Bellows Technique

[m3838]

It's been discussed before, but it didn't appear to me that many people shared the ideas on bellows technique solely based on their own personal experience with their own personal instruments, used to play in their personal style specific type of music mostly.

The instruments been the most important factor.

Next in importance goes the type of music played.

And the third one is the need to send the voice.

Fanning bellows is great if you play for those little cuet lady bugs on your nose, or if you have top notch instrument, responding to a whisper and thundering over the valleys, but what if you have a lesser instrument?

And for lesser one I mean up to Albion (my own), middle level Lachenals, or even worse - brass reeded one.

Then the number of pleats plays it's mischevious role.

For Anglo with active air button there is less difference, as bellows can be kept in the middle pretty much all the time, esp. when Anglo is used for folk, where changing bellows in the mddle of a phraze is not a big deal.

But what about English, used for Classical, or in chordal style, where small size of instrument is severely limiting expressiveness? I am finding that to play pieces like Chopin's Prelude in Cmin (aren't you sick of me mentioning this piece?) I have to lift one end and just freaking stretch the bellows almost to their creaking limit. Otherwise I might as well pick up mandolin or Tuba, as my dynamics and phrazing would be so bad, it would have been laughable, if not so pitiful.

So the conclusion I came to is this, laugh if you want:

Before giving such advices, adviser must specify what instrument is meant. Like "For Dipper 40 button Anglo it' is recommended such and such. For brass reeded Lachenal with 4 folds it is recommended such and such etc."

It's not even "for each it's own", it's basically looking at the issue on case to case basis, like treating a patient.

Not sure if this thread should pick up much, but it's just the plea to the beginners and advisers, specify!

[David Levine]

Somebody should comment on this:

For Anglo with active air button there is less difference, as bellows can be kept in the middle pretty much all the time, esp. when Anglo is used for folk, where changing bellows in the mddle of a phraze is not a big deal.

I only play Anglo, and only folk -- well, ITM, which is a significant sub-set -- but I never change bellows direction in the middle of a phrase. The "big deal" on an Anglo is to phrase smoothly by incorporating bellows direction in the phrase. If you change direction mid-phrase you're doing something wrong. The change of bellows direction is like taking a breath when you play the flute. You breathe -- as you would change bellows movement -- at an "opportune" time in the tune, using the breath - and the bellows movement - to enhance the rhythm and flow of the tune.

Unless I don't understand how you're using the word "phrase."

[Larryo]

Maybe I don't understand "phrase" ! Surely you are always in a phrase? Whether you are in the start, middle or end depends I suppose on what is a "phrase" and where does it begin or end??? Maybe change of direction would be more of an influence on how you wanted the tune to sound?

[tombilly]

Most ITM tunes will have two parts and each part will often have 2 or 3 phrases within - a flow of notes with a natural break in between. I'm not sure though about the concept that the 'big idea' is not to change direction in a phrase - after all, the object is not to necessarily sound like a flute, fiddle or pipes but to play good (dance) music. I suppose there are different stylistic approaches and this is one of them. I tend to find at my modest level of ability, that I am making good music when the bellows movement is balanced in the tune - the choice of buttons requires hardly any use of air button. But there are some I struggle on - too long a run of notes on the pull or push.

[David Levine]

This is directed to larryo. When you sing, you sing in distinct phrases. A phrase will usually be bracketed at either end by a breath.

So you'd sing: Oh give me a home (breath) where the buffalo roam (breath), rather than: Oh give me a home where (breath) the buffalo roam and the (breath). You don't breathe when you have to breathe, but rather where the melody permits -- or asks for -- that pause.

With the Anglo you'd tend to avoid changing bellows direction just anywhere. Changing bellows gives a lift to the tune and you'd want that lift to be at particular places in the tune. For instance when you play the BCD (or BC#D) triplet you'd hope not to change directions.

Playing cross-row rather than along one row gives more options for phrasing and smoothness. At least that's how I see it.

[Larryo]

Yes cocus I understand that for ease of playing you would hope not to change bellows in a BCD triplet but that is for ease of playing and not so much for sound seeing other instruments will break up triplets which in some cases adds to the punch. Also, if you were to play a complete tune or most of on the inside row as done say by Chris Droney , then bellows change is ever present and not to any great detrimental effect on the sound of the tune and by consequence there are bellows changes right through phrases????

[m3838]

bellows change is ever present and not to any great detrimental effect on the sound of the tune and by consequence there are bellows changes right through phrases????

 

there you go, but keeping with my idea it would be nice to say, "with MY instrument I tend to do this..." Because in case of MY 20 button Brass reeded Lachenal the air button is ever depressed, here half way, here all the way. Otherwise I'll have no control over the instrument alltogether. It's a bit leaky.

