Day 333: The trappings of Morris dance are unusual, to say the least. Dancers wear costumes which reflect specific regions, but nearly all include a hat lavishly decorated with flowers or ribbons and the traditional bell-pads which give the dance its character. The latter are worn on the shins and sound the rhythm loudly during the vigorous dance. Musical instruments used in Morris may include accordion, concertina, recorder, penny whistle and fiddle among others. By knowing how to play an instrument, dancers can trade places with musicians when they get tired.
Years ago, I inherited my mother's concertina. At the time, I didn't feel I could devote myself to learning another instrument, so I passed it along to a friend whose husband took to it readily. Now that I'm becoming involved in Morris, I decided to give it another whirl and bought one as my September Morn present-to-self. It arrived just a couple of days ago, and already I am playing simple one-note tunes and the occasional chord (sometimes accidentally). The bellows are still quite stiff at this point, but a break-in period was to be expected for a new instrument. However, there's one problem I can't resolve: you just can't dance and play at the same time!
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