Bellows control

[dak]

Observe the phrasing of the piece; open and close at ends of slurs.

This one bears repeating since direction changes, particularly when you do them frequently on smaller instruments, tend to become rhythmically aligned with the music. However, you generally want to change direction before a pickup phrase or note, not at the following bar line. Even if the pickup is long enough to overlap with the accompaniment in the left hand: the accompaniment can generally deal a lot better with interspersed direction changes since it tends to be done in measured staccato while the right hand usually has to support more fluid phrasing such as smooth leggiero or even legato.

Getting used to these premature direction changes is not easy, particularly when you are a naturally expressive player confusing music playing with interpretative dancing (violinists tend to be more afflicted with that ailment than accordionists, but almost any instrumentalist can catch the hots).

 

[Firebird]

Thank you, NigelB. Could be. I forget about experimenting with that. I do have it a bit loose, I think, to reach to the bottom and top. Short fingers, I'm afraid!

Marj

 

[EMan]

I know this post was started some time ago, but being new to the forum I thought I'd post my .02.

I find it very disconcerting when I'm playing and I break up holding a phrase with a bellows direction change. I find that if I pay attention to the phrasing of the piece, it usually tells me where I can easily ( w/o being noticed) change the bellow direction. Similarly, I find when I'm not paying attention as closely, I usually hear the jerking in the tone as I change directions. That makes be a bit annoyed that I do that when I know I shouldn't. I'm also not very fond of how it sounds.

I have never marked the music, although that may have some obvious advantages when playing the tune on the same accordion repetitively and surely embedding in your aging brain that pattern can't hurt. But save the memory issue, for me, just thinking about where I am on phrasing usually does the trick.

Ed

 

[artelagro]

Duplicate - sorry
Garth

 

[artelagro]

I was taught to think
Bellows, Basses, Melody, In that order.
To make sure the message got through, the bellows changes were marked with a prominent narrow 'V'
Also it was almost always every fourth measure
Garth

 

[maugein96]

As a self taught chancer my lack of bellows control was pointed out to me by an accordion salesman during a try-out in a shop. His real gripe was that I had chosen not to play Scottish dance music, where I presume he would have been able to tell me precisely where to change bellows direction, where or where not to play a grace note, and whether I was playing in strict tempo or otherwise. I was playing Reine de Musette, which he reckons I was playing too fast. In the world of musette, unless you are playing for a dancing audience, then there are no holds barred. If you end up playing an impromptu medley of three or four waltzes, you haven't time to work out where your bellows are when you switch from one tune to another. The fatal mistake of over-reaching your left arm travel is avoided with experience. Listen to the French player, Aimable Pluchard. His bellows were often rapidly travelling alternately in both directions in the same bar at times, and it never bothered him. OK, he wasn't everybody's favourite player, and technical wizard he definitely was not, but he made more cash out of playing than most of us will see in our lifetime.

These days I just take them out of the case and play them. French boxes don't have bellows straps so the tune starts wherever the bellows happen to be. It finishes the same way.

A lot of us just play for the sheer hell of it without worrying too much about the technical stuff. The fact that I am a rank amateur after over 30 years playing may be an indication that I have the wrong attitude, but I'd rather learn a new tune than work out where to pull and push.

The diatonic guys have no option and require to learn what direction they are travelling. They need almost perfect bellows control to be able to play at all. However, those of us casual players with chromatic instruments need only worry about the length of our left arms!

 

[JerryPH]

One of the best examples of bellows control I could find online... and he finishes bellows wide open... lol

 

[george garside]

.
The diatonic guys have no option and require to learn what direction they are travelling. They need almost perfect bellows control to be able to play at all. However, those of us casual players with chromatic instruments need only worry about the length of our left arms!

Not quite so! On a 3 row British Chromatic you have 2 of everything bn opposite bellows direction other than GDA, G being always push and D & A pull. There are 2 Bflats but both on the pull.

Having such choices means that you can often play a group of notes or phrase in one direction and come back for the next group in t'other direction. It also means that a great deal of the time you can play with the bellows very little open with the choice of going further out if you prefer to prevent a bellwos direction change.

Because a good diatonic player learns to exercise extremely smooth bellows direction changes they can be made without being heard by the audience!

