Embellishments

[stevejay]

good day

Edited March 17, 2007 by stevejay

[Bruce McCaskey]

I note you've removed your question, I hope it wasn't because you thought it was a bad one and ignored for that reason.

 

As many others did, I looked at your previous text and refrained from commenting - in my case because I didn't play the tune you referenced and so wasn't exactly sure which repeated notes you were referring to with your question. I did go www.thesession.org and had a look at sheet music for the tune there, but wasn't certain it accurately represented the key and sequences you had questioned.

 

At this point I can't recall the tune you named or the precise details of your question, but since it seems no one else has offered comment, I'll pass on what I recall of the conclusions I drew when I looked at the sheet music. I suspect the lack of response from others on this is most likely due to a combination of their lack of familiarity with the tune and (I suspect) many of the more experienced players don't tour this branch of the forum with regularity.

 

Whatever the tune, I recall seeing several "e-e-e" triplets in the sheet music I looked at, and I think you were asking how best to play “the triplets in the first part” with distinct, individual sound. I think many of us, myself included, might find it a challenge to play such triplets when playing a tune at speed. You asked about bellows accenting I believe, but I suspect that would be difficult to effect convincingly. While I've not tried the tune, when faced with an “e-e-e” triplet I'd be inclined to modify that to a far easier "e-g-e" triplet and not feel the least guilt for the liberty.

 

If you have developed sufficient dexterity with the technique you might also try playing the "triple-e" sequence by switching fingers, that is, striking it first with the middle finger, then the top (first finger) and last with the middle again. It takes a bit of practice to be able to do this side-motion finger-swap technique, but once the motion becomes familiar, it can be done quite rapidly.

 

In my own case, the only time I'm likely to play a repeated note triplet in a fast tune is if it's a note that's available in another location on the instrument in the same direction (like a triple 'g' or triple 'a' played between the "G" and "C" row options). Least someone else make the observation after me, I do know a few people that can manage distinct and rapid triplets using the same finger, but to date I'm not one of them and don't know many that are proficient at it. Again, I wasn't dead certain it was the "triple-e" sequence you were asking about, so didn't comment then and I've little confidence now that I've addressed your question.

 

Finally, I recall you commenting about difficulty playing left-side “d-f#-a” combinations. Becoming proficient in combinations with the left side “f#” was one of the more difficult aspects of the C/G concertina for me. I commented to Noel Hill about this in my early days and he called it "the golden triangle" and said it was a common problem and could only be conquered by repeated efforts over a period of time. It took many months in my case, and even today, while I use occasional "f#-a-f#" triplets in fast tunes, I don't attempt "d-f#-d" triplets. I do use "d-a-d" triplets at times, but guess I've either never felt a "d-f#-d" would fit the tune, or didn't want to devote the effort necessary to develop sufficient speed to be able to do it. Maybe someday...

 

I hope this offers some insight, and don't hesitate to post questions again. If you don't get answers it's most likely because those that read your questions aren't sure themselves or hold back waiting for one of the "experts" to respond, not realizing the experts might not be cruising this section. I'm not an "expert" by the way, but I'm willing to share my perspective for whatever it's worth.

 

Regards,

 

Bruce

 

Edited to remedy examples of faulty keyboard fingering

Edited March 20, 2007 by Bruce McCaskey

[stevejay]

Thanks Bruce,

 

You are correct, I did conclude the question about triplets/embellishments etc has just grown to stale for many to bother with.

 

At this point, I am not too worried about it. I learn the song simply, and add embellishments where I hear them. If a song has a tricky fingering, i'd rather simplify that than worry about it. Maybe the triplet ect will come later

 

In my opinion the best thing is to know the song pretty well, that way if a fingering happens to be tricky somewhere, I'm not fumbling around trying to recall the melody AND the fingering

 

I hope to buckle down with the instrument and commit more tunes to memory. Sometimes all these jigs and reels become a bit blurry and I play the A to one, the B to another!