The Ups Man Brought Me A Present

[Rhomylly]

I am so excited!

 

Thanks again to Tradman for this boon.

 

Now, I need advice:

 

I can read music, roughly on the same level as any teenager who had 6 months of piano lessons as a little kid. Actually, on my Edgley anglo I can sight read fairly well. (NEVER thought I'd say that!)

 

My goal on the Wheatstone is song accompaniment in the English style. John Roberts is my idol on this.

 

Finding a live, human teacher right here right now isn't going to happen.

 

Tutorial advice, please?

[Animaterra]

Congratulations, Rhomylly! What fun!

I was so fortunate to attend John Roberts' workshop on accompanying singing with the concertina, at the Northeast Concertina Workshop in April. He had very little advice, beyond keep it simple, and play what sounds good to you. What sounds good to him is a lot of open 5ths and some simple repeated phrases between verses, with an occasional counter-melody or unison.

 

For now, trust yourself! Just diddle around and see what sounds good to you!

 

Wish we could sit together and try some tunes, you and I!

[Rhomylly]

I do too, Allison!

 

I wish that man would write a book about how he does it! It's so distinctive (at least to my ears, having never been to England to hear how others do it).

[chainyanker]

congrates Rhomylly, im kinda of wishing i lived somewhere else so i chould hear and SEE some one else play.

[Mark Evans]

Bravo Rhomylly! I think you'll find it not very difficult to read music on an English.

 

Question: What is a student Wheatstone? I for one would enjoy seeing a photo.

 

You're gonna have some fun!

[Rhomylly]

My understanding, and I'm probably wrong, is that for a 48-button, it's a little smaller than standard. And might not have been as well made, being considered a "beginner" model.

[John Wild]

The Ups Man Brought Me A Present

 

Now you will be sure to have more ups than downs!!

 

- John Wild

[Chris Timson]

(at least to my ears, having never been to England to hear how others do it).

I am not an expert in this area (or, come to that, in any other area. [sigh] ...) but I am sure others can suggest CDs of good people to listen to. Right now my mind's gone blank, except for Keith Kendrick who uses both English and anglo.

 

Chris

[Galley Wench]

I started with the English last year and have struggled to find many cd's or tutorial's in either book or cd format. I started with the Jackie and its instruction book which was great and then just played songs that I knew so at least I could get the timing right. I do still, in the main, need to have heard the music but I am getting better at picking up new tunes. Having fallen in love with the English concertina I bought a very nice Lachenel and recently a Wheatstone Aeola Tenor Trebble so I swopped my Jackie with another CNet member for a introductory level Anglo - I have discovered that the problem now is that there seems to be so much material about that I am not sure which to get to help me! Have only just attemped to play it last night since receiving it about a month ago and me thinks I might struggle with the push pull concept, but I am prepared to give it a good go. Good luck with the English and hope you enjoy playing it.

[PeterT]

.. I swopped my Jackie with another CNet member for a introductory level Anglo - I have discovered that the problem now is that there seems to be so much material about that I am not sure which to get to help me! Have only just attemped to play it last night since receiving it about a month ago and me thinks I might struggle with the push pull concept, but I am prepared to give it a good go.

Hi Carol,

 

Good luck with your Anglo struggles. I think that the more players who attempt more than one system, the greater will be the summation of our learning.

 

Either post cried of help, here, for the collective experience of the Forum to help you, or you are welcome to contact me "off Forum".

 

Regards,

Peter.

[malcolm clapp]

Rhomylly, if you can sight read on an anglo, you should have no trouble with an English.

 

After all my years of playing anglo, I must confess that I still cannot sight reed well to it. I sight read onto an English, (or keyboard, or piano accordion), memorise it, and then play it on the anglo. Or learn it by ear!

 

Many years ago, when the ICA held competitions, I came horribly unstuck. I entered Intermediate Anglo, and the rules demanded that I play from music and give a copy of the music to the adjudicator (one Father Ken Loveless, recently referred to in other threads here).

 

The piece I played I had learned by ear, so I dutifully wrote it out in manuscript form, note for note, and studiously looked at the music while I played.

 

At the end, Father Ken announced a ten point penalty on the grounds that, in his opinion, anglos should be played by ear and not from music.

 

Subconciously, I suppose I have continued to follow his advice.

 

(Well, that's my excuse anyway!)

 

MC

[Dirge]

There's Anglo logic for you. Insist that a pupil plays from music then penalise him because he actually looked at it.

[bellowbelle]

Yay! Congrats on your new EC!

 

I'm kind of a do-it-yerselfer and so I don't know what tutorial to mention, really.

 

I've always struggled when it comes to reading music, don't like to do it, and will always prefer playing by ear or only reading what music I've written myself.

 

I'll make an exception, though, for most music arranged by Henry Stanley and, lately, the pieces arranged by Frank Butler that are found in Concertina World #433 Music Supplement (the ICA publication).

 

If you visit the International Concertina Association website, and I know the link is available through the links page here but I don't know it offhand, check out the library, and I'm sure you'll find some EC aarrangements available. Some for Anglo, too!

[Chris Timson]

Also worth mentioning that our own Dick Miles has a good tutor out for EC, which covers song accompaniment - something he does pretty well. PM him for the details. There, that's another name to look for on CD.

 

Chris

[David Barnert]

My goal on the Wheatstone is song accompaniment in the English style. John Roberts is my idol on this.

Bravo Rhomylly! I think you'll find it not very difficult to read music on an English.

If I'm not mistaken, I think Rhomylly's saying her new concertina is an Anglo.

[Rhomylly]

Nope, it's an English.

[David Barnert]

Nope, it's an English.

Sorry. I just assumed since you said you wanted to emulate John Roberts.

 

I actually did take a workshop that JR led at Ashokan some years ago on accompanying songs on the EC. And I took the workshop playing a Hayden duet!

[jggunn]

Hi, I have asked the question you pose of numerous people on this site as well as of individuals such as John Roberts, and the answer is always the same -- do what sounds right for you. Apart from accompanying a song - and even that to some extent -- the good tutors are Watson, Carlin, but also Alasdair Anderson and the really good one is by Allan Atlas if you are ambitious. Even when books provide arrangements they are weak on explaining how to do arrangements. I have found asking people how to do it very frustrating and if I ever find a good way, I will explain the principles. I recently engaged a person to spend two hours with me on how to accompany and the end result was an arrangement for one song with no clear sense of what the underlying logic might be. He did, however, primarily recommend two note chords on nearly every note, but I was not impressed with the final result. I find myself doing one of two things -- either playing full three note chords as if I were playing a guitar or playing melody as I sing but with flattening out, that is holding the note, where there are consecutive notes such as three A quarter notes. Also just adding a harmony note works well but all this does not capture what I hear people such as Roberts doing but cannot decypher. Of course I may be seeking rules that do not exist.