Somebody has asked me,what is the best way to play an octave, low d to d,and g to g,on the b c button box.,fingering wise.
apparently the book they have doesnt give any clues,about when to change /cross ,overfingers,etc.
before anyone, says, tell them to get a teacher,they are not able to do so at the present moment.
I don't know if it's the best way, and it may be hard for some people, but what I do for the D scale is:
D 1
E 2 (on the C row)
F# 3 (or 1, crossing 1 under 2)
G 2 (cross 2 over 3)
A 2
B 3 (on the C row)
C# 4
d 3 (cross 3 over 4)
For the G scale:
G 1
A 1
B 2 (on the C row)
c 2
d 3
e 3 (on the C row)
f# 4
g 3 (crossing 3 over 4)
Crossing 2 over 3 or 3 over 4 is something I learned 30 years ago during a couple of years of harpsichord lessons - apparently it was a common fingering technique in the baroque era. But it wasn't easy to get used to, even after many years of piano lessons, so some people might find it awkward.
there aren't many tunes where you need to play an octave's worth of consecutive notes. Playing scales is good finger exercise and should be encouraged, but in real life fingering is dictated by the phrasing of the particular tune you're playing - it's a musical instrument, not a typewriter.
on b/c there's no way that you'll get away with fixed hand positions as you can to some extent on g/d. the only way to work it out is to try every permutation of fingering for a given phrase and use the one that works best to keep the pulse and get you smoothly into the next phrase.
on b/c, for ten of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale you don't have any alternatives for which key to press or which way to send the bellows to play the note, but which finger you use to press the button is wide open and developing intelligent fingering is the key to rhythymic playing.
for notes b and e of course there is a dual option for bellows direction and button pressesd, and this can be used to good effect to ease tricky passages involving these notes
million_years is right - and more, any tune can be fingered at least a couple of ways, for convenience or different effects. For example, on the b part of Toss the Feathers, you could play the
[febe febe] bar a)all on the push b)on the push with the b's on the draw or c) f's and b's on the push, e's on the draw - just to pick three, obviously there are other combinations. Of course, each of those will be fingered differently, and you should ideally be able to play each variation with equal ease, although you'll probably end up favoring one or another. And this doesn't even get into variations, skipped notes, and so forth. You definitely need to be able to work out our fingerings on the fly, unless you're talking about something tricky like a longer run of notes that you're only going to play one way (ie, the descending triplets in Harvest Home).
That being said, there are some rules of thumb that you can train your fingers to follow. For example, I would prefer to finger something like |DEFA BAFE| in such a way as to keep the E's on the same push or pull as the preceding note - I just prefer to change direction on the stronger beats if I can. Not having my box in front of me, I can't say exactly what fingers I might use for what notes, but that would tend to guide my choices.
changing bellows direction to get a strong beat is a technique I use wherever feasible
I also try to make right hand position changes at the point immediately preceeding the strong beat - I often make a position change when it's not strictly needed, in order to get the slight pause and hard attack that you can more easily get on the first note at a new position
I think that the right hand position change helps the bellows hand to synchronise precisely with the key hand and therfore time very accurately the pulse of increased pressure needed to emphasise the beat note
for example I split the two consecutive Es in the 3rd bar of the A part of Teetotaller's reel by playing the first on the B row on the draw, second on the C row on the press. that way I can stick a lot of muscle very cleanly on the off beat which falls on the second E
That's my experience as well. On some tunes I use the push on the way down a phrase and the pull on the way back, whichever suits the pulse and is most convenient. Dick Gossip's Reel springs to mind, as does Cooley's.
When I fist started out I wrote down which finger I had selected for each note in a tune, so I could remember it quicker next time. Going back to those notes now I find I have changed my fingering at least fifty percent of the time. I suspect that's why they don't tell you the 'right' way in the book your friend has. It's more a case of 'suck it and see'.
"Splitting the E", a good phrase. I do that too, although I think I usually work the split the other way, to get the ED on the pull. I'll try it your way, though, sounds like it might be cool.
friends of mine tell me that a fixed hand position is not the best on the gd either,thanks for the info
. I dont want to scare the beginner from playing, I have already mentioned to her that ,fingering varies from tune to tune[in my experience that applies to concertinas as well].
thanks particularly to GaryMartin.
I reckon the one of the best methods for teaching your fingers is a method a friend showed me. Try playing octaves, and everything else, with just the first two fingers. Something seems to happen when you do this and playing with the 3rd finger gets quite naturally clever once youv'e done it a bit.
This seems like gibberish drivel, but it really works for me. Every so often I refresh this practice and I find my playing goes up a step and it gets easier to make those seemingly tricky runs/jumps etc etc. I find I'm not hung up on fingering a tricky part a certain way, it just falls under the fingers so to speak.
good luck with whatever methods you're friend tries.
bc button accordion fingering
bc button accordion fingering
Somebody has asked me,what is the best way to play an octave, low d to d,and g to g,on the b c button box.,fingering wise.
apparently the book they have doesnt give any clues,about when to change /cross ,overfingers,etc.
before anyone, says, tell them to get a teacher,they are not able to do so at the present moment.
