Style: Chris Droney vs Noel Hill

[Sean M]

I've learned mostly from Caitlin nic Gabhann videos and don't really know much about different concertina styles. In another post I saw mention of Chris Droney style as opposed to Noel Hill style. I think Noel Hill teaches to use mostly your first two fingers, both hands, both rows. I've never taken lessons from him though so I'm not sure. What are Noel Hill style and Chris Droney style? are there other styles?

[Takayuki YAGI]

For more on the Chris Droney style, see this book by Dan Worrall and James Branch.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/195320807X/

The characteristics of the Chris Droney style, in my opinion, are the frequent use of the G row and the octave playing.

[Matthew Heumann]

You might also ask Frank Edgley, who played and was friends with Chris Droney and very much follows that approach to playing.

[Dan Worrall]

Thanks for the mention, Takayuki! There is quite a bit in that Chris Droney book comparing the two styles. Chris, as you mention, was basically an along-the-row player, and the book describes the many joys of that old way of approaching the concertina, variations of which were so favored amongst the older generation of players, who are now gone. If you follow the tutorial, you will have the basics of that style. The Anglo is such a rich instrument, and there are many good ways to use it for Irish music. The older way deserves not to be forgotten, despite all the many joys of the newer way!

 

By the way, here is a nice review by Jack Talty of the Chris Droney book. Jack is Noel's nephew, I am told. Jack picks up on the comparison in the book between these two styles. https://www.concertinajournal.org/reviews/review-6/ 

 

Elsewhere on this Forum there is a discussion of Frank Edgley's wonderful Irish tutor for the Anglo, which Gary Coover recently republished. It also discusses Chris's style. Frank and I both, albeit separately, were visitors to the Droney household over the years. Chris's daughter Ann Kirrane has graced our Palestine gathering on five occasions (and Frank Edgley once), spreading the Droney fingering style for the Anglo. 

 

Dan

[LR71]

Chris used the G row for the keys of G and D, mostly ignoring the C row, except in cases where it would be awkward to not do so, such as the two part jig the Geese in the Bog.  That's the crux of the matter.  Dan's book goes into much more detail, far more in fact than what can be found in print on the cross fingering approach.

 

The Droneys keep this method of playing alive, also Florence Fahy.  I've monkeyed around with it some, certain things are definitely easier, like tunes that bounce from D to F# to A and back; or the Lark in the Morning, you can push BGB BdB to make up for the pulling you were doing before.

[davidevr]

Resurrecting this topic for a question.

I have taken both Jack's Talty and Caitlín Nic Gabhann's online lessons.

Jack's approach is basically always across the rows, and always as close to the center as possible, which I associate to Noel Hill, which is his uncle after all.

Caitlín has many tunes that are played almost exclusively on the G row (some of them exclusively): is this what you mean with the "Chris Droney" style?