learning to play the accordion by ear

[Glenn]

Are you sure that playing in front of a mirror helps?
In the long run this intuitive idea may be counter productive.

 

[george garside]

In my experience using a mirror as helped a great many players to initialy get the hang of the bass layout, it being abandoned once the basics are there.

as to being ''counterproductive in the long run'' many 'by ear' learners have no theoretical knowledge or formal tuition, nor any desire whatsoever to undertake such training prefering to get up and running quickly. They will not be participating in the ''the long run'' that would necessarily be undertaken whilst working through a series of tutor books and exams and grades.

Those who are experienced players and readers learning to additionaly play by ear will have no need for a mirror or indeed to start with just 3 chords although in some cases the latter can still help in the initial 'by ear' stages

george

 

[donn]

I don't know if it's true for everyone, but I can't see a thing on the left, completely blind to where my fingers are vs. the Stradella layout. So of course it eventually it has to work by feel, but in the beginning a peek at the mirror cuts down on the "error" side of the "trial and error" process. I think there might be a limit past which you don't learn much, where there's too much error in the equation.

 

[goldtopia]

Yes, everyone has this problem when first learning the accordion. I tried looking in the mirror but it makes everything back to front so I gave up on that. Getting the feel of the bass buttons takes time, what it harder is jumping over buttons but learning by ear make the buttons much easier. This has been brought up many times on the forum and is one of the first questions that people ask. The answer is easier than the practice, which is practice, practice, practice, even if its just half hour a day. Eventually it will com sooner than you think. George is a good teacher, I take notice of everything he says.

 

[spacetrakker]

John, Until you become very familier with the bass ignore any bass notation that may be on sheet music you are using to get a tune into your head. Instead concentrate on just 3 chords appropriate to the key you are in and keeping fingers resting on the 3 cord buttons - or - use 3 bass and 3 chords so you only have to move up or down within 3 diagonal rows.

It can also help to play in front of a mirror in the early stages!

george

george,

YIKES !..Tried the mirror. ......not a pretty sight! :lol:

I am actually doing what you suggested (apart from the mirror) and basically playing with basic 3 Bass + 3 Chords appropriate for the key to simplify things. Will also try the mirror and see if it helps. My problem is not just finding the correct bass button, but actually "sliding my hand up and down to reach the correct button row. My wrist seems to stick rather than slide smoothly up and down the bass keyboard edge to reach the desired bass row. Not sure if I explained that correctly. Maybe I should try and rub a little "talcum" powder on my left wrist/hand?
Other than that, I am pretty happy with progress.
Thanks for your help.
John

 

[george garside]

John, It could be you are not putting your left hand sufficiently far through the bass strap. I find the best position is to have the strap about where your watch would be. In that position the arm/wrist does not need to be moved to cover 3 pairs of buttons as the articulation of the hand on the wrist is more than enough.

If your bass strap is adjustable (little wheel at top of bas end) you could also try varying the adjustment slightly. If it is not and is too tight then 2 little screws securing the bass strap can be moved into 2 new holes made in the strap. Half an inch either way will make a big difference

george

 

[spacetrakker]

John, It could be you are not putting your left hand sufficiently far through the bass strap. I find the best position is to have the strap about where your watch would be. In that position the arm/wrist does not need to be moved to cover 3 pairs of buttons as the articulation of the hand on the wrist is more than enough.

If your bass strap is adjustable (little wheel at top of bas end) you could also try varying the adjustment slightly. If it is not and is too tight then 2 little screws securing the bass strap can be moved into 2 new holes made in the strap. Half an inch either way will make a big difference

george

.
Thanks George. Unlike my larger Excelsior accordion, the Hohner Concerto that Iam using for learning/practise has no screw adjuster. Luckily, there was enough room on both ends of the strap to punch new holes and gain just over half an inch. Definitely feels better now.
john

 

[george garside]

just attempting to bring this back into the land of the living!

