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Fingering for "The Wind that Shakes the Barley"


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I'm trying to learn "the Wind that Shakes the Barley" (D maj) on my rent-a-Rochelle. I'm finding that I'm playing the song more easily on the bottom row (which one is that? g or c?) and going up to the second row for a few notes, and up to the third row just for the c#. It seems to keep the bellows in line too. Is this ok? I tried the middle row first, but had to keep modifying the fingering to make it playable for me.

 

How do you all manage that tune?

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The bottom row is the "G" row. Personally, I wouldn't confine myself to a single row. In addition to the Csharp, I would also utilize the top row for the duplicate A's and G's (in both octaves)going in the opposite bellows direction of the A's and G's found on the "C" (middle) and "G" (bottom) row. This allows for smoother phrasing which is of paramount importance within the Irish idiom. Since the sharps and flats are available in 1 exclusive bellows direction on the 30 button format (as opposed to the 36, 38, or 40 button), it is imperative that you are willing to be flexible with the notes that are available in both directions, constantly adjusting your choice of bellows direction on these notes to accommodate the exclusive notes and be able to arrange the entire phrase accordingly. In the Wind that Shakes the Barley, in addition to the F/C sharp, the E in the middle octave (on the left side of the instrument, C row; the second closest button to the bellows) is only available in 1 (closing) direction. The opening triplet (Fsharp-E-D)requires some intentionality regarding the choice of buttons/rows/bellows direction in order to be properly executed. Here is how I would play the opening phrase (in its simplest form). I will number the buttons from left to right (all the notes in this opening phrase are to be found on the left side of the instrument). I would play the first note (A) on the 5th button of the C row in the opening direction with index finger, the following triplet would be played as follows: pinky finger on Fsharp (which can only be found on the 2nd button of G row with bellows opened), middle finger on E (which can only be found on the 4th button of the C row with the bellows closed); I would play the D (last note of the triplet) on the 2nd button of the G row with the pinky, bellows closing. I would play the following A on the 4th button of the top row with the middle finger, bellows closing; keeping the bellows closed, I would play the proceeding D once again on 2nd button of G row with pinky finger; I would open the bellows to play the following 2 notes, electing to again use the pinky finger for the Fsharp and index finger for the A on the C row. I would highly recommend looking into Bertram Levy's tutor "American Fiddle Styles For The Anglo Concertina," which has really opened my eyes to the potential of the concertina and completely reoriented how I frame and interpret the layout of the instrument. Incidentally, I also play a Rochelle, though I will be upgrading to a Morse Ceili in September. Best of luck to you in your concertina endeavors.

 

Andy.

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You could also elect to play the middle A note on the G row (as opposed to C row) which would allow you to harmonize the Fsharp with low A (the first button on the G row, bellows open). You would need to adjust your fingering as follows: middle finger on A (button 3 on G row,bellows open); for the triplet, ring finger on Fsharp (button 2 on G row, bellows open; you could simultanaeously press button 1 with your pinky to harmonize the Fsharp with low A),index finger on E (button 4 on the C row,bellows closed), ring finger on D (button 2 on G row, bellows closed), index finger on A (button 4 on top row, bellows closed), ring finger on D (button 2 on G row, bellows closed), ring finger on Fsharp (button 2 on G row, bellows open), middle finger on A (button 3 on G row, bellows open).

 

Andy.

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Andy thanks for that detail. I'll give that a go!

 

By the way are you in western MA? Did you get the Rochelle from the button box so as to do the upgrade trade? I am and i plan to do the same. Really liked the Céilís i played over there the other day.

 

Anyway, thanks!

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I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I did purchase the Rochelle from the Button Box, but unfortunately I bought it second-hand, and I don't think the upgrade program applies to used instruments. It's been really challenging restraining my spending habits these last few months in order to be in a position to afford the Morse Ceili, but to my mind, it's more than worth the sacrifice. I am at a stage where the Rochelle just cannot adequately accomodate my skills as they continue to develop.

 

Anyway, I am on pace to be able to make the purchase early in September. Once I have my hands on the Morse, I hope to be able to post some videos on the web of my performing with it.

