Chording on the EC

[peter mcelligott]

I play th EC in a local contra dance band, and I'd

like to get more variety in my playing. Looking for advice/

references on chording for the EC.

 

Pete

[Steve Mansfield]

In a previous incarnation of this thread Leo suggested this and this, and I suggested this.

 

Any more for any more?

 

[Edit to correct spelling]

Edited April 8, 2011 by Steve Mansfield

[Leo]

It took me a while to figure out where those charts came from, but I finally found it with a note of explanation. I knew I'd seen them somewhere before.

http://www.concertina.net/wm_english_chords.html

 

By the way, I didn't notice the question first coming up in the "Test Forum". I'm glad it was re-asked so it doesn't disappear in a short time. Good catch.

 

Thanks

Leo

[bellowbelle]

One of the hardest things for me regarding chords, sometimes, is to consciously remember exactly what buttons and tones I'd previously decided on, the next time I pick up the concertina to play.

 

So, I made up a chart enumerating all the buttons, simply from low to high tones. I'm not sure I still have it linked from a website, but, here is that chart:

I jot down my numbers for both left and right hands, and can refer to the chart later if I need to (until I no longer need to).

 

 

Also, I use the same layout as a blank worksheet, to make a visual version of my chords/intervals. I printed out a few copies and keep them on hand to color-in the circles that indicate buttons played. Here's that one:

 

Feel free to copy and use these if you wish, though I know some people just kinda go 'WHA...?' 'Huh?' when they seem my strange charts.

[Geoff Wooff]

Might I suggest that if you read standard music notation you could do worse than find some piano scores and try to work from those. This will get you going on playing with chords. There are many simple arrangements for piano students and it is possible to find a few pieces that you know well (even Christmas Carols) in keys that you are familiar with.

 

Another idea would be to make a small list here of tunes that you would like to add some chords to and see what suggestions members here can give.

Playing dance music (for dancers) with chords on the EC is what I spend most of my social playing time doing so I could help and will if I can.

 

Geoff.

[peter mcelligott]

Perhaps the simplist way to describe my

problem is "What do you do when you have a chord...or

part of one...and the melody line on the same hand?"

 

Geoff, any advice would be appreciated.

 

Pete

[RatFace]

Perhaps the simplist way to describe my

problem is "What do you do when you have a chord...or

part of one...and the melody line on the same hand?"

 

The first thing is to not get tempted into pretending you're playing an accordion - i.e. strictly alternating bass + full chords. Firstly, it's almost impossible, and secondly, it sounds pretty bad (and boring).

 

What makes more sense (in my opinion) is to thin things out a lot. One simple thing is that often the tune itself contains at least one of the basic notes in the chord, so there's not point duplicating it in the accompanying notes. For example, in G, if the tune is a B, you only need to play G and D in the accompaniment to define the chord. If the tune has a run "B-C-D", you only need to play a G in the bass to define the chord.

 

Something else is to consider the bass line carefully, using the low notes on the offbeat to lead into bass notes. For example, if the chord sequence (in 6/8 time) is

 

|G - - C - -| you could play the bass notes |G - B C - - |. The bass notes then form a (slightly more) interesting sequence, as well as helping to define the chord, without making the accompaniment too "thick".

 

You can also often pick out bits of the melody and play them offset by a 3rd up or down in the bass.

 

Finally, you can quite often miss out the down beats in the bass, except for the most important ones (e.g. every other bar or something).

 

If you do all these, you'll only normally use one or two notes in the accompaniment, which can be done reasonably easily with a bit of finger tangling It depends on the tune of course. Have a look here.

[Geoff Wooff]

Perhaps the simplist way to describe my

problem is "What do you do when you have a chord...or

part of one...and the melody line on the same hand?"

 

Geoff, any advice would be appreciated.

 

Pete

 

 

In this situation I usually, I think, only use a maximum of one extra note on the same side as the melody and any other chord notes are taken from the other side. Laws and recipes are all very well but in practice it comes down to what you can do at any moment and what sounds right to you.

It is dependant on the key of the tune as to how much chording you might be able fit in on your EC. For instance, if the melody is low down in your range then you will quickly run out of lower notes for the chords. Chords that are above the melody line can also be effective in a dance band where the use of chords can be principally to emphasise the Rhythm. I have been using an EC that extends down to G, an octave lower than the Treble. This gives lots of potential for chording but does not produce a great deal of volume. I have gone back to using a 48 Treble which has enough power to punch right through a ten piece band of loud instruments. The limitations for chording with the 48 are not that bad, just needing a different approach to integrating them with the melody.

 

You could do worse than compare the way that the Anglo is played for Morris dancing to the way the Irish players use it. The Morris musician is looking for a big sound for playing acousticly, outdoors and thus takes great handfulls of chords to punch out the rhythm. The ITM player is looking for a little more speed and delicacy. Somewhere between these two is a usefull place, I would think, for you to be.

Edited April 12, 2011 by Geoff Wooff

[jggunn]

I keep struggling with this issue, as I have noted several times in this forum, but I will mention again that what I found useful was a book on mandolin music such as Mel Bay's which has many accompanients built into the notation -- mostly double stops in thirds and sixths as well as fifths and occasionally fourths. This gives a good sense of how to add partial chords.

[JimLucas]

...what I found useful was a book on mandolin music such as Mel Bay's which has many accompanients built into the notation...

Makes very good sense.

The range is the same as on a treble English, and both are fully chromatic. There may be some examples where the fingering is more difficult on the concertina, and even a few specific ones that are "impossible", but basic concepts should transfer nicely and one should be able to get a lot of good learning from such a book.

[SteveS]

I keep struggling with this issue, as I have noted several times in this forum, but I will mention again that what I found useful was a book on mandolin music such as Mel Bay's which has many accompanients built into the notation -- mostly double stops in thirds and sixths as well as fifths and occasionally fourths. This gives a good sense of how to add partial chords.

There are several different volumes of Mel Bay's for mandolin - which would you recommend to start off?

[JimLucas]

There are several different volumes of Mel Bay's for mandolin - which would you recommend to start off?

If there's a music store that carries them close enough to you that you can walk in and browse, I would recommend that you look through them and pick the one with exercises that seem to best match your own level of competence on your concertina.

[symon]

I'll admit to watching this thread with interest. I don't really play chords on my concertina yet. But, I am looking to do so, particularly to see if they can help with playing Morris tunes (giving extra volume and highlighting the beat, I think). I know I have at least one mandolin tutor book at home, so I shall have to dig them out. Good tip!

[jggunn]

The book that I recommend is Mel Bay's Anthology of Mandolin Music. There is a wide variety ranging from classical pieces to blue grass with European and North American folk songs and just about everything you can imagine. There is also helpful material on playing thirds and sixes and various other things.