Anglo C/G or G/D

[Kelteglow]

Hi All .I have been playing Anglo C/G for Irish style music and playing melody with cord accompanyment.Recently I have taken to playing a G/D ,which I find much easier to accompany the melody with cords ,especially as most tunes are in G and D.

I also like the baritone effect I get with the G/D and good for song accompanyment and still use my C/G for C and F tunes.

Apart from having to carry two concertinas. Are there any other problems that I may encounter as my skills progress . It seams to good to be true that I can play so much better on the G/D. All the Best Bob

[Mikefule]

A C/G is generally lighter, which would make it easier to play standing up.

 

There is more complete chordal accompaniment available in the main home key, so that may influence your choice if you play in that style.

[David Levine]

The D/G would certainly have advantages if you were playing it like a stack of two harmonicas, up and down the rows. But if you were interested in playing ITM in a cross-row fashion, and in the key of D, then the C/G would allow you to play faster and with a greater sense of traditional phrasing. Or so it seems to me. The C/G would also be pitched higher, in the same range as the fiddle, which would allow quicker response than the lower pitched G/D.

 

I don't know how serious you are about playing ITM in a traditional fashion. I don't know anybody here who plays a G/D concertina. The only player I've been in an Irish session with, who played a G/D, is Jody Kruskal- who does not consider himself a player of Irish Traditional Music. But if you like the G/D and it's taking you where you want to go, then more power to your elbow, as they say. Besides, the C/G could drive you insane.

[Jody Kruskal]

What you have done is very close to how I started... playing C/G for a while then finding things much easier when I got a G/D. Self accompaniment is much more natural with fewer melody lines crossing from right to left. Also, with the harmonic style of play, on the G/D the melody range is the same as the fiddle. The C/G tends to be an octave higher. A cool effect but...

 

I bring G/D and C/G to gigs but play G/D most of the time. At sessions it is always a good idea to listen to the music and play appropriately. The Anglo is loud and full accompaniment with chords bashing away unceasingly at an ITM session or any session would probably not be welcome. The word accompaniment can mean a whole range of play from very full to the barest minimum of notes in addition to the melody. That's the beauty and artistry of it.

 

So the only problem I see to watch out for is this. With all that G/D power and possibility under your fingers... how to keep it simple, light and supportive of the music around you.

 

Your thoughts on that?

[Jim Besser]

Hi All .I have been playing Anglo C/G for Irish style music and playing melody with cord accompanyment.Recently I have taken to playing a G/D ,which I find much easier to accompany the melody with cords ,especially as most tunes are in G and D.

I also like the baritone effect I get with the G/D and good for song accompanyment and still use my C/G for C and F tunes.

Apart from having to carry two concertinas. Are there any other problems that I may encounter as my skills progress . It seams to good to be true that I can play so much better on the G/D. All the Best Bob

 

I play mostly G/D for the reasons you mention. But I don't play ITM. Playing ITM on a G/D with heavy chording, you won't sound like Noel Hill or John Williams or any of the others. I don't see anything wrong with that, but if you're into a rigid interpretation of what's traditional and what's not, you may. I agree with Jody about keeping it appropriate to the setting you're in. But if you enjoy playing ITM on a G/D, with more chords than you'll learn at Noel's school, go for it.

[gavdav]

I play both G/D and C/G (and Bb/F) and thought up until this summer I was going to switch entirely to the G/D - then I heard John Kirkpatrick demoing playing in F on the C/G and it was an incredibly melodic, full sound (better than playing in C???) - it has certainly opened my ears up to a few more possibilities and I'm not in any hurry to get rid of my C/G (probably a good job as I still have to pay for it!)

[david_boveri]

in response to david and jim: noel hill used to play a G/D. i am not quite sure when, but he told me that he did it for about 15 years to see if he liked it. the conclusion: not really. he told me he did it because it allowed him to play down an octave from who he was accompanying, in addition to the chording possibilities.

