Crescendo Etc

[Susanne]

Is it possible to play crescendo/decrescendo on a concertina? How?

[JimLucas]

Is it possible to play crescendo/decrescendo on a concertina? How?

Absolutely. For more volume, press or draw the bellows more strongly. For less volume, use less pressure/tension (but don't stop entirely).

 

If you find that you don't have much dynamic range available to you when you try that, it could be that either there is some internal leakage or the "set" of the reeds needs adjusting, or both. These are common problems, which can be fixed (but adjusting the reeds is not something you should try at home).

 

When I see your concertina in January, I can tell you in detail what work it needs.

[Larry Stout]

What it takes is bellows control. Less pressure, softer; more pressure, louder. Varying pressure for crescendo/decrescendo. Alistair Anderson's Concertina Workshop draws pictures of the shape of tones and describes how to produce them better than I can. Since each set of bellows and reeds seems to react differently it may some getting used to your instrument. It has taken me a while to figure out how to play my steel reeded Wheatstone softly (loud wasn't a problem). My brass reeded Wheatstone is very soft, so loud isn't really possible. But both can be varied by changing bellows pressure.

[Peter Brook]

I agree with what Larry and Jim have said, and I'm assuming there is nothing wrong with the concertina.

 

This skill takes practice.

 

This is one of the harder things for a novice to be able to do - play soft or loud. Most concertinas can be played fairly softly they don't always have to be at the same volume.

 

A good training tip is to play a scale as softly as possible and then as loudly as possible. The next step is to play the same scale with one note soft and one note loud. Alternate first note loud next soft, and then first note soft next loud. You're developing muscle memory incunjunction with aural memory and it will take time for this to sink in - there is no short cut.

[David Barnert]

Even on a harpsichord, which has no touch sensitivity, it is possible to play something that sounds like a crescendo or decrescendo. I also find these techniques valuable on the concertina, in addition to bellows pressure.

 

There are two tricks: Play more or fewer notes at a time, and play the notes longer or shorter. There is a morris dance tune that I play regularly where the dance starts with two people and adds two more with each chorus figure, ending after four times through verses with eight dancers. I parallel this with the music, starting with just the tune and adding a harmony line, bass line, chords, fuller chords, and finally fistfuls of notes in both hands. Also, in the earlier verses, I leave more space between the notes. The result I hope I am achieving is like Ravel's "Bolero ." A gradually building crescendo over the length of the performance.

[Chris Timson]

May I just say, "ennistraveller", it is not often a newcomer and beginner can join this forum and make such a worthwhile contribution in a short time as you have. I look forward to meeting you t the next Scandinavian Squeeze In.

 

Chris