Creating "lift" In Irish Music

[Nathan]

I've recently taken up the anglo concertina after playing the Irish flute for a number of years. I'm starting to get comfortable with the melodies of a few tunes, but they still feel a little flat to me. On the flute, I add "lift" to a tune by emphasizing certain notes with my breath to create a rhythmic pulse underlying the music. Basically it amounts to playing some notes louder than others.

 

I figured on the concertina, bellows = breath, so I started trying to emphasize some notes with bellows movement. But it feels a little awkward to do this unless I happen to be reversing the bellows at the same time.

 

I've found I can also add emphasis by playing two notes at once, but I can't do this consistently yet.

 

How do experienced concertina players approach this? Do you guys have any suggestions to get me started?

[susanhammer]

Hi Nathan, and the other CNet folks. I have followed & enjoyed the discussions here for a long time, but only just got round to joining in.

I came to Irish music through whistle - I've always played wind instruments. When I first started the concertina I had exactly the same problem you are expressing. how to give lift without the breath. Only I also had a very embarassing problem. I was breathing in and out with the bellows - talk about hyperventilating. It took me a long time to realize I was doing this, so I am still working at completely breaking the habit ( I've played for about 5 years).

I learned a lot in the beginning from the John Williams video. The thing he said that always stuck in my mind was use your pecs in your chest, not your wrists when playing. If you are concious of this, you will develop the ability to move the bellows quickly and firmly - thus getting your lift. You will also avoid wrist problems. I'm sure that there are lots of more experienced players on this site that can give you good advice - hang in there. If you can get lift on your flute - you will undoubtedly get it on concertina with a bit of time, as Irish Music is more about what's in your head than anything else.

Susan

[david_boveri]

I've recently taken up the anglo concertina after playing the Irish flute for a number of years. I'm starting to get comfortable with the melodies of a few tunes, but they still feel a little flat to me. On the flute, I add "lift" to a tune by emphasizing certain notes with my breath to create a rhythmic pulse underlying the music. Basically it amounts to playing some notes louder than others.

 

I figured on the concertina, bellows = breath, so I started trying to emphasize some notes with bellows movement. But it feels a little awkward to do this unless I happen to be reversing the bellows at the same time.

 

I've found I can also add emphasis by playing two notes at once, but I can't do this consistently yet.

 

How do experienced concertina players approach this? Do you guys have any suggestions to get me started?

 

although breath is a major component of the lift in irish flute playing, it is less important than length. listen to any piper with good lift. although you may hear volume, they are not using volume to add lift, any you might hear is an aural illusion caused by the length of the notes; there are no dynamics on the uillean pipes.

 

the same goes for irish concertina playing as for flute playing. volume is just one of the tools to add lift, but it is not the most important. i made a recording using the cauliflower (jig) to illustrate my point:

 

http://daiv.boveri.googlepages.com/examplesoflift2.mp3

 

i play the phrase in the following ways:

 

straight

a loud upbeat

a loud downbeat

a long upbeat

a long downbeat

combined

 

i am not good enough to fully separate all the elements from eachother (especially when it comes to the upbeat), so i apologize for the overlaps that make the examples less clear than they could be. my bellows bump into eachother on the final example (i've long outgrown my poor stagi), but it helps to illustrate how important the upbeat is for lift.

 

i was working on another recording of a hornpipe to show the difference between loud and long notes, but i'm in a rush out the door. anyone let me know if the other recording is wanted or necessary.

Edited August 6, 2006 by david_boveri

[Larry Stout]

Thanks for the explanation and the demonstration. It helps make clearer how to get the lift on any instrument.

[geoffwright]

tap the buttons so you leave some gaps in the tune.

[david_boveri]

tap the buttons so you leave some gaps in the tune.

 

how often do you do that? i do it constantly in hornpipes, and usually only after long notes in other types of tunes. do you have any sound samples of you doing it in jigs or reels?

