OMG, I gotta learn the Chords!

[Tom]

i was under the impression that, pretty much all the
General MIDI soundset is now accessible using the editor ?

at the least, the FR7x introduced an ability to access a larger
subset of GM sounds, swapping them into sets as replacements
for the factory selected orchestral presets..
Rhodes and Vibes were part of that

(and then we hacked that so any of those sounds could be
ported into the FR3x using a renamed but correctly mapped and saved set)

since the first FR7 all the GM sounds have actually been inside, on the chipset,
just not able to be accessed through the FR interface Roland allowed us to have

but i do not have a 4x personally to check on current access

the Roland Vibes on the chipset is also a good comping tone..
that and the Rhodes are great as left hand chord tones too
when you use upright Bass and don't want an abrupt chord sound

Thanks! Ok, looking through the Roland sounds, there is one called "Rhodes B3" available. Maybe there's something in the Dale Mathis sounds too. I don't know how to do any fancy editing or programming. I've found some of Dale's accordion + orchestra sounds that sound pretty good.

 

[JerryPH]

Just for practicing purposes where no one else is going to hear you, it doesn't really matter what patch you initially, if any, and most here just have straight up acoustics, so those should be a viable option.

The idea is just to "play along" with a song and get a feel for it... start out simple, I'm about to go downstairs and see if I can rip out a fast easy song for people like Tom to play along with.

 

[Ventura]

green onions

 

[Tom]

green onions

Now there's some chords!

 

[Waldo]

Tom, a couple of thoughts;
This activity is where the CBA shines, as once a chord (hand/finger) form is achieved, said form applies for all Keys. One of the reasons I went with the CBA. There are lots of chord forms required on PA's that differ in small, but important detail.

Second recommendation is to learn all the inversions. While the listener hears the chords in the appropriate Key, there is variation in the sound.
Inversions allow chord choices that incorporate "voice leading", something often referred to by instructors/professionals on the internet as a requirement for musical continuity. The technique has served me well in my limited experience with other players. Works for most situations, reducing repetitive boredom and adding variety and style. Of course practicing the variety is important as some inversion progressions just don't fit well. Staying close to the "area" seems best, avoiding large jumps except when the band is also "jumping", then going along.

I forget who said it, but, "It's not so much what you play, it's what you don't play". IE: rests, measure pauses, etc. I'm still working on the where and how to achieve this. My DBA has been a big help here, also when combining chords with single pitch play, something that still confounds me on CBA.

 

[hais1273]

I love playing rhythm and R/H chords, not something that seems to happen very much in the folky world it would seem. Accordion chords and rhythm add so much to folky bands. It works very well with dance music if a bass player isn't availble.
Yes, I do learn the inversions of the chords in keys we tend use. Mostly G and C with occasional ventures into D and F, and E and A minor. Because of the predominance of melodeons, most of our music has to be GCF and D and related minor keys. Currently, I'm trying to mess about with Major 6ths and the inversions which sound dead cool IMO.

 

[Tom]

Thanks guys! Yeah, I agree about the inversions. In comping, it seems it's definitely cool to use inversions to keep the right hand in close positions. Since I have a piano accordion, I can identify a few patterns that hold across the keys.

 

[JerryPH]

Well, yesterday I had a little fast fun and made a multi-track recording of La Paloma, so people could watch the video and comp with it to get in a little practice on a super easy piece. The song mostly rotates between C major and G7th. I believe there is an F major in there and an F minor near the end but absolutely nothing hard. The music can be downloaded from here:

https://imslp.org/wiki/File:PMLP100689-La_Paloma.pdf

I just plated it by heart so it is not 100% played as written.

Oh, on the video actually I actually play it twice... the first time without any additional tracks and the 2nd time with a couple of extra tracks, tossing in a subtle organ and xylophone effect. That way those that want to can choose to be the main accompaniment or use the 2nd version to work on fills and additions (I'd forgotten how easy it was to play with just audio... man, compared to video its so simple, on any errors, on could in theory just punch in and out, correcting the 1 note error instead of needing to redo the complete video!).

It's nothing special, but enjoy doing the exercise.
Pardon the small errors, I was in a good amount of arthritic pain when making the recording.

Ed, I specifically displayed socks and turned up pant leg cuffs just for you!

 

[Tom]

Well, yesterday I had a little fast fun and made a multi-track recording of La Paloma, so people could watch the video and comp with it to get in a little practice on a super easy piece. The song mostly rotates between C major and G7th. I believe there is an F major in there and an F minor near the end but absolutely nothing hard. The music can be downloaded from here:

https://imslp.org/wiki/File:PMLP100689-La_Paloma.pdf

I just plated it by heart so it is not 100% played as written.

