Other Keys Than C/g

[Robert Booth]

When you chose a concertina in another key combination, what influenced your choice?

What are the advantages of playing in those keys rather than C/G ?

Any down side?

 

BTW, harmonicas are arranged such that an A harp is pitched lower than the C, D is higher, and the rest of the pattern is likewise, at least for the major keys.

Is it the same for concertinas?

RB

Edited October 3, 2008 by Robert Booth

[Jim Besser]

When you chose a concertina in another key combination, what influenced your choice?

What are the advantages of playing in those keys rather than C/G ?

Any down side?

 

When playing contra dance music, G/D generally works better for the tunes we play and provides greater flexibility for chords/bass runs (keys of G, D and A, primarily). Obviously, that's not an issue if you play Irish style, but I don't, so it is.

 

For Morris dance playing: I prefer the C/G when I can use it because the higher pitch is more audible than the G/D. When playing solo for my group, I always use the C/G -- in G when I can play the melody on the bottom row, high, in C when I can't..

 

But when playing with melodeon players wedded to the key of G, I pick the instrument that gives the best range of chord/melody options. As an example: for Upton on Severn, I use the C/G because I can play the melody high on the G row without running out of notes; for Speed the Plough, I use the G/D on the middle row.

 

When playing in my living room I almost always play the G/D because I love the deeper, incredibly resonant sound.

[pastlifeasakite]

ive only a c/g, but i've often thought about how tickled i would be to get my hand on a box in different keys and see how different tunes translate out.Ayone spend a lot of time playing on an anglo other then c/g or d/g?

[Ken_Coles]

When you chose a concertina in another key combination, what influenced your choice?

What are the advantages of playing in those keys rather than C/G ?

Any down side?

 

BTW, harmonicas are arranged such that an A harp is pitched lower than the C, D is higher, and the rest of the pattern is likewise, at least for the major keys.

Is it the same for concertinas?

RB

 

Is it the same for concertinas? My survey of this question is here. It needs a bit of updating (especially on current manufacturers), but relates nearly all of what I know, even now. I've had the use of an A/E, and the deeper sound is a fun contrast to a C/G. I own a C/G baritone, an octave below the common anglo setup. While you can just play it the same way, it really begs to be played differently to be effective and learning that takes extra time in practice and exploration. I haven't done a lot of that but hope to one of these days.

 

Ken

[Hooves]

When you chose a concertina in another key combination, what influenced your choice?

What are the advantages of playing in those keys rather than C/G ?

Any down side?

 

BTW, harmonicas are arranged such that an A harp is pitched lower than the C, D is higher, and the rest of the pattern is likewise, at least for the major keys.

Is it the same for concertinas?

RB

 

 

I haven't read Ken's thread yet, but my first thought is singing: many people play in other keys to accomadate thier voices. I'm also guessing you mean the 20 button sort of Anglo, and not the chromatic 30 button+ boxes.

 

Every time I ask an anglo player the answer I get back is that they don't often play "in the Rows", but rather accross them, but you do have the I IV V trick in your home keys: I can see an advantage to a G/D or C/G if you do more singing or accompanying in those keys, but then again anglo gurus can and do play in multiple keys with boxes with more than the basic 20 buttons.

 

Also, I don't know how many people sing with concertina accompianment, I try, but then again I have a growly yet annoyingly high piercing voice, so it kind of blends in.

[David Levine]

I play ITM and frequently play a Bb/F. I love the sonority of the deeper tones.

Other people who live in the same house I do much prefer the Bb/F over a C/G.

 

I often play with other box players.

Playing with more than one or two concertinas is much more bearable in the lower key.

A session with flat pipes, Bb/F concertina, C flute and down-tuned fiddle is lovely.

It's quieter and "listeners" in the pub seem to respect that and talk more quietly.

 

A month or so ago we had a sharp session in Eb, with pipes, C#/G# concertina and Eb flute.

This was held in a large hall and was perfect. The music was effortless - but I'd hate

to be in a small pub or a close, reverberant room playing in the sharp keys.

The C#/D# Dipper (not mine) is like a piccolo trumpet and is not for the faint of heart,

though it would be very appealing for the hard of hearing.

[Robert Booth]

Thanks for the responses, esp. Ken and Jim.

I guess what got me onto the subject was that I've been toying with the idea of a lower toned instrument because, like Jim, I really like the sonority of the left hand ( I tend to play there much more than the right) and also was thinking that a softer sound might go over better in the household than the C/G I use now ( see the other thread on where to practice) . Of course this is not to say that I'd ever surrender one instrument to acquire another; rule of thumb says NEVER get rid of a tool or musical instrument.

 

Also, going through the liner notes on Anglo International, I see and hear people using some of the other setups mentioned in Ken's article and got to wondering just what musical situation makes a player choose to play in something like A/E for example, or another less usual key. David's post also answered some of that idle curiousity.

 

Now I've got the bug for a G/D, but am faced with the typical choice: Fill the gas tank, or buy a musical instrument.

 

To paraphrase dear ol' Gilbert Shelton (God rest his impertinant soul): "Music will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no music."

 

Thanks, Gents

RB

[NoNaYet]

This is a good opportunity to ask a question I've not made before because I suspect it shows my lack of knowledge.

 

I have played several instruments from low brass to the violin before getting my concertina, but I am not really strong on music theory.

 

I have a C/G baritone, and one of the things I love about the concertina is how easy it is to play by ear. I do also play sheet music from my library of fiddle music, had have found it much easier to incorporate a broader range of key signatures, lots of sharps or flats, on the concertina than I ever did on my fiddle.

 

Anyway, my question is, if I picked up another instrument, say a G/D, are the whole and half steps, the accidentals etc. correspondent to the relationship on my C/G?

 

In other words, playing by ear, could I play the same tunes, they would just be in a different key?

 

NNY

[Ken_Coles]

This is a good opportunity to ask a question I've not made before because I suspect it shows my lack of knowledge.

 

Anyway, my question is, if I picked up another instrument, say a G/D, are the whole and half steps, the accidentals etc. correspondent to the relationship on my C/G?

 

In other words, playing by ear, could I play the same tunes, they would just be in a different key?

 

NNY

 

In general, yes, allowing for minor differences like the variations between Wheatstone and Jeffries accidental layouts.

 

Ken