[buikligger]

i play the phrase in the following ways:

 

straight

a loud upbeat

a loud downbeat

a long upbeat

a long downbeat

combined

 

 

i was working on another recording of a hornpipe to show the difference between loud and long notes, but i'm in a rush out the door. anyone let me know if the other recording is wanted or necessary.

 

 

Hi David,

 

interesting stuff. what do you call 'upbeat'? And 'downbeat'? Suppose we're talking |123456|123456| |edegag|^fedcAG|

 

Other recordings wanted

 

Dirk

[Mikefule]

"Lift" in Irish music is better than Irish music in the lift.

[Jody Kruskal]

David,

 

Thanks for your clear thinking and audio examples. Posting this level of detail work is really valuable. I have done this sort of thing with my own playing and those that do, gain important insights and abilities. My idea (and yours) is to practice by exaggerating and isolating some aspect of concertina playing. You concentrate/focus just on that for a while. Your examples isolate note duration and accent in a jig phrase to hear what kind of lift you get with each. Very cool.

 

I have tried your idea, playing several times through my jig at different tempos. The down beat (first beat of each triplet) accent is easy, but the up beat (beat three of each triplet) accent is much much harder for me to do consistently. I have to slow it way down to get it right. The long down beat is easy but the long up beat is the hardest for me.

 

Stepping away from specifically Irish music, other words for these slight adjustments to duration and accent that I’ve heard people use are feel, groove, style, beat, though of course these words all have other meanings as well. Whatever you call it and from whatever culture it’s from, on the concertina, you only have note choice, note duration and volume to play with. It’s easy to confuse these and helpful to separate them out when practicing.

 

I have had success in improving my playing by exaggerating and isolating other combinations of factors. Particularly helpful have been these factors:

 

Play as softly as I can. Staccato vs legato. Simple vs complicated. Single notes vs lots of additional harmony, bass and chord notes. When I play with lots of other notes going on, I play quite differently when I concentrate on letting the melody sing over the accompaniment as opposed to letting the melody get buried and concentrating on rhythm for instance, or harmony, on bass notes.

 

Interesting thing how the mind and body work together.

[Chris Drinkwater]

"Lift" in Irish music is better than Irish music in the lift.

 

 

I suppose it depends on the level of elevation.

 

Chris

[DJC]

"Lift" in Irish music is better than Irish music in the lift.

 

 

My son and his buddies often play in the lift when they can. It certainly beats the usual elevator music.

 

Dan

[buikligger]

although breath is a major component of the lift in irish flute playing, it is less important than length. listen to any piper with good lift. although you may hear volume, they are not using volume to add lift, any you might hear is an aural illusion caused by the length of the notes; there are no dynamics on the uillean pipes.

 

the same goes for irish concertina playing as for flute playing. volume is just one of the tools to add lift, but it is not the most important. i made a recording using the cauliflower (jig) to illustrate my point:

 

http://daiv.boveri.googlepages.com/examplesoflift2.mp3

 

i play the phrase in the following ways:

 

straight

a loud upbeat

a loud downbeat

a long upbeat

a long downbeat

combined

 

i am not good enough to fully separate all the elements from eachother (especially when it comes to the upbeat), so i apologize for the overlaps that make the examples less clear than they could be. my bellows bump into eachother on the final example (i've long outgrown my poor stagi), but it helps to illustrate how important the upbeat is for lift.

 

i was working on another recording of a hornpipe to show the difference between loud and long notes, but i'm in a rush out the door. anyone let me know if the other recording is wanted or necessary.

