Graham Sheen

Mr Sheen's Miscellany

Drunken Sailor - the sequel:
This needs a plaintive tone especially in the upper register where the dynamics are particularly important. To capture the mood of the piece those slurs in bars 35 and 36, for example, might even be close to a glissando.

The Vulgar Boatman:
Not only more "hidden" melodies but more appalling puns! (Volga Boatman for those not versed in Russian folksongs). This is like a waltz: it is written in 3/4 time but played so as to give the impression of one beat in bar.

Last Tango in Harris:
Everyone must surely know these thinly disguised Scottish tunes, but can you make them sound like a tango? Bear in mind that tangos are not jazz: the rhythm is quite strict, but the tango character is in the tone and the phrasing.

Rheumanian Stretches:
Or was that Rumanian Sketches? This is a chance to play the main melody in two registers of the bassoon. Try to make a good even sound in both octaves.