What do I have to do to move onwards?

[Long Haired David]

This time last year I pulled out my el cheapo concertina that I had been messing with for about 18 months and decided that I would play Jingle Bells for the grandchildren on Christmas Day. Well, that was a complete disaster so id ecided that I had to take this thing seriously. Over the next 4 months I practised hard, went to "Melodions and More" for a day's training with Anahata and Mary Humphries, and lastly swapped my instrument for a very nice 20 key anglo Lachenal.

 

I have been practising hard ever since but I seem to hit a brick wall all of the time. At long last I seem to be able to play from the dots without making too many mistakes but I really want to be able to play without the music. Simple tunes line Shepherds Hey, Young Collins, etc.seem to be OK and I can play them pretty well without mistakes. However, when I get to something more complicated - I like 20's and 30's music - like 'If You Knew Susie' or 'Chattanooga Choo Choo, which I can play happily from the dots, I find it very difficult to play without stupid mistakes. It is getting to the point where it is becoming stressful to play these tunes.

 

How do I go about resolving this? Should I play them 10 times over every day or what?

 

Suggestions would be very helpful.

 

David

[Ken_Coles]

I may speak for others as well as myself when I say over the course of learning several instruments there are periods when I "hit a wall" and get stuck for a while. But keep playing (and take breaks from it sometimes too, the brain needs time to absorb) and one day the progress starts up again, sometimes suddenly.

 

Others may have specific wisdom for you.

 

Ken

[Geoff Wooff]

I am in agreement with Ken on this. You just have to give it time. Practice is very important but you will also have to wait for your fingers to know automatically where to go. At first the double process of reading the notes and then thinking which button do I need next is halting to forward motion of your progress... this should go away with time.

 

I try to put down the sheet music as soon as possible. You can do this by just shuting your eyes so that you have to internalise the notes.

 

One other good practice tip for getting a more automatic process going is to do something else at the same time... try watching the television, with the sound turned down (or off) and carry on practicing or just think about something else whilst you play. This can tend to divide the left and right parts of the brain into conscious and automatic actions working simutaneously.Well this is just a simple laymans way of describing what might be happening but the fine end of this is where some people can have a conversation whilst continuing to play.

 

Look at it this way too... it is keeping your brain fit and active.. that has to be a good thing. Musicians are one of the groups of people who suffer least from dementia.

Edited December 17, 2011 by Geoff Wooff

[RAc]

I completly agree with above suggestions - in particular with the one that says don't force anything - the music must seep it, and that takes as long as it takes...

 

One thing you may want to consider is splitting the learning the tune from playing the instrument. I've mentioned this before, but one thing that works for me is use idle periods (such as the time in bed before dozing off or periods at work where I wait for a compilation run to finish) to "mentally play the tune" to memorize it - you may even move your fingers over a virtual concertina to aid the process. In many tunes, there will be sections that you can memorize easily but individual places where you simply can't remember what note comes next - these transitions can well be mentally trained as outlined above. Go over the critical places again and again, initially with the sheet music in sight, but force your eyes away when it comes to those sections, and by and by you'll iron out the hiccups.

 

May not work for everybody, but it does for me...

[Dirge]

I'd agree that playing ability comes in steps not up a steady slope; you'll batter away wondering why nothing happens then one day EUREKA you think "That was rather good!". Then you consolidate at that level for a bit and suddenly it happens again. I'm due a lurch forward as we speak but I know enough not to get despondant about it. (mostly) The key is a regular practice regime. (which CAN include playing a passage 10 times in a row occasionally if it seems useful, incidentally) Practice becomes less painful as it gets more tuneful too.

 

At the moment you are sorting out not just the instrument but sight reading so there are several fronts to fight. That'll ease with time.

 

Finally the 20's and 30's stuff you like is often quite complex in terms of accidentals and timing, let alone chords; it might simply be a bit beyond you at the moment. My thinking is it never hurts to stretch oneself; that if I fancy playing a tune I should have a go, regardless. However when I get in a rut with something that just won't click I leave it. Walk away. In a month or two, or a year or two, I'll be having a little light hearted amble through my neglected music and there it will be, and perhaps I'll have another go at it and wonder why it gave so much trouble before. Or perhaps I'll play it through a time or two and file it for another few months. Or wonder why I ever wanted to play it in the first place also happens some times!