 

 

Hi David, Nathan and all,

 

being a bodhrán player i count 6 beats in one bar of a jig |123456|. So in Kerry style it goes like |dududu| (small d stands for a normal downstroke and small u stands for a normal upstroke) (D stands for accent on downstroke, U stands for accentuated upstroke). So the basic jig rhythm is |Dududu|Dududu| or in ABCnotation: |.dududu|.dududu|

 

So Davids 'straight pattern' could be : |123456|123456| or |dududu|dududu|

 

Davids 'loud downbeat' pattern can be written like |DudUdu|DudUdu| so emphasis on the first and fourth beat of every bar. In Abc it's |.dud.udu|.dud.udu|

 

Davids 'loud upbeat' pattern can be written as |duDudU|duDudU| or ABC: |du.dud.u|du.dud.u|

 

the 'long downbeat' something like |1>234>56| 1>234>56|

 

the 'long upbeat' pattern like |12<345<6|12<345<6|

 

Am i right in thinking this?

 

thanks for any reaction

 

Dirk De Bleser

[geoffwright]

Its not the bits you play, its the bits you don't play that give it lift.

[michael stutesman]

Its not the bits you play, its the bits you don't play that give it lift.

 

 

Exactly. It's where the magic is.

[Chris Drinkwater]

Its not the bits you play, its the bits you don't play that give it lift.

 

 

Do I see a hitch in there somewhere?

 

Chris

[david_boveri]

i am glad this old thread is getting some interest. i will think about this all and respond more directly to individuals. i will also prepare more audio (video?) examples.

 

as with everything it is nice be reminded of the past. it might be good to go back to this exercise for me! now i have been working on being able to consciously, while playing, adjust what part of each beat i hit and how. one aspect that has been intriguing me is the middle of the beat, especially when on the push.

 

 

Its not the bits you play, its the bits you don't play that give it lift.

 

 

Exactly. It's where the magic is.

 

although i understand the sentiment, i distinctly can think of things i do that create lift! space between adds lift, as well as creating a nice envelope to each note, which often creates an illusion of space. a good attack (on any note) adds lift, as well playing before the beat; so does increasing the amount of energy you put into the instrument. one of the most important things you can do for lift is to be exactly in time, as the notes will start to just lift themselves up, uninhibited by the restrictions that even slightly out of time playing can place on the energy of the tune. a good understanding and appreciation of the tune adds a lot of lift, as well as a non-critical ear. i find that really wanting to find what the tune has to say adds lift, while sometimes ignoring the tune and letting it play itself can bring it alive. sometimes getting putting your instrument down for a few days can get some good lift in it the next time you pick it up, while other times the best way to add lift is to play with others. having an audience can automatically add energy and lift to your playing, while sometimes it can make you so nervous your music falls flat on its face.

 

oh, and good bellows control (putting pressure on the palm rest and straps and not on the buttons) adds a LOT of lift, as it can increase the amount of control over your instrument. having adaptive finger posture and tension adds lift, too.

 

i would say, however, that one of my favorite ways to add lift is to get inspired by a good musician, who has so much lift that it is infectious, and when you play the tune, you have no idea what the notes you are playing are, or what the name of it is or even where you learned it, but only know that you can and do feel and breathe and live the energy and excitement of the tune.

 

and then there's airs.... do they have lift?

[m3838]

and then there's airs.... do they have lift?

Speaking of which, one of the most "lifting" musicians I ever heard, was none other, but Glenn Gould. Unimaginable! And yes, you are absolutely right, been on time is cruicial. It's my curse, of course. In this regard Gould is unbeatable.

[Mark Evans]

and then there's airs.... do they have lift?

Speaking of which, one of the most "lifting" musicians I ever heard, was none other, but Glenn Gould. Unimaginable! And yes, you are absolutely right, been on time is cruicial. It's my curse, of course. In this regard Gould is unbeatable.

 

No argument there Misha...Gould was out of this world. Everytime I click on one of the obscure Youtube clips (like the one of him in the bathrobe with the faithfull dog watching him as he practices really shakes me up).

 

Do airs have lift? Yes, long lyric, leggato lines punctuated by crisp appogiature seems to work for me along with hearing in my head one of my favorite singers.