Anglo Technique Question: Shifting 'home' Position

[Jim Besser]

On Anglos, there's obviously a 'home' position - on the right side, starting on the middle row G on the right side.

 

What I'm wondering: is there any compelling reason not to sometimes shift positions - ie up a button - when that makes things easier?

 

A tune I"m working on has a flurry of notes high on the middle and top rows, mostly involving the fourth and pinky fingers.

 

If I play this sequence from the 'home' position, it's an awkward stretch, and difficult to do cleanly.

 

If I shift up a button at the beginning of the passage, and slip back after the nasty notes are played, it seems to work more smoothly.

 

Is this acceptable practice? Is there any reason not to do it?

 

The tune in question is Mazurka a Clement.

 

I'm playing it on a G/d 30 button Anglo with Jeffries layout.

 

 

[gcoover]

Jim, I wouldn't worry about offending any self-proclaimed Anglo Police. If it makes sense to you, and the fingering shift makes it play and sound better, then that's the way to do it. 'Nuff said!

 

Gary

[adrian brown]

Jim,

 

As you know, I play the Jeffries 39 layout and I think I use 4 right hand positions - the home position you mention, then up one button, down one button and then a 'wide' position using the two extremities (the top of the centre row, and at the bottom of the inner row). Sometimes I have to do a bit of thinking about when exactly it's best to make a conscious shift between them, mostly to avoid a kind of finger spaghetti, but in the main it's fairly logical and almost automatic.

Greetings from your side of the pond...

 

Adrian

[Jim Besser]

Jim,

 

As you know, I play the Jeffries 39 layout and I think I use 4 right hand positions - the home position you mention, then up one button, down one button and then a 'wide' position using the two extremities (the top of the centre row, and at the bottom of the inner row). Sometimes I have to do a bit of thinking about when exactly it's best to make a conscious shift between them, mostly to avoid a kind of finger spaghetti, but in the main it's fairly logical and almost automatic.

Greetings from your side of the pond...

 

Adrian

Thanks, that's useful.

 

I imagine this is more common on a 38 button than a 30 button.

 

I can't think of any other way to make this particular tune work, at least up to speed.

[sqzbxr]

When I played Anglo, I did it all the time. If you think of the buttons themselves independent of hand position then it becomes natural to shift your hands and use all fingers to best advantage.

[Rod]

With hands coming in all shapes and sizes and Anglo button configuration being to a very great extent standardised this will always be a potential problem. I am fortunate in that my fingers comfortably reach and operate all 36 buttons on my instrument without any necessity for ever having to adjust the position of my hands in the straps. Perhaps I should just consider myself lucky to have the average hands for which my instrument was presumably designed.

[JimLucas]

On Anglos, there's obviously a 'home' position - on the right side, starting on the middle row G on the right side.

 

What I'm wondering: is there any compelling reason not to sometimes shift positions - ie up a button - when that makes things easier?

 

Of course, it's all right! The name alone should tell you that. It's the "home" position, not the "prison" position. You're allowed to leave "home" and go visiting... even for extended periods, if you have a good reason.

 

I imagine this is more common on a 38 button than a 30 button.

I don't see why that should be. Limited though I am on the anglo, it's not unusual for me to do it on a 30-button... or even when staying within the 20-button "core".

 

I can't think of any other way to make this particular tune work, at least up to speed.

It seems to me that that says it all.

 

There should be no good reason to avoid something that works in favor of something that doesn't work... at least not unless and until politicians start passing laws that make what works "illegal".

[Azalin]

On Anglos, there's obviously a 'home' position - on the right side, starting on the middle row G on the right side.

 

What I'm wondering: is there any compelling reason not to sometimes shift positions - ie up a button - when that makes things easier?

 

 

My own take on this is try to stay on your home position until you really have no other choice. There's a few tunes where my fourth and fifth fingers on my left hand are simply too weak to play some combination of lower notes at speed. When switching one column down it works wonderfully. But after ward coming back to your home position smoothly might not be an easy task, it depends on the tune. So my advice would be to still try to strengthen your weakest fingers and play at home position when you can, and got out of home position when physically required. I believe that if you simply go out of home position randomly, your phrasing will be affected in the long run but I don't have any scientific evidence on the matter :-)