#1
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A song heard once, sixty-one years ago
Sixty-one years ago my family traveled forever on the pre-Interstate highways to visit Tidewater, Virginia, and its three historic colonial-era towns, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. Even at six years old I loved music of the fife and drum corps that swirled through the filmed narratives surrounding the historic triangle. I've long had a knack for remembering music that is inspiring to me. While we were at Yorktown, at the battlefield museum, one piece of music showed up in one of their films and it struck me. It was a very melodic fife and drum piece, and I picked it up.
Since then I have tried various ways to track down that melody, unsuccessfully. I have returned to Williamsburg and actually got to discuss the piece with the director of the fife and drum corps there. I sang the tune to him and he didn't recognize it at all. When the Internet happened I thought I'd find it easily. Nope. I've spent years trying to find it, working off memory. This weekend I was at a performance of the Virginia International Tattoo in Norfolk. This tattoo is a celebration of all the countries involved in the NATO alliance, with its U.S. headquarters in Norfolk. On the bill was the Deutsches Bundeswehr Wachbattaillon, the main German Army honor guard from Berlin. When it was time for them to march on, on they came, marching to THAT SONG. It was the first time I'd heard it in sixty-one years and I had remembered it remarkably well. I quickly thumbed through the program and found the name of the piece: "Parade March of the Minstrels." As soon as I got home I started searching on that name but what came up, in every case and in cases of altered searches, was an entirely different tune, but under that name. The song by that name was an old Prussian fife and drum song. There had to be some communication between Prussia and the states od Hesee-Kassel and Hesse-Hanau, so it would make sense that it was heard in in Yorktown because there were Hessian auxiliaries (soldiers of their state who were loaned or rented to another government) in Yorktown who ended up surrendering along with their British Allies. However, that still leaves me with real doubt about the real name of the march I remember and thus can't search it down in YouTube media to listen to. I've tried a couple of the "hum it to me and I'll find it" services but they couldn't find it. So... I've knocked together a quick guitar version over lunch and it is HERE. The real tune is faster, probably a "quick march" around 100bpm, but I needed to learn and spit it out quickly for you. Has anyone heard this tune who has the ability to steer me to the real name and some media? Thanks in advance! Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#2
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Too bad you didn’t record it with your phone while at the event, then used an available app to try to find the name of the song. Perhaps run your recorded interpretation with such an app?
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Tom '21 Martin D-18 Standard | '02 Taylor 814c | '18 Taylor 214ceDLX | '18 Taylor 150e-12 | '78 Ibanez Dread (First acoustic) | '08 CA Cargo | '02 Fender Strat American '57 RI My original songs |
#3
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Google translate gives the German as Parademarsch der Minnesanger (minnesanger = medieval wandering musicians / troubadours).
You might try searching for that. Even better probably would be to contact the Tattoo organizers. You may end up getting passed on to somebody else a few times but eventually you should be able to reach someone who can give you information on the tune, and very possibly a source for the sheet music.
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stai scherzando? |
#4
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I can't help, but I am immensely impressed that you could remember the melody of a tune you heard once as a 6 year old. That tells me that music is truly your mission in life. I hope you find it.
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PS. I love guitars! |
#5
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Quote:
Me too... |
#6
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Thanks for the kind words, guys.
Bob
__________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#7
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Phone? 61 yrs ago? They had cell phones up north in Canadia 61 yrs ago?
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#8
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Quote:
Bob
__________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |
#9
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Read the thread again, he heard it recently for the second time at a current event.
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PS. I love guitars! |
#10
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It could be this one: Preußische Locke
That's the song they were playing when marching in, according to the video details. Have a look here: here it is in a different version:
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Best regards, Andre "Fast is fine, but accuracy is final. You must learn to be slow in a hurry." - Wyatt Earp "Golf is pretty simple. It's just not that easy." - Paul Azinger "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so." – Mark Twain http://www.youtube.com/user/Gitfiddlemann |
#11
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Dave F ************* Martins Guilds Gibsons A few others 2020 macbook pro i5 8GB Scarlett 18i20 Reaper 7 |
#12
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Quote:
Bob
__________________
"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website) |