Left Hand Questions

[milesmonroe]

Hey there, I've worked for many years as a jazz pianist but recently found an accordion sitting in a friend's parent's attic who didn't want it, and I wanted to learn it. It appears to be a really old generalfisa organ, 120 button, and keyboard on the right hand side.

The keyboard is obviously familiar to a pianist, but the left hand is a new surprise. I got the Anzaghi book a couple days ago and am about a third of the way through it, but I'm having a bit of trouble with left hand shifting. I'm finding it kind of difficult to move the hand around when pumping the bellows inward -- like, say moving from E minor to F major -- it's almost like all the weight of the accordion is being borne by the palm of my left hand as I push inward, and there's a ton of friction I have to fight against to shift down to F from E. This is not really difficult when pumping outwards, only inwards. Does anybody have any tips, or am I just going about this all wrong? This is a quite heavy accordion and it seems to take a bit of strength to pump inwards.

I'd appreciate any help! Thanks so much!

 

[goldtopia]

Yes, its a bit of a jump from F to E. There are even bigger jumps. I miss it sometimes. Eventually you will get to know the distance instinctively from habit and just go for it without making too much effort to mentally calculating the distance. Its eassier with slow tunes. When you miss, you carry on and no one notices or maybe quickly adjust. If the jump comes up too often in a tune you can find a substutute button which could be a counter or fundamental or even a diminished. I used to keep strictly to the music with awkward button jumps then someone on the forum advised to use substitute chords which can make a lot of difference. There are tunes with big jumps that you cant change because of the character of the music like "Misty" or "Love Story" goes from flats to sharps with big jumps. But as beautiful tunes that need these chords and because they are slow they are worth playing to get used to the jumps. A good tip is to have rhines stones in the buttons of E, C and Eb. they are easier to feel. Often hashes and dimples in the buttons are not deep enough and the rhines are surprisingly much easier, If you want to jump from G to Ab you can feel the rhine stone on Eb as you go over to Ab. I've only had the rhine stones in about a month. Theres a bit on the forum somewhere about it. Music thats written for the piano is often not suitable for the accordion except the melody line, in fact as an ex piano player I say pianists have got it easy. Your problem with the straps. They may be too slack or too tight, also the positioning of your hand. If your playing in C with the main buttons around the C button thats where your hand should be, if in Eb thats where you hand should be. You just move your hand though you may still have to reach for buttons that are further away and in time you get used to it, though so it does take a little getting used to. It depends where the main area of buttons are. The accordion is a strange beast, unlike any other yet we bcome addicted to it.

 

[Glenn]

Hi Miles, welcome to the forum.
I had exactly the same problem as you coming to the piano to the accordion 6 years ago. The feeling that the weight of the bass was working against you during a large jump was very evident and in fact is a real physical effect of the accordion design. Make sure the bass strap is well adjusted (reasonably tight for accuracy and loose enough to move up and down ). I found making sure the accordion was well fitted against my body and my left leg gave a modicum of support was crucial. I assume you are sitting down whilst playing? A slight twist of arching of the left hand can tighten or loosen the bass strap when and where desired. Bassically this will come with practice.
By the way, the dimple or rhinestone is usually in the Ab not the Eb but the advice is the same as these indentations or stones really help to navigate large jumps.

 

[goldtopia]

Yes you right Ab not Eb for the rhine stone. I've just had a look. So if your going for a jump to Db you can feel the rhine stone as you go over Ab.

 

[JIM D.]

For E minor you can you can use the counter bass of C which is E and use G major for the chord. This will give you only a 2 row jump to F.

 

[Happy girl]

Fascinating stuff Jim D. That’s another good reason to learn theory.

 

[artidots]

By the way, the dimple or rhinestone is usually in the Ab not the Eb but the advice is the same as these indentations or stones really help to navigate large jumps.

That sounds good to me Glenn (and Bill) and I have found and read the thread about adding rhinestones but the idea of drilling my bass buttons fills me with horror. The Kristall has an ok dimple on the C but built-up asterisks on the others which are not strongly felt as you pass over them.

