Bellows control

[Pianoman1]

Well I have had two lessons of 90 minutes each with a very strict teacher and it has been all about bellows control so far

Things I have learned

1 Bellows arm must engage the bellows to create the sound ie it must be high and braced slightly to create the air pressure going in and out

2 Smoothness is all - he hates me being jumpy or rough

3 Good short crisp bass notes with a full sound

4 Good co-ordination of left and right and hands

5 Needless to say bellows going in and out in correct manner

I have started to mark up my music with a view to bellows action at first it was four bars out - four bars in - now I tend to look for phrasing points
My sound is better but it is a new challenge at rising 71

 

[george garside]

In respect of point 4 'crisp notes' I would suggest touching the bass buttons as if red hot so as to give a staccato sound. Once mastered this should be the default method, only going legato when you particularly need/want to.

The legato bit is easy and comes naturally to most people whereas staccato playing requires lots of practice.

as well as getting a 'crisp' or 'staccato' sound from the bass you get, entirely free of charge' a greatly reduced air consumption ( compared to legato) which makes ''bellowing'' much lighter work!

george

 

[Pianoman1]

Thanks George - I have also discovered being partially sighted (90 percent vision loss in one eye and 85 in the other ) that memorising the music is helpful as I can focus on the sound I want to create

I also learn the keyboard material on the piano so I can look at my right hand and check the finger I know the touch is different but the fingering needs to learned Cheers Tony http://www.tonymusicteach.co.uk

 

[Deleted member 48]

Demonstration of magnificently executed bellows shakes in some of the pieces in his recital at a Kiev accordion festival
(see eg starting at minute 1300):


Ukrainian Bayan & Accordion Day - Kyiv 2016 (19) Ihor Dmytruk

 

[Sarah]

Im very impressed by Lars Ek

Lars Ek - Pietro Frosini Bellow Technique (video)

 

[Panya37]

Great link Sarah, thanks for posting this. I know Lars is playing some type of chromatic accordion but his bellows technique seems as relevant to PA players. It opens up new possibilities for how one might create more of the lift and energy typical of diatonic instruments when the music calls for it.

 

[Pianoman1]

After two weeks of slog I am now slightly less incompetent according to my teacher

1 Bass notes - short and sharp - my box is old and is hard work but can manage sometimes to make a decent sound
2 Keyboard - legato lines and learn how to phrase so that they flow into each other - cutting a note slightly but NOT the beat helps 3 Playing legato in right hand and staccato in the left hand can be done but holding breath literally

I have a stack of PA music - tangos - French song - Latin - Folk and I aim to have an hour and a half by the end of July
learned and playable

I have discovered a player called Dan Newton - I like is his Cafe music stuff plus the Schott series of books very enjoyable

 

[george garside]

probably guilty of a bit of thread drift as this is more about how you press/hold the buttons/keys than bellows control.

In many situations playing staccato bass and legato treble can work well as can the opposite i.e. legato bass and staccato treble. But be wary about legato on both ends, unless you are sure its going to produce the effect you want, as it uses a lot of air and can inhibit good bellows control . If you must only do it for short passages then return to staccato on one end (or both) and legato on the other end.

Its all about experimenting to get the best effect for a particular part of a particular tune and applies equally to dotists and earists unless the former are very rigidly tied to playing as written for whatever reason.

george

 

[Pianoman1]

Thanks George wish you were closer so I could buy all the beer I owe you
I must stop buying music as I have just purchased the songs of Edith Piaf for piano and voice which I will also play on the box

I have NO REGRETS about buying them !

 

[JerryPH]

nooooooooon, je ne regretttte rrrrrrien... lol

Sorry, had to be done. :lol:

 

[Happy girl]

Pianoman1 wrote:Thanks George wish you were closer so I could buy all the beer I owe you.....

Agreed! George provides a good deal of useful, easy to understand knowledge which is easy for the novice to digest. As far as I am concerned, he is a National Treasure of the accordion world.

 

[george garside]

thanks for your kind words! I just can't see any point in complicating or smothering in technical jargon things that are not at all complicated.

George

 

[Pianoman1]

Another thing discovered (cries of we all know that ) I now try to use the very tip of the finger on the on the bass buttons not the ball to achieve the maximum effect So it is the tip not the ball that does the work (insert your own jokes here )

Thanks again George

 

[george garside]

Many beginners , particularly self tought, don't use the tip of the finger on the bass buttons . The reason for this could well be that the hand is not sufficiently through the bass strap to enable the wrist to articulate so the hand can form a natural curve with the finger tips pointing down. As a rough guide the bass strap should be somewhere in the region that a watch strap would be and certainly well below the writst joint. Playing with finger tips is also essential for fast movement between bass buttons without snagging on unwanted ones!

george

 

[Judith M.]

I must say thank you as well, George. I am teaching myself with the Palmer-Hughes books. No where is it mentioned (unless I missed it) that bass notes should be played staccato. Luckily, I am only in book two and I shall go back and undo the bad habits I developed. I need to straighten my wrist on the treble side and stop playing the bass notes legato (unless it is called for, of course). Thank you, thank you.

 

[Pianoman1]

The finger placement came up in the course of a lesson with my teacher who is a good bloke. He covers stuff that never appears on Youtube or in the various manuals IMHO you need outside help from an expert at the very beginning to give you a good start

 

[george garside]

If any piano box players are thinking of or are having a go at the DG Melodeon my tutor book ''DG Melodeon, a crash course for beginners'' ( ''A Without the Crap Book'') is available on ebay as a buy now item - just put in melodeon or melodeon tutor book. It concentrates entirely on instrumental technique and avoids musical theory that can be assimilated later .

To me the technicalities and manual skills required to play an instrument well need to be learned by both earists and dotists . How much in depth theoretical study is undertaken is up to the individual and is something that can be applied to any instrument whereas instrumental technique is , at risk of stating the obvious, instrument specific.

Others may disagree!

george

 

[JerryPH]

Another example of someone quite good on the accordion but with atrocious bellows control. A good example of how someone with very good musical skills can butcher a pice by simply not paying attention.

 

[george garside]

Another example of someone quite good on the accordion but with atrocious bellows control. A good example of how someone with very good musical skills can butcher a pice by simply not paying attention.

I cant quite see how anybody with atrocious bellows control can be quite good or have very good musical skills (whatever that means.) or is it just me being pedantic!

george

 

[JerryPH]

Another example of someone quite good on the accordion but with atrocious bellows control. A good example of how someone with very good musical skills can butcher a pice by simply not paying attention.

I cant quite see how anybody with atrocious bellows control can be quite good or have very good musical skills (whatever that means.) or is it just me being pedantic!

george[/quote]
Go look at some of his other YouTube videos, he certainly doesnt suck. Yeah, its basically you being pedantic... lol Did you really want me to explain what I meant by good musical skills??

This is not the first example we have seen this. In another post one comment was (and I am paraphrasing), I cannot understand how someone that is that good have such bad bellows control..., so it does appear pretty often that people learn to play and just forget or dont care or were never shown proper bellows control. By us talking about it, it brings it to light for others and at least for me, serves as a good reminder to watch for it and not get lazy with my accordion.