To Kruskalize A Tune, The Kruskalization Of A Tune

[Don Taylor]

I have seen this term mentioned a few times in old postings. What does it mean?

 

I presume that the term refers to Jody Kruskal?

[Bill N]

I have used it in the past to mean adding a full, two handed anglo arrangement in what Jody refers to as the "harmonic" style.

[Bill N]

I just used the search function for the term, and it appears that I invented it, so yes, my definition is the definitive one !

[Jody Kruskal]

How to Kruskalize a tune.

1. Get yourself a Jefferies 38 button G/D Anglo.

2. Learn to play as many notes/buttons as possible.

3. Skip as may of those notes as you can get away with and still sound good.

(This is a somewhat factious post, though with a kernel of truth. Actually this can be done on a 30 button instrument in C/G but it's much harder, unless you transpose.)

Edited June 15, 2013 by Jody Kruskal

[Doug Anderson]

I get the G/D part. Playing melody on the right hand of the G row of a C/G gets pretty squeaky. But what do the extra 8 buttons add to the equation? (I ask this as a 30-button G/D player trying to teach myself to play right hand melody and left hand accompaniment.)

[Don Taylor]

I get the G/D part. Playing melody on the right hand of the G row of a C/G gets pretty squeaky. But what do the extra 8 buttons add to the equation? (I ask this as a 30-button G/D player trying to teach myself to play right hand melody and left hand accompaniment.)

wot he said, plus why Jefferies layout? That gets to be a pretty rare instrument.

 

Jody, maybe you could expand on the transposition idea? I have a 30 Ab/Eb which is almost, but not quite, a G/D and I transpose everything using Transcribe!

[Jody Kruskal]

Hi Doug.

Well... as you try to figure out the Anglo puzzle of which buttons to use and whether to draw or push, there are many tune solutions. Finding the best one involves compromise. Here are some priorities in approximate order of importance:

Sounds good to the ear?

Feels good to the fingers?

Bellows direction works for both the melody, chords and accompaniment?

Follows known patterns?

Melody on the right hand?

Too much draw or push in the bellows ?

Is this the best octave?

Is this the best key?

Some good solutions optimize everything on this list but many of the best solutions compromise one or more of these things. I try to come up with several good solutions for each phrase (they all sound different), then mix and match for a variety of textures.

The eight extra buttons give you more ways and sometimes better ways to solve the puzzle. A few of the 16 pitches you get with those 8 buttons, don’t exist at all on the 30 button and the rest give you alternate bellows directions, and so, more options to maximize all the needs of the music and the instrument.

I can play a 30 button just fine but when I do, I miss the added functionality of the 38.

[Jody Kruskal]

 

I get the G/D part. Playing melody on the right hand of the G row of a C/G gets pretty squeaky. But what do the extra 8 buttons add to the equation? (I ask this as a 30-button G/D player trying to teach myself to play right hand melody and left hand accompaniment.)

wot he said, plus why Jefferies layout? That gets to be a pretty rare instrument.

 

Jody, maybe you could expand on the transposition idea? I have a 30 Ab/Eb which is almost, but not quite, a G/D and I transpose everything using Transcribe!

 

Dear secret gender sjm,

 

Yikes! Do you play tunes in the keys of G, D, A (plus relative and modal minors) like most players? Or do you play the same tunes but transposed to Ab, Eb and Bb to fit your 'tina?

[Don Taylor]

Jodi:

Yikes! Do you play tunes in the keys of G, D, A (plus relative and modal minors) like most players? Or do you play the same tunes but transposed to Ab, Eb and Bb to fit your 'tina?

I am playing in Ab (mostly), Eb and Bb to fit my 'tina. I pretend that it is a C/G and use Transpose! to drop recordings down four semi-tones. This seems to be working out OK for me so far. I can use any of the tutorials or recordings and just drop down a major third. Even playing ABCs work out OK as I just adjust those down too. I know I can't play with others, but that is rather academic right now anyway. I can play with a guitarist who owns a capo... Or maybe a brass band?

