Not "not lifting a finger"!
Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 10:28 am
From what I can gather on other lists and forums box players don't care to talk about technique much. Maybe because everyone has their own, I don't know. But for me, working in (far from splendid) isolation as I am, intelligent use of fingering patterns seems to me to be the key to achieving fluency on the box. So here's a thread for people to share tips and discoveries in this area.
(BTW, Rob G illustrated some moves he uses in the "C#/D general advice" thread, and a while ago he also posted clips and abcs with fingerings for a few tunes "tunes of the week" on the <a href="http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ir ... rd/">Irish trad accord group on Yahoo</a>.)
My current obsession is changing fingers for repeated notes in jigs. I've never had anyone show me this technique, but I've heard about it and started exploring it on my own. The surprising thing is that, far from hampering mobility as you might expect (by concentrating too many fingers in a small area), in most cases it's possible to use this trick in such a way as to help you get into position for whatever comes next.
The other advantage - the main one, in fact - of changing fingers is that it's easier to get a smoother flow in the repeated notes than when using the same finger, esp. when playing at faster tempos.
Here are a few examples as played on a C#/D (or any box with a D row)
A few bars of Connaughtman's Rambles
In the 3rd bar, moving onto finger 1 for the second A positions you nicely for going up the scale in the next series of notes.
My Darling Asleep
What I like about this one is the way just two fingers take you all the way down the scale in the first two bars... Also, in the second part I use 132 for FAA when the phrase comes back down, and 121 when it continues upwards, again to get ready for the onward upward movement.
Here's a more radical idea... I know there are other ways of playing this phrase, but if you want to play three consecutive As, this gets your hand in the right place nicely, using three different fingers to hit the same button, one way to prepare you for going up, and the other for going down.
(Start of) The Mist Covered Mountain. (On a B/C, the same fingering would produce the tune in its original (and sweeter) key of G.)
This will no doubt strike most of you as complete lunacy, but I have to say, it's working for me. All comments welcome - and any other tricks anyone has to share.
Steve
(BTW, Rob G illustrated some moves he uses in the "C#/D general advice" thread, and a while ago he also posted clips and abcs with fingerings for a few tunes "tunes of the week" on the <a href="http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ir ... rd/">Irish trad accord group on Yahoo</a>.)
My current obsession is changing fingers for repeated notes in jigs. I've never had anyone show me this technique, but I've heard about it and started exploring it on my own. The surprising thing is that, far from hampering mobility as you might expect (by concentrating too many fingers in a small area), in most cases it's possible to use this trick in such a way as to help you get into position for whatever comes next.
The other advantage - the main one, in fact - of changing fingers is that it's easier to get a smoother flow in the repeated notes than when using the same finger, esp. when playing at faster tempos.
Here are a few examples as played on a C#/D (or any box with a D row)
A few bars of Connaughtman's Rambles
Code: Select all
% 121 212 222 321 121 233 321 221
FAA dAA | BAB dAG | FAA def | edB BAG |
My Darling Asleep
Code: Select all
% 212 212 221 2 1 121 233 313 233 212 212 221 2 1 121 233 321 1
fdd cAA|BAG A2G|FAA def|gfg eag|fdd cAA|BAG A2G|FAA def|1 gec d3:||
% 132 221 132 221 121 233 313 233 212 212 221 2 1 121 233 321 1
|:FAA BAG|FAA BAG|FAA def|gfg eag|fdd cAA|BAG A2G|FAA def|1 gec d3:||
Here's a more radical idea... I know there are other ways of playing this phrase, but if you want to play three consecutive As, this gets your hand in the right place nicely, using three different fingers to hit the same button, one way to prepare you for going up, and the other for going down.
(Start of) The Mist Covered Mountain. (On a B/C, the same fingering would produce the tune in its original (and sweeter) key of G.)
Code: Select all
% 132 112 312 321
EAA ABd|eAA AGE...
Steve