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by Dick Miles
Re: bc button accordion fingering
I don't know if it's the best way, and it may be hard for some people, but what I do for the D scale is:
D 1
E 2 (on the C row)
F# 3 (or 1, crossing 1 under 2)
G 2 (cross 2 over 3)
A 2
B 3 (on the C row)
C# 4
d 3 (cross 3 over 4)
For the G scale:
G 1
A 1
B 2 (on the C row)
c 2
d 3
e 3 (on the C row)
f# 4
g 3 (crossing 3 over 4)
Crossing 2 over 3 or 3 over 4 is something I learned 30 years ago during a couple of years of harpsichord lessons - apparently it was a common fingering technique in the baroque era. But it wasn't easy to get used to, even after many years of piano lessons, so some people might find it awkward.
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by GaryAMartin
Re: bc button accordion fingering
thanks ,i will pass it on.
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by Dick Miles
Re: bc button accordion fingering
there aren't many tunes where you need to play an octave's worth of consecutive notes. Playing scales is good finger exercise and should be encouraged, but in real life fingering is dictated by the phrasing of the particular tune you're playing - it's a musical instrument, not a typewriter.
on b/c there's no way that you'll get away with fixed hand positions as you can to some extent on g/d. the only way to work it out is to try every permutation of fingering for a given phrase and use the one that works best to keep the pulse and get you smoothly into the next phrase.
on b/c, for ten of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale you don't have any alternatives for which key to press or which way to send the bellows to play the note, but which finger you use to press the button is wide open and developing intelligent fingering is the key to rhythymic playing.
for notes b and e of course there is a dual option for bellows direction and button pressesd, and this can be used to good effect to ease tricky passages involving these notes
# Posted on November 9th 2008 by millionyears_bc
Re: bc button accordion fingering
million_years is right - and more, any tune can be fingered at least a couple of ways, for convenience or different effects. For example, on the b part of Toss the Feathers, you could play the
[febe febe] bar a)all on the push b)on the push with the b's on the draw or c) f's and b's on the push, e's on the draw - just to pick three, obviously there are other combinations. Of course, each of those will be fingered differently, and you should ideally be able to play each variation with equal ease, although you'll probably end up favoring one or another. And this doesn't even get into variations, skipped notes, and so forth. You definitely need to be able to work out our fingerings on the fly, unless you're talking about something tricky like a longer run of notes that you're only going to play one way (ie, the descending triplets in Harvest Home).
That being said, there are some rules of thumb that you can train your fingers to follow. For example, I would prefer to finger something like |DEFA BAFE| in such a way as to keep the E's on the same push or pull as the preceding note - I just prefer to change direction on the stronger beats if I can. Not having my box in front of me, I can't say exactly what fingers I might use for what notes, but that would tend to guide my choices.
# Posted on November 10th 2008 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: bc button accordion fingering
and you're right too Jon about bellows
changing bellows direction to get a strong beat is a technique I use wherever feasible
I also try to make right hand position changes at the point immediately preceeding the strong beat - I often make a position change when it's not strictly needed, in order to get the slight pause and hard attack that you can more easily get on the first note at a new position
I think that the right hand position change helps the bellows hand to synchronise precisely with the key hand and therfore time very accurately the pulse of increased pressure needed to emphasise the beat note
for example I split the two consecutive Es in the 3rd bar of the A part of Teetotaller's reel by playing the first on the B row on the draw, second on the C row on the press. that way I can stick a lot of muscle very cleanly on the off beat which falls on the second E
# Posted on November 10th 2008 by millionyears_bc
Re: bc button accordion fingering
That's my experience as well. On some tunes I use the push on the way down a phrase and the pull on the way back, whichever suits the pulse and is most convenient. Dick Gossip's Reel springs to mind, as does Cooley's.
# Posted on November 10th 2008 by bc_box_player
Re: bc button accordion fingering
When I fist started out I wrote down which finger I had selected for each note in a tune, so I could remember it quicker next time. Going back to those notes now I find I have changed my fingering at least fifty percent of the time. I suspect that's why they don't tell you the 'right' way in the book your friend has. It's more a case of 'suck it and see'.
# Posted on November 10th 2008 by bc_box_player
Re: bc button accordion fingering
all the box players I know spend their lives working out and forgetting improved fingering for tunes they have played for years
# Posted on November 10th 2008 by millionyears_bc
Re: bc button accordion fingering
"Splitting the E", a good phrase. I do that too, although I think I usually work the split the other way, to get the ED on the pull. I'll try it your way, though, sounds like it might be cool.
# Posted on November 10th 2008 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: bc button accordion fingering
friends of mine tell me that a fixed hand position is not the best on the gd either,thanks for the info
. I dont want to scare the beginner from playing, I have already mentioned to her that ,fingering varies from tune to tune[in my experience that applies to concertinas as well].
thanks particularly to GaryMartin.
# Posted on November 10th 2008 by Dick Miles
Re: bc button accordion fingering
I reckon the one of the best methods for teaching your fingers is a method a friend showed me. Try playing octaves, and everything else, with just the first two fingers. Something seems to happen when you do this and playing with the 3rd finger gets quite naturally clever once youv'e done it a bit.
This seems like gibberish drivel, but it really works for me. Every so often I refresh this practice and I find my playing goes up a step and it gets easier to make those seemingly tricky runs/jumps etc etc. I find I'm not hung up on fingering a tricky part a certain way, it just falls under the fingers so to speak.
good luck with whatever methods you're friend tries.
# Posted on November 11th 2008 by Brown Creeper
Re: bc button accordion fingering
it's dead right
play with two fingers when you can, three fingers when you have to and never with four
# Posted on November 11th 2008 by millionyears_bc