 

I have only had an Anglo (this Anglo) for about 6 weeks and I bought it on a bit of a whim as I was able to get a nice hardly used Edgley for a good price because it was in an unpopular range. I wanted to see if I liked the Anglo and this gave me a chance to try one out on a quality box. If I persist then I know I have to buy another box to play with others.

 

I am enjoying it very much, but I am wondering if you think that the transposition tricks will lead me down a blind alley. I definitely do not have perfect pitch so it does not bother me to be playing transposed.

 

Don.

[Doug Anderson]

The eight extra buttons give you more ways and sometimes better ways to solve the puzzle. A few of the 16 pitches you get with those 8 buttons, dont exist at all on the 30 button and the rest give you alternate bellows directions, and so, more options to maximize all the needs of the music and the instrument.

Hi Jody,

Thanks! That's actually kind of encouraging. It sounds like I'm on the right track. The more I find my way around the third row on the instrument the better I am able to experiment with the bellows direction and find partial chords or single accompanying notes that fit the melody line. I like your list of priorities too. Lots to think about!

[Jody Kruskal]

Jodi:

Yikes! Do you play tunes in the keys of G, D, A (plus relative and modal minors) like most players? Or do you play the same tunes but transposed to Ab, Eb and Bb to fit your 'tina?

I am playing in Ab (mostly), Eb and Bb to fit my 'tina. I pretend that it is a C/G and use Transpose! to drop recordings down four semi-tones. This seems to be working out OK for me so far. I can use any of the tutorials or recordings and just drop down a major third. Even playing ABCs work out OK as I just adjust those down too. I know I can't play with others, but that is rather academic right now anyway. I can play with a guitarist who owns a capo... Or maybe a brass band?

 

I have only had an Anglo (this Anglo) for about 6 weeks and I bought it on a bit of a whim as I was able to get a nice hardly used Edgley for a good price because it was in an unpopular range. I wanted to see if I liked the Anglo and this gave me a chance to try one out on a quality box. If I persist then I know I have to buy another box to play with others.

 

I am enjoying it very much, but I am wondering if you think that the transposition tricks will lead me down a blind alley. I definitely do not have perfect pitch so it does not bother me to be playing transposed.

 

Don.

 

Hi Don,

 

No blind alley IMO. You are correct, I think, in learning tunes in the keys your instrument plays in. As you say, down the line, when you need to play with others, get yourself a G/D for the greatest ease in playing harmonically in the common keys folks I've met play tunes in. Or a C/G would also work, but not as well, because of its high range. Too many important buttons playing notes up way high and squeeky in fiddle third position.

 

To simulate what I'm talking about, you might try transposing up one semi-tone and play them there. That will give you the feel on your instrument of a G/D instead of a C/G.

 

BTW, I'm Jody, not Jodi.

Edited June 16, 2013 by Jody Kruskal

[Jody Kruskal]

 

The eight extra buttons give you more ways and sometimes better ways to solve the puzzle. A few of the 16 pitches you get with those 8 buttons, dont exist at all on the 30 button and the rest give you alternate bellows directions, and so, more options to maximize all the needs of the music and the instrument.

Hi Jody,

Thanks! That's actually kind of encouraging. It sounds like I'm on the right track. The more I find my way around the third row on the instrument the better I am able to experiment with the bellows direction and find partial chords or single accompanying notes that fit the melody line. I like your list of priorities too. Lots to think about!

 

Hi Doug,

 

Yes, I think you are on the right track too. I think that "partial chords or single accompanying notes that fit the melody line" often sound better than full chords, esp close triads. Partial spellings that sound great are octaves and 5ths. Please make note of this point as it is very important for a clean and clear sound on the Anglo. Low thirds on the left hand can muddy the sonic waters unless they are played for a very short duration.