Oh, on the video actually I actually play it twice... the first time without any additional tracks and the 2nd time with a couple of extra tracks, tossing in a subtle organ and xylophone effect. That way those that want to can choose to be the main accompaniment or use the 2nd version to work on fills and additions (I'd forgotten how easy it was to play with just audio... man, compared to video its so simple, on any errors, on could in theory just punch in and out, correcting the 1 note error instead of needing to redo the complete video!).

It's nothing special, but enjoy doing the exercise.
Pardon the small errors, I was in a good amount of arthritic pain when making the recording.

Ed, I specifically displayed socks and turned up pant leg cuffs just for you!

I haven't tried it yet but watched it, super nice, inspiring.

 

[JerryPH]

I haven't tried it yet but watched it, super nice, inspiring.

Let me know if this worked at all for you and if it was helpful!

 

[Tom]

Let me know if this worked at all for you and if it was helpful!

Ok, thanks Jerry, hope to be able to try it this evening or tomorrow.....

 

[jozz]

So I decided to work up to the basic (3 note) chords of the keys of C, G, and F to begin with, adding them slowly to the list of presented, random patterns. It's actually kind of fun.

Anyone else do this, or do you all know all your chords right off?

I know them but took piano lessons the better part of last year, specifically to brush up on chords/application. It was more towards the jazzier chords but this is certainly important. We tried to iron out some bad habits along the way - like me grabbing specific inversions at certain chords all the time only because I played a smaller instrument for years and mainly around C5.

We focused on application and 'musicality' as well, so which inversion to match and play next to a lead for better 'musicality'.

 

[Mike t.]

As you all know, Jerry constantly stresses fundamentals, and again this year I'm making a push to get them. Maybe I will succeed, maybe I won't.

Anyway, in starting to play with a bass and singer, it occurs that I need to comp in the right hand. Seems basic but I never learned it, playing almost entirely solo all my career.

In fact, I put together a small test, using an app, I presented myself with a random series of two measures of C, G, and F, at a moderate speed. I could not do it, but after an hour or so it started to take.

So I decided to work up to the basic (3 note) chords of the keys of C, G, and F to begin with, adding them slowly to the list of presented, random patterns. It's actually kind of fun.

Anyone else do this, or do you all know all your chords right off?

I was in the same boat as you half year ago, never needed to know how to chord with my right hand. I joined an acoustic old time-ish session group and had to learn fast! I play three note chords mostly but two note chords sound really good too. There are about 20-35 people who most all play strings, guitars, upright bass, mandolins, banjos, a couple fiddles and the one lone accordion! I googled playing back-up on accordion and found a couple videos. Playing sustained two note chords sound pretty cool over all those guitars and banjo’s! The plus side is their speed doesn’t scare me playing back-up! Mike t.

 

[Alan Sharkis]

At the now-defunct KlezKamp back in the nineties, I joined a beginner’s band with my then-new SEM Ciao reedless. The instructor/leader was assigning parts to a bunch of people of carious ages and various musical abilities, including a lady saxophonist who could barely play, and a couple of teenagers who sat cross- legged on the floor with a roll-up piano! When it was my turn to receive a part, the leader just looked over at me and said, “Can you just play some chordal rhythms?” I nodded, and we were off! Good thing I knew the harmonies associated with the lead sheet I was given. Our first try sounded like a middle-school band, but by the end of the week, we actually sounded good,

 

[Tom]

Omg, guy wants me to help him learn Your Song in key of E of all things. I know it's a popular key for blues, but I'm not sure I have EVER played a C#m chord..... Well maybe once by misteke. Let's see if I can find it.... PS. I refuse to stoop to using the transpose key.

 

[losthobos]

PS. I refuse to stoop to using the transpose key.

Good move.... however I try and play tunes that suit the box...you know I play chromatic so keys not really relevant .. but I notice
Pianists like C G F
Horns like Bb , Eb
Guitarists like E and A...
Nothing to do with notation but more the physicalitys of their chosen toy...
Just observation....and daft as it is there are keys I prefer even on CBA

 

[Tom]

Yea, I'm ptetty much a C,G,F guy myself. Do you blues keys like E and A?

 

[Ventura]

clearly a different "your song" than the one i copped off Elton John

ranges from Am to Bb on left hand chords

 

[Tom]

clearly a different "your song" than the one i copped off Elton John

ranges from Am to Bb on left hand chords

Yeah, the original is in Eb, but for some reason he likes E. Go figure. Sounds like yours might be in F?

 

[Pipemajor]

Omg, guy wants me to help him learn Your Song in key of E of all things. I know it's a popular key for blues, but I'm not sure I have EVER played a C#m chord..... Well maybe once by misteke. Let's see if I can find it.... PS. I refuse to stoop to using the transpose key.

Now if you played a CBA, just move up 3 keys and play the same as C