More about Musicians
Our Band
We have all kinds of instruments in our band, including:
| Border pipes | ~ | from the English/Scottish border lands |
| Melodeons | ~ | which sound a bit like accordions but have 2 or 3 rows of buttons instead of keys and play like over sized mouth organs |
| Accordion | ~ | which has a keyboard like a piano and lots of buttons for the bass notes |
| Concertinas | ~ | which are hexagonal boxes with buttons on both sides, much used by sailors in the days of sailing ships when space was of a premium |
| Pipes | ~ | also including recorders and whistles |
| Fiddle | ~ | Folk term for violin |
| Mandolin | ~ | played with a plectrum (and also amplified) |
| Drum | ~ | to keep us in good time |
| Bells | ~ | from time to time to add sparkle |
| Tambourines | ~ | from time to time to add sparkle |
Black Adder musicians are always happy to have more instrumentalists to join them and the list above is by no means limited. The instruments are generally those that don’t involve amplification for practical reasons, unless you can walk carrying the amp, as one member does.
The music is chosen for the dance when it is being written and will follow a pattern that fits the dance figures. It will be played that way thereafter which makes it work for musicians and dancers alike.
Musicians wear black. Some wear rag jackets, some don’t. As one of our members puts it: “A hat is optional, but is useful in the sun if you are follically challenged.” Musicians don’t wear clogs unless they are dancers too, in which case they wear dancers’ kit.