17 replies to this topic

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

Can someone tell me what the conversion of my D-Row
would be to play key of C-----
all the sheet music and instruction I come across
is in C/G not G/D-
am I off base in what I'm trying to do---

thanks,
Bruce

[hjcjones]

Playing in C on a G/D is like playing in F on a C/G.

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

I understand that much,
so all the music I come across thats written in the key of C
is useless on my box?

[asdormire]

Not necessarily. To start with, is you g/d a twenty button or a thirty button? A thirty button will allow you to play in c with a draw on the third button on the right hand top row and the second and fifth buttons on the left.

Alan

[Ransom]

Not useless-- but you'll have to use the F-natural up on the accidentals row. Unless you've got a 20-button model, in which case you'll need to be rather more creative.

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

Not necessarily. To start with, is you g/d a twenty button or a thirty button? A thirty button will allow you to play in c with a draw on the third button on the right hand top row and the second and fifth buttons on the left.

Alan

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

thanks, my box is a 20 button-

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

Not useless-- but you'll have to use the F-natural up on the accidentals row. Unless you've got a 20-button model, in which case you'll need to be rather more creative.

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

My box is a 20 button, so I guess the creative route must be taken- thanks.

[Ransom]

Right, well, you won't be able to play an F then. Have to do the best you can without it. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Pretend you're playing a C/G box and push all the same buttons. The tune will come out in G, of course, but if you don't show anybody your sheet music, maybe they'll think it was written that way.

2. Sit down and figure out which notes are where, then play your tune in C, but leave out all the Fs. If you don't want to leave a hole where the F was, you could try a C, D, or A and see if one of those sounds all right as a substitute.

[malcolmbebb]

1. Pretend you're playing a C/G box and push all the same buttons. The tune will come out in G, of course, but if you don't show anybody your sheet music, maybe they'll think it was written that way.

This is what I do. Obviously it shifts the key, so not much use if you really want to play in C, but if you just want to play it - and G is often handy - and it sounds OK, then problem solved.

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

Right, well, you won't be able to play an F then. Have to do the best you can without it. Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Pretend you're playing a C/G box and push all the same buttons. The tune will come out in G, of course, but if you don't show anybody your sheet music, maybe they'll think it was written that way.

2. Sit down and figure out which notes are where, then play your tune in C, but leave out all the Fs. If you don't want to leave a hole where the F was, you could try a C, D, or A and see if one of those sounds all right as a substitute.

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

Muchly appreciated- I will try playing pushing the same buttons and see the results---

[Bruce McCaskey]

I have both C/G and A/E tuned concertinas and play them both using the same fingering. I think you'll find that folks with instruments tuned to Bb/F use that approach too for the most part. While some people select a particular tuning for their concertina because they have a specific purpose in mind, I purchased the A/E because I liked the sound of my favorite tunes when I played them on the A/E using the same fingering I used on a C/G. The change in pitch is refreshing, and so long as I'm playing by myself no one really cares what key I'm playing in.

While you can play "cross-row" on a 20 button instrument, your ability to play in keys other than G and D on your instrument is somewhat impacted by the lack of notes needed to access complete scales, you'd need a 30 button model for that. The good news is that many tunes are written in G and D so you can readily play them in their proper key using the "along the row" approach to playing and you can even incorporate some "cross-row" as well. To be clear, if you later move to a 30 button C/G you'll have to learn new fingerings to be able to pay in G and D and you may find the transition quite challenging at first.

If it's your intent to move to a 30 button C/G later on, I suggest you do it as soon as you can to minimize the frustration associated with the fingering conversion. On the other hand, if you intend to stay with the G/D tuning (or even move to a 30 button G/D at some future point), you've nothing to worry about.

As to using sheet music written for tunes in C and G, so long as you are playing solo the easiest approach is to pretend your concertina is in C/G tuning and approach the tunes that way. It eliminates the need to do a mental conversion to determine where the proper and correct tones are located on your instrument, as well as the need to compensate for tones missing from the base scale. While you won't actually be playing in the key indicated on the sheet music, if you want to play with others you may find that experienced players will be able adjust and join you in your actual key.

Good luck.

[Bruce McCaskey]

It occurs to me that you might find these charts handy as a conversion reference. Since you have a 20 button model, ignore the top row for each individual button map.

Looking at your original post, I assume you are trying to work with a basic concertina tutor to get started with the instrument. If that's the case, I suggest you forget about trying to locate the true pitch tones on your G/D and just approach the tutor as if you have a C/G in hand. Then when you are ready to move up to a 30 button model, you can purchase a C/G and won't need to make any adjustment to your fingering approach. On the other hand, if you elect to stay with the 20 button G/D and want to learn to play G and D tunes in their correct tuning, once you have the basics of concertina technique learned, you can acknowledge the actual pitch of your buttons and learn to play those tunes in their true key.

Edited by Bruce McCaskey, 03 March 2012 - 12:38 AM.

[hjcjones]

If you're working from a tutor the tunes were probably transposed from other keys into C, on the assumption that the player will have a C/G (the most common form).

As the others have suggested, if all you want to do is learn to play then just pretend you have a C/G and play the buttons as suggested by the tutor. However if you want to be able to play from music in the correct key, you could transpose the tunes into G yourself, either by writing them out on music paper (just shift every note up by four intervals on the stave) or by copying them out with music notation software which will then do the transposition for you. That will be more work, but then you'll be playing the music as written and won't have to relearn which note goes with which button.

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

It occurs to me that you might find these charts handy as a conversion reference. Since you have a 20 button model, ignore the top row for each individual button map.

Looking at your original post, I assume you are trying to work with a basic concertina tutor to get started with the instrument. If that's the case, I suggest you forget about trying to locate the true pitch tones on your G/D and just approach the tutor as if you have a C/G in hand. Then when your are ready to move up to a 30 button model, you can purchase a C/G and won't need to make any adjustment to your fingering approach. On the other hand, if you elect to stay with the 20 button G/D and want to learn to play G and D tunes in their correct tuning, once you have the basics of concertina technique learned, you can acknowledge the actual pitch of your buttons and learn to play those tunes in their true key.

[bmzane@hotmail.com]

thanks for you input!