yaroslav9728
Active member
Hi everyone.
Do you know any ways how to merge both hands during play?
Do you know any ways how to merge both hands during play?
How to coordinate both hands?
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Dingo40
Been here for ages!
This is a bit like walking and chewing gum at the same time 
I'm sure there'll be many more suggestions, but my way is to make sure of the bass clef first, then ( having worked out the fingering first and playing very slowly ) both hands together, using the bass clef as scaffolding, fit the right hand to the bass.
Careful daily repetition will do the rest!
I'm sure there'll be many more suggestions, but my way is to make sure of the bass clef first, then ( having worked out the fingering first and playing very slowly ) both hands together, using the bass clef as scaffolding, fit the right hand to the bass.
Careful daily repetition will do the rest!
Sebastian Bravo
Active member
Dingo40 said:This is a bit like walking and chewing gum at the same time
I'm sure there'll be many more suggestions, but my way is to make sure of the bass clef first, then ( having worked out the fingering first and playing very slowly ) both hands together, using the bass clef as scaffolding, fit the right hand to the bass.
Careful daily repetition will do the rest!
This is the same thing i do. I also suggest recording the right hand, then play the left hand while listening the right hand recording through one earphone in the right ear, and then try both hands! Practice with easy accordion pieces and exercises first
yaroslav9728
Active member
Zevy said:
I have an accordion teacher but due to Covid-19, unfortunately I don't have any possibilities to see with him.
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
Glug said:
Yup.
I can't stress enough how important learning/practicing slowly is.
And not biting off the entire song in one mouthful. Take it one measure--or even one beat--at a time if need be. Aim for mastering tiny little chunks, not necessarily even in order.
Another thing that I find helps (and this is a bit philosophical) is to not think of it as two "things" being played at the same time with your two hands, but rather as one big "thing" that requires two hands to pull off. So it's not "walking and chewing gum at the same time"... it's "performing a walk-chew".
Frank Fusari
Member
Jeff Jetton has hit the nail on the head with his comment. Even when doing a piece with difficult or syncopated rhythms, you're never really doing two things at the same time. As you go through the piece, very slowly at first, every beat of every bar is either both hands together, or just the right hand, or just the left hand.
So when practicing a new song, slowly, note by note, I think: first I have to play a C in the bass and an E in the right hand, then I have 3 notes in the right by themselves, then I have to play a CM in the left hand with a G in the right hand, then I have 3 more notes in the right hand by themselves........and on it goes through the piece, and eventually it comes together.
Just as a side note (because I like this bit of wisdom), my teacher always tried to drill into my head the following advice: if you are practicing, and you make a mistake, you are teaching yourself to play mistakes. You should always strive to slow things down so much that it is impossible to make a mistake.
So when practicing a new song, slowly, note by note, I think: first I have to play a C in the bass and an E in the right hand, then I have 3 notes in the right by themselves, then I have to play a CM in the left hand with a G in the right hand, then I have 3 more notes in the right hand by themselves........and on it goes through the piece, and eventually it comes together.
Just as a side note (because I like this bit of wisdom), my teacher always tried to drill into my head the following advice: if you are practicing, and you make a mistake, you are teaching yourself to play mistakes. You should always strive to slow things down so much that it is impossible to make a mistake.
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
Frank Fusari said:
Another good way of putting it that I've heard is to play so slowly that, if someone were passing by outside your window and heard you, they wouldn't be able to recognize what song it was.
Sometimes, if a student of mine keeps making mistakes in a passage, I'll have them play what I call the "bomb defusing game". The idea is that there's a James-Bond-Movie-style ticking time bomb that they must save humanity from. The only way to defuse it is to enter a precise code, exactly as written. The "code", of course, is the written notation, and the "input keypad" is the accordion.
You can take as much time as you need to between entering each part of the code (i.e., tempo is completely ignored), but you absolutely cannot make a single mistake in note choice. It has to be "typed in" 100% correctly. One error, and kablooey!
Usually they'll blow themselves up quite a few times. :angel: But eventually they'll get it.
The idea is that it forces you to carefully consider what your fingers are about to do, before you have them do it. (A surprising amount of musical skill is just paying attention.)
donn
Prolific poster
JeffJetton said:
Right here is my weakness. Whatever I have that passes for a brain, it sure can't play accordion, or really any instrument, so it's imperative that my fingers do what they have to do, before I have a chance to consider it, for if that happens my brain is guaranteed to send them to the wrong place.
Not that this means I have play fast - totally agree of course on slow playing - but it has to be a slow but musical tempo that my accordion-playing fingers work with as such. If that falls apart and it becomes merely a slow sequence of notes, it's over. Can't do that.
[Oh - wait - are you guys reading music? Haven't really tried that with the accordion, so in that case ... never mind!]
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Coordinate this, guys!
A demonstration lesson:
And, both hands finished together!
A demonstration lesson:
And, both hands finished together!
Real important to find 'the pockets' the melody notes fit in BETWEEN the bass/chord notes... Dangerously easy to alter timings slightly and play bith sides simultaneously....
Metronome is your best sidekick....
Metronome is your best sidekick....
Chickers
Active member
Great in-sight and great and humorous comment.
(it's also nice to know I'm not alone in this endeavor.
embers
Member
Appreciated the piece by Jucéli Borsoi you posted, @Dingo40 (comment #12). Beautiful example of the hands being apart and coming together.
I find I need to work playing the hands apart to learn both well. Overarching practice is to maintain a glacial pace. This is also relaxing and provides for full concentration. Just had a thought....can a glacial pace be measured on a metronome?
I find I need to work playing the hands apart to learn both well. Overarching practice is to maintain a glacial pace. This is also relaxing and provides for full concentration. Just had a thought....can a glacial pace be measured on a metronome?
Eddy Yates
Well-known member
Embers said:
I find I need to work playing the hands apart to learn both well. Overarching practice is to maintain a glacial pace. This is also relaxing and provides for full concentration. Just had a thought....can a glacial pace be measured on a metronome?
Seriously, just have the metronome subdivide. 4 clicks to every glacial click!
I find I need to work playing the hands apart to learn both well. Overarching practice is to maintain a glacial pace. This is also relaxing and provides for full concentration. Just had a thought....can a glacial pace be measured on a metronome?
Seriously, just have the metronome subdivide. 4 clicks to every glacial click!
Eddy Yates
Well-known member
Embers said:
I find I need to work playing the hands apart to learn both well. Overarching practice is to maintain a glacial pace. This is also relaxing and provides for full concentration. Just had a thought....can a glacial pace be measured on a metronome?
Seriously, just have the metronome subdivide. 4 clicks to every glacial click
I find I need to work playing the hands apart to learn both well. Overarching practice is to maintain a glacial pace. This is also relaxing and provides for full concentration. Just had a thought....can a glacial pace be measured on a metronome?
Seriously, just have the metronome subdivide. 4 clicks to every glacial click
embers
Member
Embers said:
I find I need to work playing the hands apart to learn both well. Overarching practice is to maintain a glacial pace. This is also relaxing and provides for full concentration. Just had a thought....can a glacial pace be measured on a metronome?
Seriously, just have the metronome subdivide. 4 clicks to every glacial click!
Interesting. In the too many moves I've done in recent years, my metronome has gotten away or been lost. I should get another. They are a helpful practice tool.
Eddy Yates
Well-known member
Embers, there are a few threads on choosing a metronome. I used the guy beating a drum for Cervantes and the other prisoners rowing in the galley until he dropped dead. Now I use my iPhone or a dedicated digital metronome.
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