Learning a tune

[Steve Schulteis]

On 2/7/2023 at 3:29 AM, TinkerPhil said:

FWIW I am trying to learn more music by reading it and committing it to memory - you are right, I am learning to get the "feel" for it

 

When I started out, I made an effort to memorize most of the music I played. After a while, I ended up with a local folk band, and I realized that I wouldn't be able to keep up that way - there were just too many tunes to learn, and which ones we were actively playing seemed to change constantly. So now I play from sheet music most of the time, and it's honestly changed my experience for the better. I still want to get back to more memorization and learning by ear (those have benefits too), but for this season I'm a sheet music player, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Steve Schulteis]

2 hours ago, TinkerPhil said:

Lastly, learning seems such a selfish action - I lock myself away in a room on my own - there's no social interaction - nobody immediately to hand to gee me along and I don't think a zoom call will particularly help - and I don't feel like I get anything out of it - and the likelihood of me playing in public anytime soon is very low

 

Doing things by and for yourself isn't always selfish. I sometimes need time alone, and it equips me to better serve others and enjoy their company.

 

As I mentioned in my last post, I play with a local folk band. I'm still one of the least musically accomplished members. And I'm the only concertina player. But having other people to play with and having goals (gigs) to work toward has helped my playing a lot. It's been a ton of work, but I've been really glad for it. Maybe finding another musician (on any instrument) to work on tunes with would reinvigorate your enjoyment of the instrument.

[hjcjones]

2 hours ago, TinkerPhil said:

I think my initial love for the concertina is fading away - to get better will require more effort than I ever put in

I'm sad to say that I don't get any fun out of it - when I was focussed on it I could "achieve" playing a tune but it was not 'fun'

Learning an instrument isn't easy, and isn't always fun, especially when you find you're struggling. It's important to remember that progress doesn't come at a steady rate, there will be times where you don't seem to be getting anywhere and perhaps even seem to be going backwards. That's entirely normal, but it is frustrating and can be disheartening. Just remember what attracted you to the instrument in the first place, and hold onto that.

 

I wonder if you're taking on too much by trying to learn to play from memory at the same time as trying to learn the instrument itself? There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't play from music or have a music stand in front of you. The idea that it's somehow not appropriate for concertina is, with respect, simply mistaken.   It's true it is not ideal to rely on written music in sessions and sometimes in performance, but you don't seem to be at that stage, and when playing for yourself it is absolutely fine.  I suggest you continue to focus on learning to play the instrument, and if in future you find yourself in situations where you want to play without the music then that is the time to focus on learning that skill.

 

What you might find helpful is to make playing by ear/from memory just a small part of your practice, perhaps at the end. You don't need to put much time or effort into it, it should just be a few minutes of exploring the instrument and finding out what happens. Rather than trying to memorise an entire tune, just try playing a few bars of anything which comes into your head.  Keep it simple, and don't be afraid to hunt around to find notes by trial and error, or to change the key if that is easier. It's about building different connections, to connect sounds to buttons rather than notes on a page to buttons. Don't worry about making mistakes, that's how trial-and-error works., and don't take it too seriously, think of it as playtime at the end of more serious practice.

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Please do not give in; playing music should be a part of your being. 

When you start out there's the tendancy to want so much to play what you can hear in your mind, before allowing your fingers to catch up.

A skill is acqired in many ways, through practice, patience and encouragement too.. I know people on c.net will hope you keep going in your creative persuuts.

When. I started long time back.  I also wanted to do tunes ahead of my early abilities or scope.. it took time and patience to get there, but each little step I learned, whether new tune, etc.. spurred me on to do more. And, furthermore, reading some music later on enabled me to play pieces I never would have considered playable beforehand. It improves learning by ear too, and even improvising.

