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[boxer]

of course scales are a good thing, but not many would-be players are likely to be satisfied with spending a couple of years just playing doh-re-mi.  It's more satisfying to learn to play tunes, however simple, from one end to the other.

some tunes fall relatively easily onto the B/C keyboard, but there's usually at least one tricky bit that requires a bit of thought and application.  A more interesting approach might be to learn tunes of increasing difficulty, one by one, thus tackling the numerous fingering/bellows bottlenecks in the common scales as one does so.

it's worked for me

[george garside]

I didn't say practice only scales   for ''a couple of years''!   Scale practice should be an integral part of the learning process  and be maintained thoughout , irrespective of tunes being learned or played .  So once the scale in ,say, which is quite easy can be played try a tune in G as well as scale practice. Personally I run through a few scales for  2 OR 3 minutes whenever I pick up the box and that is after nearly 60 years playing! This provides a warm up exercise but also maintains the hard wiring between the brain and the fingers so that  a tune learned in any particular key can easily be played in any other key.

In the very early stages of learning more emphasis needs to be  given to scales with the gradual introduction of simple tunes, preferably that can be hummed or whistled  so the emphasis remains on learning to play the box (or operate the machine)  than on learning new unknown tunes.  The time taken for the transition to learning completely unknown tunes varies enormously from person to person  but  is probably best left until scales and tunes  and already known tunes have been got the hang of

george

[MaryColleen]

Are there specific fingering patterns for scales on a melodeon as there are on a piano?

[Stiamh]

Are there specific fingering patterns for scales on a melodeon as there are on a piano?

Basically, everybody works out their own fingerings, for scales and other passages. One-row box technique will be a little different, since you have no rows to cross.

My rules of thumb (or maybe not-thumb): keep moving, move in small increments, and rely heavily on your index, middle and ring fingers. Learn to swap fingers between two notes on the same button, and learn to walk up the scale using just your index and middle fingers.

[george garside]

on a one row quite a lot of tunes can be played using only four adjacent buttons. Where this is the case keep 4 fingers resting lightly on those 4 buttons!

Even more tunes can be played using 5 or 6 adjacent buttons  in which case it can be done by resting 4 fingers on the  4 buttons that include the first one in the tune and then slipping the whole hand ( 4 fingers) up or down by a button to bring in buttons 1 or 6 so to speak then if appropriate returning to the most used ( in the tune) 4 buttons. 

a variation on the above if most of tune is on 4 buttons but just the odd note on a button higher or lower a quick sideways stretch of finger 1 oor 4 can do the trick.

these are my way of doing it but there is no right or wrong way  so experimentation is  allowed and indeed encouraged!
george

[boxer]

I would merely add to Stiamh's masterful summary the following

Careful construction of these small fingering groups can, to some degree, help to offset the generally unsympathetic dynamics of the bellows movements on the B/C box, and allow the player to more easily place useful stresses on appropriate notes.

   

[george garside]

and it can often help to practice tricky bits of fingering over aand over again 'outside'  the tune until they can be done with ease before putting them back into the tune

george

[MaryColleen]

... practice giving people the finger ... I mean "practice fingering" ... Got It! (sorry! Couldn't resist!) 

My melodeon is supposed to arrive today!  I'm so excited, I'm giddy and writing inappropriate things!

(and thank you all for the tips! It sounds like what I used to do on the piano)