The Folk Music Academy

About this course

Tom Willy teaches his unique repertoire on the diatonic button accordion in G/C, composed of traditional fiddle tunes. Tom Willy was a pioneer in the field of migrating tunes from the fiddle to the accordion. He has a long line of successors in Norway and his style of play has been turned into a tradition of its own by now.

Here you get to dwelve into a bunch of finnskogspolses, a trippar, hamborgar and some hallings. Tom Willy explains how he uses the bass to drive the tune forward, and how even the instrument had to change to satisfy his idea of play.

Teacher: Tom Willy Rustad

Instrument: Accordion

Countries: Norway

Musical forms: Finnskogspols, Hamborgar, Halling

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Introduction to the Course
Finnskogpols etter Atle Lien Jensen
Da Gruekjerka brant
Trippar etter Emanuel Lauen
Halling etter Jørn Hilme
Ormevekkaren
Hävonen
Hamborgar e Sigurd E Fjeldstad

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About Tom Willy Rustad

Tom W. Rustad (1966) is a traditional folk musician and lives in Sør-Fron in Gudbrandsdalen. He learned to play traditional music from his grandfather (William) and his father (Willy) and plays Jaws Harp, Guitar, Cister, Diatonic Accordion, Contrabass, and Flute.

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About the Accordion

The accordion is a versatile and expressive musical instrument that has played an important role in folk music traditions around the world. It was invented in Europe during the 19th century and quickly became popular among working-class musicians who were drawn to its portability and ability to produce a full and rich sound. In the United States, the accordion was especially popular among immigrant communities, who used it to play traditional folk music from their home countries. Today, the accordion remains an important instrument in many folk traditions, and its distinctive sound can be heard in everything from Norwegian "Reinleders", French chansons to Tex-Mex music.

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