Melancholy tunes...

[Russ Chandler]

What are some examples of melancholic or just outright sad tunes from the classic repertoire? 

All Alone springs to mind.

What others? 

[Joel Hooks]

Oh yes, elitism and secret knowledge at the highest level of gate keeping.  It is so secret that Bradbury waited until page 7 to tell you about it.

Austin, there are other instruments than the banjo that sound an octave lower than they are noted.

Spanish Guitar, for instance, has a very strong notation publishing industry.  Many horns are noted in the treble clef too,

If anything, having a special octave clef is the elitism. 

[Trapdoor2]

There's no reason to have time signatures either. Anyone can count beats. Why have those fractions? Can't we just go metric?

All orchestral instruments assume formal training and hide aspects from the unwashed. I think we're fortunate that Hobbits and software is forcing us to notate more logically.

[Austin]

I mean unless you want to revert to neumatic notation I don't think there's a better option for actually visually representing music

[Russ Chandler]

This is a really interesting video on the topic of why music notation developed the way it did and why it's still the most effective way to transmit musical information for musicians. The title is click bait and the audio alone will work for anyone who has plucked their eyes out.

Still not really nailed many melancholy reflective tunes. We've got nostalgia, pathos and funereal which I'm not knocking but surely there must be some more plaintive stuff along the lines of "All Alone"?

[Jody Stecher]

Steve Walker In the accompanying booklet to the CD "Twilight Echoes/ English Ragtime in the 20s" writes about Olly Oakley's 1927 re-recording of some of his old discs "......he proceeds to play the andante of SWEET JASMINE with such heart-breaking tenderness as to offer a requiem for all Edwardian England."  

Can any music be more plaintive than that?

And also......all of this is somehow contained, reflected, waiting-to-be-founded in the old printed folios of 5-string banjo music. The substance is integrated with the style.  There is more here than pitches and rhythm.  Clearly laid out easy-to-read scores produced by computer software may lack this but on the other hand it may even more useful than the sheet music that is historically period-specific.    So I am happy to use both. 

The most stunning old printed music I've seen is late 18th/early 19th century Scottish violin(fiddle) music.  Inks of different colors, beautiful curves, and looking as if it was all written by hand. By a graceful well-trained calligrapher.  But for actually learning the tunes, I'm happier using photocopies of late 19th century reprints. If I happen to  get coffee or ketchup on the pages, it's an undesirable occurrence but nothing more.

Russ Chandler said:

We've got nostalgia, pathos and funereal which I'm not knocking but surely there must be some more plaintive stuff along the lines of "All Alone"?

[Russ Chandler]

When I started you had to get your sheet music from eBay where it was usually sold as "suitable for framing". Full of character and with that distinctive musty smell.

But I work from my own copies or downloads, partly because I want to make my own notes. And I just want the clearest version I can get - I have enough trouble as it is.

I can't remember the details but at the recent British Music Hall Society conference someone explained how sheet music was often released in two formats, a premium edition with splendid colorful artwork and a standard edition for the plebs.

[Jody Stecher]

Yeah, the old Scottish music book was probably printed for a sponsor. That was the way for the composer/fiddlers. No recordings to sell at a gig.  So, contribute to the printing of a new tune book and the author will compose (or steal) a reel or strathspey and name it after you. Or your daughter.  Or your hat. And you'd also receive a deluxe copy.

Russ Chandler said:

When I started you had to get your sheet music from eBay where it was usually sold as "suitable for framing". Full of character and with that distinctive musty smell.

But I work from my own copies or downloads, partly because I want to make my own notes. And I just want the clearest version I can get - I have enough trouble as it is.

I can't remember the details but at the recent British Music Hall Society conference someone explained how sheet music was often released in two formats, a premium edition with splendid colorful artwork and a standard edition for the plebs.

[Clarke Buehling]

I may have a couple Song and Dance Schottisches that might fit that. Oh, how about a Dead March? CB

[Jody Stecher]

 A sad schottische is a funny idea to contemplate. They are typically relentlessly jolly.

Clarke Buehling said:

I may have a couple Song and Dance Schottisches that might fit that. Oh, how about a Dead March? CB

[Richard William Ineson]

Cammeyer's 'Ballade No 1' and Hunter's 'Romance' (published in his tutor book) are a bit melancholic. 'Romance' is supposed to be played in tremolo style but sounds good without all the finger wagging. 

[Joel Hooks]

Here is a "dead march".

https://archive.org/details/517-continental-hornpipe-dead-march-the...

Clarke Buehling said:

I may have a couple Song and Dance Schottisches that might fit that. Oh, how about a Dead March? CB

[Jody Stecher]

This  march seems dramatic and a bit melodramatic too but it doesn't make me feel sad. It is sombre, subdued, formal. More like grief repressed than expressed. Good banjo tune though!  I like the hornpipe as well.