Ken Meadows’ waltz

[I’m trying to post this tune, written in October 2019, on behalf of its composer, Martin Matthews of Durham, England. But so far we’ve only got his handwritten notation as jpg. Gotta make an ABC version soon, but please listen via the YouTube link below.) Martin explains:] I wrote “Ken Meadows’ Waltz” just before the untimely death in November of an old friend and very talented musician, Ken Meadows. Kenny was a box, concertina and mandolin player who graced many a session throughout the UK over the past forty years. He was eclectic in his taste in music, often playing jigs, reels, rags and Swedish polskas alongside old time, bluegrass and Morris dance tunes. He loved waltzes, so I wrote this little waltz and named it for him. It is recorded, and can be found on YouTube ( youtu.be/f2iYgHohots ) or on Facebook ( www.facebook.com/jigdoctors - go to 11 October 2019). It runs a, a, b, b, then first a, last b. The players on the recorded version are Andy McLaughlin guitar, James McLaughlin flute, Paul Archer fiddle, Jim O’Boyle concertina, Richie Doran bouzouki, Sean Taylor bass and myself on octave mandolin and mandolin. [David Hughes (moi) adds: Happily, Ken was able to enjoy this recording before heading for another world. Now we regularly play this at sessions in northeast England, with fond memories of Kenny. At the start of the video, and again at 2:52, you can see a photo of him on mandolin. Martin, the composer, is the left-handed banjo player from 0:30 and elsewhere, and standing from 1:20.]

play video

(Somehow thesession.org omits the word “Waltz” from the title, maybe because of the apostrophe after “Meadows”.) A handwritten notation (done by Martin’s friend Dan Hands) is on Martin’s Facebook page on 13 October 2019. Eventually we’ll do an ABC. - We accept that a 9/8 piece might not quite be a “waltz”, but never mind, just enjoy!

Unfortunately,it won’t play for me David.

The way Jeremy has set up the website means that words like Jig, Reel, Waltz, etc., get removed from the titles of tunes being posted so, for example, Jean’s Reel appears as Jean’s.

It’s a bit long and rambling, but it’s a very nice tune at the same time. Thanks, David, for bringing it to our attention. Perhaps you can fine-tune my effort.

It is A GOOD TUNE, thanks Nigel

Nigel Gatherer, what a hero - you beat me to doing the ABC by about 15 hours! Thanks soooo much. - The only change needed, please, is the note lengths of the 3 notes that open your lines 1,3,5,6,7: Instead of quaver > dotted quaver > semiquaver, it should be quaver > crotchet > quaver. (The first quaver in effect links to the proceeding crotchet.) Again, wonderful work!

“only change needed…”

Done.

Congrats and thanx to Nigel for the final re-wiggles! (The first quaver of line 1 can be omitted at the start, but is played in the repeat.) - Also, Richie Doran, one of the pluckers on the recording, says he played the tune with his close friend Ken before Ken’s departure. - Finally, Martin explains his preference (as in the recording): 2nd and 3rd time through the piece (if you play it 3 times), no repeat of the A part: go straight to the 2nd ending and on to the B part, AND go to the 2nd ending of B rather than the 1st. Makes the total length better.

The repeat pattern shown isn’t quite the complicated one that Martin intends. I’ll pursue this soon, but for now, please listen to the recording while following the notation.