"La Espana Waltz", which I find more evocative as "Española", is a really nice tune of the american Frank B. Converse (1837-1903). Considered as one of the most important banjo players in the 19th century, he published several tutorials and a great quantity of interesting material to be explored for any curious banjo player.

You can find more information about Frank Converse in this website:
https://www.banjothimble.com/banjo-me...

Painting of Baldomero Romero Ressendi
La danza de los pavos (The dancing of the peacocks, 1967)

More at:

http://theandeanbanjo.blogspot.com.co/

Also, you can visit my Instagram account

https://www.instagram.com/banjo.odyssey/


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Comment by Paul Draper on October 31, 2021 at 23:11

Nice job, German!  One of my favorite Converse waltzes. 

Comment by German David Patarroyo on November 1, 2021 at 2:17

Thanks, Paul!

Converse is a brand new world to me. So much material to be explored!

Comment by Trapdoor2 on November 2, 2021 at 1:22

Nice!

I hope you don't mind. I've transposed "La España" (with the tilde over the ñ) into C notation and tab (and an mp3).

And, since it was on the same page in the Converse ABM, I have included "Reverie Waltz" (C notation, tab and mp3 also).

Yah, I thought La España should be faster...those Spanish waltzers like to kick up their heels. "Reverie" sounded sad, so I slowed it down a bit.

La_Espa%C3%B1a_Converse-Banjo.pdf

La_Espa%C3%B1a_Converse-Banjo_%28Tablature%29.pdf

La_Espa%C3%B1a_Converse.mp3

Comment by Trapdoor2 on November 2, 2021 at 1:23
Comment by carrie horgan on November 2, 2021 at 10:19

Well played German - an atmospheric tune

Comment by carrie horgan on November 2, 2021 at 10:24

Hey Marc - Reverie Waltz is a pretty tune I haven't heard before.  I don't suppose you have time or inclincation to transpose 'Grace Waltz' from Converse's 'Analytical Method' - I fell in love with this tune seeing Carl Anderton play it on banjeaurine a while back - thanks Carrie

Comment by German David Patarroyo on November 2, 2021 at 12:23

Thanks Marc and Carrie, it´s a catchy one, loved it.

And Marc, thanks for doing the transposing. At the beginning I tried to play it in the original tuning, but it just sounded odd to me (may be the Stewart wasn´t on the mood that day, or I am aleady used to the C tunning). I think that the interpretation in some way could be subjective, so that´s why I played slower, following other videos I listened to in YouTube (Rob or Paul´s video for instance). Moreover, the syncopation reminded me the Bizet´s Habanera or may be a tango. However, after I listened its faster version I also felt it like something you definetely play on the banjo and sounds really amazing.

And about the name of the piece, it was only the picky German that was talking haha. It´s just that "La Espana" in Spanish sounded odd (it´s like you said "The Canada" or "The France"), so that´s why "Española" or just "Spain Waltz" sounded fancier to me haha 

Finally, I agreed with Carrie about Reverie, really lovely. I will give it a try

Cheers

Comment by Trapdoor2 on November 2, 2021 at 14:58

Carrie,

I started "Grace Waltz" back in 2018 and for some reason, I never finished it. I'll finish it up and post it. Already half-there!

German,

All of this stuff is subjective, esp. for tempo. I think your version sounds good, I just altered the tempo for fun...and the faster version seems to accent the habanera rhythm a bit more. I also slightly exaggerated the dynamics, the slowdown (rall.) and the hemiola at the end. I like the transition back to the soft beginning.

I didn't like the spelling either, so I added the tilde over the "N" to make it look a bit better (even though it is technically awkward). I know very little Spanish (other than ordering "un cerveza, por favor" and the few numbers and phrases I learned in 1st grade. I took German language in High School...but still only remember the important stuff:"ein Bier bitte").

Comment by carrie horgan on November 2, 2021 at 17:11

Thanks Marc - that would be much appreciated.  Yes, it's interesting how you can add a different feel to 'La Espana Waltz' with tempo and dynamics - Rob Mackillop recorded a nice version for his Early Classics book.

Comment by Trapdoor2 on November 2, 2021 at 17:55

LOL. Now I know why I never finished it. I gave up because I didn't fully understand the voices (both reading and how to input them into Musescore)...and there are errors. The combination was too much for me at the time. I was spending way too much time trying to make all the note values work.

So, I finished the back half (m18-36) and then discovered the first half was such a mess...I erased it and started over. Much faster now that I know how to key in the voices. And...I got rid of the errors...like in m2 (and elsewhere) the last note should be a 16th note (semiquaver) in the lower voice instead of a 8th (quaver).

So, here's the piece, C notation, tab and mp3. If you see errors, please let me know and I'll fix them.

The%20Grace%20Waltz-Banjo.pdf

The%20Grace%20Waltz-Banjo_%28gCGBD%29.pdf

The%20Grace%20Waltz.mp3

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