Playing A Cg Anglo In English Sessions

[frogspawn]

I even find chords hard when the melody slips below the right-hand buttons.

Nothing to be ashamed of, Richard, that is hard.

At the moment I'm looking at the styles of Scan Tester and William Kimber, i.e. based on playing in unison in C across the C and G rows as I understand it.

I suggest that you search those names on this forum and look up some of the previous comment on those two players' styles. Kimber certainly played chords, not unison (and wasn't afraid of playing in G either!).

 

Brian

 

Brian: I get the impression that Kimber basically played in octaves with extra notes making up partial chords which is perhaps arguably closer to Tester's style than to the modern oom-pah approach using full chords and conventional harmonies.

 

I've found that playing in octaves gives quite a lot of punch while still being 'relatively' easy. I first attempted this just on the C row and am now relearning it across both rows. If I can master that to some extent then I'll try adding Kimber's chords as described in Dan Worrall's book. I rather like the idea of dark, strange harmonies.

 

Richard

[Brian Peters]

I'll try adding Kimber's chords as described in Dan Worrall's book. I rather like the idea of dark, strange harmonies.

Yes, Dan Worrall's book is the place to go if you want to unravel the secrets of Kimber - I wasn't sure if you were aware of it already. And, yes, you're right he didn't play "oom-pahs".

Brian

[Pippa]

One other possibility might be to learn the odd common session tune in D from the playing of a fiddle player rather than a box player – it’s a good exercise in phrasing, which can sometimes get a bit muddy or stolid in a welter of chords. Fiddle players often drop in other notes to make 2-note chords to emphasis specific points in the tune –working out where they do it will help you really get into the rhythm of that particular tune and completely free you from the ‘oom-pah’ approach, which then gives you another technique to carry across into other tunes … and so on.

 

When I started playing C/G anglo many years ago, I played mainly with fiddle players, and for dancing; although I used to be able to play with full chording etc, I found there was much more bounce when playing for dancing when I played mainly single-line melody, with the odd double-stop for emphasis. (D, F#, low A, E for an A chord – they all fall easily under the LH fingers, even when you’re playing the melody, if you’re only dropping the odd chord in; you can always add more as you get more familiar with the notes you’d be using in D. I’m well aware this is heresy – I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told I don’t play the anglo properly. But it’s not mimicking an English concertina, because you’ve got all the possibilities of emphasis using bellows changes, and I think all the chords in D fall fairly comfortably in both directions.

 

It’s a question of thinking of the instrument as doing the job of a fiddle (in a different way) just for a few tunes and cutting out too much chording and harmony, which tends to muddy the melody anyway as the lower notes usually sound louder (to my ears) than the melody notes. And you’ll be able to join in most English sessions.

I also found it a very useful technique when I joined a TexMex band for a few years and had a shock when I found myself expected to accompany songs in E – but the 2- or 3-note versions of the chords actually fit the C/G box quite comfortably, and there’s a really nice bright tone to the key.

 

Pippa

[Chris Timson]

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told I don’t play the anglo properly.

I hope you told them where to put their opinions

 

Chris

[PeterT]

I hope you told them where to put their opinions

Quite right too! Pippa plays differently from any other Anglo player that I've heard; wouldn't life be boring if we all played the same way.

 

I think that there is an onus on workshop teachers to say "this is what can be done on an Anglo" (or other system), rather than "this is how you must play it". Obviously, this approach has to be modified if you intent to perform as a group.

 

I don't know how many musicians I've listened to over the years, but I still play tunes in my style, which I developed, largely in isolation, to play the music which I either needed, or wanted, to play.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[geoffwright]

CGs rule OK.

[Chris Timson]

CGs rule OK.

Well I dunno if I'd go that far, Geoff. [thinks] Better be cautious. Don't want to upset the poor old bugger so soon out of hospital [/thinks] The G/D's not bad either!

 

Chris

[JimLucas]

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE.

Some people don't like spice.

Myself, I pick out the hot peppers and chew on them before swallowing.

And vinegar's all right for chips, but Tabasco is even better!

[geoffwright]

CGs rule OK.

Tongue in cheek of course - C/G and G/D are totally different instruments and I happen to prefer the timbre of a C/G cross-fingered than a G/D played up the rows (but thats only personal preference) plus I play octaves rather than chords.

I do see too many non-chord playing G/D owners who stop playing if the session ventures outside their two keys (or even worse, swap to a C/G if the key changes to C).

Time for some scales practise!.

[Chris Timson]

I do see too many non-chord playing G/D owners who stop playing if the session ventures outside their two keys (or even worse, swap to a C/G if the key changes to C).

Time for some scales practise!.

Guilty as charged y'rhonour. It's a fair cop, but society's to blame. I'll see the probation offficer on the way out for some scales to practice.

 

Chris

[geoffwright]

Make sure the scales are in one bellows direction and don't neglect your chromatic scales either, Chris.

We don't want your G# or F natural buttons feeling unloved.

;->