What tunes 'suit' the anglo concertina?

[LDT]

I know I haven't posted for ages on here sensibly. But here it goes a serious question.

Can you list the tunes that are most suited to playing on a C/G anglo concertina if you play keeping melody on the right hand?

Looking for ones that sit comfortably and don't end up going too far towards dog whistle end of the spectrum. lol!

[Rod]

I know I haven't posted for ages on here sensibly. But here it goes a serious question.

Can you list the tunes that are most suited to playing on a C/G anglo concertina if you play keeping melody on the right hand?

Looking for ones that sit comfortably and don't end up going too far towards dog whistle end of the spectrum. lol!

 

It would be an exceedingly long,if not endless list.

[LDT]

I know I haven't posted for ages on here sensibly. But here it goes a serious question.

Can you list the tunes that are most suited to playing on a C/G anglo concertina if you play keeping melody on the right hand?

Looking for ones that sit comfortably and don't end up going too far towards dog whistle end of the spectrum. lol!

 

It would be an exceedingly long,if not endless list.

 

whats your 'top ten' of that 'endless list' then?

[PeterT]

Can you list the tunes that are most suited to playing on a C/G anglo concertina if you play keeping melody on the right hand?

 

It would be easier to answer if you gave the latitude for the occasional melody note to drop onto the left hand, otherwise you are probably limiting yourself to tunes with a range of an octave, or less. Many Morris tunes probably fall within these limits.

 

Off the top of my head:

 

Ty Coch Caerdydd (in C).

Keel Row (in G). Could be played in C, but a couple of notes drop onto the left hand.

 

Another, which fits onto the right hand, is Hunt the Squirrel (in G).

 

http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/pub-session-tunes/000009.HTM

 

Whilst the B music, as written, goes up the "squeaky" end of the instrument, the accepted method is to drop this section of the tune down an octave. Worth learning this tune, since it's commonly used for dances, and often played in sessions.

 

Whilst you are working on the tune, here's a photo go be getting on with:

 

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2074332

Edited September 20, 2010 by PeterT

[AnnC]

Andy Cutting's 'Flatworld' is mainly on the right hand side of a C/G Anglo with just the odd foray over to the left hand.

Edited September 20, 2010 by anlej

[Rod]

I know I haven't posted for ages on here sensibly. But here it goes a serious question.

Can you list the tunes that are most suited to playing on a C/G anglo concertina if you play keeping melody on the right hand?

Looking for ones that sit comfortably and don't end up going too far towards dog whistle end of the spectrum. lol!

 

It would be an exceedingly long,if not endless list.

 

whats your 'top ten' of that 'endless list' then?

 

I'll have to come back to you on that. No doubt I exaggerate. Not too sure where you reckon your 'dog-whistle' notes begin. You should work on those notes. It will not only strengthen your weakest fingers but will also exercise those levers, pads, springs and reeds to their considerable advantage and enable you to eventually make fuller use of them. (Easier said than done of course!)

[Alan Day]

Many of us started on Morris tunes. As tunes they are fairly simple but as you progress with the instrument you can add some lovely left hand accompaniment.

Shepherds Hey,Princess Royal,Monks March,Upton upon Severn Stick Dance, Trunkles, Cuckoo's Nest,Constant Billy ,to name just a few.

Al

[Rod]

I know I haven't posted for ages on here sensibly. But here it goes a serious question.

Can you list the tunes that are most suited to playing on a C/G anglo concertina if you play keeping melody on the right hand?

Looking for ones that sit comfortably and don't end up going too far towards dog whistle end of the spectrum. lol!

 

It would be an exceedingly long,if not endless list.

 

whats your 'top ten' of that 'endless list' then?

 

I'll have to come back to you on that. No doubt I exaggerate. Not too sure where you reckon your 'dog-whistle' notes begin. You should work on those notes. It will not only strengthen your weakest fingers but will also exercise those levers, pads, springs and reeds to their considerable advantage and enable you to eventually make fuller use of them. (Easier said than done of course!)

 

In retrospect I feel a little ashamed of my initial glib response to LTD's original question.

 

Whilst wondering why anyone with two fully functioning hands would ever wish to do so, having given the matter further consideration I now realise the extent to which anyone wishing to restrict the melody line to the right-hand side only of a 30 button (or in my case 36 button) Anglo is certainly very severely limiting their available choice of established tunes to play satisfactorily.

 

I compiled a considerable list of tunes in my head for which I could have sworn that the melody line would be contained within the right hand of the instrument......until I put them to the test......at which point I discovered to my considerable surprise just how few of them worked without the occasional intervention of the index finger of the left hand, and those that I could get away with without the left index finger invariably necessitated uncomfortable key signatures or straying into what LTD refers to as 'dog-whistle' territory. I came to the firm conclusion that I have no wish to go there !

[LDT]

In retrospect I feel a little ashamed of my initial glib response to LTD's original question.

 

Whilst wondering why anyone with two fully functioning hands would ever wish to do so, having given the matter further consideration I now realise the extent to which anyone wishing to restrict the melody line to the right-hand side only of a 30 button (or in my case 36 button) Anglo is certainly very severely limiting their available choice of established tunes to play satisfactorily.

 

I compiled a considerable list of tunes in my head for which I could have sworn that the melody line would be contained within the right hand of the instrument......until I put them to the test......at which point I discovered to my considerable surprise just how few of them worked without the occasional intervention of the index finger of the left hand, and those that I could get away with without the left index finger invariably necessitated uncomfortable key signatures or straying into what LTD refers to as 'dog-whistle' territory. I came to the firm conclusion that I have no wish to go there !