[BertramLevy]

Hi Dave

 

I would suggest that the reason you are having problems is that you need to study differently. Most people learn a piece note by note, following the melody as it unfolds. For a beginner that means hunting and pecking for each note and trying to remember each steps, lots of opportunities to make mistakes. In the concertina, it is even more difficult because you not see the buttons as you plays.

 

An alternative method of study is to organize the melody into a series of phrases and to learn to visualize the phrases before they are played. Each phrase has a mental shape which has a corresponding hand shape. The phrase is learned by placing the fingers over the each of the notes (buttons) of the entire phrase and playing the notes in the particular sequence of the phrase. Once each phrase is learned, practice consists not in playing the melody but in learning to prepare the hand to move from one phrase to the next, It requires mental engagement separate from the process of playing the melody.

 

For example in the case of Shepherd’s Hey in the first part there are four phrases. Each corresponds to a measure except the last phrase which includes the last 2 notes of the third measure plus the fourth measure. The first three measures are primarily in the closing direction and centered primarily on the bottom or G row. In the first measure B,C,D B C, C place the middle and index finger of the left hand on the last two notes of the bottom row (B,D) and the index finger of the right hand on the first button on the upper row © - play B left, C right D left all on the in or close and then with the middle finger on the left B note, open the instrument and the C which is the opposite note of the B button will come out. That is the first phrase and should be practiced until it is solid. The reason you play the two different Cs is to keep the intention of the phrase clear and to manage the air (bellow length).

 

The second phrase is similar to the first B,C D,B but ends A A. Place the ring, middle and index fingers of the left hand on the bottom row and the index finger on the top row of the right hand. Play on the close B left, C right, D left ,B left and then the A on the opening with the left ring finger. This is practiced till solid.

 

The third measure is the same as the first B,C,D, B C except it goes on with the figure B,C at the end. These last two notes are part of the concluding phrase of the next measure which includes the high D, low D and then the G (which is the root of the melody). Here one practices the third measure as a phrase and then prepares for the last phrase: B,C, high D, low D and G. The last phrase will be played opening to balance the bellow movement and is centered primarily on the top row. Place the index and middle finger of the right hand on the top row first two buttons (B,D on opening). With the left hand place the middle finger on the bottom row fourth button ©, the ring finger on the third button of the top row (D) and the index finger on the last button of the top row (G). As you open the instrument play right B, left C, right D left D (ring finger) then close the instrument to play the G with the index finger.

 

Once these are all smooth, put them together by playing a phrase, stopping, preparing your thoughts for the next phrase, prepare the hand and play the next and so on. At first it will feel awkward to stop and prepare rather than playing note by note but very rapidly the thing will fall together and you will not make mistakes. This technique is extensively covered in my new book “American Fiddle Styles for the Anglo Concertina” but it requires a 30 button instrument.

 

One final thought: all the notes of Shepherd’s Hey are duplicated in both directions (even on the 20 button). As such you could play the piece entirely different with the first three measure on the opening and centered on the top C row and the last phrase closing on the bottom G row. If you learn both directions you will be well on the road to mastering the keyboard.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Bertram

[Long Haired David]

Thanks to everyone for their really useful comments. Bertram, yours will require a good bit of thinking about and will be really helpful.

 

During my days as a currency trader, I always saw mental arithmetic as a pattern based operation so I should be able to cope with the idea on the concertina.

 

I did intend to put up a recording of me playing 'If you knew Susie' but my accuracy has fallen frommaybe 3 good runs out of 5 to being unable to pay it at all without an error once Garage Band is recording me playing!

 

I will keep trying and I will get back individually on the comments and help as I practice over the holiday period.

 

Thanks again to everyone.

 

David

[michael sam wild]

Hi David

Try try try again is a good motto and it does get easier! I alays think what was I like a year ago and it encourages me.

 

I think for the tunes you like a 3 row with some acceidentas would be good as a lot of ppular music came from traditions that went to America and didn't fit our old folk tunes. That's why Dan Worrall reckons the Anglo fell out of fashion as 'jazz' came in.

