Bellow Shake Symbol

[Acon]

Just got a sheet music recently with lots of bellow shake there,
but firstly I have to figure out which is pull and which is push.

Someone told me that Π is pull (out) and V is push (in), but some
other guy said its the opposite way, so I am confused now.

Anybody knows that? Thanks.
>

 

[maugein96]

The composer will assume you are starting with the bellows closed, therefore the first symbol is pull and the second is push. To be honest with a bellows shake, unless you're in a classical environment where the direction of the bellows is probably important, you just get on with it the best way you can. With practice you can combine the shake with treble and/ or bass note trickery to achieve different sounds. Try repeatedly hitting your PA keys or CBA buttons repeatedly whilst shaking the bellows and hopefully you'll work out what I'm talking about.

Bellows shake might take you a while to get the hang of.

 

[JerryPH]

Just as maugein96 said, this is true in all the cases I have ever seen (and it is displayed as such in your music that you start with a PULL)... but honestly, even if you did it the opposite way, the world won't stop turning if you start with a push instead of a pull.

The reasoning is that thanks to a body's biomechanics, a pull is inherently a bit easier to make more powerful abrupt movement as a starting point than a push. Your music displays this with the "greater than" symbol which signifies an "attack" on the note when opening, and that attack is not there on the push.

I've also seen musical scores with a long squiggly line over the sections they want you to do a bellows shake over with the letters B.S. which always as a kid made me chuckle... lol

 

[Acon]

Thank you guys. Now I know I have to pull myself together and push harder.

 

[debra]

Thank you guys. Now I know I have to pull myself together and push harder.

Actually all you have to do is push. The pull is done automatically by gravity. You only need to pull if gravity does not result in enough volume. But generally when you do a bellow shake correctly it costs very little energy so you can just keep going and going. People who do it wrong will be exhausted within a minute.

 

[Acon]

Actually all you have to do is push. The pull is done automatically by gravity. You only need to pull if gravity does not result in enough volume. But generally when you do a bellow shake correctly it costs very little energy so you can just keep going and going. People who do it wrong will be exhausted within a minute.

Thanks debra. I saw a youtube video mentioning the same idea, but I found its hard to use the gravity when you start with the bellow fully closed because I usually tilt the accordion a little bit to let the bottom of the right-hand keyboard to touch against the inner side of right thigh like this:
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/t/man...sitting-chair-next-to-stone-wall-75651180.jpg>

Unless you pull the bellow to some extent like the picture or you wont be able to let the gravity to pull your bass side. I tried to tilt the accordion to the opposite way (my left) without letting the bottom of the right to touch my thigh at the start (with bellow closed), I did found the gravity working but it made the accordion very unstable when I push the bellow back (due to the lack of counter-force by my thigh) and the accordion was literally shaking so I couldnt hit my buttons very precisely. The bellow shaking became a mess and my wife thought I was fxxking my instrument.

What should I do...? :roll:

 

[debra]

Bellow shake without gravity isn't that hard either and is needed with a light instrument like what you show. You essentially rock or turn your left wrist which generates a light pull and push without your arm actually trying to pull or push. The whole trick to make bellow shake almost effortless is to not use the force of your arm to do it but only the wrist.

 

[Acon]

H debra I think you pointed out a very important skill, but can you please explain the wrist thing more specifically? Should I bend or rotate my wrist in this quick movement?

 

[debra]

H debra I think you pointed out a very important skill, but can you please explain the wrist thing more specifically? Should I bend or rotate my wrist in this quick movement?

Its rotate the wrist.
With the bellow shake the open action is a bit of a rotation where the top of the bellows opens but the bottom stays closed. The close action is again a rotation where the top of the bellows closes and the bottom stays closed. You can practice this with the bottom bellow strap locked (but dont get used to this). The rotation you see on the bellows is what you have to steer by rotating your wrist in the same way (but rotate it a bit more than the bellows rotation).

 

[Acon]

Thanks for the tip debra. I tried a bit but it's SO hard. Need some time to get used to it.