Is a drone note on the push necessary ?

[Alan Day]

I realised some time ago that because I have an identical  push note to the drone.

The drone push note is a wasted note that could be changed to something more useful like F on the push.

It is certainly worth considering.

Al

[wunks]

13 minutes ago, Alan Day said:

I realised some time ago that because I have an identical  push note to the drone.

The drone push note is a wasted note that could be changed to something more useful like F on the push.

It is certainly worth considering.

Al

Is your Identical push note on the same hand as the drone?  I play duet but I think there may be a similarity.  The effect of playing through the drone ( doubling the note when it's in the melody line )  is riveting and key of F is magical with an F in the mid range.  

[Richard Mellish]

On my G-D I use the left thumb button as part of a C chord on pull but I agree that it is of little use on push. I wonder what I might find more useful, not too far away in pitch for the same size of reed (though not necessarily the same reed retuned).

[Alan Day]

Richard I have C on the push on my GD Concertina Drone button.

(F on the CG)

Very useful.

Al

[Clive Thorne]

My "Drone" (C/G Instrument) is C on the pull and a Bb on the push. I mostly use the C to get a Low F chord now & then.

The Bb can give you an inversion of Bb on the push (it's a 36 key), a Gm on the push and, of course, a C7 (should you be into that sort of thing).

I can get a drone effect by swapping between the pull C and the push C on the C row (with push and pull Gs etc), but it takes some work to get the push/pull transition reliably smooth (not there yet), and (for me) it all falls to pieces if the tune ventures onto the left hand!

 

[Ruairi]

My instrument has a wonderful D/D drone which I'm really enjoying; gives a whole Hardanger fiddle feel to suitable tunes which is great. Following the concept of the uilleann pipes (also D drone) I also find it sounds good even on some tunes that aren't in D, perhaps G mainly? I'm a bit confused by the idea of a drone button that has two different notes but I think that's more a lack of experience on my part. 

Thanks,

Ruairi

[Clive Thorne]

3 hours ago, Ruairi said:

My instrument has a wonderful D/D drone which I'm really enjoying; gives a whole Hardanger fiddle feel to suitable tunes which is great. Following the concept of the uilleann pipes (also D drone) I also find it sounds good even on some tunes that aren't in D, perhaps G mainly? I'm a bit confused by the idea of a drone button that has two different notes but I think that's more a lack of experience on my part. 

Thanks,

Ruairi

I thinks it's just because more often than not that button under the left thumb is the same both ways, and so it's often refered to as the drone button even when it isn't.

[Alan Day]

The idea of changing a drone button is to provide another option when playing chords /base runs etc for the music style I play.

Your post Ruairi is interesting because you like to emulate a drone instrument and for your style concentrating on drone playing changing the drone is not a good idea.

I rarely play with a drone , but the option is there if I want it . As Clive mentions it can be difficult without a lot of practice to achieve a smooth flow.

Al

[hjcjones]

My 40 button C/G has a C/C drone, which I enjoy using but it needs to done sparingly, a little goes a long way. However it can be very effective.

 

When I got my 31 button G/D I was concerned that I would miss the additional notes the 40-button offers so I didn't have the "drone button" set up as a drone. Instead I took Colin Dipper's advice and it is C (push)/G# (pull).  With hindsight that may have been a mistake, as I seldom use the G# and I miss having the drone option.  However the C is sometimes useful to provide a C chord on the push.  Maybe I should swap the G#, but I can't decide what I would put there instead.

[Ruairi]

Ah, I think I see what I'm missing here, thanks; but as long as I live I don't think I'll understand a C/G# option, which again is probably my own fault. I think I've been conditioned from years of playing Irish music with a wonderful uilleann piper to understand the term 'drone' differently though. Howard, would something like a C/D option make any more sense? I honestly don't know, I think I might be exhibiting a too-narrow view of the concertina's capabilities...

All the Best

Ruairi

[hjcjones]

I

1 hour ago, Ruairi said:

 as long as I live I don't think I'll understand a C/G# option

I'm not sure I understand it myself, but I had to make a quick decision and I went with the maker's recommendation.  With hindsight I should perhaps have gone with a G/G drone (this is a G/D instrument), but then I wouldn't have the push C, which is useful.  I don't find the pull G# at all useful, but I haven't yet identified another note whose lack on the pull is a consistent problem.  I already have D in both directions. Maybe I should take it down to G natural, as I only have this on the push.

 

I play English music in the harmonic style, so when I use a drone it is either as an alternative to LH chords or to give them a different flavour.  Either way it mustn't be overdone or it becomes boring, but it's nice to have the option there on the C/G.

[Stephen Chambers]

On a 38-key, or a 4-row, Jeffries the notes on the left-hand thumb key are usually F-press/C-draw, whilst that button normally provides a drone-C (press and draw) on a 30-key.

 

But rather than doing away with drones, Cormac Begley has had me convert numerous buttons (on certain of his concertinas) into various drones. Indeed, he's even had Colin Dipper build him an amboyna-wood bass-baritone with five drones operated by thumb-switches on its ends.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by Stephen Chambers