 

 

I'd also work out some chord charts in the keys you like and that will help in working out button and bellows directons. You can do a basic three chord trick on the concertina , like a behginning guitarist. I find it helps a lot an it's what a lot of early self taught players eem to have used to accompany singsongs. Use the home keys of the instrument at first as the chords fall easily under the fingers with 1, 3, 5 chords eg CEG, GBD, FAC. Chords on LHS melody on RHS is a good way to start

[Long Haired David]

I am finding that I can get a good supply of 20's and 30's even when filtering out those with lots of accidentals. So many of them are written in C with only an F sharp accidental so I am getting quite adept at the top row. Although I have difficulty with my fingering on the right hand on the C row. I don't seem to be able to get the same ease of use as I do on either the G row or with the left hand.

 

Interestingly, I can fake some tunes in G - for instance, I can play American Patrol quite well (by ignoring the accidentals) and no one in the family notices until I played it along with my son (who is a very good pianist) and he instantly picked up on it.

 

I will try the '3 chord trick' as I used to sing a lot of folk to my guitar years ago and I would like to get back to doing that. BTW, I stopped playing the guitar because of arthritis in the hands - I find that the concertina strains my figer joints a bit but nothing like holding guitar chords down.

 

Thanks for the comments.

[Anglo-Irishman]

David,

 

As Bertram says, different people have different ways of memorising things. One way you might try is the "choreographic" approach. Think of a phrase of the tune as movements of your fingers among the buttons, e.g. "start here; one button to the left, one button down, two buttons to the right ..." like the forward, backward and sideways steps in dancing. Only instead of a regular "slow, slow, quick-quick, slow", you speak the rhythmic structure of the tune. This is a method that some autoharp players recommend, and the autoharp is also button-operated, like the concertina!

The object is to have the phrases in your "muscle memory", and this is a spatial thing.

 

I would heartily agree with Bertram that you want to be playing phrases, not notes. One note after the other seldom sounds musical. Perhaps it's a pitfall for sight-readers - I wouldn't know! Again, it's a bit like dancing, where the body moves and the feet follow. In music, the melody (or phrase of the melody)moves, and the notes follow. Dancing step by step doesn't look or feel good, and playing note by note doesn't sound or feel good either.

 

As to avoiding brick walls: I find that it sometimes helps to take a day or two's break from playing (although I do believe in practising every day, even if it's only for 5 minutes). The attempt to recall how the tune went is then actually more challenging, but this challenge seems to mobilise mental forces that I normally neglect, so I come at it from different sides - musically, spatially and physically - and one line of attack gets through.

 

Cheers,

John

[asdormire]

 

I would heartily agree with Bertram that you want to be playing phrases, not notes. One note after the other seldom sounds musical. Perhaps it's a pitfall for sight-readers - I wouldn't know! Again, it's a bit like dancing, where the body moves and the feet follow. In music, the melody (or phrase of the melody)moves, and the notes follow. Dancing step by step doesn't look or feel good, and playing note by note doesn't sound or feel good

 

 

I don't read one word at a time, I read in sentences. Likewise, as a sight reader, I don't play notes, I play in phrases. I think it is an apt anology.

 

Alan

[Long Haired David]

 

I would heartily agree with Bertram that you want to be playing phrases, not notes. One note after the other seldom sounds musical. Perhaps it's a pitfall for sight-readers - I wouldn't know! Again, it's a bit like dancing, where the body moves and the feet follow. In music, the melody (or phrase of the melody)moves, and the notes follow. Dancing step by step doesn't look or feel good, and playing note by note doesn't sound or feel good

 

 

I don't read one word at a time, I read in sentences. Likewise, as a sight reader, I don't play notes, I play in phrases. I think it is an apt anology.

 

Alan

 

I think I am getting there slowly. I am currently working on 'Way Down Yonder In New Orleans' and can retty much play it qwithout error except for a part in the middle. Your comments make me plan to take that middle phrase and work on that until I have the pattern of it, as I have the pattern of the rest of it. This process of asking and discussion hasbeen really worthwhile.

