Bayan time (6)

I just took the bayan on its first public outing, and played a short spot at Topsham Folk Club: Jay Ungar's Ashokan Farewell and the traditional Finnish waltz Metsäkukkia (Forest Flowers), both of which adapt very nicely for bayan. I was sufficiently nervous to fluff a few notes, but I was mostly fine and the slot got a very positive response. I ended up playing a bit of Stormy Weather in the car park for some of the attenders who were interested in how the five-row keyboard layout worked. It was reassuring to hear that I'm not alone in well-practiced pieces going wrong the moment you get in front of an audience; the Folk Club organiser told me that at a recent folk festival, he'd seen badges saying "I can play this perfectly at home". Anyhow, I'm not at all unhappy with how it went.

After getting on for four months playing, I found it was impossible to simultaneously keep up to speed on my old piano accordion.  It seemed to be interfering with developing muscle memory for the bayan's bass button spacing.  Consequently, I lent it to a friend who wanted to learn; he got on well with it, so I gave it to him as a birthday present, and he cooked us a Thai curry. Good result all round.

Bookmarked: Left hand chord combining on the accordion, an interesting page at Hans Palms's www.accordionpage.com that lists button combinations for getting moody jazz chords that aren't available on the Stradella basses.

- Ray