 

It is an important quality in my style of play that accompaniment notes should add to the background rhythm. Perhaps even more important than their role in defining harmony. Rhythm trumps all, after all, right? I should have put that key point in my list and will now do so, like this:

 

Button and direction choices on the Anglo should support these tune arrangement needs:

 

Sounds good to the ear?

Feels good to the fingers?

Bellows direction works for both the melody, chords and accompaniment?

Supports the background rhythm of the tune?

Supports the phrases and distinctive elements of the tune?

Follows known patterns?

Melody on the right hand?

Too much draw or push in the bellows?

Is this the best octave?

Is this the best key?

Just a bit of explanation about "Follows known patterns?" At first, beginners have no known patterns. It's all so new and strange. As you get more experience, you develop a bunch of patterns that you know. These patterns often persist from tune to tune and you can use them to help you learn new tunes. As you progress, you will find that the playing of some tune will force you to learn a new pattern. That's good for learning but hard for playing. To ease your learning curve for a new tune, you might want to latch on to, recognize and duplicate a pattern in the the new tune that you already know from an old tune. This previous knowledge adds value to a familier fingering choice and that's why it's in this list. Too much new stuff, and the tune will be hard to play.

As long as I'm at it, I've added another crucial criterium: "Supports the phrases and distinctive elements of the tune?" In theory at least, this item should be self-explanitory.

Edited June 16, 2013 by Jody Kruskal

[Doug Anderson]

As long as I'm at it, I've added another crucial criterium: "Supports the phrases and distinctive elements of the tune?" In theory at least, this item should be self-explanitory.

Hi Jody,

 

I'm working on an example of this right now. An arrangement of a hymn tune (Dundee) that I am trying to play in G (transposed from the Eb that my choir sings it in) has a distinctive switch to the key of C in the first line, but you would never know it from listening to the soprano/melody part (or the tenor part). The switch from the F# note to the F natural only occurs in the alto and bass parts. Without the change of key the whole effect of the musical phrase is lost. That means I have to find a way to work in an F natural on the left side. It's only available on the pull, and that complicates playing the melody on the right side.

 

And it's just this sort of thing that makes the Anglo such a fascinating instrument, for me at least.

[Jim Besser]

I've admired and worked to emulate (with varying degrees of success) Jody's playing for years.

 

He's right, a 38 button box makes a huge difference. I play a 30 button Jeffries G/D, and there are things he does that I couldn't duplicate even assuming an equal level of skill, which is a pretty big assumption. For what I play - English ceilidh, American contra dance and old time, Morris dance - G/D is a vastly more useful arrangement than C/G.

 

To me, Kruskalizing a tune means -

 

- imparting a rhythmic pulse that propels dancers and drives a band; rhythm is more important than melodic flourishes in this style of playing.
- avoiding single note playing like a social disease.

- being daring with chords and harmonies

 

Thinking about this thread, I realized Jody's first response was surprisingly accurate despite its brevity:

 

1. Get yourself a Jefferies 38 button G/D Anglo.

2. Learn to play as many notes/buttons as possible.

3. Skip as may of those notes as you can get away with and still sound good.

One reason I've never been attracted to Irish style playing - and I realize this is entirely a subjective matter of personal taste - is that it seems to me to use the concertina to imitate other instruments, and not make use of the Anglo's unique properties. Jody's style of playing, IMHO, is very well suited to the Anglo's eccentricities: the pulsing rhythm, the chordal richness, the incredible basses.

Edited June 18, 2013 by Jim Besser

[RAc]

.

Edited March 4, 2016 by RAc

[Jody Kruskal]

I've admired and worked to emulate (with varying degrees of success) Jody's playing for years.

 

He's right, a 38 button box makes a huge difference. I play a 30 button Jeffries G/D, and there are things he does that I couldn't duplicate even assuming an equal level of skill, which is a pretty big assumption. For what I play - English ceilidh, American contra dance and old time, Morris dance - G/D is a vastly more useful arrangement than C/G.

