Charles Duncan, Teacher of Champions - A Tribute
by Bill Wilkie
We knew him as Charlie and the name seemed to suit his gentle, friendly nature. His passing has left a profound sadness in the hearts of colleagues, friends and pupils, sadness which will be long in leaving us.
Teenagers together in the Festival of the thirties, I had a tremendous respect and admiration for Charlie’s immaculate technique and musicianship. This respect had grown over the years as I watched his pupils win Festival after Festival, not just in Perth, Glasgow etc but in the N.A.O. All Britain Festivals. I don’t know how many champions he taught but the number is prodigious.
He was a master musician and without question the pioneer in teaching of the free bass in Scotland. Charlie taught the free bass system almost from its inception.
I will miss our brief but happy meetings at the Perth Festival. Charlie and his wife Nettie were always there to give us their support. Our thoughts are with Nettie at this sad time.
Neil Rowan, former British Champion, was taught by Charlie and is one of Scotland’s most accomplished professional accordionists. While we have players like Neil in the profession Charlie will never be forgotten.
Teenagers together in the Festival of the thirties, I had a tremendous respect and admiration for Charlie’s immaculate technique and musicianship. This respect had grown over the years as I watched his pupils win Festival after Festival, not just in Perth, Glasgow etc but in the N.A.O. All Britain Festivals. I don’t know how many champions he taught but the number is prodigious.
He was a master musician and without question the pioneer in teaching of the free bass in Scotland. Charlie taught the free bass system almost from its inception.
I will miss our brief but happy meetings at the Perth Festival. Charlie and his wife Nettie were always there to give us their support. Our thoughts are with Nettie at this sad time.
Neil Rowan, former British Champion, was taught by Charlie and is one of Scotland’s most accomplished professional accordionists. While we have players like Neil in the profession Charlie will never be forgotten.
Charles Duncan - An Appreciation
by Neil Rowan
The death, in October 1986, robbed the accordion world of one of its quietest yet most influential ambassadors.
Such was the modesty of Mr Duncan's own personal achievements as a player and band-leader that it is only now - despite a 20 years + association with the gentleman - that I learned of his triumphs in the Band Section of the British Championships before he decided to concentrate on the solo side of tuition.
As a teacher, I have never heard him raise his voice to a pupil and such was his enthusiasm that more often than not our half-hour session would only cease when his wife Nettie, herself an accomplished musician, told him one-and-a-half hours after we began that his supper was ready!
He had many successes at Scottish and National Championships with Junior, Senior and Virtuoso titles being won by his pupils over the years. Such was his regard on a national scale, that the authorities appointed him Great Britain's adjudicator at the 'World championships' - Coupe Mondiale. Both players and teachers alike sought his freely-given advice and to whom he always gave an honest answer - sometimes not to their liking, but the truth can hurt!
He campaigned fervently for the 'Free Bass' cause, introducing contemporary music to pupils at all levels, and laying the sound foundations upon which the reputation of the Free Bass Accordion is now being firmly established by others.
To those who knew Mr Duncan personally it was their good fortune to be able to associate with a gentleman whose insight, awareness, communicative ability to all ages and understanding of the accordion world in particular and musical world in general approached the level on genius.
Thankfully, I am one of the privileged.
Such was the modesty of Mr Duncan's own personal achievements as a player and band-leader that it is only now - despite a 20 years + association with the gentleman - that I learned of his triumphs in the Band Section of the British Championships before he decided to concentrate on the solo side of tuition.
As a teacher, I have never heard him raise his voice to a pupil and such was his enthusiasm that more often than not our half-hour session would only cease when his wife Nettie, herself an accomplished musician, told him one-and-a-half hours after we began that his supper was ready!
He had many successes at Scottish and National Championships with Junior, Senior and Virtuoso titles being won by his pupils over the years. Such was his regard on a national scale, that the authorities appointed him Great Britain's adjudicator at the 'World championships' - Coupe Mondiale. Both players and teachers alike sought his freely-given advice and to whom he always gave an honest answer - sometimes not to their liking, but the truth can hurt!
He campaigned fervently for the 'Free Bass' cause, introducing contemporary music to pupils at all levels, and laying the sound foundations upon which the reputation of the Free Bass Accordion is now being firmly established by others.
To those who knew Mr Duncan personally it was their good fortune to be able to associate with a gentleman whose insight, awareness, communicative ability to all ages and understanding of the accordion world in particular and musical world in general approached the level on genius.
Thankfully, I am one of the privileged.
