I have a wee b/c hohner double ray for 36 years (still going great... now drytuned)... used to play in a marching bad when I was younger and even though I have always enjoyed sessions I never really made the transfer into traditional stuff... until the last couple of years.
I can play a lock a tunes now alright, but I just have one wee query. The book I got advised the use of only three fingers.... I notice I use the fourth wee finger a lot, and I am sliding down adjacent notes with a single finger at times. Is this the done thing or is there a certain technique which is better? eg should I try and just use steps of three fingers combined with more cultured use of the thumb position or should I just batter on with whatever works for me? Whenever I play a tune about a hundred times, I notice I just settle into a pattern for each one.
i was told once by joe burke that you should always start each part or every 3-4 bars with your middle finger. By doing this you are able to have 2 fingers on either side for going up or down the accordion
anbocmor, There are many schools of thought on those issues. First there is a sliding fingers between buttons versus never sliding fingers approach. Then there is the three fingers versus four. Some say use the three strong fingers, and avoid the pinky, some say why ignore that extra little finger. I myself use whatever works....
"i was told once by joe burke that you should always start each part or every 3-4 bars with your middle finger. By doing this you are able to have 2 fingers on either side for going up or down the accordion."
So he has six fingers, then? Might explain why he's so good.
Strange piece of advice, though.
If you observe good box players you'll see all kinds of fingering styles, some of which defy any sort of logic but still result in good music.
But I have observed that most of those who really impress with their speed, agility and versatility make very little, if any, use of the fourth finger as they fly around the keyboard.
My advice to you is to try doing without the 4th finger for a while and see what it does for your playing. Worked for me! Then you can put it back in where it makes more sense to use it than not, which is not very often in my (comparatively limited) experience.
I can't imagine not using all the fingers. But I was taught to work on finger substitution to get the proper sequence of finger moves from button to button and avoid sliding.
2,3,and 4 do most of the work, but the really good ornament players use the pinky.
Thanks for the advice folks... glad to see there's a bit of chaos out there on this matter. Still, I'm going to take the advice of trying to avoid the sliding, put more emphasis on the three fingers for a while, but allow the wee finger to get me out of a tight spot now and again...
Someone once told me that on the button, even though you use two or three fingers the most, you never have enough fingers when things start moving along quickly!
if you don't like sliding down adjacent notes with the same finger, why not slide to another finger (or maybe do a triplet) while your still playing the same note to free up the finger you want to move down?
using the triplet is one technique for doing a finger substitution so that you can move to the index or ring finger to move up or down respectively. Similar to finger substitutions on the PA.
If you need to learn, on B/C I found saddle the pony to be a nice tune to learn substitutions at a reasonable speed and a certain smooth flow in the notes.
It's on John Williams DVD if you want to see how it's done.
fingers and buttons
fingers and buttons
I have a wee b/c hohner double ray for 36 years (still going great... now drytuned)... used to play in a marching bad when I was younger and even though I have always enjoyed sessions I never really made the transfer into traditional stuff... until the last couple of years.
I can play a lock a tunes now alright, but I just have one wee query. The book I got advised the use of only three fingers.... I notice I use the fourth wee finger a lot, and I am sliding down adjacent notes with a single finger at times. Is this the done thing or is there a certain technique which is better? eg should I try and just use steps of three fingers combined with more cultured use of the thumb position or should I just batter on with whatever works for me? Whenever I play a tune about a hundred times, I notice I just settle into a pattern for each one.
# Posted on July 23rd 2007 by anbocmor
Re: fingers and buttons
"marching bad"
...well, at least he's honest.
# Posted on July 23rd 2007 by Will CPT
Re: fingers and buttons
Can't for the life of me understand why using less fingers would be in any way better???
# Posted on July 23rd 2007 by goldfrog
Re: fingers and buttons
i was told once by joe burke that you should always start each part or every 3-4 bars with your middle finger. By doing this you are able to have 2 fingers on either side for going up or down the accordion
# Posted on July 24th 2007 by today
Re: fingers and buttons
anbocmor, There are many schools of thought on those issues. First there is a sliding fingers between buttons versus never sliding fingers approach. Then there is the three fingers versus four. Some say use the three strong fingers, and avoid the pinky, some say why ignore that extra little finger. I myself use whatever works....
# Posted on July 24th 2007 by AlBrown
Re: fingers and buttons
"i was told once by joe burke that you should always start each part or every 3-4 bars with your middle finger. By doing this you are able to have 2 fingers on either side for going up or down the accordion."
So he has six fingers, then? Might explain why he's so good.
Strange piece of advice, though.
If you observe good box players you'll see all kinds of fingering styles, some of which defy any sort of logic but still result in good music.
But I have observed that most of those who really impress with their speed, agility and versatility make very little, if any, use of the fourth finger as they fly around the keyboard.
My advice to you is to try doing without the 4th finger for a while and see what it does for your playing. Worked for me! Then you can put it back in where it makes more sense to use it than not, which is not very often in my (comparatively limited) experience.
# Posted on July 24th 2007 by Jeeves Tones
Re: fingers and buttons
sorry got that a bit mixed up. Basically he said you should start each part withe your middle finger.
# Posted on July 24th 2007 by today
Re: fingers and buttons
I can't imagine not using all the fingers. But I was taught to work on finger substitution to get the proper sequence of finger moves from button to button and avoid sliding.
2,3,and 4 do most of the work, but the really good ornament players use the pinky.
# Posted on July 24th 2007 by zippydw
Re: fingers and buttons
Thanks for the advice folks... glad to see there's a bit of chaos out there on this matter. Still, I'm going to take the advice of trying to avoid the sliding, put more emphasis on the three fingers for a while, but allow the wee finger to get me out of a tight spot now and again...
# Posted on July 24th 2007 by anbocmor
Re: fingers and buttons
Someone once told me that on the button, even though you use two or three fingers the most, you never have enough fingers when things start moving along quickly!
# Posted on July 24th 2007 by zippydw
Re: fingers and buttons
if you don't like sliding down adjacent notes with the same finger, why not slide to another finger (or maybe do a triplet) while your still playing the same note to free up the finger you want to move down?
# Posted on July 25th 2007 by silver bow
Re: fingers and buttons
you're
# Posted on July 25th 2007 by silver bow
Re: fingers and buttons
using the triplet is one technique for doing a finger substitution so that you can move to the index or ring finger to move up or down respectively. Similar to finger substitutions on the PA.
If you need to learn, on B/C I found saddle the pony to be a nice tune to learn substitutions at a reasonable speed and a certain smooth flow in the notes.
It's on John Williams DVD if you want to see how it's done.
# Posted on July 25th 2007 by zippydw