 

David

[ceemonster]

if you really find yourself hitting a brick wall "all of the time," perhaps this signals that you are tackling material beyond your current skill level. it's good to tackle material a LITTLE beyond your skill level, but there is a point where it can slow or hamper your progress. only you can judge, but i might select something a shade simpler and work on that until it is fluent. but if you are sticking with this level of music, i would put the sheet music away for a while and listen to this piece for about a week or two until i had the melody and the syncopation and feel of it in my head and my bones. i would then go back to the sheet music and play melody only until i had that in my head and my bones. if your melody side is chordal, i would drop out the inside voices and practice only the song melody until it was flowing like water. then i would add the bass chords, simplified if necessary. only once that was in, would i add the inner voices on the treble side and the bass side....(if any. don't know if your melody-side is single-line or chordal....). this kind of learning is something it has taken me embarrassingly long to figure out how to do.....

[Long Haired David]

Thanks to everyone for their really helpful comments. As a result of another discussion, I am going to organise a Skype lesson with Jody in January and see how we go on from there.

 

In the meantime, I have been trying to provide a recording of the type of music that I want to play and a sample of where I am with it now.

 

The following tune is a favourite of mine and I can generally play it all the way through without mistake - having taken to heart the idea of forming patterns which cleared up a recurring difficulty I had in the middle. However, trying to record a clean copy with Garageband has been extremely frustrating.

 

This recording has a few fluffs in it but is the best out of about 100 tries!

 

So here goes. Kind comments only on http://bit.ly/s5pRc1

 

Long Haired David

[Long Haired David]

And here's another one.

 

http://bit.ly/sDMg41

 

Long Haired David

[MitfordRI]

Thanks to everyone for their really helpful comments. As a result of another discussion, I am going to organise a Skype lesson with Jody in January and see how we go on from there.

 

In the meantime, I have been trying to provide a recording of the type of music that I want to play and a sample of where I am with it now.

 

The following tune is a favourite of mine and I can generally play it all the way through without mistake - having taken to heart the idea of forming patterns which cleared up a recurring difficulty I had in the middle. However, trying to record a clean copy with Garageband has been extremely frustrating.

 

This recording has a few fluffs in it but is the best out of about 100 tries!

 

So here goes. Kind comments only on http://bit.ly/s5pRc1

 

Long Haired David

 

Dear David:

 

Happy New Year and I hope the practice is going well despite all the holiday interruptions. I have to say that I'm dead impressed you recorded your playing. Good for you. I know exactly what you mean about trying to "record a clean copy". I can practice a jig all week long on the fiddle. But when it comes to Thursday night class, if I don't have a warm up first, my nerves are so bad you might honestly think I'm trying to murder the poor fiddle. That or my teacher. Fortunately, he has cottoned on to my anxiety and makes me play easy pieces until I relax. (Honestly, a gin would work better but there is always the drive home to consider.)

 

What I have learned from studying Irish traditional music in the past five years is ... admittedly not much. Shockingly little in fact. But I'm happy to share the few crumbs I have learned.

 

1) Learning from books alone doesn't work.

 

2) Learning from sheet music ... doesn't teach you how to play music. At least not for me. I was trained on piano so could read sheet music fluently. But relying on sheet music instead of learning by ear handicapped me very badly. I knew the notes. Knew where they were located on the instrument. But wasn't (and still might not be) playing 'music'. Not traditional music.

 

3) Learning to play by ear ... while painful at the beginning (think Mission Impossible in my case) ... really does help you to not only learn music more efficiently, it improves your playing.

 

4) If you can find a class or teacher near by, take lessons from a sympathetic and supportive teacher. Chris Stevens is a great teacher in New England. Sadly, I haven't been able to attend his classes in Boston in a couple of years (because I wasn't able to learn by ear the last time I took his class) but hope to in the spring. But even studying with my fiddle teacher gives me a better understanding of playing trad music on the concertina. I am amazed by how much I learn from regular weekly classes with Jimmy and how much of it applies to concertina as well as fiddle. Also ... meeting with a teacher one a week or even twice a month sets a deadline for new tunes, new skills etc.

 

Best of luck with the practice and happy new year,

 

 

Lucy