{} :ch

 

[spacetrakker]

Well, it's been nearly 2 months since my previous post on this thread and 3 months since I commenced my accordion adventure.
I'm pleased to report that the bass button problems are resolving themselves slowly but surely.

Big jumps (such as in Valse d’Amelie) still present somewhat of a challenge but simpler pieces using the 3 bass/chord combination are now much easier with daily practice.

Sure is good though to finally be able to play a few recognisable tunes!

Cheers, John

 

[Johnniez]

Hi all

I have tried the mirror thing and I find it hard to adjust... BUT the great thing about the mirror it really helps find the 'middle' C..

I find the keeping the Triangle concept of where to place fingers on what buttons in my head works so much better.

But, Then to go say from a C to an A-minor, well I just wing it till I get it right and eventually my fingers will auto go there. The mirror does help with that. I just don't want to play in my bedroom.. That's where the mirror is. ;-)

Johnnie

 

[george garside]

It doesn't have to be a big mirror on the wall, a small shaving mirror on the table focused just on the bass will do. As for using a mirror resulting in developing a reverse image of the bass in the head, it doesn't matter as you can't take a peak at the bass when playing anyway

george

 

[smdc66]

i remember being really confused with the bass layout presented as a reverse/mirror image in a book once

 

[aaronishappy]

My teacher recently, as an experiment, started to teach me by ear. Its worked out fantastic so far. I seem to learn songs much much quicker, and they stick a lot easier too. Its great I still like memorizing sheet music too though, it is handy for all those subtle notes that really polish a tune.

Although I kind of feel like Im not truly learning by ear, because all the tunes she has taught me has come from directly watching her play. I can see where her fingers are moving along the keyboard. Im sure Im picking up on the sound of it too, but I tried learning a tune by just ear the other day and it was a lot harder. However when I loaded up the video of yer man playing and I could see what he was playing it was a lot easier!

My teacher assures me its ok, and that it is still learning by ear but I dont want to get too dependent on learning tunes by watching people play as opposed to purely listening. Is this something Ill grow out of as my ear sharpens and I get more accustomed to it?

 

[Glenn]

I know George may strongly disagree but I would not abandon sheet music entirely for learning by ear.
It does open up an amazing repertoire and even if you can only learn it slowly from sheet music before it gets lodged in your brain it is still a skill worth having.
If you stick to learning by "watching" this will severely limit your repertoire in the future as we don't all have a trained accordionist to watch.
As ever, the best we can hope for is Jack of all Trades and master of Some.

 

[donn]

Is this something Ill grow out of as my ear sharpens and I get more accustomed to it?

Yes, Im optimistic anyway. Easier for some than others, who knows why - age, neural configuration, its a mystery. So we cant say how it will be for you. Good idea to try it blind once in a while.

You might also try to come at it from the other end. Set yourself up with some inexpensive and easy to use musical notation software, and transcribe tunes by ear. Its no joke, I have done this to learn a tune or two. It allows me to focus on manageable little bits, and put them together on paper where I wont forget them, where learning the whole thing in real time would be more of a struggle and more error prone. Its a bit of a compromise, but still ear practice, inasmuch as you must still puzzle out what youre hearing.

 

[george garside]

I know George may strongly disagree but I would not abandon sheet music entirely for learning by ear.
It does open up an amazing repertoire and even if you can only learn it slowly from sheet music before it gets lodged in your brain it is still a skill worth having.
If you stick to learning by watching this will severely limit your repertoire in the future as we dont all have a trained accordionist to watch.
As ever, the best we can hope for is Jack of all Trades and master of Some.

Sorry to disappoint you Glenn but I dont strongly disagree!