 

it can be more difficult to play effectively in G/D in irish music if you want to play in sessions with other people (i.e. when someone else plays a note, you are matching same pitch, same octave). this is because when you start to get up to the higher notes, you will be doing a lot of work with your little finger on the right hand side. this is similar to how british players play anyways, but very different from how irish players do. this is especially true if you play MORE across the rows (there are very few players who play in the rows, even though they call their style that)--the system i use to play the concertina in irish music is designed to use strongest fingers whenever possible. playing in G/D will get you using your weakest fingers for melody notes on the right hand side, and not only that, they will get you doing finger acrobatics with these fingers!

 

i enjoy this challenge, which is why i am preparing myself ahead of time--i am learning to play my C/G as if it were a G/D, so when i get a G/D (in a billion years), i can pick it up and hit the ground running.

[david_boveri]

What you have done is very close to how I started... playing C/G for a while then finding things much easier when I got a G/D. Self accompaniment is much more natural with fewer melody lines crossing from right to left. Also, with the harmonic style of play, on the G/D the melody range is the same as the fiddle. The C/G tends to be an octave higher. A cool effect but...

 

I bring G/D and C/G to gigs but play G/D most of the time. At sessions it is always a good idea to listen to the music and play appropriately. The Anglo is loud and full accompaniment with chords bashing away unceasingly at an ITM session or any session would probably not be welcome. The word accompaniment can mean a whole range of play from very full to the barest minimum of notes in addition to the melody. That's the beauty and artistry of it.

 

So the only problem I see to watch out for is this. With all that G/D power and possibility under your fingers... how to keep it simple, light and supportive of the music around you.

 

Your thoughts on that?

 

i play a C/G in irish music. i do a lot of chords at sessions, and i have never had anyone that didn't appreciate it. that being said... i do it appropriately, even when playing by myself, and make sure to vary chording, leave spaces, and alternate between heavy handed and a light touch on the chords. i think i actually even do MORE chords at sessions, just because no one is listening to my playing as a whole, and it does not really make sense to BUILD UP as you play. when teaching a student of mine chording just a few weeks ago, i was telling her about tastefulness, and building up chords as you go, enhancing the melody, which can only be enhanced if it is properly established. i told her chords are icing on the cake, and not the cake itself, which is phrasing, and rhythm. then i showed her how i could play if i was not being tasteful, and her eyes lit up and the damage was done. she asked, "can't i just eat the icing?"

 

so, i think the same problem exists on C/G, but i would agree with you that it is much easier to put in chords in general on a G/D, which is what makes it so much fun. it is just so much work to put chords on in the C/G in irish music that most people never approach the point when they have to consider tastefulness. as you pointed out, however, that situation arises very quickly on the G/D.

[Kelteglow]

Thankyou All for you advice and comments .I did,nt make it clear .I only use my C/G for English /Keltic Taditional music and supporting dancers ,playing across rows. What I was trying to say was .I find playing Melody with cordal accompanyment so much easier in the home keys of the C/G and G/D. Having attended a concertina school I noticed that most people seamed to be playing the C/G in several different keys rather than opting for another concertina. For me learning on one concertina ,I just have to use the same fingering patterns for the other.

At present I use a 32 Key C/G and a 30 key G/D.I can play in C ,G & D easily and I am practising F on the C/G box. All The best Bob

[michael sam wild]

I think I agree with David re ITM but I was at the same workshops as Gav and think there's a lot of potential on the C/G not explored.

 

As a melodeon player on D/G and a mouth organ player I find G/D easier as a a default instrument but , despite the 'agonies' of working out tunes in D, A etc on the C/G I'm sticking to it. I found Mick Bramich's book (from Mally music) and the John Williams DVD very helpful. Plus David's helpful posting on this forum.

[asdormire]

I play both G/D and C/G (and Bb/F) and thought up until this summer I was going to switch entirely to the G/D - then I heard John Kirkpatrick demoing playing in F on the C/G and it was an incredibly melodic, full sound (better than playing in C???) - it has certainly opened my ears up to a few more possibilities and I'm not in any hurry to get rid of my C/G (probably a good job as I still have to pay for it!)

 

I love playing in F on my C/G. I even tried playing some of the tunes I play in F in either G or C, and still prefer them in F.

 

Alan