Will Allen: Thinking Outside The Box

As a player of an instrument, have you ever thought to take musical inspiration from another? How would you go about doing that? Do beards make you a better bird watcher? How does Rapper dance culture differ from the rest of the Morris/English folk dance world? These questions and more covered in this month's episode!Will Allen is an English melodeon, fiddle, and banjo player. Having gained quite a solid reputation as one of England's busiest and most in demand folk musicians, he can turn his hand to most things dance including ceilidh, contra, Irish, Scottish, Morris, Rapper and more. He can be seen playing with duo Brown Boots with Martin Clarke on fiddle, Quebec inspired Club Débris, Contra/Set Dance duo WillPower with Will Chamberlain on keys, and his two solo English Fiddle albums, recorded with Rowan Piggot.A young head on old shoulders, this month's chat illuminates Will's approach to music and life, how he takes sanctuary in the Great Outdoors, and firmly believes in not boxing yourself into a culture corner when it comes to finding inspiration. I hope you find joy in his wisdom and enjoy listening!JARGON BUSTER:Border - a style of Morris dancing from the border counties of England & WalesRapper - Rapper Sword Dancing - lively trad. NE England dances with flexible steel 'rapper swords'DERT - Dancing England Rapper TournamentIrons/rubbers - the wooden sole of a NW Morris dancer's clogs are shod with iron or rubberWill's Links:Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | YouTube | Club Debris | Brown BootsReplay Will's Melinar: It's Not *Just* A Melodeon - how to take influence from other instruments:https://www.patreon.com/posts/112800836INFO Absolute Beginner Melodeon Workshop with Mel 10-3pm October 12th 2024 (hire boxes available):https://stables.org/workshopsJoin my PATREON for extended episodes, guest tutor Melinars & learning resource archive:www.patreon.com/melbiggsmusicVisit my website for on demand classes, courses, live dates, merch & more:www.melbiggsmusic.co.ukIntro & outro music:'Dream Big' by Mel Biggs. All rights reserved.Listen to the full track on my album 'From Darkness Comes Light':www.melbiggsmusic.bandcamp.comGet in touch: [email protected]'t forget to like/subscribe/follow:YouTube | Instagram | Facebook   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.