Basic Cords For Anglo

[Rick]

Can anyone suggest a few simple songs and accompanying cords for a beginner on a 30 button c/g Anglo?

I am trying to teach myself and I'm having difficulty trying to incorporate chords to a melody. Alan Day's instructional CD has some useful information and he demonstrates a couple of very handy fingering exercizes. I also have Bertram Levy's book and CD, but I stumble each time I try to add the chords to the melody. I'm having difficulty trying to get one set of fingers to do one thing and the other set seem to have a mind of their own. Is this a common problem for a beginner? I have no prior musical experience therefore any suggestiions to attain dynamic digital dexterity would be appreciated. I feel like a handcuffed crab!

[CaryK]

Can anyone suggest a few simple songs and accompanying cords for a beginner on a 30 button c/g Anglo?

I am trying to teach myself and I'm having difficulty trying to incorporate chords to a melody. Alan Day's instructional CD has some useful information and he demonstrates a couple of very handy fingering exercizes. I also have Bertram Levy's book and CD, but I stumble each time I try to add the chords to the melody. I'm having difficulty trying to get one set of fingers to do one thing and the other set seem to have a mind of their own. Is this a common problem for a beginner? I have no prior musical experience therefore any suggestiions to attain dynamic digital dexterity would be appreciated. I feel like a handcuffed crab!

 

 

Rick, I had (and still have) the same problem. Even some of the simpler tunes in Levy's book seemed impossible to play at first. But, I surprised myself, and found that with a lot of practice I began to get it. Some tunes took weeks of practice before I could even get them to sound half-way right. New tunes with accompaniment still don't come any easier, but mentally I know that I succeeded before and with enough time and practice will do so again. For most people, unless naturally gifted, these things just take practice. I suspect most beginners (in any instrument) have felt the same way. Hang in there . . . . it'll come.

[Samantha]

I think CaryK is right - practice will do it. In discussion with another c.net member recently we both agreed that there seemed quite a jump from the unaccompanies tunes in the Levy book to the ones with chords. Keep plugging away and it will come with time I assure you.

Samantha

[Alan Day]

Learning to play an instrument is a long term project.You first lay down the foundations and then very slowly start to build on them.You have not yet even dug the footings and your trying to lay the bricks.Go back to the early lessons and work hard on them.It will drive you ,your family and neighbours mad,but you have to get the basics first before you move on to tunes with chords.It will be like driving ,you gradually move both feet, change gear and steer,whilst listening to the radio,taking in the scenery,curse other drivers,listen to the children arguing in the back seat whilst holding a conversation with your wife.Can you do this when you first get in the car? No, it takes time (some longer than others). It takes time, accept that and you will stop worrying that something is lacking in your brain and that you are just like all of us.We have just done a bit more practicing than you have.

Al

[Marcus]

I have to agree, when first looking at tunes with chord accompaniments I was sure that I would be unable to coordinate the fingers on separate hands but after persevering I was surprised at my progress. Keep on trying it will come!

[Rick]

Alan Day's comments are well taken. However, I think I did not give accurate expression to my thoughts.

From an absolute beginners perspective, it seems that all the instuctional materials that I'm working with make a quantum leap forward from playing simple, single handed melodys and scales to incorporating left hand accompaniment. What I was really asking for is this: Is there a progressive way of bringing in left hand baselines and chords to a melody? Suggestions for tunes or exercizes that improve dexterity would be helpful. That said, I know there's no substitute for regular and persistant practice.

[Marcus]

I find that playing the chords which are written in accompanied sheet music is difficult at first and becomes easier with practice...my problem is having a melody line and trying to decide which chords to use to formulate an accompaniment.

[PeterT]

Alan Day's comments are well taken. However, I think I did not give accurate expression to my thoughts.

From an absolute beginners perspective, it seems that all the instuctional materials that I'm working with make a quantum leap forward from playing simple, single handed melodys and scales to incorporating left hand accompaniment. What I was really asking for is this: Is there a progressive way of bringing in left hand baselines and chords to a melody? Suggestions for tunes or exercizes that improve dexterity would be helpful. That said, I know there's no substitute for regular and persistant practice.

Hi Rick,

 

I'm trying to remember back about 25 years, when I had to go through this "barrier" to learning.

 

I was not able to read/interpret the musical notation (well, I could say what the individual notes were, but not how they related to the instument) so could not really learn much from the tutor books. You may well have an advantage over me, here.

 

What I did learn, was that I had to use both hands together, and this was the key to my learning (I play in the "English" style of melody on the right hand, chords and "other stuff" on the left). So, assuming that I played a "tune" in the key of "C" (across the C and G rows), I then bashed out some simple chords on the left hand, to co-incide with what I was doing on the right hand. If I liked what I heard, I tried to remember it, if I didn't like what I heard, I didn't know why it sounded "wrong", but tried alternatives which sounded better.

 

Very simple tunes are probably the best for this kind of "trial and error". Once you have learnt the basics, much of what you have learnt still applies to more complex tunes. Try scales in "C" and "G", with alternative fingerings if you feel like exploring the box. If you are really adventurous, try scales in "D" - just start one note up from "C", and if you have a good ear, you'll know whether you have the right notes, or not.

 

At first, it might not be too easy adding chords (or even single notes) on the left hand, but keep trying. Eventually, it will come.

 

If you can learn from a tutor book, you'll be able to see, musically, what you are trying to achieve by using the two hands.

 

Remember, learning is not a gradual curve, but a series of steps, or "discoveries". Do not spend hours on the instrument, several days per week. It's better to do little and often, picking up the instrument to try out new ideas. I'm currently trying something similar on the Jeffries Duet system; for me, it's like turning the clock back 25 years.

 

Hope that this is of some use.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[m3838]

Can anyone suggest a few simple songs and accompanying cords for a beginner on a 30 button c/g Anglo?

I am trying to teach myself and I'm having difficulty trying to incorporate chords to a melody. Alan Day's instructional CD has some useful information and he demonstrates a couple of very handy fingering exercizes. I also have Bertram Levy's book and CD, but I stumble each time I try to add the chords to the melody. I'm having difficulty trying to get one set of fingers to do one thing and the other set seem to have a mind of their own. Is this a common problem for a beginner? I have no prior musical experience therefore any suggestiions to attain dynamic digital dexterity would be appreciated. I feel like a handcuffed crab!

 

There are no tricks to that and nothing is going to help you except doing it very slowly.

So slow, your brain can grasp what to do. Because when you will pass over this barrier (and it seemed like physical barrier to me) you'll get it and will have no problem. So don't be ashamed and do it ve-ery slo-owly. I started teaching my mother at age of 75. She had the same difficulty, but with slow practice overcame it in few weeks. (Accordion).

[Theo]

..., but I stumble each time I try to add the chords to the melody.

 

It can also help to do it the other way round!

 

work out a chord sequence first, then add the melody. When working out the chords have regard for the bellows direction that the tune requires. Once you can play the chord sequence confidently, perhaps playing along with a recording of the melody, you can begin to add notes from the melody.

 

I'm not advocating this to replace what you have already been doing, just an additional method of which might help you to make a few more steps, and give variety to the learning process