Players ( of any instrument) an be very roughly divided into three catagories ;-

Those who, like myself, have a reasonably well honed ability to play by ear and enjoy so doing but who occasionaly resort to the dots

Those who are excellent site readers but only occasionaly attempt to play by ear

Those who can successfully face either way with aplomb - and they are indeed the lucky ones!. I once had a fiddler in a band that was equally at home playing orchestral stuff (as a violinist) or jigs, reels, hornpipes or whatever accurately on the hoof as a fiddler. He was a rarity and a great asset

As to learning by ear by watching somebody elses fingering I dont see any contradiction as unless te person you are watching is only doing the fingering without using the bellows to make a sound you are simultaneously LISTENING to te tune being demonstrated so the visual input is just a useful addition.

When I was in my teens me and a mate (playing melodeons/button accordions) developed the knack that when sitting facing each other only one needed to know a tune but both could play it instantaneously, so to speak, by , I suppose, a combination of quick/instant listening and simultaneously copying what the other was doing with the buttons and bellows - and some of the tunes were fast jigs and reels!

george

 

[smdc66]

When I was in my teens me and a mate developed the knack that when sitting facing each other only one needed to know a tune but both could play it instantaneously, so to speak

my friend john tells a similar 'knack'' story when he as a teen played regularly with his cousin and he said they communicated well and played in harmony but without speaking - they used visual clues and musical clues to play well together taking turns playing lead and backing etc

this must be a skill

i try to watch him play but confuse myself really as seems you are watching a mirror image really of the keyboard - so unsure if you get used to this - but listening seems to help

 

[aaronishappy]

Good idea to try it blind once in a while.

I did, and failed horribly! Used VLC to slow down the track to a quite slow pace, but still couldnt unravel the first bars. Tried learning this tune but just couldnt do it. I can get the first 2 notes, but after that, no matter how many different combinations of buttons I try in that range it just doesnt fit. I dont think its the tune thats the problem, the first 2 things I learned by ear were jigs and I had no problem doing that, though I had the visual aid of my teacher. So tempting to just get the sheet music for it... (it took me 30 minutes yesterday to learn the right hand for Drowsy Maggie from dots!). But I want to persevere, the only thing thats really stopping me from playing at sessions (apart from a bit more practise) is my inability to pick up tunes by ear. Quite envious of those who can belt out a slip-jig or reel at a session after only hearing it twice or so!

Any ideas!?

 

[donn]

Well, that's not an easy one. I mean, it's quite typical and there are lots of folks who could walk up and be playing along after the second time through, but it jets along at a brisk tempo and everything has to happen by reflex.

So if you're not an accomplished accordion player who has that kind of accordion playing reflexes, you can't do it on accordion. I couldn't. What I'm doing is starting at the beginning, listening to the first two bars a few times, until I can whistle them, and that much is now in my head. Then I go over the next two bars, and then the next 4 which are quite similar. Now I have 8 bars of the tune rattling around in my head like an "ear worm", and I might pick up my accordion and try to play this much of the tune, or might learn more first.

In short, I learn the tune, then learn to play it. A really experienced, fluent accordion player might use the accordion for learning the tune, thus shortening the process.

Of course there are difficult tunes. If this one seems difficult, I think it won't after acquiring more familiarity with the genre. When I first started playing (tuba) with a Morris group, it was hard to get a handle on the repertoire, which was at the time quite unfamiliar to me. Now, a couple decades later, I can't imagine why, because it seems like the most elementary stuff.

 

[BobM]

Blackthorn Stick is in the key of G Major, and as it's a diatonic tune there's no notes outside the scale of G, so this narrows the note search down a lot.

This is where practicing scales and broken chords is useful, it helps to "place" the notes into a melody.

So, the first note is a D which is the 5th of the scale, the 2nd is a high G the (higher) root note, the 3rd is an F sharp the 7th degree, back to the high G again, to a E the 6th degree, up to the G etc etc.

Practicing Broken scales is also a good way to find your way around, like, in C: CDEC DEFD EFGE FGAF GABG ABCA BCDB C. Move on to other keys, go G, F, D, Bb A etc..