Anglo-Chromatic Chords

[crossharp]

I've just started playing Anglo concertina with a Stagi Gremlin. Certainly seems a good'un to me! I have been playing harmonica for more years than I care to remember and, apart from getting my speed up on the fingering, have little difficulty with the melodies. My problem is/will be accompaniment and chords - no left-hand on a harp! In this regard I found several fragments of chord charts here and there; most notably Roger Watson's Handbook for Anglo-Chromatic. However, I found the logic of his charts difficult to use and from various sources have created my own version attached. It is not complete (yet) but I find it works. I can't help but think that there must be one like this somewhere - unless it is a daft approach and not worth doing. Nonetheless, I have attached a pdf of my developing chart and I would like any advice, criticism or additions.

 

Many Thanks...

 

Anglo Chords.pdf

Edited February 10, 2013 by crossharp

[Mikefule]

I play Anglo in what is often called the "English style" which is mainly melody on the right hand and mainly accompaniment on the left hand.

 

Those chord charts are "raw data" and don't help you to play music. Don't try to play all of the marked notes, and don't be satisfied with "any 3 of the marked buttons".

 

 

To play the chords, you need to think in terms of:

 

1) Bass notes. Typically the root or 5th - but sometimes the 3rd - of the chord.

 

2) pairs (or threes) of higher notes from the chord - or single notes from. Tyically those two notes will be a third apart (normally that means adjacent buttons) or sometimes a 5th apart.

 

3) Block chords of 3 or 4 notes.

 

For a typical bar of 6/8 or 4/4 music, you would usually play |Bass, pair; Bass pair|

 

Occasionally you will play, |Bass, ; Bass, | or sometimes | Bass, bass; Bass, bass|

 

That leaves block chords for occasional emphasis.

 

 

A typical bass/pair combination would be

 

C major: Note of low C, followed by higher E & G

G major: Note of low G, followed by higher B & D

F major: Note of low F, followed by higher A & C

A minor: Note of A, followed by C & E

 

This is very much a simplified starting point. Later you will learn more complex basses.

 

My own style has developed in such a way that I concentrate mostly on walking the bass around the keyboard, and filling in the off beat with very sparing single notes or pairs.

[crossharp]

Got that. I realise you don't attempt to use ALL the notes. The notes will vary depending on the piece but I do find it useful, as a novice, which notes are more likely to sound OK. Being button-illiterate I felt the need for a useful starting point which, I hope you will agree, my little chart does provide. At my level (2 weeks) I feel this helps me and I don't waste too much time and brain power on working it out from first principles. Is it a useful chart for novices?

[Mikefule]

Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both yes and no.

 

Yes, it is a useful chart because it shows you all the buttons in all the chords.

 

No, because it does not give you any clue as to which chords are most important and which shapes are most useful.

 

Assuming your Anglo is C/G, look for these as a starting point:

 

1) The straight line on the C row push chord of C major. Any 3 notes will do, but start off with one of the Cs as the low note.

 

2) The straight line push chord on the G row of G major.

 

3) The pull chord of G major. (include the G note on the accidental row.)

 

4) The pull chord of F major. Take the F from the bottom note of the accidental row, and the F & A from the top two buttons on the C row.

 

The next chords to add to your repertoire a few tunes later will be:

 

1) The push A minor, which takes the A from the accidental row, and the CE from the C row

 

2) The pull D minor which is the top 3 notes on the C row.

[crossharp]

Thanks again Chatty. Just attempting to build a useful crib sheet and your additions help. Ta much...

[Anglo-Irishman]

Hi, crossharp,

 

I'm with Mikefule and the Elves on this one! As long as you realise that yout charts are overkill, and you rarely have to press more than 3 buttons at once to get a good sound, you should be OK!

 

My early musical education was on the harmonica, too, and like you, I found the Anglo easy to start with. Your "suck-blow" feeling matches the "push-pull" exactly.

As to harmonies, I found my harmonica technique helped there, too...

 

When you've found the right note on the mouth organ, you can usually get a matching harmony by opening the left corner of your mouth (in a sort of "one-sided grin"). This sounds one or two lower notes that form part of a chord. The equivalent technique on the Anglo is to find the right melody note and press a couple of buttons to the left of it (treating each row as if it were continuous across the bellows).

Admittedly, my father taught me the "mouth organ", whereas you play the "harp" - like violin and fiddle, we may have two totally differnt techniques here.

 

Whether you take this pragmatic approach, or work out where the thirds and fifths are, you will still have to use common sense and your ear to decide how much of it you what to do at a given point in a tune.

 

Cheers,

John

 

PS. Give my regards to Bangor - I have many happy childhood memories of Easter holidays there as a child!

J.

[Mikefule]

accidental row

C row

G row

 

00000

X00XX C Major push

00000

 

or

 

00000

00XXX C major push

00000

 

 

000X0

XX000 G major, pull

00000

 

 

00000

00000 G major, push

00XXX

 

 

X0000

000XX C major, pull

00000

[crossharp]

Great stuff guys. Thanks for your advice and I will take it all on board as I progress. Thanks again...

[Ondrej]

Perhaps I still wanted to write F major.

X0000
000XX F major, pull

00000

 

I use the same chords.

Ondrej

Edited February 14, 2013 by Ondrej

[Mikefule]

Perhaps I still wanted to write F major.

X0000

000XX F major, pull

00000

 

I use the same chords.

Ondrej

Oops! MY mistake. As a Morris musician I think in G/D, and I forgot to transpose. Yes, the chord I called "C major" is in fact F major on a C/G box.

 

D'oh!