Oom-pah bass in key of G

[Karl Merrick]

Hi,

I'm a beginner on the concertina but I think I have made good progress the past six months (blame a lockdown!). I play a C/G Blackthorn which I love.

I can get a good oom-pah bass going on the C row using the first C bass and the C chord, or sometimes just the C and E or C or G notes. This also gives some kind of G7 chord on the pull which is really useful.

I can't seem to do the same sort of thing on the G row. I can use the G bass on the C row but this feels a bit odd and not particularly intuitive. It also doesn't sound great on the pull, requiring some jumping around to find a D chord. 

I am using choppy chords and playing in octaves on the G row instead, but would like to get a good bass going ideally. 

 

Am I missing something obvious?

 

 

 

[Alan Day]

You could investigate using the C row as part of your playing in G

.Instead of dropping down to the left hand on the G row try going up on the C row instead

Al

[Karl Merrick]

Yes I think that is probably the best approach. It seems a lot easier to do on the right hand than the left. I still dont think there are any bassy push G chords? Maybe I could focus on it being a 'pull' key rather than a push one. There are so many ways you can play this instrument- I flip between thinking the layout is logical genius or random chaos.

Edited July 31, 2020 by Karl Merrick

[Ken_Coles]

2 hours ago, Karl Merrick said:

I flip between thinking the layout is logical genius or random chaos.

 

Right on both accounts!

 

Ken (anglo player)

[Alan Day]

I think we all make the mistake of separating one row from the other

The South African approach is all over the place.

Al

[Karl Merrick]

I will have a look at the south African approach, see what I can take from it, thank you. Think I might be a bit guilty of approaching the Anglo from too much of a theory head. I've only been playing six months. Maybe I should just enjoy it rather than keep on dissecting it. 

[Mikefule]

If you want to play in G on a CG, with basses and chords (oom pah etc.) then the starting point is to play cross row.

 

On the whole, from the F# on the same button your tonic G upwards you will be on the G row, but much of the time, the melody notes below the tonic will stay on the right hand by borrowing from the C row.  Not all of the time, but much of it.

 

The three chord trick is the simplest "one size fits all" accompaniment.

 

In G, your three chords are G major, C major and D major.

 

All the following diagrams are left hand, with your little finger to the left of the diagram, index finger to the right.

O means a button that is not needed for the chord.

 

For the chord G, you can use any three push notes on the G row, but particularly the top 3 buttons, the notes G B D.  It is also very common to use the note G which is the 2nd button push on the C row.

 

You can also find the G chord on the pull here:

OOOGO  accidental row

GBDOO  C row

OOOOO  G row

 

You can also add the occasional richness of a 7th to the G pull chord:

OOOGO  accidental row

GBDFO  C row   (This is the F natural.)

OOOOO  G row

 

 

For the chord C, your notes are C E G.  You can find all three of these by pushing on the C row, or just the pair C & E by pulling buttons 4 & 5 (left hand) on the G row.

 

For the chord D, your notes are D F# A.  This chord can be found on the pull as follows:

OOOOO   accidental row

OODOA   C row

OFOOO   G row.  The F is # but I missed out the # sign to keep the buttons looking right relative to each other.

 

It can also be found on the pull as follows:

OOOOO

OODOO

OFAOO  again with the F being #

 

Part of that D chord (a nice open fifth) can be found on the push:

OOOEO

OOOOO

ODOOO

 

[Karl Merrick]

Thanks for that, it was really useful! 

It might be the case that the things I am missing are:

 

Using the push bass G on the C row. I should make much more use of this.

 

And using the C Row on the right hand for lower melody notes to free the left hand for chords. 

 

Seems like good practice going forward and gives me something to focus on.

 

Thanks for all your inputs!