Do not confuse BCC# chromatic/diatonic playing with the hearty push/pull sound of a DG diatonic melodeon played on the row. Both are good but the sound is very different.

george

 

[Pianoman1]

I am learning the bellows at the moment so this is interesting to me I think the mantra bellows bass melody has great resonance for me as I have learned in the last week or so that the box is a WIND instrument primarily and is very akin to singing which is what I teach ie the sound comes from correct breathing and support

Question for the experts re bellows arm - I am adopting the figure of 8 shape as shown on various Youtube examples is this correct as I can feel the bellows fully engaging when I do this Thanks Tony

 

[george garside]

I am not sure about there being a single 'correct'' way of 'moving' the bellows. For what its worth I prefer where possible to have the bellwos in a 'fan' shape i.e bottom more or less closed. Gravity then looks after the 'opening' and closing needs little energy as you are pivoting on the 'hinged' bottom.

There are of course some parts of some tunes that require longer travel out but I follow such passages by a return to the 'fan' position as soon as possible.

A free of charge advantage, to me , of this method is that it greatly reduces strain on the left shoulder and arm as for much of the time the weight of the bass end is taken effectively by the shoulder strap rather than by an outstretched arm.

george

 

[Jim the box]

I am not sure about there being a single 'correct'' way of 'moving' the bellows. For what its worth I prefer where possible to have the bellwos in a 'fan' shape i.e bottom more or less closed. Gravity then looks after the 'opening' and closing needs little energy as you are pivoting on the 'hinged' bottom.

Just leave the bottom strap done up as I have done in the past

I had to use this method when my Midi wiring through the bellows came undone, to stop trapping the wiring loom :tup:

 

[george garside]

When teaching I advise beginners to keep the bottom strap closed so as to get the hang of playing fan shaped. I do not recommend keeping the strap on for normal playing .

george

 

[Jim the box]

I do not recommend keeping the strap on for normal playing .

george

Now you tell me :?: :lol:

 

[debra]

I am learning the bellows at the moment so this is interesting to me I think the mantra bellows bass melody has great resonance for me as I have learned in the last week or so that the box is a WIND instrument primarily and is very akin to singing which is what I teach ie the sound comes from correct breathing and support

Question for the experts re bellows arm - I am adopting the figure of 8 shape as shown on various Youtube examples is this correct as I can feel the bellows fully engaging when I do this Thanks Tony

I may not qualify as an expert but the figure 8 shape is really bad. When you are in the part of the figure 8 that goes up and then towards closing the bellows you have hardly any bellows control left. Considering that every note has an attack, sustain and decay part, with the figure 8 at that point you only have sustain and no more control over attack, like taaah versus whaaah and you cannot stop a note by cutting the air pressure without letting go of the key. The fan shape (bottom of the bellows mostly closed, top of the bellows open) gives you the most control in both bellows movement directions. Some teachers indeed tell beginners to keep the bottom bellows strap closed, but some forget to ever tell their students to stop doing it (and some even continue doing it themselves). At some point you need to learn to play with both bellow straps open, for instance to play ricochet (bellow shake for triplets). My main (small) accordion does not even have bellow straps. Accordions nowadays are so airtight that they no longer need bellow straps. Many professional convertor models come without bellow straps by default. (You can of course order a new instrument with bellow straps and I would advise to do so.)

 

[Pianoman1]

Thanks that clarifies things for me Tony

 

[Panya37]

Thanks George and Paul,
As someone who is self-taught (not really by choice I may say - good teachers are scarce in these parts and those I want to study with are fully subscribed for now) I have had quite a struggle to gain some initial mastery of the bellows. As an ex-pianist I immediately realised that for me the bellows, rather than playing the notes, was going to be my No. 1 challenge (and yes, No. 2 is indeed the bass).

My teacher has been internet footage, with all its perils; and I did initially gain the impression which was hard to shake off, that I 'should' be using the figure of eight bellows movement. Luckily I was hopeless at it and resigned myself to the plain old fan bellows technique. Now it turns out I am doing the best thing after all. Hooray! :b

 

[losthobos]

this threads a bag of wind....

 

[Panya37]

That's a rather hurtful comment, Losthobos.

 

[george garside]

when you think about it this thread IS about how to CONTROL a big bag of wind!

george :lol: {} :ch

 

[Jim the box]

when you think about it this thread IS about how to CONTROL a big bag of wind!

Or at the very least, a cardboard box full of wind :b