The Stabilizing Pinky....?

[richard]

Hello

 

In playing Irish music on the Anglo I have some on going inner dialogues

concerning using one's right hand pinky as a "stabilizer" , by pressing it against the end plate from time to time while playing:

 

 

 

IT SEEMS LIKE BAD IDEA

 

It will corrode a metal end

 

It is a crutch preventing one from learning to control your concertina (especially when playing rapidly and changing bellows directions)

 

no great players recommend it

 

 

IT SEEMS LIKE A GRAND IDEA

 

 

You can protect the end with tape

 

It can give an extra bit of control (especially when playing rapidly and changing bellows directions)

 

I know of 4 great player who won't recommend it but do it

 

 

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

Edited October 2, 2006 by richard

[DavidFR]

Hello

 

In playing Irish music on the Anglo I have some on going inner dialogues

concerning using one's right hand pinky as a "stabilizer" , by pressing it against the end plate from time to time while playing:

 

 

IT SEEMS LIKE A BAD IDEA....

 

It will corrode a metal end

 

It is a crutch preventing one from learning to control your concertina (especially when playing rapidly and changing bellows directions)

 

no great players recommend it

 

 

IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA...u]

 

 

You can protect the end with tape

 

It can give an extra bit of control (especially when playing rapidly and changing bellows directions)

 

I know of 4 great player who won't recommend it but do it

 

 

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

That's an interesting question of ergonomics, and might be more appropriate in that forum.

 

This is something I've been struggling with myself, since I find it more comfortable to play with looser straps and my palm arched away from the "hand rest." The problem then is you don't have a good surface for pushing. I've thought of adding in some foam (as described elsewhere on this site) to "raise" the hand rails while keeping my fingers in my preferred position, but haven't put it to the test yet. What I do do, however, is use non-playing fingers on the right side as support pushers. This is especially true when I am playing a passage just on the left side; then my right hand fingers all rest above and between the third row and just push.

 

If I could get a higher, padded hand rest that would probably make a big difference. But I don't look at putting more fingers down as a crutch. The more points of contact you have with the ends of your instrument, the better fine motor control you can exert on your bellows. Of course i only do it when those fingers aren't playing any notes.

 

Just my opinion. Looking forward to others.

[cplayer]

hi there

While not knowing about the Irish style I can tell you that JKP uses his small right hand finger as a anchor

point. my right hand small finger is to short so I am unable to do this .A very good Irish style player did have a few tunes on both my concertinas but did not seem to ues any fingers to anchor his right hand.

ps the bellows are still recovering!

[Baxter]

I have often wondered about this myself. I also find myself using any free fingers for this, not just my pinky. I have high hand rests and I keep the hand straps fairly tight, but I still find I don't have very good control for fast bellows changes unless I put down a finger somewhere. Because the hand rests are off center, if I push on them only the bellows will first re-angle themselves before they start coming together, and that takes time I don't really have in the middle of a triplet. I can make the direction changes faster by placing the heel of my hand against the instrument, but then my hands take on a funny arched shape which is uncomfortable and very tense.

[bill_mchale]

no great players recommend it

 

Are you sure about that? Chris Droney appears to use his pinky on the end of his concertina.

 

--

Bill

[Jody Kruskal]

I don't play Irish style either, though I play lots of Irish tunes and I never never never never never ever use my little finger for support... except when I do. I like playing sitting down, then my knee supports the left side corner and the right side is free. Sometimes both sides are on my knee if I need extra support, but regardless, my little right hand little finger is free to play notes, and it gets a workout.

 

Sometimes I have to play standing up though, and then I might hook my right little finger around a handy button for support and to give my hand a rest. This makes playing the high notes kind of tricky, though it’s fine for banging out chords and rhythms.

 

As for pushing the bellows. I don’t push with my fingers at all hardly. They have to be free to push buttons not bellows. My bellows are driven by the whole upper body. Back, shoulders, upper and lower arms, wrist and hands are all part of the pushing and pulling. The contact point though is my palm and the base of my thumb, which I make secure by wrapping my thumb around the base of the strap.

 

This is just what I do though. Everyone has different shaped hands, different shaped instruments and a different concept of what kind of impulse drives their music. You do the best you can with what you've got. Trying to avoid excess tension and habitual limitations is a guiding principle in figuring it all out. For me, playing music is a whole body experience and the fingers are just wiggling around freely and not expected to do any heavy lifting.

[richard]

Hi Jody

 

Are you saying your right thumb is jammed into that little notch, over the strap, and giving you a second (besides your palm) point of contact?

 

I am just trying to get it straight.

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

[Jody Kruskal]

Hi Jody

 

Are you saying your right thumb is jammed into that little notch, over the strap, and giving you a second (besides your palm) point of contact?

 

I am just trying to get it straight.

 

Thanks,

 

Richard

Richard, that's right. That little notch fits my thumb pretty well. I've even removed the brass staple that holds the strap to the handle there and replaced it with cord for comfort.

 

My thumb passes over the strap and rests lightly on the air button for handy use. The strap passes snug up in the thumb crotch so that just a little downward pressure tightens the strap around the back of my hand. By letting the pressure up the strap is loosened just enough to give me room to reach for those awkward buttons. With my hand on my Jefferies 38 my palm actually touches the whole length of the wooden handle as well as 2+ inches of the corner of the metal end plate behind. There is no wobble that I don’t want to be there.

 

Your hand or concertina might have a very different shape and relationship, so you should know that this is just how they fit for me.

[Robin Madge]

If I can manage it my left hand end is resting on my knee, either by sitting down or by standing with left foot on a chair. Other wise the left and right hands get the same treatment.

My thumbs hold the straps against the base of the index fingers and also press against the lowered portion of the hand-rails (with those slightly annoying square brass loops getting in the way occasionaly), the hand being arched so that the outside edge of the palm is also pressing down on the other end of the hand-rail. The back of the hand pressed up against the hand-strap. The thums are free enough to move to press on the drone and air buttons, the contact area being near the joint in the thumb.

Sometimes the smallest fingers are free to help with stability, but mainly they are in use, particularly the left hand one, which covers 6 buttons for my style of playing.

I suppose that the smallest finger has more freedom of sideways movement due to the construction of the human hand. My index fingers have more rapidity of resonse so it might seem reasonable to position the hands shifted to the outside of the sides, but the other fingers will not move sideways so easily!

 

Robin Madge

[geoffwright]

I use both little fingers to press buttons - I agree with Jody, a bit of downward pressure from the thumb tightens up the strap and leaves the pinkies free for bass runs or whatever.

I remember from Noel Hill's workshops that playing something like "The Gold Ring" in D is very good practise at moving around the low notes.