So, keep going, maybe get to know c.net people and share experiences, send messages, video, and with their help you will keep going.. and your progress will "smile" too🌝🌝

[Mikefule]

It would be a pity to give up, but not necessarily wrong.  There is no law that says that once you have started concertina, you are committed to it for life.  It may, or may not, be the instrument for you.

 

Before "finding" Anglo concertina, I played harmonica (fairly well), melodeon (not very well), and tried piano, guitar, fife (albeit briefly), drums (I had lessons for several months), and English concertina (I couldn't make head nor tail of it).

 

I began to find harmonica boring after a few years.   I never fell in love with melodeon, even thought it was the obvious choice: I am Morris dancer.

 

However, there is something about the Anglo that just works for me, even though many people see it as a similar sort of thing to the melodeon.

 

Since I started playing Anglo, I have owned various 30 button instruments, one 38 button, and a couple of 20 button instruments, and I am finding myself more and more falling in love with the robust simplicity of the 20b, so much so that I have a Marcus Traveller (21b) on order.

 

Whatever instrument finally grabs your heart, it needs to be one that you find difficult to put down, rather than hard to pick up.

 

As for practice and playing, it is far more rewarding to play something simple well, rather than something complex badly.  There are dozens of tunes that are in simple time signatures and a compass of about one octave which can be pumped out of a concertina with enthusiasm, building your confidence and placating those who share your home.

 

If you can play Oh Susannah, or When the Saints, or Monck's March, or Cock of the North, well enough to keep the rhythm steady, people will not mind the noise.  If you are labouring through some more complex piece, stopping and starting, stumbling over the rhythm, and trying to run before you can walk, you will frustrate yourself, and may to some extent distress those who have to listen.

 

However, there is always more to learn.  The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shore of ignorance.  However, you don't always have to be looking out to sea.  The larger the island of knowledge, the more island there is to enjoy a stroll around.

 

 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Some surprisingly simple to play tunes are already available to play; for example I transcribed some Purcell tunes ( music's handmaid) which were actually written to teach students in music) .. the first tune is in C major (3/4 time)..with no sharps or flats and is extremely easy little tune of maybe only a dozen bars length.

So, you can also maybe find pieces to get you going again outside the tradition. I can always send you copy to try if you want to try them. Very easy to play, so you can spend more time building upon the single notes when you are ready.

Maybe, sometimes people can find traditional music, a little daunting, and tricky to play, and finding simple alternatives can spark off enthusiasm, hopefully once again?

[Moll Peatly]

Hi Phil. If I'm not mistaken, we met yesterday -- I'm the other newbie. A few more thoughts from me.

 

I believe you have a particular purpose in mind, for which the concertina is eminently suitable. There's your motivation. But life is short, learning a musical instrument is hard, and if you have better things to do with your time and energy, no-one will blame you.

 

FWIW, when I first got my concertina, I would pick it up, wrestle with it for 10 minutes, get frustrated and bored, put it away, and not pick it up for a month. Naturally, progress was slow. Eventually I managed to play through Jamaica with all the right notes in the right order. Some time later, I found myself playing it from memory. These little triumphs kept me going. I have the advantage of having sung  a classical choir for years, so I've picked up a fair bit of general musical gumption.

 

Here's my suggestion. Find a local music teacher, and sign up for a few hours of face-to-face (not online) lessons. It can be a singing teacher, violin, flute, piano or (probably easiest to find but not quite ideal for these purposes) a guitar teacher. They won't know a concertina from a constipated pig, but that's not the point. Take your Christmas carol book, and go through a bunch of well-known songs with them. Get them to explain how music works -- I don't mean "theory" in the sense of harmony and all that complicated stuff, but basic essentials such as phrasing, beats and pulse, keeping time and knowing when to come in, counting versus understanding cues, and how that works in the context of well-known tunes. You should find that a lot of it comes naturally, but you need to know how to abstract it out so you can apply to unfamiliar tunes. You will have to practice the fingerwork separately, but that will help you understand what you need to tell your fingers (and your ears) to do. And keep asking questions!