I have really enjoyed the return of the "Tune of the Month." I always learn a lot from it and I always enjoy hearing others and getting feedback on my attempts. I think we have some great players here and things like this project really make the board a value to so many. And thanks to everyone for the nice things said and positive feedback. I don't always get a chance to read the board or respond, but I really do enjoy checking it and the nice things that are said I quite appreciated even if I don't seem to be around much anymore...I catch a few things. Thanks.

Just some things to ponder--
What makes a "tune?" What has to be IN the Poullard Special for it to be considered "the song?" SO MANY instrumentals are very similar, and my philosophy has been to get as close as possible to the original version of the song and really find what makes it a unique offering to the genre as a whole. I found that when learning the first five years or so, so many of my attempts at songs sounded too much like other tunes. And I really hated hearing from people "it all sounds alike." so I have made it almost an obsession to find the unique things about tunes and or people style and try to learn and grow from that obsession.

I would like to hear from others what they think is the unique or essential things in the Poullard Special. I have my own ideas, but don't want to spill it just yet. I have already heard from Maz and Peer on another thread about the "silent note."

Other essential elements???

Definitely the sort of swing (lilt an the Irish sometimes call it), as found in the laid back playing of Ed Himself, with Peer coming close. Timing, use of more or less legato on individual notes, dynamics between them define music played, also in a tune like this one. That's what makes music out of individual notes. With a fiddle you have more options to vary and improvise on a tune than on any accordion, and why i like a light simple thing as a Cajun accordion more that a huge britches piano. To be honest, i almost never play the latter anymore.

Besides, some people are really gifted with a lot of soul when they play anything, sing or even speak. That too when they perform really simple music, or use just a few well chosen words. Immediately they draw all attention to them when they stand up and perform. Charisma, radiating auras? (i had an old aunt who said she was able to see them interact between audiences and great performers). That kind of magic you don't encounter too often, and i never really understood how it works. Hank Williams had it, Derroll Adams, many many more, and some bad guys really misused that gift for very very evil things, but that's politics once again .... - Nout

Excellent thread, Chris. When I first started playing, I thought all you had to do was hit the right notes, but I now know that the feel of a song is what gives it character, and being able to capture that feel is the difference between an accomplished musician and someone like me. And those "silent" notes in the right places add that feel more than a bunch of notes do. My buddy Cory has said to me many times it's the notes you don't play that make the song.

When I watch your version, or Ed's, then I watch mine, I realize that I was going too fast to be able to allow that groove to shine through, very hard problem for me to break out of, especially when playing in front of people or a camera.

This song also has a feel that to me, is distinctively Creole. Can't describe it, but it's recognizable, I guess what folks refer to as syncopation(?). When I listen to mine it just sounds like a Cajun 2 step.

I always think of your song Bashoot One Step (one I love to play) when I think of this. It is very similar to many pull songs, but it has a distinctive feel to it that is not easy to capture, and without that groove, it's just another pull song.

Wandering in thoughts a bit, when I think of the feel of a song, I think of Octa Clark. His ability to pour emotion and power (soul) in a song with simple hesitations and drawn out notes is masterful, but impossible for me to duplicate.

I really love all the different ways this song is played. Being an auslander I really value the different looks into how these songs become the "tunes" of the musicians who choose them to be part of their list.

This tune was probably the first one that I actually chose to learn to play differently than what I heard. I wanted it to sound more jumpy and dancy than the laid back style I heard played because it fit better for what I had in mind. Don't get me wrong, I understand where you are coming from with getting the song as close to the original as possible, but for me I know that if I am ever going to develop my own style of playing, I need to make decisions about what I like and how I think songs should be played.

A few months back I felt like I was stuck in a rut and was not getting any better, but by better I was not thinking about my own style, I was trying very hard to immitate others. I guess that I've gotten over that somewhat. I'm more concerned about playing what feels good and what sounds good to me and doing the best that I am capabable of. I'm not ever going to be a Chris Miller or a Ed Poullard, but I can be an Ehren and for that I am thankful.

Very interesting question, Chris.
But I'm afraid I will have to ponder a bit more, before I can give an answer that is half as interesting.
Maybe I will come up with something. And maybe not! We'll see.

BTW: I think the "silent note" is a great boost to the first measure, but without it, the tune would still be recognizable. So I don't really think it's an essential.
Funny enough, you could do the same in the second part at exactly the same spot (leave the third eighth away), but nobody does that. :o)

But the Q remains: what makes a tune? I think character.
Sometimes it's just one or two notes in the melody that make it stand out.
I find the high c (the first note in the first measure) very strong. The chords in the first part of PS are the same as in Wafus Twostep, but this little high c makes the difference.
I warned you: the answer wouldn't be half as interesting!!

I took accordion from Ed at Augusta a couple of years ago, and this was one of our class tunes. He probably played it 20 times for us.

As others have pointed out, what characterizes this song for me is what has been identified as "syncopation," which musically speaking has both rhythmic and tonal variations within a phrase, giving it a "rocking" or "loping" feel to it.

When Ed would get out of Teacher mode and just play it, you could really feel that little difference, the subtle changes in attack, and the little pauses between notes that give it the "Creole" feel.

Thanks to all the Braves who have posted great versions of this tune, and thanks to Jamey for bringing TOTM back.

ed's version definitely has the most swing, lilt, whatever you want to call it

rhythmic interest, i guess

i think something else good accordion players do is constantly control and use dynamics to create the rhythm

some notes are punched, others kind of get slid over, some are longer, shorter, by indefinable amounts - that is the player;s style

but the best playing has a lot of this, not just straight streams of notes like a brass band march

wle

Well said, Larry. That's what I was trying to get at.

Looking at the other reactions I think I have misunderstood what it's all about here.
The question appears to be: "what brings a tune to life", and I thought it was: "what makes a tune recognizable, i.e. different than other tunes".
In the first case you're talking about style and rhythm, in the second about "composition".

When you play Poullard Special as a straight twostep, it's still definitely Poullard Special. And it can sound good, too. It can swing, you can dance on it, etc. If you don't leave any notes out, it's still the same tune. It's a kind of static thing.

When you play in a long-short "bluesy" way, leave notes out, put extra notes in, put the accent on the downbeat or use other dynamics, play syncopated notes etc. , then you are talking about style. That's a kind of dynamic thing.
For me the dynamic part is also the most essential in Cajun/Creole music. The "melodies" are always simple, - ten buttons is all you have - so it has to come from what you do with it.
so if Chris asks "what makes a tune a tune?" in this case I would say: "people".

What makes the song stick out most to me is that I feel like bouncing around in my chair when I play it. Nice slow Creole groove. Alternating index / pinky, the small pauses at the beginning and towards the end, a mock ending that doesn't stop the music. Not sure if all that makes sense.