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Author Topic: The Best 2nd Step ?  (Read 2321 times)

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Babuan

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The Best 2nd Step ?
« on: May 23, 2014, 02:42:03 PM »

Hi There,
I'm a newbie to the melodeon and have a question that I'm hoping you old hands can help with.  I can get through a tune on the lower register on the G row (standard /G/D box), and now feel ready to push the boundaries to the next step.  I can see at least 3 possibilities and was wondering which would be the most constructive next step to vex the brain... the basic 2nd step options as my novice brain sees it are;
1.  Stay on G row and sort out the upper register beyond the first octave and thus get to grips with the push-pull, pull-push change over
2). Move across to the D row lower register (where notes are opposite direction to G row.  eg G is push on G row, but pull on D row)
3). Start trying to get the bass hand working still in lower G row right hand
4).  ... or is there something else?

Many Thanks,
Graham  :||:
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Thrupenny Bit

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2014, 03:08:29 PM »

Hi Graham,
Welcome aboard!
My personal advice is - get your left hand bases working before you do anything else!
It's imperative you get both hands working, as will become more apparent as you progress.
Either that or you risk having to unlearn tunes when you realise the two hands must work in tandem and your bass-less fingering for a tune might have to be unlearnt when you apply the left hand end bass/chords.
Q
« Last Edit: May 23, 2014, 03:10:17 PM by Thrupenny Bit »
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Thrupenny Bit

I think I'm starting to get most of the notes in roughly the right order...... sometimes!

JJRobson

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #2 on: May 23, 2014, 03:11:44 PM »

Out of those 3 personally I'd work towards getting the basses involved and trying to develop some good rhythm and pulse. Its harder to come back to it later if you ignore it at the start! You can start very basic ooom pah stuff and then get beyond it with different rhythms and note choices (especially in G on a D/G). There's loads of stuff to experiment with  (:)

As for the D row... if you are playing a tune in the key of D the push-pull patterns are the same as the G row anyway.
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Nick Collis Bird

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2014, 03:12:48 PM »

Hi Graham, welcome to the forum. Q is spot on with that, I couldn't agree more. Best of luck in your progress.  ;D
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george garside

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2014, 03:13:57 PM »

rather than concentrate exclusively on any one of the things on your list why don't you  regulary spend a bit of time on each so they all progress together and you don't become bored!

playing scales the full length of the keyboard is an essential part of playing the instrument as composers are inconsiderate and come up with tunes that span two octaves!

The D scale on the D row is exactly the same as the G scale is on the G row so learn one and you can play the other '' on the row''

Selective use of  a note from the G row when playing in D  can be tried from time to time eg using the  the push G on the inside row as this enables better bass harmony.  Just give it a try now and again.

once you can knock out a simple tune or two on the treble its time to have a go at the bass starting perhaps with a simple um pa rhythm using just 2 bass buttons  so as to acquire the knack of keeping a steady left hand rhythm whilst at the same time playing a simple melody on the treble. You can do this whilst playing 'on the row in eithr D or G.

george

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Marje

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2014, 03:16:45 PM »

While I was writing this, two more replies have appeared, both endorsing what I say, but I'll say it anyway, thus contributing to a degree of consitency that is rare in this forum! You will hear other opinions, too, because we all learn this instrument in different ways, but we seem to be in agreement so far:

I agree that it's a good idea to introduce the bass and learn to play two-handed right from the start. That would be my priority, because playing right-handed may mean you have to "unlearn" certain habits later if you're to get the full benefit of a two-row box.

The other main point I'd make is that the D-row doesn't really require re-learning of the push/pull system in the way you seem to think. You can play the same tunes on it with the same fingering as on the G row, they'll just come out at a different pitch. The basses are slightly different, but as you haven't begun to  use them yet, you won't notice at this stage. Try it, and before you know it, you're playing by ear!

I wouldn't worry about  the upper registern or regard it as a separate issue. It's not entirely different from the lower one - the same notes are still on the push and the pull, but the point at which you change to the next button is different. Gradually, as you come across tunes that require a jump up into that octave, you'll learn to find these notes as they arise.
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Babuan

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2014, 09:45:40 PM »

Thanks Folks, That's just the sort of sage advice I was after.  It seems pretty unanimous that getting the bass is my next challenge.  Thanks and Happy Squeezing  :||:
Graham
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ACE

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2014, 08:11:04 AM »

Sound advice from above. The left hand was a mystery to me when I started, just a tapping of 4 buttons in twos to get a rhythm. Then I found Em of which there are some simple tunes to practice, all have a little foray into the other row and it is a key where you know you have got it wrong. Just a simple prod about and a pull gives you that satisfying sound.
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Anahata

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2014, 08:43:40 AM »

Just a simple prod about and a pull gives you that satisfying sound.

The essence of melodeon playing in 1 line!
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george garside

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #9 on: June 02, 2014, 12:17:44 PM »

totally agree - there's now't  to compare with  having a good poke and prod!

george
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DavidH

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Re: The Best 2nd Step ?
« Reply #10 on: June 02, 2014, 01:38:19 PM »

As a recent beginner myself, I would echo the advice above to get both hand going from the start.

My approach to resolving these sorts of questions when I started was to get a nice simple tutor book. While I appreciate that many people like to learn and play the melodeon entirely by ear, a tutor book should give you a graded series of tunes to play, carefully chosen to introduce one new technique or challenge at a time. I found it quite difficult when I started to distinguish 'easy' melodeon tunes from 'hard' ones when picking them out from an ordinary tune book.

In my case, I used the 'Handbook for Melodeon' by Roger Watson. The text is minimal so you'll still need a fair amount of figuring-it-out-for-yourself and forum browsing, but the tunes are well chosen and helpfully annotated with button numbers and indications of when to push and pull, which takes the guesswork out of your first 20 or so tunes. There are plenty of other books to choose from though, so you might find another that would suit you better.
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