Hand Position

[Larryo]

Hoping those who play the anglo might be able to help. What is the ideal relationship between the hands, straps and concertina. Now I know everyone is different and what works works but what I trying to establish is this- do you use the side of the concertina as an anchor..leaning the heel of the hand against it? Do you leave the straps so loose that the hand can move around very freely and if so how do you find the buttons if you have nothing to work off? Being an ex fiddle player, I was used to using the index finger as an anchor position and once that was in tune all else fell into place. But when I use the side of the concertina as an anchor to give myself a guide as to where the buttons are, I find it then restricts the fingers ! Am I making any sense? How does one develop a knowing as to where the buttons are if the hand is always moving or do you let it rest down at the bottom of the strap and work from there??? All opinions gratefully accepted

 

Thanks

 

Larry

Edited February 19, 2008 by Larryo

[Mikefule]

For a start, trap the strap between your thumb and the edge of your forefinger. You can then adjust the tension on the strap as you play. After that, the position of your hand sort of follows naturally.

[Molly Roberts]

Interesting question. I was taught to use the inner 4 buttons of the C row as "home keys" for each hand. My fingers don't always come back to the home keys after each note, but it's very much the basis for my mental map of the button array.

 

I like about 1/2 inch of slack in the straps. The points that secure the instrument in my hands seem to be 3: the heel of my hand near my thumb joint, the back of my hand arched against the strap, and the pressure on a given button.

 

Just tried playing for a minute to pay more attention. I agree with Mikefule about squeezing the strap between thumb and the base of my forefinger, so I'm starting at the "top" rather than the bottom. I'll be interested to hear what more experienced players have to say.

 

Cheers,

Molly

[PeterT]

Do you leave the straps so loose that the hand can move around very freely and if so how do you find the buttons if you have nothing to work off?

Hi Larry,

 

The attached photo should help, and I'll put in a link to a video shortly. The video concentrates more on the position of the hand relative to the concertina, rather than what the fingers are doing (I have several more videos if you wish to watch my fingers!).

 

On this concertina, I have about one inch of slack on the right hand (pictured) and slightly less on the left. The right end of the concertina is supported on the leg. For Irish-style playing, reverse the above.

 

I believe that it is essential for the hands/fingers to be able to move freely. Bear in mind the the buttons will not move! I guess that a "home" position is the first four buttons of the middle row (assuming a 30 button instrument). Inside and outside rows can be easily reached from this position. The back of the hand, when braced against the hand-strap, gives the required tension to control the concertina.

 

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S4HPsN-kLlU

 

Hope that this helps!

 

Regards,

Peter.

Edited February 19, 2008 by PeterT

[tombilly]

Well, I'm not playing that long Larry so I'm interested in general in what other people say.

I played B/C box for a while a few years ago and always found it frustrating having to slide my hand along to cover different groups of buttons - so coming from the high end of say, the Kesh jig back down to a low D to lead back into the first part was always a little fraught.

One of the things I like about concertina is that your hands don't seem to have move as radically. I'm pretty much thinking of each finger covering a column of buttons, so my RH forefinger covers B/C (middle), F#/G (inside) and C# (top), ditto for other fingers left and right. I keep those fingers covering those columns so the brain learns where to get a particular tone - just like fiddle in the sense that each finger switches between the strings. Works most of the time but I'm sure there's all sorts of awkward passages that require a bit of twisting. One I've come across is the low ending of The Cliffs of Moher, played in A where you drop down to the low A to finish - means reaching around with the middle finger to the top row or something like that.