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Author Topic: Need help with my fingers!  (Read 1764 times)

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Steelarts

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Need help with my fingers!
« on: September 03, 2013, 10:53:28 AM »

I started playing the melodeon a couple of years ago at the age of 50 but after a long lay off have only taken it up seriously again a couple of months ago.  I traded my 3 voice Excelsior Chiltern (which aggravated a shoulder problem I have) for a lighter Dino Baffetti/Oakwood Super 2 which I find lovely to play.  I can knock out several morris tunes now so I thought I'd video myself and was shocked by what my right hand was doing.

My fingers were all over the place. Some curled over the notes and others would point skywards; it looks terrible!  But try as I might I can't play when I try to get my fingers neatly positioned and curled over the buttons.  Can someone please give me any advice as to what I can do to correct this?  I'm sure that it's not right and is probably going to hamper my playing in the long run if I don't sort it out. 

Any advice will be very gratefully received, thanks.
Marcus
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2013, 11:07:30 AM »

In the longer run you aim to play without looking at your fingers (it comes), but for now, with the issues you describe I might setup a mirror. Just play your favourites with the visual monitor focussed purely on not letting fingers stray into "silly Jilly" positions. I had to do this myself when I started.

I suspect you might also be using different fingerings from standard, with those 'off piste' positions readying fingers to dive onto buttons from a great height. Much of the beauty of melodeonism is actually its economy of movement in standard tunes/modes*. If this is part of your problem, it's a bigger issue. It may help to get a friendly local melodeonista to play these tunes with you slowly, and move towards his fingering where appropriate. You'll find lots of stretches of music where the fingers simply hover over a right hand chord (which may be across the rows) and only minute flextion and the odd rock of bellows is needed to follow the melody.

Certainly what you describe sounds a habit to kick, but don't lose any sleep on its appearance. No one else looks at the melodeonist, let alone his fingers!

[ed] *Just noticed that my present ativar, taken by DocEdock in Ghent is a nice example of what I have tried to describe above.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2013, 11:10:37 AM by Chris Ryall »
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Ebor_fiddler

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2013, 03:09:16 PM »

Have you a friend? Sorry, I'll rephrase that - have you a friend nearby who plays melodeon? Personal advice from a friend who knows what s/he is talking about can be much more helpful than all the melnet experts (and there are a lot of them, all very helpful and friendly) put together.
Good Luck!  :|glug
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I'm a Yorkie!
My other melodeon's a fiddle, but one of my Hohners has six strings! I also play a very red Hawkins Bazaar in C and a generic Klingenthaler spoon bass in F.!! My other pets (played) are gobirons - Hohner Marine Band in C, Hohner Tremolo in D and a Chinese Thingy Tremolo in G.

OwenG

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2013, 03:15:45 PM »

My fingers were all over the place. Some curled over the notes and others would point skywards; it looks terrible!  But try as I might I can't play when I try to get my fingers neatly positioned and curled over the buttons.  Can someone please give me any advice as to what I can do to correct this? 

Try and relax.
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Nick Collis Bird

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2013, 03:36:17 PM »

Quote from: OwenG

Try and relax.
[/quote

Must agree with the above. The great J.K. (John Kirkpatrick) states, that your fingers seem to have a brain and will quickly learn where to go. Just see me trying to play a Chanson, the fingers unconciously
Look for buttons that don't exist. Especially after just putting down a two row.
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Has anyone heard of the song. “ Broken Alarm-clock Blues” ? It starts   “I woke up this Afternoon”

Chris Ryall

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2013, 04:17:53 PM »


 ::) the way it's been posted,he would appear to be agreeing (in advance) with you!

     Presumably a fingers issue on the keyboard?  ;)
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pete /acorn

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2013, 07:47:12 PM »

silly Jilly what do you mean !!!
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2013, 09:17:21 PM »


  Jilly (fingers) Goolden

  Though the snaps of
  her sipping wine with
  that floating little finger   
  seem to have come off 
  the Net. :|glug
   
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pete /acorn

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2013, 09:24:03 PM »

Ah I see now
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Acorn Instruments are the official retailer for Castagnari Instruments,Melodeons and Accordions for England and Scotland and have an extensive stock of new instruments on the shelf for prompt delivery in standard layouts however these can easily be changed to customers specia lrequirements
 We also have the largest stock in the UK of  pre loved melodons all fully serviced,and with 12 months warranty
UK and international customers catered for
www.acorninstruments.co.uk

dunlustin

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #9 on: September 07, 2013, 06:37:29 PM »

For me, skyward pointing fingers usually mean I'm concentrating (too) hard - maybe tune is new or too demanding etc.
I wonder if it would help to learn some tunes where the Rhand position doesn't change - one less thing to think about.
Also practising common bass/chord groups so the Lhand knows where to go - same principle as above.
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Rob2Hook

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Re: Need help with my fingers!
« Reply #10 on: September 15, 2013, 07:50:43 PM »

Someone commented on my fingers the other day - in that playing a fast dance tune, they lift uneccessarily high and do a little tap dance (that explains the sore joints) whereas playing a waltz or mazurka they glide from note to note just as though I wre dancing a waltz.  None of this concerns me as it's much the same as tapping your foot to the beat as a precursor to dancing, the rhythm goes right through your body.  Relaxing whilst playing, though, is excellent advice as you really can get sore finger joints if you hit the keys too hard whilst doing the above tap dance.

Rob.
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