Charles Duncan – On advice and inspiration
by Martin Dobbin
I’ve been fortunate to have met two people in my life that were life changers. Great teachers who inspired dedication through warmth and kindness, who were great artists in their own right and made you feel important simply by taking an interest and passing on their wealth of experience. Charles Duncan was one of them. Charlie was without doubt the major influencer in my formative years. I started lessons with him at the age of five and went weekly till the age of seventeen before going on to Art College in Dundee ending twelve years of the most amazing learning experience. Charlie wasn’t always conventional in his approach. My father had to pay for lessons, so a certain protocol was followed but the lessons were often experimental, or abstract or we would drift off and talk about other art forms, especially when he found out about my interest in art. Towards the end he would simply ask if I wanted to play this week or just talk and we would talk about Degas or politics. He told me once that he wanted to go to Art College but was discouraged by his father. Something we shared but he supported me in that direction. He was an engineer/designer himself and often spoke of the design of chairs, the flow of line and related all that to music.
I was always impressed by Charlie. I was a very quiet boy and he would show me how to phrase certain sections of music that I was struggling with. He had an amazingly beautiful Hohner Gola that sat behind him and his hands fitted it like they were designed at the same time. He would talk or demonstrate, and I would nod. This went on till I was possibly ten or eleven when one night he gave me the best advice I’ve ever received. After nodding again and at an instruction and about to play he stopped me and said. ‘I would like to hear you talk. I’d like to know after all these years what you think. You need start to talk or people will think your stupid and I know by your playing you’re not. It’s time for you to express yourself in other ways’. It was said with love and kindness and it’s stayed with me all my life and of course he was correct. Music isn’t about following instruction or following the black dots on the page. It’s about expression. Your own expression, and interpretation and Charlie was a fantastic teacher of the human emotion. There’s a long line of great musicians and champions to testify to that, Neil Rowan, Gary McLauchlan being two that I knew well.
Charlie rarely ask for anything in return for his wisdom, but he did ask me once to take ‘O’ level music at school as the Free Bass Accordion had just been accepted onto the curriculum for the first time in 1981. I was in sixth year at school at the time preparing for Art College, but I was delighted to help Charlies cause and I sat my exam that year. The accordion is now taught at the Royal Academy of Music under Professor Owen Murray and has been since 1986. It would be difficult to underestimate Charlies role in the development of the Free bass accordion in this country. Charlie was always talking about supporting his friend Owen and his efforts to establish the accordion as a seriously musical instrument and Charlie was instrumental in bring over top Russian artists for masterclasses in the early 1980’s. Thirty-three years later it’s still going strong and taught at many Universities across Britain and Europe.
I visited Charlie in hospital not long before the end and he was still encouraging me to get involved with music and the accordion. I often look for his name in the hope that he gains wider recognition but I’m sure he’s alive and well in the memories of all the pupils he taught. So here is my tribute to a great man.
MD 21st March 2019
I was always impressed by Charlie. I was a very quiet boy and he would show me how to phrase certain sections of music that I was struggling with. He had an amazingly beautiful Hohner Gola that sat behind him and his hands fitted it like they were designed at the same time. He would talk or demonstrate, and I would nod. This went on till I was possibly ten or eleven when one night he gave me the best advice I’ve ever received. After nodding again and at an instruction and about to play he stopped me and said. ‘I would like to hear you talk. I’d like to know after all these years what you think. You need start to talk or people will think your stupid and I know by your playing you’re not. It’s time for you to express yourself in other ways’. It was said with love and kindness and it’s stayed with me all my life and of course he was correct. Music isn’t about following instruction or following the black dots on the page. It’s about expression. Your own expression, and interpretation and Charlie was a fantastic teacher of the human emotion. There’s a long line of great musicians and champions to testify to that, Neil Rowan, Gary McLauchlan being two that I knew well.
Charlie rarely ask for anything in return for his wisdom, but he did ask me once to take ‘O’ level music at school as the Free Bass Accordion had just been accepted onto the curriculum for the first time in 1981. I was in sixth year at school at the time preparing for Art College, but I was delighted to help Charlies cause and I sat my exam that year. The accordion is now taught at the Royal Academy of Music under Professor Owen Murray and has been since 1986. It would be difficult to underestimate Charlies role in the development of the Free bass accordion in this country. Charlie was always talking about supporting his friend Owen and his efforts to establish the accordion as a seriously musical instrument and Charlie was instrumental in bring over top Russian artists for masterclasses in the early 1980’s. Thirty-three years later it’s still going strong and taught at many Universities across Britain and Europe.
I visited Charlie in hospital not long before the end and he was still encouraging me to get involved with music and the accordion. I often look for his name in the hope that he gains wider recognition but I’m sure he’s alive and well in the memories of all the pupils he taught. So here is my tribute to a great man.
MD 21st March 2019