Singing Witha G/d Anglo

[Kelteglow]

Just a quick question. What would you do if you want to sing say in the key of C whilst playing a G/D .Would you ,for instance ,move the song up to D or struggle to play it in C .Thanks Bob

Edited May 16, 2015 by KelTekgolow

[adrian brown]

Well playing in C on a G/D uses the same fingerings as playing in F on a C/G, which I feel is really a 'natural' key for the instrument. If you can play in Am (Dm on a C/G) it's a small step to start playing in C (F). Granted, if you're used to only playing in G and D (C and G), it's going to require a little thought and effort, but it's really not that difficult, you just have to persevere...

 

Adrian

[Kelteglow]

Yes thanks for that I am not very good at upping and lowering by 5ths ,so I will have to learn that .I wan't to be able to accompany my songs on both concertinas C/G and D/G... Bob

[Bob Michel]

C should be a pretty comfortable key on a G/D, though as Adrian says there's a bit of a learning curve. I can think of two early obstacles to overcome, neither of them too daunting. First, when you're playing songs of the I-IV-V type both your I and IV chord (C and F) are most accessible on the draw, while only your V chord (G) will be mostly on the push. So the bellows management required will be a bit unfamiliar in the beginning. Second, if you like to use an alternating-bass style of accompaniment, you'll need to draw the low C on the accidental row but push the G on the G row (unless you have a G drone, which you can work, in either direction, with your left thumb).

 

I'm transposing this from a C/G, where F and Bb (C and F for you) have gradually become favorite keys of mine, for both dance tunes and songs. It strikes me as odd when players of Irish music balk at tunes in the near flat keys while happily plugging away much of the time in D (A for you), which is at least as awkward on their C/G instruments. It's all a matter of what you're used to.

 

Bob Michel

Near Philly

[StuartEstell]

Agreed with all of the above - F on C/G and C on G/D sit very well on the instrument once you get used to them.

[Sidsqueezer]

Move the song to D if you must. When we sing in choir, we often go up and down a tone until it feels right.

[StuartEstell]

Quite - there's nothing wrong with moving the key of the song as long as it's vocally comfortable. However, I usually find myself wanting to move songs down, and end up playing a lot of songs in F and Bb. But not on a G/D anglo!

[Jody Kruskal]

For that, you get out the Bb/F, right?

[StuartEstell]

No, anything outside home keys goes on the duet - and to be honest I don't really sing with anglo that much these days.

 

Sadly I don't have a Bb/F. One day...

[Bob Michel]

This is one reason why I'm a big fan of the 40-button Anglo: I've found (though it's taken me a while) that the additional chord voicings make it so versatile that I don't much think in terms of "home keys" anymore.

 

It's not as fully chromatic as an English or duet, of course, but I've come to appreciate it as a great compromise. Both my concertinas have 40 buttons, and both are in C/G; when I acquired them (a few years apart in the late '90s) I didn't aspire to play much beyond Irish dance music, and I'd have preferred a standard 30-button instrument. I resigned myself to the extra weight simply because these were available and I could (sort of) afford them. The extra weight turned out to be no trouble at all, and I've come to rely on the alternative fingerings in all the styles of music I play.

 

But I still get the built-in Anglo bounce that I love for dance music, and an instrument that reminds me every time I pick it up to stay focussed on the dancing. Mind, I wouldn't turn down a top-tier 30-button Anglo (or a comparable English or duet, for that matter; I'm omnivorous to a fault). But for me this is the best of both worlds.

 

Bob Michel

Near Philly

[Robin Madge]

I tend to move to D or G if I can manage the key.

Having said that, you get a very different feel with the chords that are available if you play in C on the D/G and this can give you your own distinctive version of the song.

[Jody Kruskal]

I mostly play G/D for tunes and songs and rarely play in C. If I do play in C, I use the C/G. I’ve found that playing in the harmonic style (that is, playing melody and accompaniment at the same time) in C on the G/D is somewhat limiting on a 30 button Anglo. My 38 button instruments help some, but not really enough to get around the limitations comfortably. Here’s most of why.

 

C and G are the only chords in a I-IV-V tune with satisfactory low notes (C and G). The IV chord F note is not low at all, so to play a rich spelling of an F chord requires using the first inversion, spelled A-C-F. It sounds OK, but I want the F to be on the bottom.

 

Also, you get decent sounding I-IV-V chords (C, F, G) in one direction only... draw, draw, push. Not so for the keys of G, D, A and E

 

Since you have a C/G, I suggest that you use it to play in C.

 

That said, C on the G/D can certainly be done. Two of us here claim to like it. I’ve just figured out, to my surprise, that at least one C tune I know, works better on the G/D than the C/G... shocking!

Edited May 22, 2015 by Jody Kruskal

[michael sam wild]

I usually sing unaccompanied songs so find the best key then do my best to accompany it in that key! Can work out costly in Anglos! But I find C G and D and F are best for me apart from Bb and Eb

[Kelteglow]

Its nice to see so many contributions on this subject and although I mensioned playing C on a D/G it was great to hear how you all cope with using different keys . I have for the last few months been carrying 3 Concertina,s C/G ,G/D & Bb/F its not very practical,to carry such a big case around .So I have tried to not use my Bb/F (although its great for singing) and keep to my accompaniment on the other two boxes I should add ,most of my singing is after our morris dancing .It looks as though I can't " have my cake and eat it". I also sing without any accompaniment .Its so much easier but I want to be able to do both well. Bob

Edited May 22, 2015 by KelTekgolow

[TedK]

I use a Bb/F and G/D for song accompaniments in a band.

 

I don't own a C/G, but find C is relatively easy on the Bb/F- much more so that on the G/D. If you are planning to carry 2 of your 3 boxes around, I would have said that the Bb/F and the G/D would cover more bases, especially as you obviously have G well covered by the G/D.

[adrian brown]

That said, C on the G/D can certainly be done. Two of us here claim to like it. I’ve just figured out, to my surprise, that at least one C tune I know, works better on the G/D than the C/G... shocking!

 

As I'm one of those claiming to like it :-)

 

I started to play in F on my first CG anglo quite early on, as I found it was (as others have reported) a great key for singing. So I think the somewhat "opposite logic" of playing in this key has been hard-wired in my head.

 

Another way at looking at it is that having no low D on a 30 button CG, F is the lowest key that has its complete diatonic scale.

 

Adrian

 

[StuartEstell]

Quite so Adrian - which makes it a great key for bass runs!

[gcoover]

At one point Cajun musician Wayne Toups had a special accordion made with four stops so he could play in two different keys - two were in "C" and two were in "D". It would be a bit unwieldy for a concertina, but maybe some brave soul wants to try it?

 

I once worked on an old 20-button German concertina that had a pull bar near the thumb side of the handles that added or removed an extra octave, but that's the only one I've ever seen like that.

 

Gary