 

Good luck with "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" and I hope my description of how I would approach it (the opening phrase, that is) makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't and I will endeavor to clarify.

 

Andy.

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This allows for smoother phrasing which is of paramount importance within the Irish

 

Snip

 

I would highly recommend looking into Bertram Levy's tutor "American Fiddle Styles For The Anglo Concertina," which has really opened my eyes to the potential of the concertina and completely reoriented how I frame and interpret the layout of the instrument.

 

OP,

 

You don't say what your goal is, and The Wind is played in the American idiom as well but in case your intention is to play in an Irish style then starting with Bertram Levy might not be the way to go. It is not the aim of his book. Disregard this rave if you are not into Irish music.

 

Playing a slower concertina such as the Rochelle leads one to try to run streams of notes in the same direction in order to keep the speed up rather than lose the time changing bellows direction.

 

Rather than speed or smoothness it might be better to take rhythm as your guiding principle in button choice and bellows direction. Try playing through jigs you know changing bellows direction on the beginning note of each set of three notes and listen to the increased dynamic in your playing. If you find this easy also try changing direction for the third note rather than the first. Listen to the difference.

 

Don't take this as a permanent instruction to always change bellows direction on a rhythm note for Irish music, just build it in as a skill for when you need it. The different sound to the start of a note which has a bellows change is an important asset to use and to avoid when you want to. And this helps define which button you will use for the note. Another is whether you can cut the note well, or whether an octave can be played with it, and sometimes it is just a matter of which button you can get to!

 

To help tune your ear to the difference try playing the common reel triplet BAG as if it is in a reel in two ways, firstly as 1st button C row RHS pull B, then top button C row LHS pull A then same button push G. Put lots of emphasis on the first note and play the triplet quickly. When you think you have the bellows change working well try substituting the draw G on the second to top button accidental row LHS instead. The life will drain out of the triplet.

 

When a good Irish player told me she often changed direction during a triplet to enhance the rhythm I despaired of ever doing it, but it is not in fact that hard when experience gets your mind going as fast as the music and enthusiasm drives you to practise more and to cough up for an instrument that will do it. I played a new Morse a couple of weeks ago, it was much better than three other hybrids I played at the time and would not hold you back for a very long time.

 

Overall what I am saying is let rhythm and phrasing dictate which button to use.

 

Cheers

 

Chris

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I agree whole-heartedly that the inherent nature of the ryhthm and phrasing of a particular tune will to a large degree dictate one's choice of button/bellows direction. I believe this holds true for any style of music. I tried out that triplet B-A-G in both ways that you suggested in your post. Playing the G on the draw could potentially drain the life out of the triplet but not necessarily. There are other factors to consider, such as the manner in which one were to execute or articulate the specific note, the degree of bellows pressure one applies (here the wrist really comes into play), etc... my conviction is that it is potentially just as easy to play stoccato as legato in a uni-directional fashion (consider the playing of English system concertina players such as Dave Townsend or Richard Carlin). I love rapid and frequent changes of bellows directions and there can be a real advantage to this approach, though, to my mind the advantage is in the dense and uninterrupted chord structure you can build (this holds true especially for French/Italian Rennaissance dance music or English Morris tunes) rather than in achieving a certain rhythm. As far as rhythm and phrasing is concerned, "there's more than 1 way to skin a cat."

 

In any event, in advocating a unidirectional approach, my intention was to apply this primarily to long passages that need to flow in a lyrical, fluid fashion (it seems to me that there are many such passages in Irish music, particularly reels, though I readily admit that I am not an expert on the matter). With regards to a triplet (like the B-A-G), to my mind it's just as easy to play it with or without changing bellows direction, and a full, satisfying rhythm can be yeilded by one or the other. It is the longer, more elaborate passages that require a greater degree of intentionality on the part of the concertinist.

 

Andy

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I suspect when you get your hands on a more powerful instrument you will find I am right about the triplet, creating a large difference between the two methods is not easily achieved on a Rochelle and perhaps I should not have proposed it to the OP.

 

Chris

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This allows for smoother phrasing which is of paramount importance within the Irish

 

Snip

 

I would highly recommend looking into Bertram Levy's tutor "American Fiddle Styles For The Anglo Concertina," which has really opened my eyes to the potential of the concertina and completely reoriented how I frame and interpret the layout of the instrument.