But for the English and Duets the air/bellows issue is more prevalent presicely as cocusflute put it. Unless you try to play it on push/pull, which is a bit cumbersome with the English, that was not designed for it (what was it designed for?).

[Anglo-Irishman]

The change of bellows direction is like taking a breath when you play the flute. You breathe -- as you would change bellows movement -- at an "opportune" time in the tune, using the breath - and the bellows movement - to enhance the rhythm and flow of the tune.

Unless I don't understand how you're using the word "phrase."

 

Cocosflute,

As a singer, former fiddler and occasional whistler (as well as an anglo player), I'm not too happy about the concertina/flute anaolgy. I'd much prefer to compare the change of bellows direction to the change of a fiddler's bowing direction. With singing and fluting, there's as definite - if brief - hiatus when you breathe. With the fiddle bow and the concertina bellows, there is not. For me, a phrase can be "pull-pull-pull" or "pull-push-pull". Both can be equally coherent, but give a different effect. Fiddlers sometimes take triplets on one bowstroke, sometimes on three. Depends what you want at that point in the tune.

 

The only difference is that the fiddler can choose to play legato or staccato at any time, whereas we angloists can only play really legato when we've found a fingering that gives us the phrase in one direction. We can, however, play staccato without changing bellows direction.

 

On the other hand, I believe that the broader phrasing of the tune should be done singer fashion. My classical violinist friends tell me that they are urged to take a breath before each phrase, and to start the next phrase before they run out of breath.

 

Cheers,

John

[allan atlas]

folks: for some thoughts about using the bellows on the English. . .you might take a look at my CONTEMPLATING THE CONCERTINA. . . .i think you'll find the most exhaustive discussion in print..........allan

[meltzer]

My classical violinist friends tell me that they are urged to take a breath before each phrase, and to start the next phrase before they run out of breath.

That might work for me. 20 cigarettes a day for 20 years, and an Anglo with a five-fold bellows.

[David Levine]

John and Mischa-- you are both right. I don't really think much more about belows movement when playing concertina than I think about breathing when I play the flute.

I seldom think "I have to breathe here" -- or "I have to move the bellows the other way." Both are pretty much instinctive at this point. The comparison to bow movement is good except that there are times when you absolutely must move the bellows a certain way (left hand E and the F and F#s) while on the fiddle there is nearly always an option of bowing.

[Tootler]

... But what about English, used for Classical, or in chordal style, where small size of instrument is severely limiting expressiveness? I am finding that to play pieces like Chopin's Prelude in Cmin (aren't you sick of me mentioning this piece?) I have to lift one end and just freaking stretch the bellows almost to their creaking limit. Otherwise I might as well pick up mandolin or Tuba, as my dynamics and phrazing would be so bad, it would have been laughable, if not so pitiful...

 

Surely the answer to this is to rethink how you play the phrase and look for somewhere that you can work in a bellows reversal. Is there a point in the phrase where a little emphasis is needed? or where a slight break in the flow would enhance the interpretation? Then use a bellows reversal to enhance that or to put in that little bit of emphasis.

 

Chopin was a pianist and wrote for piano, so did not have to worry about bellows reversals. You are not playing this piece on a piano, so you have to interpret it in a way that suits your instrument and that will make the most of the characteristics of your instrument. Bellows reversal is necessary, but surely the answer is not to see that as a problem, but to try and use it to advantage and to make it part of your interpretation of the piece.

[m3838]

small size of instrument is severely limiting expressiveness?

surely the answer is not to see that as a problem, but to try and use it to advantage and to make it part of your interpretation of the piece.

You're quite right, and I'm trying doing this.

Esp. in that piece, where chords must be separated from each other. So it gives me some breathing room (literally). Another problem I'm finding is that my instrument is less refined than I would like it to be, so bellows reversals tend to have that sound "whack", or "chop", so desireable in Anglo for up-beat folk style. But I'm addressing that too, more or less.

Thanks for the input.

[Michael Eskin]

I cannot disagree more with cocusflute's assertion that there should not be bellows reversals in the middle of phrases. Take a look at how Noel Hill plays and its clear that its the bellows reversals that help provide the lift in the music.

[m3838]

I cannot disagree more with cocusflute's assertion that there should not be bellows reversals in the middle of phrases. Take a look at how Noel Hill plays and its clear that its the bellows reversals that help provide the lift in the music.

 

Agree. Same with any accordion or concertina. If you need to play a phraze

Trrr[b]a[/b]m-pam-[size=5][b]pam[/b][/size]-ti-ra-[size=2]ram[/size]-[size=2][b]pam[/b][/size]-[size=4][b]pah[/b][/size]--rah, why not use bellows
pull-----[b][size=5]push[/size][/b]----[size=2]pull[/size]--[size=2][b]push[/b][/size]-[b][size=3]pull[/size][/b]-[size=2]pull[/size]?