 

To me, Kruskalizing a tune means -

 

- imparting a rhythmic pulse that propels dancers and drives a band; rhythm is more important than melodic flourishes in this style of playing.

- avoiding single note playing like a social disease.

- being daring with chords and harmonies

 

Thinking about this thread, I realized Jody's first response was surprisingly accurate despite its brevity:

 

1. Get yourself a Jefferies 38 button G/D Anglo.

2. Learn to play as many notes/buttons as possible.

3. Skip as may of those notes as you can get away with and still sound good.

One reason I've never been attracted to Irish style playing - and I realize this is entirely a subjective matter of personal taste - is that it seems to me to use the concertina to imitate other instruments, and not make use of the Anglo's unique properties. Jody's style of playing, IMHO, is very well suited to the Anglo's eccentricities: the pulsing rhythm, the chordal richness, the incredible basses.

Hi Jim,

 

I blush at your words and count you as one of my greatest fans. A few comments about your comments...

 

As you and I delight in those bass notes on the concertina, you should be aware, as I have become aware, that in a live band situation they almost disappear in the mix. Really the concertina bass notes do not have the volume or attack of other instruments in that range. Yes, they are great in solo playing where they can be heard, but in a band and a noisy room, I have found them to be almost inaudible. I still play them anyway, because that's just the way my fingers work, but I don't expect them to have much impact.

 

Also, you say that I avoid "single note playing like a social disease." So sorry to contradict you, but I have to mention that I play single note melody at contra dances quite frequently. With a band, at a dance, single note playing is often just the right thing. Unison playing with a fiddle is very good. Soloing too, esp. if the other melody instruments have dropped out and it's time for a thin, quiet or transparent texture with only me and the rhythm section. At those times I often play singe note melody with additional right hand harmonies from time to time. I love a varied texture and single line playing is surely a useful way to sound different from what I am doing most of the time.

 

In my solo playing, my bass notes are almost always there because they have to stand in for the missing band. It's all grist for the mill and I like to grind it up lots of ways.

 

All the best...

Edited June 26, 2013 by Jody Kruskal

[Jim Besser]

 

 

As you and I delight in those bass notes on the concertina, you should be aware, as I have become aware, that in a live band situation they almost disappear in the mix. Really the concertina bass notes do not have the volume or attack of other instruments in that range. Yes, they are great in solo playing where they can be heard, but in a band and a noisy room, I have found them to be almost inaudible. I still play them anyway, because that's just the way my finger work, but I don't expect them to have much impact.

 

Also, you say that I avoid "single note playing like a social disease." So sorry to contradict you, but I have to mention that I play single note melody at contra dances quite frequently. With a band, at a dance, single note playing is often just the right thing. Unison playing with a fiddle is very good. Soloing too, esp. if the other melody instruments have dropped out and it's time for a thin, quiet or transparent texture with only me and the rhythm section. At those times I often play singe note melody with additional right hand harmonies from time to time. I love a varied texture and single line playing is surely a useful way to sound different from what I am doing most of the time.

 

In my solo playing, my bass notes are almost always there because they have to stand in for the missing band. It's all grist for the mill and I like to grind it up lots of ways.

 

 

Yep, I know about the disappearing bass notes in a band situation. Even with amplification, they tend to get lost (and especially when playing with a bass and piano, as I usually do). But soloing, or in a small group - to me, it's a key part of the Anglo sound.

 

Unison playing with the fiddle - yes, that can be great.

 

I play in a band with an accordion, and that can be scary - in the muddle of the stage monitors, it's hard to know which instrument is which when you play in unison!

[Jody Kruskal]

 

Unison playing with the fiddle - yes, that can be great.

 

I play in a band with an accordion, and that can be scary - in the muddle of the stage monitors, it's hard to know which instrument is which when you play in unison!

 

 

Accordion and concertina, that's a pair that would surely blend though I rarely play it. Concertina and fiddle blend very nicely where you are not sure who is playing what, but in a delightful way, I really love that combination.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Jody Kruskal