I have been trying to dream up something less drastic (Blu-Tak bobbles ??! Nah. dont think so). Any ideas ? I could neatly super-glue something in place I guess, maybe a hollowed out small half bead. Hmm ...

 

[donn]

I used bits of "magic transparent" tape when I wanted to mark some buttons and didn't feel like making permanent modifications. For me, the tape is easy to feel.

 

[Glenn]

I am certgainly not advocating rhinestones. They tend to get damaged and for me a dimple plus rough surface are enough.
I am happy with my cross-hatched Ab and E with a dimple for C.
You can still feel the different surface as you glance over them if you are prepared for it.

 

[artidots]

I was wondering about a tiny bead of Araldite (or similar) resin glue, or, talking about it with partner Marj', even a little ring of tiny dots just to make a rougher feel.

A scalpel would probably pick off the resin safely another day if needed.

However the Magic Tape idea sounds good 'donn' and simple to try with no risk of permanent damage. Thanks.

 

[donn]

The tape won't be the finest thing about your accordion. Initially I put a bit over the C dimple, along with Ab or whatever, but took it back off, after a couple accidents where I started in the wrong key after mistaking Ab for C. It's a horrible feeling. For the first 3 seconds or so, not knowing what went wrong, it just feels like "well, I guess I didn't really learn to play the accordion very well, because this doesn't seem familiar at all!" (If I'd mistaken Eb for C, it would likely have worked out all right, on my CBA.)

 

[goldtopia]

When I first stated I was given a little tip of finding the C button straight away. If you have rhine stones it can still apply. Above the C button on the body of the accordion put a liitle bead of bluetak. Then all you have to do is run your finger along and down to the second row and your there. I have it on all three of my accordions and saves fumbling to find the C button.

 

[rubyblue]

I use little stickers with a slightly rough surface - in my case glittery, flat but with texture - I have them on the F and D columns. With these and the C dimple I can find where I am easily. It has certainly helped with getting my jumps right.

 

[barkis]

theres a ton of friction I have to fight against to shift down to F from E

Sticky left hand is a problem but I think you learn to handle it better the better player you get. You learn to handle the instrument better with time.
Some people use a fingerless glove on the left hand to take a lot of friction away.

 

[Panya37]

Hi Miles,

I also came from a piano-playing background and I also I had the very same difficulty as you with moving my hand down the bass side when I started. I began to feel I must be doing something seriously wrong, because despite scouring the internet forums and youTube etc, nobody, but nobody else seemed to refer to this as a problem.

Nine months later - I mostly dont have an issue with this now. Your question has made me attempt to analyse why. OK, firstly positioning the instrument. I second Glenns comments above about the importance of positioning and posture and strap tension - and the knack of learning to lock the position of your wrist with a slight twist. I understood the theory of positioning my accordion but I actually had to keep on making adjustments for a few months until it really hit the sweet spot.

My main insight is not very epic, but it has made all the difference. I realised I have to take great care to make sure as I prepare to play a tune that my left hand is correctly positioned relative to the range of chords being played. I struggled for ages with a seemingly simple Scottish slow air which jumped from A to Bb; sometimes I played it perfectly but other times, I just got off on the wrong foot and it was all over the place. It finally dawned on me that I was sometimes starting the piece with my wrist a touch too high and wasnt placed in the optimum position for the big jumps.

Lastly, it has been helpful - for me at any rate - to sometimes keep the bellows tight, e.g., keep the in and out movements shorter. It can lead to a feeling of far more control. So, instead of the suggested 4 bars between a bellows change, I might modify it to 2. This does depend on the style of tune you are playing and isnt always possible or desirable but its good to have in mind as an option. Heres the inscrutable Gallowglass Ceilidh Band demonstrating what I mean:



Or, I learned a lot from watching Mick Foster:



You might observe that he is not above a short reverse of the bellows if it facilitates a jump. I know this style of bellows use might be sacrilegious if you want to play classical or non-folk styles but again, it gives food for thought. Mick Foster can certainly play the accordion just fine.

 

[Glenn]

Indeed that's a good observation about tight bellows.
As you move your left arm out and the bellows extends, the angle of the wrist has to change to support the bass and this makes (for me at least) longer jumps much more risky with regard to accuracy.