RE: [Harp-L] Suggestion for playing "Ashokan Farewell"

[Steve Shaw <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

> Ken Burns did it with unaccompanied violin. Of course in his documentary it was background music for pictures and voice-over. It requires dead-on intonation and just-right vibrato.  
> 
> Our band does it starting unaccompanied, adding second violin, then finger-picked guitar and finally bass and piano.  We reason that changing the accompaniment by adding instruments keeps it from being monotonous.  Unless you are a diatonic purist, C or D chromatic works very well.
> 
> Changing keys for the repeat might also add some variety.
> 
> Vern
 Cheers, Vern. I'm glad you said that.  Ashokan with us has become a bit like Duelling Banjos or the Wild Rover. It is a pretty monotonous, threadbare melody that works very nicely as long as the musicians playing it indulge in their fertile imaginations. What you say your band does is, in essence though not in particulars, just what my band does! :-)