Rod Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Way back in the olden days, in the BC (before computers), and before electric typewriters, I took a high school typing class, and am glad I did. We didn't have spell checkers or whiteout, We only had an eraser, and it was tough to correct a mistake without messing up the paper, and it still showed. So to pass the class we had to submit the results for grading with no mistakes. It was tough in the beginning, but found it was easier to do it right the first time. I passed the class with 60 words per minute. To this day, I use those skills, and occasionally use my old portable manual typewriter for forms and odd things that I can't do on a computer (no electricity, or batteries). I now type words, not letters. When I bought my concertina, the first thing I did was find out where the notes are, and went up and down a lot to learn the notes/keys/keyboard, without looking. Scales. Yes, scales come to mind as an aid. Yes they're for typewriters also. Typing a few sentences work for skill and speed. 1. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy white dog. 2. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. are two that come to mind. The first includes all the letters of the alphabet, and the second uses all the fingers. Typing them quite a few times helps the skills fast. I've still a good bit of high frequency hearing loss, but I can still push the buttons on my concertina almost 30 measures a minute, depending on the tune, without mistakes, and am getting faster working on phrases now, not notes. Typing helped. Thanks Leo Why such an obsession with maximum speed ? It may be clever and impress and be fun but is anyone really suggesting that the faster the rendition of a tune the greater it's performance ? God forbid that Concertina playing become an Olympic sport, although anything is of course possible ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Why such an obsession with maximum speed ? It may be clever and impress and be fun but is anyone really suggesting that the faster the rendition of a tune the greater it's performance ? God forbid that Concertina playing become an Olympic sport, although anything is of course possible ! I wish I could play the concertina much faster than I can. Then I'd have a safety margin when I'm playing at a speed I deem appropriate! I don't think that's an obsession - unless, of course, you regard wanting to play the concertina at all as an obsession Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Day Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 Way back in the olden days, in the BC (before computers), and before electric typewriters, I took a high school typing class, and am glad I did. We didn't have spell checkers or whiteout, We only had an eraser, and it was tough to correct a mistake without messing up the paper, and it still showed. So to pass the class we had to submit the results for grading with no mistakes. It was tough in the beginning, but found it was easier to do it right the first time. I passed the class with 60 words per minute. To this day, I use those skills, and occasionally use my old portable manual typewriter for forms and odd things that I can't do on a computer (no electricity, or batteries). I now type words, not letters. When I bought my concertina, the first thing I did was find out where the notes are, and went up and down a lot to learn the notes/keys/keyboard, without looking. Scales. Yes, scales come to mind as an aid. Yes they're for typewriters also. Typing a few sentences work for skill and speed. 1. The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy white dog. 2. Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party. are two that come to mind. The first includes all the letters of the alphabet, and the second uses all the fingers. Typing them quite a few times helps the skills fast. I've still a good bit of high frequency hearing loss, but I can still push the buttons on my concertina almost 30 measures a minute, depending on the tune, without mistakes, and am getting faster working on phrases now, not notes. Typing helped. Thanks Leo Why such an obsession with maximum speed ? It may be clever and impress and be fun but is anyone really suggesting that the faster the rendition of a tune the greater it's performance ? God forbid that Concertina playing become an Olympic sport, although anything is of course possible ! Like all things Rod ,it is nice to have the ability to use the skill if you want to. It is possible to build up to speed, but if you already have the natural ability or trained ability that you can utilise so much the better. Yes Jim middle finger of the right hand,but I do at least know where the letters are now. It does go a long way to explain how my posts repeat something that has already been written (sorry Leo),whilst I am tapping away with one finger others post before I finish. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Why such an obsession with maximum speed ? It may be clever and impress and be fun but is anyone really suggesting that the faster the rendition of a tune the greater it's performance ? God forbid that Concertina playing become an Olympic sport, although anything is of course possible ! Not all Olympic sports are based on speed, and at the moment I can't think of any that are based entirely or even largely on the speed of rapid repetition. Even those skiing sharpshooters (I forget the official name) don't try to squeeze off several shots per second, though overall time counts. And weight lifting? Maybe there could be a competition to see who can play the heaviest concertina? While standing, of course, and with no neck strap. ("You may have a metal-ended 80-button duet, but so do I, and I had my ends specially made of cast iron. Beat that!") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Not all Olympic sports are based on speed, and at the moment I can't think of any that are based entirely or even largely on the speed of rapid repetition. Running wouldn't happen without some pretty rapid repeated leg movements Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 It is possible to build up to speed, but if you already have the natural ability or trained ability that you can utilise so much the better.Yes Jim middle finger of the right hand,but I do at least know where the letters are now. So Alan, have you considered taking a typing course? It could greatly increase the speed of your typing (a skill I'm pretty sure you use for more than just posting on Concertina.net), and I'm certain that it at least wouldn't harm your concertina playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Not all Olympic sports are based on speed, and at the moment I can't think of any that are based entirely or even largely on the speed of rapid repetition. Running wouldn't happen without some pretty rapid repeated leg movements A good point, but to be more like concertina playing or typing, shouldn't the runners be required to place their feet in a predefined sequence of very specific locations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDT Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Not all Olympic sports are based on speed, and at the moment I can't think of any that are based entirely or even largely on the speed of rapid repetition. Running wouldn't happen without some pretty rapid repeated leg movements A good point, but to be more like concertina playing or typing, shouldn't the runners be required to place their feet in a predefined sequence of very specific locations? Isn't that long jump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Not all Olympic sports are based on speed, and at the moment I can't think of any that are based entirely or even largely on the speed of rapid repetition. Running wouldn't happen without some pretty rapid repeated leg movements A good point, but to be more like concertina playing or typing, shouldn't the runners be required to place their feet in a predefined sequence of very specific locations? Isn't that long jump? From the original topic? Yes, I would say so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Madge Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Well, typing is going to give your fingers some exercise and help the muscles but, going in the reverse direction, if you have strong spring pressure on your instument does this affect you and make you a noisy typist? Robin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombilly Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Here, hang on lads & lassies! There's a lot more to making music than simply pressing buttons. Playing notes without timing and rhythm is just noise. You could teach a monkey to press buttons quickly but I doubt you'd like the result.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 A good point, but to be more like concertina playing or typing, shouldn't the runners be required to place their feet in a predefined sequence of very specific locations? Yeah! Make hop-scotch Olympic!! Speaking of which: If you had hop-scotch as a fringe event at a concertina weekend, I wonder who would win. An English, Anglo, Maccann, Crane or Hayden player? If there is any neuronal transfer between fingers and feet, I'd bet on the Maccannic! Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Yeah! Make hop-scotch Olympic!! Speaking of which: If you had hop-scotch as a fringe event at a concertina weekend, I wonder who would win. An English, Anglo, Maccann, Crane or Hayden player? With concertina players, I don't know, but if it were bagpipers... well, the competition is hop-Scotch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Well, typing is going to give your fingers some exercise and help the muscles but, going in the reverse direction, if you have strong spring pressure on your instument does this affect you and make you a noisy typist? Dunno about that, but might it help a programmer who works in "strongly typed" computer languages? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susanne Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 That sure would be handy! I'm a very fast typer, using both hands. At work with the oldfashioned noisy keyboards I stress my co-workers with my fast typing! I hope I can be that fast on the squeezeboxes one day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hup Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 It's easy to play tunes fast. Just leave out a few notes hear and there and make sure the rhythm stays solid. You can go as fast as you like that way. But is that the point of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hup Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 ...oops - homonym abuse warnning! I meant 'here' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susanne Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 The language nerd says THANK YOU for correcting the error:):) About playing fast, I think for me being a beginner, the word fast means something different than to many others on this board I think.......... I wish I could play at a decent tempo without missing notes! That's fast for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now