I’ve been swamped this summer by work obligations and summer course work. I’ve also been playing a regular gig at the Theater at Monmouth, a fantastic Shakespearean repertory theater here in Maine (doing a fantastic King Lear this summer). Tonight, I took a break from it all and just played for a few hours. Towards the end, just as evidence of the event, I recorded this 2-beat bourrée. Enjoy.
Gotta figure out what to do about accordion-face.
L'Accordeonaire 
Very nice piece Gary. I enjoy watching the bass as I have yet to get far beyond the “oom-pah” variety of bass line. I also see that this tune is in the Bal Folk tune book, so will have the opportunity to make this a bit of a lesson. Thanks for posting it.
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Harmonically, it's a very indistinct approach to the bass. Seriously, just I-V, except for half a bar in the B section. But rhythmically, I get what you're saying. I'm not one of those who believe that “bass-chord-chord” is evil incarnate, but I am trying to get a grip on the freer basses that folks are using on bourrées. Honestly, it's becoming kind of an obsession for me. I find the up-and-down the row approach works very well for the way I hear bourrées, but this limits bass options. Ah, well, keep playing.
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In California we know it as La Mere est Blanche (or maybe it's La Mer est Blanche, but I actually think it's the former…from a trad kids' song about farm animals). There's actually two bourrees named Youp Nanette…I think they're both in Massif Central. The one you played goes by both names apparently. (Mitch G.)
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Very nice!
I liked the bass/chords and felt that they went well with the tune.
Sometimes I think of the left side as “open strings” — just sound them out much as a fiddler might allow open strings to sound while playing the melody on another string.
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Thanks, Andy and Mitch. The “open strings” comment is pretty dead on for my sensibility. When I choose to play a bourree up and down the row, I am going for that “primitive” sound. It suits them, and somehow hints at the drones of the pipes and vielle.
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