Common/Basic Chords

[Conrad D]

I hope no-one is offended by this but I bought my Scarlatti 20 key C/G on a whim whilst helping my son trade up his guitar for a better model. (Fathers will understand). I really thought it was some kind of toy just to play around with for my own amusement but as I try some of the suggestons for chords etc I find it is quite a complex and interesting instrument.

 

BUT

Should I stick with 20 keys or upgrade to 30.

 

Will it just get more complex or are there real benefits?

[michael sam wild]

You can learn a lot on 20 but 30 would be a long term investment and keep you busy for years!

[Anglo-Irishman]

Should I stick with 20 keys or upgrade to 30.

 

Will it just get more complex or are there real benefits?

 

Conrad,

I unwittingly answered this question in my posting about "Leaving of Liverpool". I said you need the G on the press from the outer row. Sorry, I wasn't aware you had a 20-b!

 

I learned on a cheap German 20-b, and when I got a 30-b I kept on playing things just the same on the inner and middle rows, until I gradually realised that:

 

1. There were some places in some tunes that sounded a bit thin on 20 buttons, but sounded much fuller if I took the melody onto the outer row

 

2. Some tricky passages were easier to finger at speed if I used an alternative button on the outer row (though not impossible without the alternative. I'm thinking of the "Sailor's Hornpipe" in C)

 

3. There were some effective chords that I hadn't had avaiable before

 

4. I could play quite effectively in D major, using all three rows.

 

In short, when upgrading from 20 to 30 buttons, you can keep it simple for a start, and explore the complexity - which does give you added value - in your own time.

 

Phase 1: Play your 20-b repertoire as you did before.

Phase 2: Improve on this by using buttons in the outer row (e.g. start with the low F on the first button, outer row, left side, draw, to give some weight to the F major chord).

Phase 3: Build your new pieces on the three rows right from the start.

 

Cheers,

John

[Conrad D]

Thanks for information.

 

My first instrument was a tin whistle but it got me started in music and I moved on to clarinet then alto sax. This developed an interest in playing jazz but I also love folk music and being Scottish, with some Irish blood, I would like to get more involved with the anglo. I'll try to get better with the 20-b but there's a music shop which I must visit soon.

 

May need to drop a few hints to my wife.

[Conrad D]

I am now trying to play some of the simpler chords to accompany Wild Rover. In the key of C they are C G and F which sound simple enough but I need fill-ins between the chords to keep the rhythm going. A "C-D" lead-in to the first C chord sounds OK, and again into the second C chord but after that I am struggling a bit to keep the rhythm going and to play something which fits the music.

 

The other problem is that a three-note chord takes all my wind and I probably need to choose fill-in notes which go in the opposite direction, ie pull after a push chord and push after a pull chord.

 

As I said before, I am pretty new to this instrument and love playing the melody line, but these chords are stretching me.

 

I only need two tunes in time for our Christmas concert. I don't think I'm being too ambitious.

[Conrad D]

I play "Leaving of Liverpool" on the C/G Anglo, too. I play it in the key of C (my best key for singing it) , starting on the middle button, middle row, left side, press. The melody doesn't go lower than that, so there's always enough bass to harmonise on.

You can play the bare tune all on the middle row, of course, but when you start harmonising it, you have to take a draw C from the inner row and a draw G from the outer row occasionally (so-called alternate fingerings) because the chords that go with them (F major and G major) are only available or are handier on the draw.

 

Perhaps I can make you a quick and dirty recording of it soon (I'm a bit busy just at the moment)!

 

Cheers,

John

 

I don't yet have the dexterity to play a melody and a harmony line together. My fingers just don't do what I want. I can play a few chords without the melody but I suppose I expect them to be rhythmic.

 

I have gone back to basics, ie the tunes in "Absolute Beginners Concertina" to practise them slowly at first then up to speed. Some of the tunes use notes from both the C and G rows and I will keep practising till I get the feel of them. I'm beginning to understand a little of the geography of the instrument.

 

Christmas is a little way off and my fall-back position is to play the melody line without the chords if I can't master them by then.

 

I have read a nunber of posts and looked at a few youtube extracts to get some tips. Progress is slow but I am enjoying the journey.

 

Conrad

[Earl Cameron]

Just when you are playing a melody that is going higher, try to hold out some of the previous notes and find which ones sound nice when you sustain them.

Of course theory knowledge helps. I think of most chords as being made of a major third and a minor third and are interpreted based on which interval

comes first. Any diad can be interpreted harmonically one or two ways, depending on the interval making up the diad. If the diad is a fourth, the top note

IS the root, no question. If the diad is a 5th, then the bottom note is definitely the root. If the diad is a minor third, either the bottom note is the root and it

is a minor chord, or the bottom note is the third and it is a major chord. And if the diad is a major third either the bottom note is root of a major chord or it is

the third of a minor chord. Musically you can do a lot with diads alone, meaning you are playing one note below the melody, thirds are usually really easy as it is the

adjacent button most places you go.

[Earl Cameron]

Oh and if the diad is a minor sixth, either the top note is the root of a major chord or the bottom note is the fifth of a minor chord. if the diad is a major sixth

the top note is the root of a minor chord or bottom note is the fifth of a major chord.

[Conrad D]

I am reasonably familiar with some music theory as I play jazz on clarinet and sax, do a little arranging, and have dabbled with keyboard which took a long time to play using both hands.

 

I am now at the same stage with c/g - finding it difficult to play using more than one finger at a time.

 

Sometimes I hit a harmony note which sounds good but I didn't analyse why. I may now.