G/D Anglos - what are the options?

[Jim Besser]

2 hours ago, Geoff Windle said:

 

Thanks for that very thorough reply Jim! Again really interesting that you play the CG more. I thought you were going to say as you play solo you can play in C which seems the obvious thing to do with a CG, but you say you play mostly in G! I am having to play mostly in G as I have to fit in with the band and am having to adjust to playing on the inner row and in a more harmonic morris style. the inner row is rather high and thin on the right hand side and doesn't have enough volume so I end up playing the melody with the left hand.  And going from G chord to C is tricky as there isnt a low C anywhere I can find  Any tips for playing in G on a CG? 

Many thanks

Geoff

 

It's hard to explain in the abstract. Why don't you send me a list of several of the Morris tunes you want to play in G on the CG and I'll tell you / show you what I'd do.

 

In general: there is a small handful  I play entirely along the bottom G row - Shepherd's Hey, for example, sometimes Constant Billy.  

 

More I play cross row.  Banbury Bill: the first note is the D, left side, middle row, or Shave the Donkey.  Most of the melody is on the right side, bass notes / chords on the left.  Tunes that have a wide melodic range work best for me this way.  Others are more problematic - Trunkles, for example, which I generally play in C, but can easily do in G.

 

I'm not explaining it well; I'll show you in a couple of videos in the coming week.

 

I should note that for the vast majority of my other playing - English ceilidh ,  American contra, etc . - I play the GD; I prefer the sound of the lower register, and of course I'm a sucker for the sound of a Jeffries. For Morris, the most important consideration is being clearly audible above the clatter those pesky dancers make.

[Luke Hillman]

I also play both C/G and G/D, and even though you'd think G/D would be perfect for Morris... I have yet to find one loud enough! Playing harmonically on a C/G means I'm almost always using the shriekingly high notes (I try to avoid splitting the melody across hands whenever possible). If playing melody only, I'll sometimes play on the left hand. I've mostly got to stick to G/Em, because our team has quite a few musicians. 

 

My G/D has a beautiful, rich, mellow sound, and I can get away with using it in some sessions. But so far I've mostly used it for solo performances or in very small group settings (no Morris bells).

[Richard Mellish]

19 hours ago, Geoff Windle said:

 

Thanks for that very thorough reply Jim! Again really interesting that you play the CG more. I thought you were going to say as you play solo you can play in C which seems the obvious thing to do with a CG, but you say you play mostly in G! I am having to play mostly in G as I have to fit in with the band and am having to adjust to playing on the inner row and in a more harmonic morris style. the inner row is rather high and thin on the right hand side and doesn't have enough volume so I end up playing the melody with the left hand.  And going from G chord to C is tricky as there isnt a low C anywhere I can find  Any tips for playing in G on a CG? 

Many thanks

Geoff

What is the lowest note on your C row?

[Geoff Windle]

Ah sorry I should have said on low C on the pull. I mean playing in C you can easily go to F major using the low F on the outer row, but you cant do the same from G to C on the inner row so the basic 3 chord trick is harder - you can of course go to C on the push by swapping rows. 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Wud it not be  easier if the group are playing so loud as to make soloist difficult hearing you own playing, to arrange for the more powerful instruments to agree to reduce their own volume to accommodate?

This is done often in other circumstances ( period music in older instruments often have to play more gently ) as example, so as to balance sound alongside others.🌝🌝🌝

[hjcjones]

On 3/29/2026 at 10:08 PM, Geoff Windle said:

Ah sorry I should have said on low C on the pull. I mean playing in C you can easily go to F major using the low F on the outer row, but you cant do the same from G to C on the inner row so the basic 3 chord trick is harder - you can of course go to C on the push by swapping rows. 

I'm not sure I understand the difficulty. Of course , there's no way to play a LH C major on the pull so you're always going to have to go to the C row to play it on the push. However the fingering for the G chord on the push is fundamentally the same as for the C chord, so you just move from the G row to the C row. Alternatively you have the G chord on the pull (which besides helping with air management also gives you the option of playing an octave lower, starting the scale on the LH pull G4 instead of the RH push G5).

[Clive Thorne]

On 3/31/2026 at 12:00 PM, hjcjones said:

Of course , there's no way to play a LH C major on the pull so you're always going to have to go to the C row to play it on the push.

Well there is an inversion of C major on the pull. C & E from the G row, and the G (below the C) on the 3rd row. If you have a C drone you can always add that in below the G to get  C G C E, whatever that is called? or even add the G from the bottom of the C row to get  G C G C E (quite tangle of 4 fingers and the thumb, which I can get to, but not at playing speed), or a subset, as long as the E is in there, or leave the E out for the 'power' chord. After all melodeonistas often choose to take the thirds out using a stop.

 

We seem to have drifted from GD to CG.

Edited April 3 by Clive Thorne

[hjcjones]

Clive, you're quite right of course, but it's such a weedy and unsatisfying thing that I never use it, and I'd quite forgotten about it. I always choose the C major push, and if necessary I'll change how I play the melody.

 

This thread is about G/D, but it's also about the OP's reasons for wanting one and why he feels C/G doesn't meet his needs. One of his reasons is his apparent difficulty moving from a G chord to a C chord, and I was questioning this.  Several people have said G/D doesn't carry well enough for morris, so looking at alternative ways to approach playing in G on C/G might solve that particular problem.

 

Of course a G/D is a wonderful thing and there are many good reasons for choosing one. However for me the bigger advantage is being able to play with more facility in D (which is of course the equivalent of G on C/G). Playing tunes in G is different but not always better, and whether I play on the G/D or C/G will depend on which fingering patterns seem to suit the tune best. The different tones of the instrumetns might also affect the choice.  However playing in G on a C/G should not be problematic, and it should be possible to avoid the bat-squeak notes if they're a problem.

[Jim Besser]

4 hours ago, hjcjones said:

. Playing tunes in G is different but not always better, and whether I play on the G/D or C/G will depend on which fingering patterns seem to suit the tune best. The different tones of the instrumetns might also affect the choice.  However playing in G on a C/G should not be problematic, and it should be possible to avoid the bat-squeak notes if they're a problem.

 

Exactly. Fingering patterns are a major factor in my decision whether to play the CG or the GD on G tunes.

 

Playing in D is much easier on the GD, of course, but some tunes in D work really well on the CG.  When called on to play Shepherd's Hey, I do it in D; it works really well and it's a relief from the tyranny of doing everything in G.😀

[Richard Mellish]

8 hours ago, Jim Besser said:

 

Exactly. Fingering patterns are a major factor in my decision whether to play the CG or the GD on G tunes.

 

Playing in D is much easier on the GD, of course, but some tunes in D work really well on the CG.  When called on to play Shepherd's Hey, I do it in D; it works really well and it's a relief from the tyranny of doing everything in G.😀

Whereas I find almost always play tunes in G on my G-D, because I find the alternative buttons more convenient when playing on the middle row, as well as preferring the lower pitch.

[Geoff Windle]

Quote

Thanks everyone for the responses - really interesting. I am getting used to playing in G now on the inner row of my C/G and it sounds alright! I have discovered i can do runs with 2 notes without changing direction sometimes which sounds pretty good and is easier on the arms   I'm not used to the harmonic style and rapid changing of bellows direction and my arms are hurting which they never did playing the single note "Irish" style. We have drifted off the G/D topic though indeed so I'll stop there. Thanks All.