Our December Concert
Our December Christmas concert was slightly different from our normal club nights. At our Christmas night, members are encouraged to bring along their party pieces such as playing instruments other than an accordion, such as banjo, guitar, bagpipes or even a non musical skill. This was also our Jacobs Join night (where we each bring along some food to combine in to a feast). As the food was being laid out at the back of the room the night started with Ann Parker on Accordion playing Beautiful Days, Snow Waltz, Memories Are Made Of This and Yodelling Polka. Our next player was Arthur Frankland who had brought along his bagpipes, Arthur played Happy Birthday for David Rigby. Arthur continued with Scotland The Brave before being joined by Patrick Halpin who danced to Rowen Tree and Bonnie Galloway. Arthur continued his spot playing The Rose Of Allendale and Amazing Grace. Next we had Bernard Belshaw playing Amazing Grace and Leaving of Liverpool while Arthur Frankland Sang these pieces. Bernard continued with I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas, Sleigh Ride, Blaze Aweigh, Ave Maria, If You Love Me, Nessun Dorma, Let’s Face The Music And Dance, Jealousy, Harry Lime Theme, La Vie En Rose, That’s Amore, Irish Washer Woman, Have Your Self A Merry Christmas, Silent Night and Rudolf The Red Nosed Reindeer. After Bernard we saw Sara Daly played O’er Yere Hills to Ardentinny, If You Knew Suzie, All Around My Hat, It Had Better Be Tonight, My Heart Belongs to Daddy, Emma & Jamie’s Wedding, Dragonflies and A Granddaughters Dream. Our next player was Andrew Baker who brought along his Banjo, Andrew played South Of The Border, Silent Night, O Susannah and Her Mantle So Green. To end the night I played Now Is The Hour. It had been another entertaining night, the last one of 2013 and, for me, the last thing I have to organise for the year. Christmas countdown for me always starts after I have organised the last club night of the year. Thank you to everyone who brought food and who played at the club at our December concert. It had been a great year of chat, music, friends, laughs and enjoyment. Now lets do lots more of it again in 2014.
David Batty
This Wednesday
This Wednesday our guest artist is Helen Rich. Helen will be making a welcome return to the club after making her debut in early 2013. After speaking to Helen I found out that she has a couple of new instruments she will be bringing with her this time. As anyone who saw Helen last time will know, this will be a very enjoyable night. I hope you can make it. The doors are open at 7.30 for 8pm. If you see someone you don’t normally talk to then please introduce yourself, you might make a new friend.
Dickinson’s Real Deal
David Dickinson and a team of antiques dealers visit the Royal Armouries in Leeds to offer locals the chance to put their items up for auction or accept a cash payment. Helen Gardiner takes a look at an enormous treasure chest and Michael Hogben is encouraged to splash out on an accordion. 12th January on ITV at 9.30am. If you miss watching this on TV, you might find it on itv.com/itvplayer
Guest Artists
In keeping with tradition of providing you with top artists for our concert nights, we have booked Helen Rich to play for us at our January Concert. Other guest artists booked for the year ahead include Robert Burton in March. George Syrett in May, Steve Roxton and Jean Dauvin in September, and in November we have Craig Bradley making his debut at the club. I hope you can attend and support these artists who do a lot of practice and travel to bring you great music and a great time.
Membership Fees
We are starting to collect club membership fees for 2014. Despite increases in postal charges, room hire fees etc. I have kept it at the same price £5 as it was when I started the club in 1997. You can pay your membership on the door in January. The proceeds go towards the great artists we have lined up in the coming months, for stamps, and also for an Internet service to send out the newsletters to those who choose to receive it by email (with colour pictures and working links). Members also get in to the club for £1 cheaper on each concert night so it makes sense to be a club member. The fee also helps pay for printer cartridges etc. but the colour printer has broken and not yet been replaced until I get chance to shop around for a new one (hence there are no colour copies of this months newsletter). If you know of anyone who might like to be a member then please let them know about the club, or treat them to a night out by bringing them along to one of our concert nights.
Practice Really Does Make Perfect
(Article from Daily Mail)
Practice makes perfect, but only if you go about it the right way, research claims. The way a person practices is as important as how often they try to improve – with those who do not cram in sessions but go away and reflect on their mistakes performing better. And those willing to experiment and learn from their mistakes at the beginning tend to perform better in the long-run. Researchers followed 854,064 online gamers playing a game called Axon, in which players guide a neuron from connection to connection by clicking on potential targets. The software was developed by game designer Preloaded to challenge people’s perception and decision-making skills while allowing researchers to analyse how practice affects performance. They found that some gamers scored higher than others despite practising for the same amount of time. Game play data revealed that players who seemed to learn more quickly had either spaced out their practice or had more varying early performances, before going on to perform better. The study could also help researchers find new ways of understanding how the brain retains information This suggests, the researchers believe, that they were exploring how the game worked and taking the time to practice more methodically and ‘efficiently’ than the lower scoring gamers. Dr Tom Stafford, from the University of Sheffield said: ‘The study suggests that learning can be improved – you can learn more efficiently or use the same practice time to learn to a higher level. ‘As we live longer, and as more of our lives become based around acquiring complex skills, optimal learning becomes increasingly relevant to everyone. ‘The study confirms that more practice is better but if you space it out instead of doing it all at once then you improve. ‘Also people who are most variable in their performance at the beginning perform better at the end. ‘The reason is that people who are experimenting at the beginning have to make some mistakes in order to achieve success.’ The study could also help researchers find new ways of understanding the ways in which people learn, as gaming is something that people enjoy and data is easily collected. Dr Stafford said: ‘This kind of data affords us to look in an unprecedented way at the shape of the learning curve, allowing us to explore how the way we practice helps or hinders learning.’ The study was published in Psychological Science.
Yorkshire Cajun and Zydeco Festival
From Friday 14th of March to Sunday 16th of March, the Yorkshire Cajun and Zydeco festival will be held at Malton. If you like upbeat accordion and fiddle music accompanied by washboards and other instruments then this festival is probably for you. Take a look at www.yorkshirecajun.com for more details.
Bowness Blues Festival
The Bowness Blues Festival is to be held in The Lake District from April 11th to April 13th 2014. More information can be obtained by visiting www.bownessbayblues.co.uk
Maritime Music Festival
The Maritime Music Festival is to be held from the 29th to the 31st of March 2014 at The National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere, Cheshire. Contact the museum for further details.
Malton and Norton Folk Festival
The Malton and Norton Folk Festival is to be held at Malton in North Yorkshire from the 19th to the 20th of April. Visit their website at www.maltonfolk.co.uk for more details.