherlands and the odd foray into German popular tunes is always there.


One of the best Belgian accordionists from West Flanders was Oscar Denys, who played a big Hohner with some cracking sounds. His son Guy Denys is also a pro player and is still on the go, although I preferred his fathers (apparently) effortless style of playing. The Belgian element of his playing wont be immediately obvious, but it does come through. Its difficult to describe, but its like detecting one dialect of musette from another:-

 

By way of comparison there is no detectable (to me) Belgian influence in this jazzy Paris number, as he doesnt use the musette register:-


To save confusion the Flemish short name for Albert is usually Bertn, and Benny is Alberts son, and is a drummer. 

My late grandfather spent some time in the area and grew attached to the accordion music. It was he and my late father who influenced me in that direction, although I never actually bought an accordion until I was in my early 30s.

 

[Dingo40]

John, 
Thanks for the links and the interesting commentary!
I too didn't own an accordion or take lessons until my early thirties: a bit too late, alas, for me :s
Still, better late than never!

 

[maugein96]

John, 
Thanks for the links and the interesting commentary!
I too didn't own an accordion or take lessons until my early thirties: a bit too late, alas, for me :s
Still, better late than never!

Dingo,

I'm a firm believer that if you really want to play a musical instrument like the accordion the notion has to grab you while your fingers and tendons are still made of elastic, and you have no feeling of self consciousness that develops in your teens.  

The vast majority of virtuoso players have already got the basics down before they leave school.

If you leave it as late as we did you get bogged down with image issues and take too much notice of what the accordion snobs decree that you must do to be successful. You are at an age where you have already made a lot of mistakes in life and tread with caution in your new venture. 

The forum is full of late starters, but most of those have reached the stage where they realise that there will be limitations, and apply themselves "accordingly". When you are 30 something you still believe it can all happen in a year or two.


Don't know if you can identify with that, but I've spent a lot of years wondering why I can play guitar a lot more easily than I can the accordion. I started to play guitar when I was 10 or 11 and that's the difference. 

That's not to say I've not had a lot of pleasure out of playing. My neighbours might not have had a lot of pleasure out of listening, but I just tell them they should have started to listen before they left school, so they could have made a better job of it!

 

[Stephen Hawkins]

Hi John,

Taking up the accordion just before my 68th birthday, I am very firmly in the category of "late starters."

My expectations were never all that high, but I have surprised myself with the progress I have made. Don't get me wrong, I make no claim of being a good player, but I do enjoy playing.

You know better than most about my career path, and I suppose that my career has made me the kind of man who sticks to his own targets and agenda. This is nothing to do with conceit, but rather a comprehensive understanding of my own abilities (or lack of them.)

Kind Regards,

Stephen.

 

[Eddy Yates]

Thanks to Stephen Hawkins and Rudyard Kipling:
“If you can dream- -and not make dreams your master;
If you can think- -and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools; .....”
Then you can play the accordion.
Al the best to all y’all.

 

[Chrisrayner]

And if you take up the CBA past the age of 70, then the phrase “deluded optimism” may very possibly apply.?

 

[Tom]

A few tunes played well with soul at 75 is better than a hundred tunes played at 100 miles per hour without at 35.

 

[Eddy Yates]

A few tunes played well with soul at 75 is better than a hundred tunes played at 100 miles per hour without at 35.

Right on, Tom!

 

[Pipemajor]

A few tunes played well with soul at 75 is better than a hundred tunes played at 100 miles per hour without at 35.

Right on, Tom!

For those of us of advancing years, surely the whole point is not how proficient or agile our playing is, but are we enjoying it and keeping the old grey cells ticking over. I'm a couple of weeks short of my 80th birthday but I've just got my first wood turning lathe. Now there's optimism for you   . I changed over from PA to CBA a couple of years ago and, although I'll never be at the same standard (not that high, actually) as I was on PA I'm making progress, but more importantly, I'm enjoying it, and challenging myself .
I still go to pipe band practice every week and, although arthritis of the knee stops me taking part in long parades, I'm still out at every engagement, and still do all the usual solo weddings, funerals, Burns Nights, etc.
I'm a firm believer that, if you fancy trying something new, then go for it, as you may not have the chance next year.
But then, I know I'm never going to die so why shouldn't I .

 

[Tom]

That's the spirit Piper!! Happy Valentine's everyone! It's -30°C here today and I am venturing forth to play music for a senior center, some who will be younger than me. What are the proper tunes for Valentine's Day anyway?

 

[Eddy Yates]

That's the spirit Piper!!  Happy Valentine's everyone!  It's -30°C here today and I am venturing forth to play music for a senior center, some who will be younger than me.  What are the proper tunes for Valentine's Day anyway?

Thanks for the inspiration, Piper!
Tom, any Beatles love song. And good for you!

 

[TomBR]

As it says in the description under the clip in the OP "sans répétition" - without rehearsal! Yves clearly doesn't know the piece. Hey ho, he looks happy enough. (And there wasn't much musical space left for him anyway.)

Whatever age you start out on an instrument what ultimately matters is spirit, duende, "nyah," whatever it's called in the style of music you play, but it will never be found by anxious striving after technical perfection alone!

Paradoxically I think older players may be treated more indulgently. If an older person plays something simply but well, people will appreciate it. If a young person does that, people are more likely to think, good effort by a learner!