Push-Pull Playford* . . .

contains melodeon friendly versions of all 105 tunes from John Playford’s 1651 publication, ‘The English Dancing Master’. This equips a solo melodeon to accompany any of the dances from ‘The English Dancing Master’, although the dance notations are not included in ‘Push-Pull Playford’.

The book consists of 46 A4 pages in an open-flat binding, containing musical notation and chords for all the tunes, together with background information. The companion CD contains all the tunes from the book, in the same order, played by the author on a melodeon. Each tune is played once as an aid to learning by ear.

The book and CD were produced in the belief that a melodeon is a perfectly good instrument on which to play ‘Playford’ tunes, and that tunes from the period are well worth playing on a melodeon. Judge for yourself, by listening to this sample of one of the better-known tunes from the CD.

* “a great step forward for mankind” (Set & Turn Single)