 

OP,

 

You don't say what your goal is, and The Wind is played in the American idiom as well but in case your intention is to play in an Irish style then starting with Bertram Levy might not be the way to go. It is not the aim of his book. Disregard this rave if you are not into Irish music.

 

Playing a slower concertina such as the Rochelle leads one to try to run streams of notes in the same direction in order to keep the speed up rather than lose the time changing bellows direction.

 

Rather than speed or smoothness it might be better to take rhythm as your guiding principle in button choice and bellows direction. Try playing through jigs you know changing bellows direction on the beginning note of each set of three notes and listen to the increased dynamic in your playing. If you find this easy also try changing direction for the third note rather than the first. Listen to the difference.

 

Don't take this as a permanent instruction to always change bellows direction on a rhythm note for Irish music, just build it in as a skill for when you need it. The different sound to the start of a note which has a bellows change is an important asset to use and to avoid when you want to. And this helps define which button you will use for the note. Another is whether you can cut the note well, or whether an octave can be played with it, and sometimes it is just a matter of which button you can get to!

 

To help tune your ear to the difference try playing the common reel triplet BAG as if it is in a reel in two ways, firstly as 1st button C row RHS pull B, then top button C row LHS pull A then same button push G. Put lots of emphasis on the first note and play the triplet quickly. When you think you have the bellows change working well try substituting the draw G on the second to top button accidental row LHS instead. The life will drain out of the triplet.

 

When a good Irish player told me she often changed direction during a triplet to enhance the rhythm I despaired of ever doing it, but it is not in fact that hard when experience gets your mind going as fast as the music and enthusiasm drives you to practise more and to cough up for an instrument that will do it. I played a new Morse a couple of weeks ago, it was much better than three other hybrids I played at the time and would not hold you back for a very long time.

 

Overall what I am saying is let rhythm and phrasing dictate which button to use.

 

Cheers

 

Chris

 

Chris, it is ITM I am primarily interested in. Rant received!

 

Thanks for the example. I'll try that when I'm not so exhausted. Long day.

 

I chose the anglo specifically because it's preferred for ITM and that has to do with how the thing is set up to play different notes on different bellows directions. I imagine I'll take full advantage of that to make the ITM I play sound like good ITM. I'm sure there's room for some Bertram Levy style all-the-notes-on-the-push-or-pull style action as well. Whatever works. Like you say--it's about the music's rhythm and phrasing. I just need to practice a lot! At this stage alot of this is just "building vocabulary" I think. Fluency comes later.

 

I never imagined this would be quite so complex. It's like when I decided to learn the Irish language. But I did that and I can do this. It will just take time.

 

I appreciate all the various points of view, thanks a lot to you all!

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<<<<"Bertram Levy style all-the-notes-on-the-push-or-pull">>>>

 

Mark, I'm not sure I would describe Bertram Levy's concertina approach quite like that. If that is the general impression my posts have made, I fear I have represented Bertram's methodology inaccurately (or at least oversimplified it). In the interest of rectifying this, I will submit a direct quote from the introduction of Bertram's tutor addressing this issue and let that speak for itself. (from page 12 of American Fiddle Styles For the Anglo Concertina) "the in-and-out movement of the concertina does afford the instrument its own personality. The method presented here [in the tutor] does not seek to eliminate that movement but rather to harness it in a way that rhythmically enhances the music."

 

Andy.

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<<<<"Bertram Levy style all-the-notes-on-the-push-or-pull">>>>

 

Mark, I'm not sure I would describe Bertram Levy's concertina approach quite like that. If that is the general impression my posts have made, I fear I have represented Bertram's methodology inaccurately (or at least oversimplified it). In the interest of rectifying this, I will submit a direct quote from the introduction of Bertram's tutor addressing this issue and let that speak for itself. (from page 12 of American Fiddle Styles For the Anglo Concertina) "the in-and-out movement of the concertina does afford the instrument its own personality. The method presented here [in the tutor] does not seek to eliminate that movement but rather to harness it in a way that rhythmically enhances the music."

 

Andy.

 

understood, sir! :D

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