Playing Technique?

[Roger Hare]

From a novice (3 month) 20-button Anglo player.

 

I have just learned the tune 'Billy Boy'. Easy to pick out on the C-row of my instrument once

I realised there were two brief excursions to the G-row for an F-sharp. While fiddling with this

I realised that the sequence of notes surrounding the F-sharps could be played more fluidly

if I played that whole sequence on the G-row. Some notes which previously were pushed were

now pulled (and vice versa). By doing this, I avoided having to play these notes at the high-end

of the C-row, so I only had to use three fingers. Also, to play these notes on the G-row, I needed

to make a brief excursion to the left hand side of the instrument.

Great! My first cross-row, two handed tune!

However, questions arise:

1) Is it a good idea to avoid the high end buttons? One must exercise the pinkie, after all.
2) Is this shifting between rows (sometimes unecessarily), a valid 'technique'?
3) Will pulling notes which previously were pushed (and vice versa) make it easier to add
chords to my tunes?

I have been experimenting, and find I can already do this with two other (accidental-free)
tunes - 'Lilliburlero' and 'The Girl I left Behind Me'. I'm sure I will be able to do this with all
sorts of other stuff. Is it a good idea though?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

Roger

Edited December 22, 2014 by lachenal74693

[Rod]

Just feel your way, carry on experimenting and develop your own style.

[Jody Kruskal]

I think you are on to something. Lots of ways to skin the Anglo cat and they all sound different. There's the joy. Carry on!

[adrian brown]

Just feel your way, carry on experimenting and develop your own style.

 

I'd agree wholeheartedly with this, but as I've said it before here - if I'd had Gary Coover's book when starting out, it would have saved me an awful lot of time and energy...

 

Adrian

[Jim Burke]

Roger, I have been playing Anglo for about three years, and from the beginning I have had the benefit of expert instruction. Even so, I have managed to find my way down some fingering rabbit holes that went nowhere and proved to be just a frustrating waste of time. I can't imagine how much trouble I would have made for myself without good guidance. My advice is to get yourself some help as soon as you can. Noel Hill's camps are superb, and some of the best players and teachers in the world are available on Skype/Facetime. The Online Academy of Irish Music (OAIM) is an excellent resource. Books are fine too; but there is no substitute for having a top notch player watch and listen to you play and say useful things like "No, don't do it that way. It's OK, but this way is better." Good luck. Jim

Edited December 22, 2014 by Jim Burke

[gcoover]

Roger,

Sounds like you're doing just fine - exploration and experimentation are good things to do!

 

No reason to avoid high end (or low end buttons) if they're part of the tune. Your pinkies will eventually get stronger and more manageable, it just takes a little time since they're not used to working very much. And the melody will not always be only on the right, or the left, but often a combination of the two sides, although it can get a little tricky when adding chords.

 

Although some people play only along one row, most eventually reach out to other rows and end up playing the notes they need wherever they can find them. Same with chords - you don't always have all the notes of a chord in the same direction as the melody note, so you need to try both directions and see which works best. And you only have the one accidental - F# - so you can only hint at most fancier chromatic chords by playing some of the notes.

 

Posted elsewhere in this forum (and on Amazon.com's "Look Inside" feature) are samples of tunes notated for 20-button Anglo from the book "Civil War Concertina". You might want to take a look at these and see if they help. It really surprised me just how much music one can get out of a 20-button instrument! Just for fun, here's a version of "The Girl I Left Behind Me" from the book: http://youtu.be/ucU4yVjbnDQ.

 

Enjoy your new instrument!

 

Gary

Edited December 22, 2014 by gcoover

[Roger Hare]

Thank you for those encouraging replies!

 

To get advice from JK and GC is particularly helpful! I already hve the 'Civil War Concertina'

book, incidentally, and have been listening to JK's Youtube videos.

 

I will try and avoidd going down any restrictive roads by continuing to play both versions of a

tune when I work out an 'easier' version!

 

Once again, thank you all.

 

Roger

Edited December 23, 2014 by lachenal74693

[Jody Kruskal]

"I will try and avoidd going down any restrictive roads by continuing to play both versions of a

tune when I work out an 'easier' version!"

I think this is good advice to yourself. As I learn a new tune, my attempt is to know at least two ways to play it. That way, I can mix and match to create variety and maintain interest. After doing this for years, I now have a large smorgasbord of tricks and techniques, flavors, registers etc to call upon at will.

Best of luck with your concertina adventure.