 

....told you it was hard...now you see this is why I end up picking up the melodeon instead of concertina on 95% of occasions.

[Randall Cayford]

....told you it was hard...now you see this is why I end up picking up the melodeon instead of concertina on 95% of occasions.

I'm puzzled. Why is picking up a melodeon easier than just using your left hand?

[Kautilya]

Barking (en route to Saafend you will note) Dogs.

I'm with LDT on this one and I know the matter was raised before, but it IS to do with beginners (who also dont have time to practise enough....)who are slowly picking up fingering as well as sound quality. So, bear with me (she is way beyond my level of competence but I do notice how much more comfortable she is with the meliffluon tones she plays ever more expertly.

 

If I want to try to play my dog's favourite tune (Wild Rover) at whistle squeak on the right in order to leave my left hand free to try to find a chord to accompany, it sounds shrieky.(and we are talking 20 button anglo now so I am even more limited in octave choice).

 

My ear wants to hear it lower down in the middle singing register not counter-tenor

SO - I play the tune on the left hand. That means I have to try to add squeaky-based chords on the right, which I rarely can do.It also means I cant have any bass chords unless I press two buttons down as I play the tune on the left -that gives it a bit of depth.

I play the two button up and down for Silent Night for instance and it sort of works out.

 

With the melodeon (in simple terms) the left hand is usually eight or six ready made chord producing buttons or the odd single "bass" note. So you can clack away with the left hand throwing in oompah chords with one finger or alternating two fingers - easy peasy and have 'low enough'notes on the rigth hand up and down two row to play the toon(well, easypeasier than two three fingers on the tina searching for lefthand chords AND trying to play the tune in a nice hearable tone on the left. I can play half of Chris's Angela's Waltz starting well down on the left side and picking up upper end of the toon on the right lower notes. He must have another 400 notes and 50 octaves on his super box so he can do toon and all the twirls.

 

If you are just playing the toon on the left of course you go up into the right - I have no problem with that. The conflict is chords on left; toon on right, which often has to start high up and this is a dog whistle humans can hear.

 

This is also why some people hate the biniou khoz, coz it only has the squeaky high register and this is normally only offset by not another hand but another player on the bombarde in a lower octave. I can't afford to pay someone to play the tina bass side while I might Tak the High Road! (That's another one where the toon on right is way up in the squeakosphere... unless you play it on the left.)

 

So, I, for one, struggle on trying to find compromises. I suppose more buttons would help but when you only have buttons you can't afford them!

 

All tips welcome in this handilemma. B)

got to go..

sORRY - FORgot the high biniou sound (which I lurve!!)

Edited September 22, 2010 by Kautilya

[PeterT]

sORRY - FORgot the high binou sound (which I lurve!!)

 

Bet your dog loves this one, too! I was expecting the guitars to break into spontaneous applause.

[LDT]

I'm with LDT on this one and I know the matter was raised before, but it IS to do with beginners (who also dont have time to practise enough....)who are slowly picking up fingering as well as sound quality. So, bear with me (she is way beyond my level of competence but I do notice how much more comfortable she is with the meliffluon tones she plays ever more expertly.)

 

My ear wants to hear it lower down in the middle singing register not counter-tenor

SO - I play the tune on the left hand. That means I have to try to add squeaky-based chords on the right, which I rarely can do.It also means I cant have any bass chords unless I press two buttons down as I play the tune on the left -that gives it a bit of depth.

I play the two button up and down for Silent Night for instance and it sort of works out.

 

With the melodeon (in simple terms) the left hand is usually eight or six ready made chord producing buttons or the odd single "bass" note. So you can clack away with the left hand throwing in oompah chords with one finger or alternating two fingers - easy peasy and have 'low enough'notes on the rigth hand up and down two row to play the toon(well, easypeasier than two three fingers on the tina searching for lefthand chords AND trying to play the tune in a nice hearable tone on the left. I can play half of Chris's Angela's Waltz starting well down on the left side and picking up upper end of the toon on the right lower notes. He must have another 400 notes and 50 octaves on his super box so he can do toon and all the twirls.

 

If you are just playing the toon on the left of course you go up into the right - I have no problem with that. The conflict is chords on left toon on right which often has to start high up and this is a dog whistle humans can hear.

 

That's exactly it.

Also now I've learnt to play on RH I struggle to re-adjust my brain to cope with starting on LH at the drop of a hat.

[PeterT]

Also now I've learnt to play on RH I struggle to re-adjust my brain to cope with starting on LH at the drop of a hat.

 

I'm afraid that, at this point, we have to re-introduce the "P" word.

[ocd]

I'm afraid that, at this point, we have to re-introduce the "P" word.

 

That is cruel (but necessary, probably).

 

ocd

[PeterT]

I'm afraid that, at this point, we have to re-introduce the "P" word.

 

That is cruel (but necessary, probably).

 

ocd

 

It did come with a "health warning"!

[Kautilya]

sORRY - FORgot the high biniou sound (which I lurve!!)

 

Bet your dog loves this one, too! I was expecting the guitars to break into spontaneous applause.

V good!

Actually I think they had had their strings well plucked and were lying back and thinking of France

 

ps can't resist offering this one too, which shows how the Bretons are so much more advanced than tina players in terms of playing bass/treble on both left and right feet

[Alan Day]

This feet tapping is part of the Central France Tradition particularly in the Auvergne where the Pipers wear bells on their legs a beat out the rhythm as they play. If any of you hear Mel Stevens playing on the Rosbif albums or any of the French Traditional playing, the jangly sound is the combination of the hurdy gurdy and the bells.

Al