Foot Tapping/stomping

[Pete Dickey]

Whilst I've not made any definitive study of this subject, it is difficult not to have noticed over the past 25+ years that if you play a concertina then it is virtually a necessity to move some part of the body, most often the feet, in a manner which generally coincides with the beat of the music being played.

 

I have noticed a considerable number of styles employed including, Tapping the toes of one foot, Tapping the heel of one foot, Tapping both heels alternatively, Tapping both toes alternatively, Stomping the leg supporting the concertina or Stomping the "free" leg, Waving a leg around, and I'm sure there are other styles in favour.

 

I've also noticed that the tempo of the tapping/stomping also varies and I've seen half speed up to double speed (yes that's you Dave).

 

What I am wondering is:- Does it matter which style is used. Is any one particular style better than the rest? Is any style not to be recommended?

 

One thought that does spring to mind is the possible damage to the concertina e.g. when supported on a stomping leg or in collision with another player. Has anyone seen such damage?

 

It would be interesting to hear the thoughts/accounts of the members.

 

Pete

[Dave Prebble]

Hi Pete,

 

I have noticed there are a number of different ways of marking time.

As Pete hinted my toe normally taps at double speed, so in 2/4 time there will be 4 taps but with the ones on beat, emphasised. Why….only the Lord knows.

This doesn’t seem to be one of the more common traits I have observed… Alright! So I’m the only one I know who does it.

Perhaps vaguely related to potential push pull action of the bellows played ‘English’ or ‘Morris’ style??

 

I have noticed that a lot of Anglo players tent to tap alternate feet while the often more demure, English concertina players, delicately tap away with one foot…..Bellows again?

 

One thing worth noting is that for someone playing seated with the instrument on the knee. Fairly aggressive heel tapping can do a lot to accentuate the tune and add ‘lift’ to the music. Try playing a sustained note with your box on your knee and tap the beat with the heel….you will see what I mean.

 

A similar exercise on the old Hohner 4 stop single row used to produce a sound somewhat akin to a didgeridoo !

 

Have fun and experiment

 

Dave

[Robert Booth]

Re: rythmic knocks on the box: I've got an old record of John Kirkpatrick doing a long drone on the box whilst thumping on the side with the heel of his hand. It made an eerie acconpaniment to the song that he sang. Pretty cool. I guess that a good foot stomp would have the similar effect.

Rob

[Alan Day]

I had to laugh when I saw this notice as I have received more tickings off from various bands I played with on this subject than anything else.

It is great banging your foot up and down in a session as Dave says it gives some sort of lift to the music,it will however give lift to your pint which gradually works its way across the table and into someones lap ,but that is another problem.The main problem is when you are on stage or recording,your foot tapping or stamping runs vibrations up the mike stands and a thudding sound is transmitted to the audience and to the recording.My problem is so bad I have to rest my feet on cushions in a recording studio so that I can tap away on them without submitting any sound.

I had a wonderfull evening with Dave at Lewes (Sussex) and when Dave plays everything moves as he bounces on his seat as well,but I very much enjoyed his playing and it is a shame we live at different ends of England.

Regards

Alan

Edited December 12, 2003 by Alan Day

[tomlaw90]

This topic brings to mind Jackie Daly's "Music from Sliabh Luachra", where his foot tapping is clearly audible.

 

And a good thing too... I started to learn Biddy Martin's reel off that, and realized at some point that what I thought were lead-in notes where actually on the first beat. I had the whole tune shifted by a quarter note. Good thing the foot tapping was there to show where things really lined up.

[JimLucas]

A lot of musicians,-- not just concertina players -- keep time by tapping their foot or moving some other part of their body. Like breathing with the bellows movement, this is a good habit to break.

 

I'm not saying that you should never do it, rather that you should learn to consciously control it, to be able to turn it on and off at will. Why? On general principles, of course, it's not good to have anything about your playing that you can't control. Alan has mentioned some problems that can result from foot tapping. I had to learn not to tap my foot when I played in my school orchestra... try to imagine 40-100 tapping feet during a quiet symphonic passage.

 

But there are also positive aspects to being able to control your rhythm-tapping. Robert mentioned John Kirkpatrick using it as a musical technique, something that doesn't work if you do it all the time, and especially if you can't control it. You could also enhance it: I recently saw a concertina player employ the same rhythmic foot patterns used by some French Canadian fiddlers... a bit more complicated than simple foot tapping, and all the more effective for that.

[geoffwright]

Personally, I suspect it is a bad habit to get into, especially if you play alongside other people where ears may be more useful than feet.

 

Some friends who attend a certain Midlands accordion club use a bit of carpet to stand their accordions on. I have been known to slide the carpet under their foot when the tapping got a little over-enthusiastic.

 

Watching Mary MacNamara, she always gets both feet going before she starts to play so she gets the speed right. She told me they have to resort to carpet when she is on TV as she finds it difficult not to do "the feet".

 

I don't actually tap my foot, but do use my "knee-bounce" to signal the beat for the benefit of people at the extremes of the band.

[JimLucas]

I don't actually tap my foot, but do use my "knee-bounce" to signal the beat for the benefit of people at the extremes of the band.

Ah. Since I usually prefer to play with my concertina suspended in the air, I will at times actually gesture with the entire instrument, to the same purpose. At other times I may just bob my head, but with the concertina I can often attract the attention even of those who are otherwise oblivious.

[Alan Day]

Jim,I am interested in your comment regarding French Canadian fiddlers using foot tapping rythms.

In the Auvergne region of France, French bagpipe players beat out a rythym with their feet.They have bells on their ankles similar to Morris dancers and sitting down they tap left foot and then both with the right being the tapping foot,resting the left on top.This rythm in fast one two three is played for bourres and to my knowledge is only done in this area.

Do the French Canadian fiddlers adopt the same foot tapping or is it different?

Regards

Alan

[JimLucas]

I am interested in your comment regarding French Canadian fiddlers using foot tapping rythms.

I've noticed the tapping, but not paid close attention, so what follows may not be entirely accurate:

 

Definitely no bells. And I haven't seen one foot on top of the other. I think mainly the French Canadians do it in 2/4 time; I don't recall other meters, such as 3/4.

 

The rhythm I recall is dum-diddy, dum-diddy... always steady. The first beat is with one foot, the double on the second beat is with the other foot... toe-heel, I think. I don't recall for sure whether other rhythmic patterns may be used in different tunes or by different musicians. At least in a given tune the foot rhythm remains the same throughout, with no improvisation.

Edited December 28, 2003 by JimLucas