comping on accordion

[andrewjohnsson40]

Lord I hope this day is good by Don Williams is an awesome tune.
This songs is really a guitar tune. The comping is really a lot easier on guitar I guess.
The thing is that one should avoid too much boom-chuck like Folsom prison blues.
The accordion is really a boom-chuck instrument but for this tune I don't think it works.
Do you fellow accordionists have any ideas on how to get this feel when comping?

 

[fjsys]

I disagree when I am listening to it just now it is nothing but a standard 4/4 bass chord.
If you listen to the Bass it is just going between two notes from what I hear in a boom, boom pattern (keep them short)
Then you can use the chord to fill in the drum/strum that happens on the 2 and 4 beat (or just ignore it and keep the boom/boom going)

I think the most important part of this would be to keep the bass short and use the chord buttons to fill in when needed.

I am honestly not sure what you mean when you say comping, so I may be completely off.

Ben

 

[TomBR]

"Comping" = Accompanying?

Listening to the 1982 clip that came up first on Google I think the main thing is going to be getting some variety. The bass playing there is nice and simple and square, but those little bass runs are only little, but they're important. Obviously you're going to be alternating the bass note but the counterbass third may sound nice sometimes. Depends on the melody and the registration.
You could copy the backing vocals on the right hand in the middle eight but keep the bass going.
The mandolin and snare drum are picking up the off beat. If you've got a tenor register on your bass end that might be a nice change.
I guess in essence anything that's going on in the band could be an inspiration for the accordion. Easy to say but I guess one might try concentrating on each backing musician in turn to see what's to be gained.

Good old Don Williams! RiP Sept 2017. Great songs and deceptive simplicity. Always very popular over here in the UK and a regular favourite at the big old Wembley Festival of Country Music, I remember seeing it on TV including very funny links and fill in songs from Ronnie Prophet. Going back to Don Williams, how many artists could bring the house down by taking their hat off!
Good luck!
Tom

 

[JeffJetton]

The accordion is really a boom-chuck instrument but for this tune I dont think it works.

Really? It sounds like a boom-chuck kind of song to me.

If I were playing this as a solo piece, Id probably play the good ol boom-chuck pattern in the LH and melody (with a bit of harmony) in the right.

If I were just comping (i.e., playing this song in a band-type situation) then I probably wouldnt play the LH at all and just mostly play chords in the RH on the upbeats.

BTW, this song reminds me a bit of this one: <YOUTUBE id=ZzL7Zo6p8rM url=></YOUTUBE> Anyone else?

 

[andrewjohnsson40]

I have tried the boom-chuck and it did not really give me the correct feel. I mean, it sounds too harsh. The bass is a boom-chuck bass.
I think the guitar strumming feeling is a bit different from the one often used for Folsom prison blues.
What you are suggesting seems more suitable for Folsom prison blues.
I really like this feel: <YOUTUBE id=13KQfar5CPY url=></YOUTUBE>

 

[Geronimo]

I've tried a few things, and the principal problem I hear with basically every registration is the coupling of the bass notes into the chord notes. That makes D-d-A-d-D-d-A-d-D-A-B-C♯-
ring a note in the chord octave (wherever it may be) for every single beat. Which sounds crap. You can mitigate it slightly by giving the bass note enough air to sound and just glancing off the chord button, but it's still rather iffish compared to the (not possible on a converter) option of playing the bass notes on the free bass manual (where they don't couple into the chord notes) and the chords on Stradella. If you are playing that style of music a whole lot, it might be worthwhile thinking about cutting the mechanism coupling from bass notes to chord reeds. For this accompaniment, it seems like a game changer. Because otherwise, you don't get that low-high alternation across that's defining the rhythm group.

Of course, the other possibility is registering the bass as low as it gets and adding the chord notes in the right hand significantly above. That gets along without instrument surgery and will allow you a reasonable sound alternation as well. As long as you don't need the right hand for something else (like melody play), it should work as well even though it's more work "spelling out" the chords.

 

[JeffJetton]

Hmmm... maybe part of the issue is that the drums are playing a half time feel on that song...

<YOUTUBE id=4qkoZQRbl3s url=></YOUTUBE>

With a normal boom-chuck, the bass guitar (boom) can be thought of as playing on beats 1 and 3. The emphasized strum (chuck) would then fall on beats 2 and 4. The drums will typically copy that same concept, with the kick drum playing on the same downbeats as the bass and the snare drum playing on the upbeats (or backbeats) with the guitar.

<CODE>

chord           X             X
bass     X             X

beat     1      2      3      4

snare           x             x
kick     x             x

</CODE>

When you play that sort of song on the accordion, the left hand is not only taking the place of the bass and guitar, its also taking the place of the drums... implying the downbeat and backbeat with the bass and chord buttons.

But in this song (and many others), the drums are playing in half time--as if the beats were counted half as quickly. So the kick drum is played on the odd bass notes, and the snare is played the even bass notes. The guitar always comes in-between the drum parts:

<CODE>

chord           X             X
bass     X             X

beat     1      2      3      4

snare                  x
kick     x

</CODE>

Or maybe a better way to think about it is that the drums are outlining where the quarter notes (crochets) are and the bass/guitar is playing in double-time. That is, the chuck is landing on the ands... the eighth notes (quavers) in-between the quarter notes:

<CODE>

chord        x       x       x       x
bass     x       x       x       x

beat     1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &

snare            x               x
kick     x              x

</CODE>

So now there are two different rhythmic patterns that need to be accounted for! If youre playing this as a solo piece, no longer can a standard left hand pattern do double-duty and cover both the bass/guitar part and the drum part. Its either going to imply the double-time part or the half-time part.

So what do you do? Is there a pattern that can imply both feels at the same time? Can something be tossed in with the melody in the right hand to compensate?

Ill have to ponder on this one myself...

 

[fjsys]

Well it still sounds like a bass/chord song to me.
You will just need to work on your technique and bellows control to make it sound less as you say "Boom-chuck".
Really you may need to change your expectations of this instrument, barring that I have a couple of suggestions:

1. Play with your technique and try to not press the buttons down all the way, or not pull the bellows so hard and see if that helps to mellow it.
2. If you have 7 switches on the bass side there will be a register with the low reeds on the bass and the high reeds on the chords, try that switch.
3. If you don't, just play the bass note in the bass and fill the chord in with your right hand.
4. Buy a Midi accordion and program the bass/chords to sound like the above song.
5. Forget the accordion and go buy a guitar.


Obviously some of these are not as serious or helpful as others, but sometimes I think we all have unrealistic expectations for this instrument that we love. I know that in my case I want it to sound more like a piano, but that is never going to happen...

Good luck
Ben

 

[jozz]

Yeah that's difficult on accordion.

You can't really get around the boom-chuck because of the 4/4 pattern.

I would try to compose a complimentary melody line (alternating the vocals) for the right hand to distract from the pattern. If you make it beautiful, people will focus on it rather then the boom-chuck.